OWC are more usually known for their line of Mac-compatible SSDs but unsurprisingly, they do have other products. Andy finds out more from Grant.

The unsightly profusion of mobile phone, tablet and other gadget chargers is a bane of modern life. OWC have a tidy and green solution in the shape of a standard power socket fitted with smart USB charging points which don’t draw power when not in use. It’s approved by UL, too, so it’s home safe. The Power2U is available now for $27.99. OWC – please do a UK version too.

Moving on, iPads are an easy target for thieves and corporate devices doubly so. OWC’s iPad GripStand Station securely stores, recharges and syncs up to 8 iPads at once, even when the iPads are fitted with a GripStand. The security bar and padlock make petty theft much more difficult. Available now from $379, which I gather is a somewhat of a bargain.

Interview by Andy McCaskey of SDR News and RV News Net.

   The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized”- 4th Amendment, Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution

What would you say if your state decided that your ISP had to keep records of all the Web sites you went too? That they had to keep records of both Internet protocol address and domain names of all sites that you visited and they had to keep them for a minimum of two years. That is what is being proposed in the Hawaiian State Legislation under H.B. 2288, which states that Internet destination history information and the subscriber’s information, such as name and address must be saved for no less than two years. I know what some of you are saying I don’t care if the government knows what Web sites I visit I have nothing to hide, or if you aren’t doing anything wrong what’s the problem.

Do you currently belong to any political or social organization like the Tea Party  and do you visit supporting Web sites a lot.  How would you feel if the government started investigating the Tea Party and started looking for information on its members. Now how do you feel about the legislation. Let’s take this to the real world, what if the government required the local retail stores to keep a record of every book you bought, every magazine article you read, the talk radio you listen too, the clubs you joined, the people you associated with, now how do you feel. If you are like me you are saying to yourself that’s none of the government business, well this legislation does exactly that only in the virtual world.

Rep. John Mizuno of Oahu is a lead sponsor of the bill and a similar bill is being introduced in the Hawaii Senate. The bills are being introduced at the behest of Representative Kimberly Marcos Pine, who is in the middle of a dispute with a web designer Eric Ryan, who launched KymPineLsACrook.com and who says she owes him money. Her email was also hacked last summer, at the same time an article was written in the Hawaii Reporter about the dispute.  Because of these incidents Rep Pine has advocated tougher cyber laws. Those who support the legislation say that this type of law is necessary to “to protect people of Hawaii from these attacks and give prosecutors the tools to ensure justice is served for victims.” Unfortunately for the supporters of this bill, that is not how the law works in the United States, you can’t gather information on a large group of people in hopes that you may capture a few bad apples.

If the constitutionality of the bill is not enough there is also the question of what the Internet Provider can do with the information while they hold it. The bill says nothing about how the data should be stored or if it needs to be encrypted. There is no prohibition against the Internet Companies selling the information to anyone including advertiser or insurance agencies. So if you don’t care about the government having the information, how about your insurance company. The police aren’t even required to get a court order to view the information of anyone who uses a computer in Hawaii. This legislation would not only apply to Hawaiian residents but it would also apply to the 6 million tourist who visit the state each year. Which mean coffee shops, hotels, bookstore or anyone else with a public wi-fi would have sweeping requirements and cost put upon them.

We all want the bad guy to be caught and stopped, but not if it means giving up our rights and freedoms. Although SOPA and PIPA were stopped last week in the U.S. Congress, the fight over our rights and freedoms on the Internet is on going, it has simply moved to state legislation, we all need to remain vigilant.

G Data’s Mobile Security provides anti-virus and security monitoring for Android smartphones and tablets. Is this really necessary, you might ask, but I think after some of the recent malware removals by Google, there’s sufficient evidence that Android will increasingly be a target for malware and virus writers. Such is life.

Mobile Security provides three main functions, on-demand scans, blacklist control and authorisation checks for installed apps, all controlled from a main home screen.

Tapping on any of the four areas will show the next screen for that function. Here’s the on-demand virus scanning – no surprises there – but Mobile Security also scans apps as they are installed from the Android Market (or elsewhere presumably) which gives additional protection against malicious software.

The Permissions area shows a set of controlled features such as calls and internet access, and by selecting a particular feature Mobile Security shows the apps that have permissions for that feature. I thought that you might be able to then select an application and revoke its permissions to, say, access the internet, but the only option is to uninstall the app.

A settings screen is accessible from the menu key which provides greater control over the behaviour of Mobile Security’s activities. Usual stuff about scan intervals and automatic scans but all good stuff.

The Logs area shows what Mobile Security has been doing and Update simply checks that the virus signatures are current and up-to-date. Nothing unexpected here.

Unfortunately, I didn’t have any malware to hand so I wasn’t able to test out Mobile Security’s detection and disinfecting abilities but I would imagine that G Data’s got that covered.

It’s a free download from the Android Market to try it out, but it’s £9.99 per year to get updates for new malware and viruses. Alternatively, purchases of other G Data security products such as  G Data AntiVirus include a Mobile Security licence as part of the package.

The licence for this review was provided free of charge by G Data. Thanks.

Canadian firm SurfEasy will debut their eponymous USB key-based private Internet browser at CES, Las Vegas, next week. The portable USB key launches its own web browser which uses strong encryption to keep your surfing habits secret and holds all your personal information such as bookmarks, history and web passwords on the password-protected key itself. Nothing is left behind on the computer itself.

“When you stop and think about it, we use many different networks and computers to access our online lives. Whether it’s connecting from the office or using a Wi-Fi hotspot, we’re providing a lot of personal information to computers, networks and websites that are not designed with our personal privacy in mind,” said Chris Houston, founder and CEO of SurfEasy Inc. “SurfEasy lets people take control of protecting their online privacy and security by simply plugging in a USB key.”

One of the biggest potential benefits is when using unsecured WiFi in places like coffee shops. As SurfEasy creates an encrypted tunnel from the SurfEasy USB key across the Internet, no-one can see any detail about your browsing. All they can see is the encrypted data and the volume of data. SurfEasy encrypts the web traffic using SSL and passes the traffic through its own servers, stripping the client IP from the data stream.  The proxy network is hosted in Canada and the US, with other international locations to come soon.

As the data stream passes through SurfEasy’s servers, SurfEasy publish a Customer Bill of Rights which is upfront about what you can expect from the company in terms of keeping your activities secret. Basically, unless you come to the attention of the legal authorities, no usage data is held.

The SurfEasy browser is powered by Mozilla and is compatible with Microsoft Windows XP, Vista and 7. Apple users needs to be on Mac OS X 10.5 or later. The SurfEasy USB key costs $60 and this includes 2 GB per month of encrypted traffic through the SurfEasy network. Additional data costs $5 per month for 25 GB and $10 for 75 GB. Product delivery is expected in February.

I can see this being very handy for backpackers and other travellers who have to use Internet cafes while travelling and are rightly concerned about security. Plug-in the SurfEasy USB key to a public computer and you’re instantly secure wherever you are.

I talk about the GoDaddy SOPA controversy in detail. I have a lot of fun on today’s show, and for those watching the video of the show I try out some new camera angles. We still need to raise about $2500.00 to meet our fund raising goals for our Support Staff. I hope you will help us out see the links at the bottom of the page.

Note: I am hiring 4 writers email me geeknews@gmail.com

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Between the phone ringing, computers rebooting and me sticking my foot in my mouth 2-3 times I have a great show for you.. Back for one show here in Honolulu and off to Austin next week. Then home for Christmas and to prepare for CES 2012!

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Be cyber-safe

It’s that time to go and get your gifts for the kids, parents, siblings and the hubby. Some of us braved the cold and dark of night to stand in line for some super doorbuster deal. However, others stayed at home with cocoa and a restful nights sleep, for their trip to shop means turning on the computer and getting it all online.

As you get ready to brave the online crowds on the website, let’s run through a little checklist so you can be safe in purchasing items. With these ideas, you are better protected from malware and scams.

Update Your Computer, Browser and Anti-Virus

This is probably the most important thing to do. There are several security updates that patch holes to your computer. If you are planning on entering a credit card, you want to make sure nobody can watch your transaction. Run some scans on your computer, run the updates to the computer (Mac or PC), then open up your web browser and check for updates.

- Chrome : Choose the wrench icon on the right and “About Google Chrome”. It will update software automatically.

- Firefox: Choose the “Firefox” tab on the top-left. Choose “Options -> Options”. Select “Advanced” and the “Update” tab.

- IE: Go through Windows Update to get the latest version

- Safari: Through the software update option

- Windows 7: Windows Start button – Type in “Windows Update” in the Run box.

- Windows XP: Open IE browser and type in Update.microsoft.com

- Mac: Choose the Apple and Software Update

Anti-Virus may be trickier since there are different versions out there. Most important, if you don’t have anti-virus on your computer, put it on now. Avast and AVG are two great programs that have free versions.

What Websites are You Shopping At?

If you are going off the beaten internet path, it’s important to make sure the website is a verified seller. Most of the time, you can find badges on the site saying if they are trusted. When in doubt, do some simple searches. Also check the retailer’s reviews at a site like Resale Ratings.

Finally – When you are checking out, make sure you are on a secure page. Chrome, Firefox, Safari and IE all indicate if your credit card will be encrypted or not. If the lock icon is closed, you are on a secure page.

Email: Trusting links, Query Confirmation Email or Bank Email

You might be getting tons of “Black Friday” or “Cyber Monday” deals through email. Be careful what you select – there are misrepresented Spam mails out there. I just got one the other day from the New York Times to get a 1 year subscription. The email looked like it was from the NYTimes, but the links went to some other site like newyorktimes.some_domain_name dot com.

When in doubt, do a Google search on the email deal. If Walmart is having an online sale, then go to Walmart.com and find the deal through their website.

You might also see confirmation emails that could be phishing schemes. You get an email saying “Congratulations: You just purchased…”, but you didn’t purchase anything. There is a link saying “I didn’t purchase this” or something related. When you click on the link, it tells you what to do on a refund.

DON’T CLICK! (don’t even trust the links in the email)

What you should do is go to the website directly and find a phone number to call. Verify with an agent there is a purchase for you. Also, check your card statements. some purchases update within minutes.

Buy with Credit Card

Speaking of Credit Cards, most major cards and Paypal come with fraud protection. If you feel unsafe about any purchase, make a call to your credit card company. Never purchase online by sending a check or  wiring cash to someone’s account. If they cannot get a verified payment service like Paypal, Amazon, Visa, Mastercard, American Express or more, then this purchase isn’t worth it.

Ask For Help

Ok, so you are not Internet savvy. You read through this article and your head began to spin. If that is the case, then ask people for help. Talk to your friends. Seek out someone you know that does this stuff on a regular basis. What is worse is if you do not update your computer. Never think “Oh, I’ll just do it later…”

Cyber crime rises during the holidays. We are purchasing more online. So it’s important to stay safe. That, and get the best deal on a tablet…

Rare Sunday night show, my wife’s father is really in bad shape, so my wife left for Okinawa with the boys today, and I head out with my daughter in the morning. next show will be from Salt Lake next week. No Thursday show. I cover all the developments on the show today..

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Ok for the business folks out there that need some extra exposure. I have a ridiculous deal for you, get heard and seen on this show through the dates below.. Pony up to the bar and help support the Support staff for CES 2012. All moneys earned will go towards those team members support cost for the show.

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Studies have shown again and again that the weakest link in securing a customer’s information for a business is the customer service representative who deals directly with the customers. I worked as customer service representative for almost 20 years and trying pleasing the customer, while maintaining security is never easy. The customer is always right is a mantra that is drummed into you from the beginning of your employment. So when a customer calls in and has a reasonable story and it is late on a Friday afternoon, it’s much easier to provide the information they ask for than to deny it. There is nothing but your personal integrity and maybe the fear of being fired holding you back. It is definitely not loyalty to the company, when you know that the company is more than willing to replace you at anytime for any reason and the pay isn’t that good. Also you are always under pressure to complete a certain number of calls during your work day.

Social Hackers know this and use it to their advantage to get the information they are looking for. This is called the Schmooze button by many in the security business. The same person who gets you to buy a TV when you go to a store just to buy some batteries, that’s the same guy who would makes a real good hacker. He knows exactly what to say and how to say it to get you to buy the product or provide the information he is looking for. Many companies spend a lot of money on security, building up firewalls and installing advance systems. Hackers know this, they also know that they can often get around the best security system, using social engineering. The answer than is not to spend more money on advance security systems, the best answer is to continually train the customer service representatives in security and it’s importance. Many companies are now increasing the number of question, they ask a customer who request information. However there is a thin line between maintaining security and irritating the customer, companies have to tread that line. So when you call your bank or credit company because you’ve lost your credit card and they start asking you a lot of questions don’t get mad at them instead thank them for protecting your information from hackers.

Back to basics on this show and, I tighten up the timeline. Lots of tech as always and a huge number of comments have come in pre-show… Today I try pulling unique articles from Google+. Hope you like the new sources.

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As a business or an individual if you store your data in the cloud, you are probably concerned with security and the ability to get your data back. The one issues you may not have thought about is where it is being stored, well maybe you should be according to Technology Review. The term cloud storage is misleading, it makes it seem as if the data is out there some where. The truth is data that is stored in the cloud is being stored in a data center which maybe be located anywhere in the world. The problem is who can get access to the data is unclear. Do the laws in the country where the data is being stored determine who can have access to the data or is it where it originated or maybe even where the company who owns the data center is incorporated. This maybe become an issue between Europe and the U.S if strict European privacy laws start to block U.S. attempts to access information it deems vital to national security. Many European countries have stricter privacy laws then the U.S. In the U.S. the Patriot Act which was passed after 9-11 enhanced the ability of law enforcement to intercept and read email and other records. If a European stores their data with a cloud company whose data center is in the United States would the stricter European privacy laws still apply or would U.S laws. The United States insist that it’s laws reign supreme even if the data is stored in another country if the company that owns the data center is incorporated in the United States. This was what Google and Microsoft both told European courts when they indicated they would have to abide by U.S law no matter where the data is stored. Not only is privacy an issue but also how long data must be kept is becoming an issue. Some country’s laws are based on how long the data must be kept, others are based on when the data must be deleted. These two viewpoints can collide and often do.

Because of this type of uncertainty, both companies and public institutions are starting to rethinking where their data can be stored. Some like the Canadian providence of British Columbia insist that all public healthcare records must be stored within the providence. Swiss financial institutions also say that any of their banking data must be stored in data centers located in Switzerland. As more and more sensitive data is being stored in the cloud these issues are going to continue to come up. This is another area where technology has clearly outpaced the law.

This show is pretty close to the seven year anniversary of the show. It has been a great run, and I want to thank all of you for being loyal fans.. You will get a chuckle at the beginning of the show as I for some reason have no idea what day it is.. Lot’s of tech and thanks for all of the emailed comments.

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The murder trial of Jo Yeates is front page news throughout the UK – a neighbour Vincent Tabak is accused of killing her. At the moment, the prosecution is presenting its case and a couple of interesting things have emerged as evidence.

In particular, the prosecution has alleged that the defendant:

• looked at Wikipedia for the definitions of murder and manslaughter.
• searched for the maximum penalty for manslaughter, i.e. how many years in jail.
• looked up definitions for sexual assault and sexual conduct.
• searched maps showing the area where the body was later found.
• searched on CCTV cameras in street where both the defendent and victim lived.
• use Google StreetView to view the same area.
• researched criminal forensics, fingerprinting and DNA evidence.
• read news stories on the investigation into the disappearance  of the victim.

Of course, it will be up to the jury to decide whether these are good indicators of guilt, but regardless it’s clear that if someone is accused of a crime then there’s a pretty thorough examination of one’s computers and on-line behaviour. Obviously this case is about a very serious crime but it’s almost a gift to the prosecution when put together like this: can you think of any good reason to access this material at the time of the disappearance? However, this is circumstantial evidence and needs to be weighed as such.

On a related note, Google has announced that if you are signed-in to Google when you search, you will automatically use https://www.google.com/, the secure version of Google Search. While this will prevent casual snooping on your search, Google will be keeping hold of your search information so that it can better serve you adverts. And how long does Google keep the search information? Indefinitely or until you remove it. So while on the face of it encrypted search is a good thing, it comes at the price of Google knowing yet more about you.

I suspect that in the current murder trial, all the computer forensics team had to do was look back through the defendant’s browser history. Easy if there’s only one computer, but more difficult if the person has a home computer, work laptop, smartphone and so on. If you’re tied into Google everywhere, all they’ll have to do is subpoena information from Google and get your search data in one tidy little bundle. Nice.

Monster show tonight with a Ton of stories, I only cover the upcoming iPhone announcements ever briefly as most of you will get the details early tomorrow morning. I want to welcome all of the new Google+ Listeners as those following me over their has exploded! Subscribe to the show and get signed up for the newsletter.

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P2P Lawsuits going down under.
RIAA Insider spills beans.
To Kickstart or Not?
Target to get Roku Boxes.
Parallels versus VMware.
IBM bigger than Microsoft!
Arrington pulling big names.
Chrome to Android?
Cassini captures Geyser Image.
Comet gets sucked into Sun.
Artic Ozone hole Big.
Soyuz back to Space.
Rosette Nebula.
Meteor Shower coming.
Adobe Updates.
BitTorrent Streaming!
Timelines lawsuit.
Disaster Opportunist.
Colleges cannot keep up with Bandwidth.
Huff Post does 1 Billion Page Views.
TSA Rudeness has no Bounds.
Rhapsody to buy Napster.
Japan Update.
Old PC Power Pigs!
GM Innovation.
System Building?
Chrome Update to counter MS.
UK ISP Outage.
Insanity!
Ballmer gets a Raise.
New MySpace Pitch.
ifttt.com?

Credits: Jack Ellis – Executive Producer
iPhone

I want to thank all of our Sponsors this month for helping me keep the lights on, it is greatly appreciated and of course all of you that purchased product from GoDaddy or did a GotoMeeting trial.. I have an action packed show for you with lots of tech news and information. It comes fast and furious, so strap in. If you had trouble downloading the last show please send me an email with your ISP and the area you live in.

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Listener Links:
COPPA
Zuckerberg on COPPA
Nissan Contest!
Skype Phone Adapters.
Facebook Editorial – Chicago Tribune.

Show Links:
I want this chair.
Your History on Facebook.
Facebook FTC Probe?
Automated Website Sharing with Facebook.
Spotify goes into damage control mode.
The Kindles.
Kindle Fire and Amazon Video.
Kindle Fire Comparisons.
Xbox Dashboard Refresh.
Xbox gets TV.
a la carte TV Pipe Dream!
Input 1 Battle.
President to sign ACTA without Congress?
NYPD Concerns.
Phone Companies and what they keep about You!
Righthaven Bloody Nose.
SpaceX Green Concept.
Mars Moisture.
Chinese Space Lab?
Man to Walk on Asteroid?
Mercury Re-Written.
Out With Laptop in with Mobile Phone?
Online Reviews Cheap and Fake.
ISP Ads in UK Tighter Restrictions.
Samsung Pays Microsoft for Android!
Windows Phone App Spam.
HP CEO $1.00 Salary.
Twitter Ad Revenue Projections.
Zune Pass ReVamped.
Repairs in D.C.
Chrome to be #2?
Business card Designs.
P2P Site Owner Outed by Payment Processor.
OnLive UK Fail.
RIP iPod, iPod Shuffle?
Bing Airport Maps.
Adobe Flash EOL?
Craigslist Search Engine.
Android Ice Cream Sandwich.
Android Tips.
Delicious Review.
Flickr Android App Review.
Skype 2.5
T-Mobile to help Samsung.
iPhone5 HSPA?
Psystar Who?
India Caps Text.
New Car Alcohol Detector.

Credits: Jack Ellis – Executive Producer

I talk about the Gaf in show 707, and then spend some time on my soapbox talking about Facebook and the implications of recent revelations. I talk very seriously about the ramifications of allowing Facebook to track your every move and how it could impact your life, relationships with a spouse and ruin your reputation.

Subscribe Today: Audio | Video (HD) | Mobile Video | iTunes | Zune
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Follow me on Google+
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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Amazing planet View.
Amazing Hair Growth 9 Months.
Neutrinos from Space 2.0

Show Links:
Computer Fraud and Abuse Act?
Austin Police to Start Wardriving?
Want to setup a Table in Senate Rotunda?
Facebook to start Political PAC (WHAT!!)
Chelsea Clinton gets Board Seat?
DirectTV announce movie rental Failure.
Colleges Fail to Go Online.
Facebook Tracking you ALWAYS!
Scary Facebook Changes.
Facebook Scaring #2
Facebook Defends Tracking you.
Facebook says “Trust Us”?
Canceled my Spotify Account.
-Sprint Stays Unlimited.
SSL Hacked.
Google+ up 1269%
Instagram 2.0 a big Hit.
Voice Cash Cow Over.
New Apps Need New Bandwidth Plans!
Square COO Not Realistic.
Laser Powered Internet for NASA.
Get an Experienced Pilot.
Norways new Missle.
Apple Denied Patent.
Uncrunched.com
Muni Broadband Fight.
Senator goes after Onstar.
Dead Sea Scrolls.
T-Mobile – Apple your Move.
Amazon Kindle Tablet.
Samsung Galaxy @ FCC.
Past Qtr Powered by Android.
October Meteor Shower.
Photos of Uranus.
Judge Shopping.
Blockbuster a Competitor?
Traditional TV Like Record Stores.
Dreamworks to Netflix.
Amazon adds Fox Videos.
Mac Trojan Horse.

Credits: Jack Ellis – Executive Producer

This year’s BBC Reith lectures came to a close today with the last of three lectures on Securing Freedom, presented by Eliza Manningham-Buller. The name may mean nothing to you but she was the Director-General of Britain’s Security Service, aka MI5, between October 2002 and April 2007, and she reflects on 9/11, the wars in the Middle East and how the world has changed in the last ten years.

The three lectures are titled, “Terror“, “Security” and “Freedom” and a give a British perspective on the role of the intelligence services and the relationship with the US during a period both countries were under attack. If you are a seasoned spook-watcher, there’s probably not that much new, but I personally found it revealing and reassuring that the British Security Service is more measured and ethically-minded than the media would have us believe.

Baroness Manningham-Buller doesn’t shy away from controversy either, steadfastly refusing to accept torture as an intelligence tool, and suggesting that the US’ use of waterboarding was a “profound mistake”. You’ll have to listen to the podcasts to understand her reasoning.

The lectures are available as podcasts and also as transcripts for those who would prefer to read.

No hiccups during tonight’s show, this one went off without a hitch. Plenty of tech content tonight and of course I have to talk about the big mess over at netflix. What an absolute mess they have made over these past couple of months and it is not going to get any better.

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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

 
Listener Links:
Angry Netflix Customers.
*** Fly over Planet Earth.

Show Links:
Amazon Tablet to give Netflix Trouble?
My Apple TV Prediction.
Laser Beam IED Hunter.
VideoBloggers making Millions?
Ravencraft on Ropes.
Mac Security Risk.
XBox TV.
Netflix says they are Sorry?
Netflix Split Opinion.
10 Things about Netflix DVD Business.
$99.00 Verizon 4G Phone.
AT&T LTE Smoking Fast but no good due to Caps!
AT&T tries to Kiss up to DOJ.
Read, Listen, Watched & Wanted.
Identified to Identify You!
Apple Stock Record Close.
TruConnect Mifi Plan.
Google Wallet.
Farming Fish.
Slapping Treatment.
Flying Man.
Get Rich?
James Webb Space Telescope Saved?
Economics of Mass Lawsuit Filings.
Pirate Bay Founder MIA.
Microsoft Promo Video (Weird One).
Sony Tablet (want one).
PowerWheel Bike?
Tascam iXZ
Apple Styling.
Trendr Tracking Big Media.
DeskTube?
Windows 8 Speed test.
PrintShare Review.
iTwin Mac PC acts Like cloud.
Chrome 14 is here?
Gamers Solve AIDS Issue.
Int Amazon App Store.
Samsung Versu Apple iPhone5 in Korea.
SSL Borken?
100 Laid off in HP Web OS Division.
What is the Pirate Party?

Credits: Jack Ellis – Executive Producer

I give lots of Prizes away and also a chance to win some very exclusive prints from a cool artist. Listen to win and join me for a trip down memory lane, we kick it off old school with some intros that we have used in bygone years. Nearly 7 years of podcasting excellence all made possible by all of the Ohana that subscribe and listen to this show.

Big Thanks to Our Executive Producer Jack Ellis for all his work on all of our shows!

Subscribe Today:  Audio |  Video (HD) |  Mobile Video |  iTunes |  Zune
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Follow me on Google+
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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Facebook and 1 Trillion Page Views

Show Links:
Irenes Wrath on Cell Towers.
Traders made it to work.
SyncTweet.
Google+ Ranking Articles/Sites?
Glue Veins Together.
Gibson Guitar under Attack.
Rural British to get Internet.
Windows 8 UI Leak?
Cyberlockers the new P2P?
Pirate Bay to BayFiles
Snoop and Get Hired.
Comet gets Wacked by Sun.
Abandon Ship?
iZon Net Connected Cam.
Google+ adds Ignore.
Alexa and Compete Worthless.
Gadget Ice Trays.
AirFloss.
Airplay gives Apple Boost!
iTunes TV Rentals RIP.
Cool DVD preview App.
4 Keyloggers for Mac’s.
iPhone Volume Tricks.
Apple Store Security.
Severe Weather Tips.
Magellan Roadmate Review.
ToughTech with AES Security.
Linksys RE1000 Review.
Mophie gets me Again.
Bluetrek Headset.
CardMunch for iPhone.
Engadget Contest Rules.
Crazy Chatbots.
iCloud getting closer.
Eric Schmidt + Brits + Google TV = Hmmmm
More Google TV Devices.
OnStar Remote Link.
Explorer Updated in Windows 8.
Don’t Mess with Texas?

External hard drives are a dime a dozen, so when I was give the opportunity to review a ToughTech Secure Q with WriteLock 128 Bit AES Encrypted Hard Drive Enclosure by WiebeTech I jumped on it. I consider a great deal of data that I have on my hard drives to be very sensitive. We have vendor contracts, proposals, user data that includes media statistics and a whole host of other material from running a business that would be very damaging if the data was stolen and ended up on the web or in someone possession.

The standard feature set on this drive is extensive. The unit I tested supported both windows and mac disk formats. I had mine delivered pre-formatted for a mac. The connection options included Firewire 800, 400 eSata and USB 2.0. All of the cables need to make those connections where included.  It came with a slot for a cable lock which allows you to provide another level of security to keep the drive from easily walking off.

I have used secure hard drives in the past that required a thumb print to unlock and access, but this drive is different. This drive actually come with a 128 Bit AES key. The key comes attached to a lanyard or key chain and you have to physically plug the key into the specified slot to unlock the drive “no key no access”.

The manufacture at wiebetech.com provide you with 3 encryption keys that cannot be re-keyed without additional hardware. So forewarning is in order you loose the key provided your data will no longer be accessible. For business owners one key should go in the safe/safety deposit box, and the others should only be maintained by those you trust implicitly.

One of the best features is the ability to write lock the drive. Lets say you pre-load it with forms and data and you do not want this data changed on the drive in any way. There is a write lock button that once pushed locks the drive down.  If you want to re-enable write access you have to open the enclosure to unlock the drive.

Overall this is a great solution for small business owners that are storing sensitive information that they feel may be at risk from compromise in your office setting. They do have AES 256 bit devices available but due to federal guidelines for selling FIPS approved 256bit encrypted products they are restricted in sales of 256bit products to only approved channel partners.  128bit is available on their website.

Pricing was not readily available on the web site. If your looking for hard drive encryption this is the way to go.  This is a great way to secure that sensitive data you have sitting on a unsecured hard-drive. My advice is buy two units so you also have a backed up copy stored securely.

In the last six months we have cheered the use of Twitter and Facebook during the Egyptian revolution. How they were both used to get and spread information about what was happening and where, allowing the opposition to organize. When the Egyptian government tried to shut them down, the western press and government accused it of denying the Egyptians their rights. At the time few questioned how the west would react under similar circumstances. Lately the answer to this question is started to become clearer and the picture in the mirror is a bit ugly.

Unfortunately last week London and several other cities were rocked by violence. Riots broke out in several parts of the city, according to multiple stories Blackberries phones along with Twitter and Facebook were used to coordinate the rioters. Blackberries were used because messages are encrypted and even RIM doesn’t have the key. Blackberries are also cheap compared to iPhones or Android phones. Prime Minister David Cameron, suggested that social media including Twitter and Facebook maybe limited during riots. Leaving aside technical issues of trying to do this, which there are many, is this the right thing to do and does it cause more problems than it solves. Now you could argue as Prime Minister Cameron did that the rioters were a bunch of thugs and hoodlums and you don’t have the right to use technology to commit criminal acts. However isn’t this what governments like China and Syria label opposition and democracy protestors. If this policy is implemented in Britain, then what credibility does it have to protest a similar action in China, couldn’t the Chinese say we’re just following your lead. Not to mention the fact that if you limit social media (what ever that means) during unrest you are not only punishing the guilty but also the innocent. In fact those who are less tech savvy are more likely to be hurt. Tech savvy users can usually can find their way around government’s attempt to block services using various methods including Tor or VPN services.

Clearly blocking social media in a whole city or even a neighborhood is difficult both technically and socially. However what if you just want to block a single building, like a train station or a subway, well Bart, the San Francisco rapid transit system found a way, they simply shut down the cellular services in the subways. They did this when they heard rumors there would be a protest against the shooting of an unarmed passenger by a Bart policeman They simply shut down the system base station, disabling the wireless network. They did this without informing the various wireless carriers in the area or making any public announcements. So for about three hours there was no cellular service. Commuters couldn’t make calls to home, or work or even 911. Nor could you surf the web or doing any work that was online. The FCC is now investigating the shut down as a possible violation of the Communication Act of 1934, which bans radio or cellphone jamming.

Clearly social media has become a thorn in the side of both democratic and undemocratic governments. The issues are not only technical but also political. The ongoing battle between activist and various governments will continue well into the future as they continually leap-frog each other.

All we are planning the server upgrade for Thursday, all of my other sites have been moved to the new box and we will be doing some test with a second new server as well to see how well it stands up to some data delivery test we will be doing. Major investment in new hardware to support the show and the site.

Are you a Fan of this show or others at TPN follow the producers? Click Me!
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Show Hotline 24/7 1-619-342-7365 or e-mail geeknews@gmail.com

Listener Links:
Pakistan Sharing with Chinese.
Virus cause Blood Pressure increase.
Flash Mob Calls?
Getting wrong email.

Show Links:
Google Purchases Motorola.
Google TV + Motorola = Win?
Google Partners Weigh in.
Water Fight Plan leads to Arrest?
Windows 8 Blog.
AT&T fighting back on T-Mobile Lawsuits.
Nielsen + Facebook = Spying.
Amazon Student App.
MPAA Wall Street Reform Lobbying?
Windows Security Looking Better?
Apple Tampering with Evidence.
AP Fair Use Avoidance?
College can snoop on Students email.
Internet + TV = Making Kids Smarter?
More Police Insanity.
Fox Blocks 90% of viewers from online content.
Firefox no more Version Numbers.
Amazon outage lessons learned.
Computer for Seniors Insulting.
Spy on Kids Pay Up!
Cell Phone Usage break down.
Microsoft Reader RIP.
FCC Goes after BART.
Bart Anonymous Demonstration Fizzles.
Why all the mobile device profiling?
Songwriters get rights back after 25yr wait.
Horse Cops get Computers!
AT&T & T-Mobile leaked merger docs.
Counting to 100,000 Insanity?
Facial Recognition use in UK Riots.
STS135 Video.
P2P Target on Canadian Politician.
New Zealand ISP CEO Speaks out.
Camera Lens Shot Glass.
Moon Rug.
New Toothbrush charger by Induction.
Adobe Patches Flash.

I talk about constraints tonight, you will notice show is 1:23:00 I have realized I have been feeling constrained and rushed with the 1:10:00 limit I imposed on myself. Unless I get a barrage of email begging me to go back the show is going back to a semi un-constrained time limit.

Are you a Fan of this show or others at TPN follow the producers? Click Me!
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Listener Links:
Shuttle Cockpit 360 Degrees!
Barnes and Noble Comment!
Studio and Plank Discussion.

Show Links:
Down she goes.
Will economy affect VC investments.
Pay for TV on Roku?
$500.00 or your Life?
Google TV Update!
Running out of Time?
Yes Police their is Freedom of the Press.
TSA No Insulin for You!
Syrian Hackers Fight Back?
Antimatter in Orbit?
WordPress Hijack.
Warrantless Spying on rise.
Apple Lion Recovery Disc.
Apple wants in ring with Lodsys.
Sorry I have bad news for you!
How Big are Solar Flares.
Juno Launch.
Sued for going to Fast.
Hacker Toolkit for Android.
200,000 on Lawsuit Hit List.
Portable Shaver.
Cool Device Chargers.
FrameSocket.
Website Speed.
Sell Shirts.
OpticBook 3800 Scanner.
Read it later.
Zip line Express for iPads.
Skype Updated for Lion.
Apple TV Hacked to Play Games.
3d Glass Standards Finally?
Google+ ios App.
Chrome OS for Tablets.
Honeycomb Update for LG!
Survey Says.

Ok Folks new Studio will be a go. In order to make it happen I am introducing the Plank Owner program tonight.. If we can get 1000 Plank Owners we will hit the goal for the new studio plans.. If we reach half that amount the studio goes to the Garage believe me I do not want to go to the Garage

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Listener Links:
Coppa.
Splitting Atoms at Home.
Drudge on iTunes.
Alamo Drafthouse in Austin.
Mobile Versus Toliets.

Show Links:
Is Smart Power too Smart.
NASA Sends Lego to Jupiter?
Siemens 7 Hack.
Copyright Infringement Win.
Righthaven bunch of Idiots.
Rare Earth Elements.
New Federal CIO.
Atlas 5 for Manned Flight Tests.
Feds Remove 72 Perverts from Society.
Martian Water.
Yahoo WebPlayer.
Symantec Behind 8 Ball?
LinkedIn Grows but not cash.
Roku Update.
ISP Spying Plan.
P2P Users Catch a Break.
Hard Drive for iPad Users.
iCloud Pricing.
Time Magazine All in.
Google Chrome 13.
Chrome OS Hacked.
Cable Subs Down in Q2.
KarmaDecay for Reddit.
NFL for Internet.
RunKeeper.
Amazon App Store.
$1.00 HIV Test Set.
Worlds Most Efficient Bulb.
Jailbreakers Beware AT&T on Hunt!
Two Brits Visit First Walmart.
Cool Video!
Magic Mouse RIP?

Looks like someone is messing with my net connections while I am streaming the show. Twice in two weeks the net connection has went dead while live time to do some digging. Lots of tech tonight but the last two shows the intro has slipped a bit in length. I will get that re-aligned next show. So far nothing but postive feedback on the HD version of the show. See the bonus links in the show notes and check out our iTunes network provider listings.

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Listener Links:
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JRWounds.com
Feds on Passwords.
ParaHawking over Nepal.
GitKit.

Bonus Links:
Tech Podcast Network on iTunes.
Pro Med Network on iTunes.
Travel Cast Network on iTunes.

Show Links:
One Million Downloads Day 1
Lion Review.
Lion Install Checklist.
MacBook Air Teardown.
ISS catches Re-Entry.
Atlantis Lands for Last Time.
TSA and Naked.
LTE 28 New Locations.
Microsoft Q4 Earnings.
Google Malware Detection Good?
Medical Tatoo?
Summer Time Video Blues.
Listen and Win.
Collabracam.com
Facebook iPhone Revolt.
Lodsys Suing Everyone.
Apple + Hulu
Google Business.
Chrome for Lion?
Nokia -692 Million!
Is Cloud Good for Environment.
AT&T abandoning DSL?
Roku 2.
50,000 Free Albums.
Technical Volume Torrents.
M.I.T. Data Theft.
Firefox 64 Bit Edition.
Carabiner Key?
Cricket On YouTube.
19% Drop Phone in Toilet.
Google Toolbar RIP on Firefox.
Sync Office and Google Docs.
*** Energy Saving Tips.

You win some you loose some. But I will be honest an extra set of hands would be great. First five minutes of the show are comical as you will see. An absolute metric ton of tech tonight. Be advised the primary Video feed is going HD and the Mobile Video feed will much more manageable.

Note to Subscribers: Rough show tonight dealing with family issues in Japan that are not good, Shoko is fine but they are having a rough go of it! Thanks for being part of the family. My head was not a 100% engaged tonight as will be evident.

Mobile Video Feed!

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Show Links:
Visualize the Debt.
Tools to Survive Financial Meltdown
John Glenn at 90.
Last Group Picture at ISS.
Tips on Int Mobile Bill.
Borders Deadpool.
Newspapers want Cake to.
G.Co
My Data Usage Pro.
Paint your roof White?
Verizon LTE Roll-Out Thursday.
Twitter Boring!
P2P Censor.
ISP Refuse Blocking of PB.
Judge Threatened.
ZIP/RAR Support in Google Docs.
Are you a Thief.
Google+ Malware.
Slack versus Spot.
Feds take your Drivers License.
Sprint 3 Million Ad Campaign Giveaway with NASCAR.
ChromeBook for 7 Days.
Password Trends you don’t want to set.
Atlas 5 Human Lift.
20 Million Pound Tool.
IPV6 Update.
Wanna make a quick 250k?
Anonymous kicked out of Google+
Lion on Wednesday?
CNN Live on iPad.
The Verge?
Car Apps Coming.

As the fall-out from the News of the World scandal continues, many sources continue to inaccurately refer to “mobile phone hacking”. The truth (as far as is known) was that it was the voicemail of the mobile phone that was hacked rather than the phone itself. There are two ways to do this – the first is to simply guess the PIN of the voicemail and the second is to use Caller ID spoofing.

In the mid-2000s, most mobile phone voicemail systems were poorly protected as they typically came with a default PIN which was often easily guessed and only varied  according to the mobile phone company. Most users didn’t bother to change the PIN. Say the phone was on Orange, then the default PIN was 1234. If it was Vodafone, then 0000.  Typically, the villain then makes two simultaneous calls to the victim. One will be picked up, the other will go to voicemail.   By then pressing “*” or “#” while listening to the voicemail prompts, the individual can gain access to the voicemail system using the default PIN. Computeractive has article covering this scenario and how, in theory, it would be harder (but not impossible) to take this approach today.

As for Caller ID spoofing, this technique makes a call look like it’s coming from a different number than it actually is. It can be used legally to make someone calling from a mobile to actually appear to be coming from a company office, so that the person’s mobile number is not divulged. However, in some instances it has been used to gain access to voicemail boxes as many voicemail systems do not ask for further identification if the system recognises the inbound Caller ID as one of its own. PC Mag and c|net have short articles on how this is done and worryingly, this is still a threat. The Wall Street Journal covered the problem in 2010 before the current scandal broke.

It would appear that the best protection to both these attacks is (a) to change your PIN on your voicemail and (b) require your PIN even when calling from your own mobile phone. That way, even if your Caller ID is spoofed, the caller can’t get in without knowing your PIN.

In one of my more paranoid moments  last month I started using Google’s 2 step verification. Now anytime I want to connect an application or Web site with my Google account I not only have to enter my user name and password, but also a code that is sent to my iPhone. For those applications that don’t take the codes, Google generates application specific passwords. Having listen to Security Now for over 306 episodes I have no doubt this method is more secure then just a user name and password. Well, it would be if I was willing to stick with it, but to be honest I probably will not. It would be all right if I was using it on sites that I thought needed extra security on like shopping, bank and other similar sites. However do I really need two step verification for a site like Goodreads, at that point it just becomes annoying. I have a choice to make I can be secure but constantly annoyed or less secure but happier. I sure you can guess which road I am headed down. I do not think I am unique either I think I am pretty normal. Lets face it most of us want to be secure on-line, we just do not want to work to hard at it.

The problem with most security methods is the better they are the more difficult they are to use.  I do not care how great your security system is, if it is not easy for people to use it is useless. It needs to be as effortless as possible. The more effort it takes to use it the less likely users are to stick with it. Unfortunately the more human friendly security is the more likely it is to be insecure. Security and ease of use tend to work against each other. Somehow we need to find the middle ground between security and ease of use, and as more of our information resides in the clouds this becomes more and more important.

In Washington D.C. this week was a quick turn around at home.. One thing that I have found the farther east I go the crappier the internet is in hotels just a observation but everytime i’m east the internet sucks in the hotels.

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Listener Links:
Japan Gadgets Charging via Fire?

Show Links:
Dot Whatever for 185k!
Seven Years of Web Behavior Tracking Can be Used against You.
Restoring Memory.
Summer Solstice.
Device Analyzer.
uTorrent getting sued.
iPad Alternatives?
Lion is a 4gb Update!
Digital Music Era.
Analog Music Era.
Sony Movies removed from Netflix.
Google TV Android Market.
Verizon Data Plans.
Verizon Unlimited Data No More.
Skype Cleans House.
Set Top Boxes Shrink.
Olbermann Podcast not full Shows?
Windows 8 Build on Torrent.
Motion X GPS.
Hot News Doctrine -Struck Down.
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