Mass spectrometry can be used against traces found within a fingerprint. These traces can show that the person who left the print is a smoker, used drugs or had handled explosives recently. How is this done?

When a finger touches a surface, sweat and other substances called “sebum” leave behind a print that can’t be seen by the naked eye. It is easy to make a fingerprint visible, by dusting the surface with powder or spraying with a superglue or re-agents. If a person has taken drugs, traces are released in sweat. A team working at the University of East Anglia, Norwich UK, has devised a method by which magnetic particles (with antibodies added to them) attach themselves to certain drug or nicotine metabolic substances. Secondly, they apply a fluorescent marker via another antibody, which binds to the first antibody and indicates the presence of a corresponding drug as they glow under a fluorescent light. By using this method, researchers were able to detect several different narcotics simultaneously in a single fingerprint.

Mass spectrometric techniques can be used to identify the components of sebum and their decomposition products in fingerprints. Mass spectrometry uses the light spectrum of elements to identify them when a light is shone through them or bounced off them. One approach is as follows. Solvent droplets are sprayed onto the surface to form a film which dissolves materials out of the fingerprint. Additional solvent drops impact the film and release the dissolved chemicals from the surface so that they can be analyzed by mass spectrometry. The chemicals in the fingerprint are examined by a computer. Traces of drugs and explosives can be identified from their light spectrum.

Infrared spectroscopy has been used to separate overlapping fingerprints from two individuals by means of their different sebum contents to produce two separate images. It is also possible to detect traces of explosive. Infrared spectroscopy can be used to identify medicines like aspirin and paracetamol, as well as caffeine and starch in fingerprints.

The aim of this research is to develop a portable, cost-effective, rapid, small system that can detect both fingerprints and the chemical components within them. This would be useful for CSI experts, but also for doping tests and diagnostics.

Burglars and murderers are advised to wear gloves at all times in future. If you have already left a fingerprint in the wrong place, your drug habits may be found out in the future.

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WhatsApp Messenger is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for SMS. You can include many users in a single message stream, something called a “group”. WhatsApp Messenger is available for Android, BlackBerry, iPhone iOS, Nokia and Windows Phone and, yes, those phones can all message each other.

What other chat, or instant messaging, clients are there? Here is some information on a few popular choices.

Blackberry BBM

This is the native messenger software for Blackberry phones. However, with recent launches of native clients for iPhone and Android, the messaging service has been opened up to most phone users. Send and receive messages in seconds, chat one-to-one or let everybody know together. You can speak face-to-face over BBM Video and even share what’s on your screen.  BBM allows group chats like WhatsApp.

IBM Sametime

Sametime is a client-server application and middleware platform that provides real-time, unified communications and collaboration for enterprises. Those capabilities go beyond instant messaging and include presence information, web conferencing, community collaboration, and telephony integration.  Sametime Apps for smartphones can link into a corporate Sametime server to join instant chat sessions when away from the office. These apps are available for Android, iOS, Nokia Symbian and Windows phones but the user has to already have a Sametime account on a Sametime office server, which has to be configured to permit remote access.

Microsoft Lync

This is really an enterprise server instant messaging platform, which means it is more of use to support instant messaging within an office environment. It offers VOIP telephony and video conferencing too. Client software can be installed for Windows and Mac PCs. A Lync client is available for Android, iOS, and Windows phones but the user has to already have a Lync account on a Microsoft Lync office server, which has to be configured to permit remote access.

Skype

Skype started off as a way of making phone calls over VOIP, but there are now Skype clients for most phones and PCs that support instant messaging too.  It also supports video calls and the sharing of photos between users. Skype clients can be found for Android, Blackberry, iOS, and Windows Phone devices.

Kik Messenger

Kik claims to have 100 million active users of its messenger app.  There are add-ons to allow video sharing with other users. Kik Messenger has a built-in browser which is one of its most important features. The app is available on most Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Nokia Symbian, and Windows Phone devices.

Pidgin

Pidgin is open source and has clients available for most operating systems. It is big in the Linux world with over 3 million users. It can be used as a Sametime or Skype client because of the included supported message-services protocols.  Pidgin is different in offering message encryption.

The post Recommended Chat Clients appeared first on Hackworth.

The main problem with using the same password for everything is that if someone finds out what your password is, they can potentially log in to your email account as you, and your banking service as you.

What security consultants recommend is that you use a unique password every time you create an account that requires a password to keep it secure. AND DON’T WRITE DOWN YOUR PASSWORDS ANYWHERE!

This is all very well, but if you have to support 40 different systems or log ins it becomes very cumbersome. It would take you a long time to successfully remember a password for each one.  Here is where the strategy comes in.

A Safe Password Strategy

How DO you set about creating a safe, memorable but unique password for every service you use? A safe password needs to have these features:

• It should be a mixture of lower and upper case letters
• It should contain one or more numbers
• It should contain a punctuation character

First of all, think of a phrase that you can easily remember. Example: “Barney and Paul are my two kids’ names” – you need your own phrase not this one!

Secondly, take the first letter of each word in that phrase. Example: BaPamtkn

Thirdly, substitute an ampersand for any use of the word “and”. Example: B&Pamtkn

Now, change to a numeric each number in the phrase or add a number on the end. Example: B&Pam2kn

This is the “base” of your future passwords. Whenever you need a password for a service, start it off with the “base” and then add two letters from the name of the service you are using. Always choose the same two letters for each service, either the first two letters of the name or the first letter of each word in the name.

Examples: American Express might be “AE” or “AM”, Google Mail might be “Go” or “GM”. How you choose which letters is important as that is the only difference between your passwords.

So in our examples, the full password might be B&Pam2knAE and B&Pam2knGo.  How long would it take someone to guess those?

The beauty of this system is that you only have to remember your easily-remembered phrase and you can have a unique password for everything. The qualifier, or suffix you add on the end, is taken from the name of the service you are logging in to. So easy, so unbreakable.

Why not give this a go for yourself and see how easy it is?

If you need help securing your critical business data, contact one of our IT Specialists at 757-545-7675. We have many services and products that can be of assistance.

The post Why You Need a Safe Password and How to Create One appeared first on Hackworth.

Meanwhile, someone in R&D sees a new patent for a product similar to one your company manufactures. He sees an improvement that could be built into your product and he persuades the design team to upgrade the design accordingly. They don’t acknowledge the use of the patent information.

Eventually, the patent holder sues your company for use of the patent design without authorization. As part of the discovery process, the plaintiff’s lawyers request access to all senior officers’ IT equipment. So your iPad and iPhone are seized as they contain, or may contain, information relevant to the case. Did you know about the product redesign? Did you authorize it via email, maybe from your iPad?

Discovering the information needed to take the case to court could take a long time. Could you function without your tablet and phone during this time? And, just as importantly, what will the plaintiff’s lawyers do with any of your personal information that they find? I don’t mean your high score on Candy Crush, but photographs you took, or personal email you sent from your tablet.

You see, while connected to corporate systems, your personal tablet and smartphone are deemed to be “corporate” IT products. If there is a reason why your position in the company leaves you open to an investigation, your personal equipment may need to be searched. If it contains a mix of company and personal data, is it easy to differentiate between the two? Did the IT department install software on your device to keep company and personal data private? They might have to in order to delete company data and emails on your tablet or phone if you ever leave the company’s employment.

And what do you have to do in order to protect company information on your tablet or phone when you are at home? Does it matter if your spouse uses your tablet? How about your children? Does their using the device breach data security rules enforced by your company?

If you work in the IT department of a company that permits Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), you need to put into place rules about sharing of company data on privately-owned equipment, perhaps ask users to permit you to install apps to keep company data and email separate from private data and email.

If you have doubts about the above information, see these articles:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/it-security/security-policies-must-address-legal-implications-of-byod/9280/

http://www.legaltechnology.com/latest-news/comment-managing-security-and-the-implications-of-byod/

http://insights.wired.com/profiles/blogs/legal-implications-of-byod-security-measures-ineffective#axzz2wLN957fN

https://www.privacyrights.org/bring-your-own-device-risks

The post No Foolin’ – Legal Implications of Using Personal Tablets and Smartphones at Work appeared first on Hackworth.

Benefits of Wearables

Google Glass can display your email without the need to open your computer. It can be programmed to display repair manuals so engineers can have them to hand without having them in hand.  It allows you to video your surroundings very easily and take photographs quickly so you can record some passing moment for future recall.

Police forces around the world are adopting head-mounted video cameras so that officers can record their interactions with members of the public. This can be used as evidence against wrong-doers and also protect the police from claims of ill treatment when taking someone into custody.

A wearable camera like Autograph can create a record of where you’ve been all day, who you’ve met and what you did. This can be a great help for people with memory problems, such as dementia sufferers.

Smartwatches can be connected to smartphones and give the wearer notifications of the arrival of email and messages without having to get the phone out of the user’s pocket. It is more discrete to check your wrist during a meeting than get your phone out of a pocket. The Pebble watch permits you to decline an incoming phone call with a press of a button.

Negative Connotations

It hasn’t been launched commercially yet, but Google Glass is being banned in public places as it is envisaged that it will blur the lines between privacy and acceptable technology use. Don’t believe Google when they say everyone knows you are filming because Glass has a little light on it.

It is obvious that you should not be allowed to record videos or take pictures in cinemas. Some casinos object to the idea of taking photographs of what goes on in their establishments in case it opens up opportunities for cheating. Patrons of these establishments may well be asked to surrender their Google Glass headset when they frequent them.

In November 2013, a diner at the Lost Lake Café (in Seattle, WA) was ejected after he refused to remove his Google Glass device. The owner David Meinert, who owns the restaurant, had banned the devices from his two establishments in the city. He asserts that Google Glass goes against conventional dining etiquette, where using a mobile phone or other electronic devices while eating is considered rude.

If you have an Autograph, that automatically takes a picture every minute or so. Who could it photograph? Do you have to let everyone you know that you have taken their picture, in case they want to object? Suppose you are in the supermarket, and your Autograph photographs everyone in the check-out queues or you are walking along a busy street and it takes a photograph every minute. How do you ensure that all people “in frame” are happy to be in your photo stream?  How do passers-by know what you intend to do with your “candid snaps”?

You may own a business that would object to someone entering wearing a camera. You might want to consider an acceptable use policy now rather than leave it until something untoward happens.

The post Wearable Technologies and Use In Business appeared first on Hackworth.

Communications manager Brandon LeBlanc wrote that readers of the official Windows blog are “unlikely” still to be running XP on their PCs, but suggests that “you may know someone who is and have even served as their tech support“. So he wants us tech users to push Microsoft’s upgrade message.

Microsoft has created a web page to make it easier for knowledgeable IT users to explain the upcoming end of support to their less technically-skilled friends and family. (The page is here: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/end-support-help.)  One suggestion is to run the Windows Upgrade Assistant to see if their machine can run Windows 8.1. However, LeBlanc suggests the best approach is to get a new PC – a statement that the PC makers will like, in the light of falling hardware sales.

“The easiest path to Windows 8.1 is with new devices and there are offers and deals from many retailers to help people get a new device,” he said, pointing to the many discount offers available.

Unpopularity of the Recommendation

The advice hasn’t been popular among the very readers of the blog that Microsoft is asking to help their less technically-minded colleagues. They have let people comment on the blog, with negative results.

[pullquote align=’normal’]“THANK YOU MICROSOFT” said one commenter. “I have already started teaching my grandmother and her entire bridge club how to use Linux – I would not subject my worst enemy to windows 8 (or 8.1). Even death row inmates are treated better than Microsoft treated its user base with this latest version. Those of us in the IT industry, especially those of us that support large corporate user groups are having nightmares thinking about moving to 8 or 8.1. As long as I have to teach a COMPLETE new operating system to my 1500+ users, I’m going Linux — Ubuntu here we come….” [/pullquote]

Another echoed concerns over the cost of upgrading, saying she’d been hit hard by the economic situation.

[pullquote align=’normal’]“I understand your need to discontinue support for older programs. It’s an expense of time and money that could be used to develop new products,” noted Ruth Brown. “But I am nearing retirement age, and with money tight, and possibly tight for the foreseeable future, I don’t know when I’ll be able to upgrade to a new Windows product.” [/pullquote]

 She requested that Microsoft extend support for XP.

At the time of writing these words, there are about 160 comments on the Microsoft blog. The majority of users do not agree with Microsoft’s decision to pull XP support. The upgrade paths people prefer are to Windows 7 (which isn’t sold by Microsoft anymore) or Linux. It certainly looks as if Microsoft is not earning itself much good will with its blog article or the decision it publicizes.

For more information and help on how the change in support for XP will effect your business contact our IT Specialists at 757-545-7675.

The post Microsoft: The Best Way to Upgrade From XP Is to Buy A New PC appeared first on Hackworth.

By the end of the 20th century, this system had evolved beyond its military and diplomatic origins to become “a global system for the interception of private and commercial communications” (according to a European Parliamentary report). In 2001, the EU Committee investigating ECHELON recommended to the European Parliament that EU citizens routinely use encryption in their communications to protect privacy – to counter economic espionage conducted by US intelligence services via ECHELON.

So, when the disclosures by a former NSA contractor began to be revealed by the press in 2013, it was not exactly “new” news – at least to people who knew about ECHELON. Because of the way the disclosures have been made and the major increase in on-line communication during the 21^st century, a huge public debate has started about how governments spy on their citizens and other people worldwide.

Edward Snowden, the NSA leaker, has been called variously: a hero; a patriot; a whistleblower; a traitor; and a dissident. Which moniker applies depends upon your point of view.  Should people expect their emails to be private, or should the government be allowed to check (in secret) for “threats to national security”?

A lot of people believe that, while they have nothing to hide, they have a fundamental right to privacy. In line with the recommendation made back in 2001 by that EU report, many have resorted to using data encryption to keep the contents of their online communications private. What exactly does it mean to encrypt email?

From World War 2 history, many people have heard of the Enigma machines used by the German military to keep their communications secret.  Messages were coded via a complicated mechanism, broadcast to the recipient who would use the same type of machine to decode the message. The coding/decoding method changed regularly by means of new “keycodes”. It took the Allied forces a long time, but they eventually managed to break the Enigma coding system and read the secret messages.

The same idea is used today.  An email is passed through data encryption software (scrambled) and then the coded message is mailed. The recipient uses a decoding version of the software to decrypt (unscramble) the message and read it. There are several types of encryption, some involving more and more lengthy or complex keycodes. However, as the sophistication of such software has increased, the capabilities of the NSA, GCHQ and other services have also increased, as has the legal backing for their actions.

The Lavabit email service tried to provide secure email by automatically encrypting all email sent through their servers. Lavabit decided to close down in August 2013 after the US Government ordered it to hand over its SSL private key (which opened all email to official scrutiny).

Data encryption is being used more widely. It is possible to keep secrets hidden from most people. It just makes the security services work a tiny bit harder to read data if they choose to and it’s encrypted. You can’t (yet) keeps things secret from them.

For more information on protecting your data, contact our IT Specialists at 800-676-2424.

The post The Rise of Data Encryption for Everyone appeared first on Hackworth.

Pebble

The Pebble is a smartwatch created by Pebble Technology and launched in 2013 after a successful funding project on Kickstarter. Pebble Technology was originally called Inpulse and had some success with early smartwatches. But they wanted to achieve something greater.  Enter the Pebble…

The company started a funding project on Kickstarter in April 2012. The initial aim was to raise $100,000 to kick off production of the new Pebble watch.  Within two hours of going live, the project had met the $100,000 goal, and within just six days, the project became the most funded project in the history of Kickstarter, raising $4.7 million. There were still another 30 days to go in the campaign.

When the funding project closed on May 18, 2012, Pebble became the biggest crowd-funded project to date with $10,266,844 pledged by 68,928 people.

This project showed Pebble Technology that there was a huge demand for their new smartwatch. As a result, some time was spent revising the design based on customer feedback, and revisions to their plans for the manufacturing process. Pebble went into mass production in January 2013 with output of 15,000 watches per week. At the time of writing, sales have exceeded 300,000 units.  The Pebble is on sale at Best Buy and Amazon, as well as at getpebble.com.

Ubuntu Edge

The Ubuntu Edge was the design of a state-of-the-art smartphone announced by Canonical on 22 July 2013. The Edge was to run a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system in a device with the power to run the full Ubuntu desktop when connected to an external keyboard and monitor. Its design was meant to stretch to the limits the capabilities of hand-sized devices.  Edge would have been powered by a super-fast multi-core processor and 4GB of RAM. Internal storage would have been 128GB. These figures have never been used in the context of a mobile phone before.

Canonical sought to crowd-fund the production of 40,000 units via the Indiegogo crowd-sourcing website. The aim was to raise $32,000,000 within a month, which is the biggest target of any crowd-funded project so far. The Edge was not intended to go into mass production after this initial run but to serve as a demonstrator of what can be achieved. The project fell short of its funding goal, with pledges reaching “only” $12,809,906 from nearly 20,000 people and businesses.

The fact that so many people pledged so much for the Edge caused some in the mobile phone industry to sit up and pay more attention to Ubuntu than ever before. Canonical has since started detailed negotiations with several phone manufacturers about developing one or more devices that will ship with the Ubuntu Touch operating system. There may still be success despite their initial failure.

The post Crowdfunding: A Story of Success and Failure appeared first on Hackworth.

What is a Chromebook?

The name “Chromebook” was invented by Google, the developer of the Google Chrome Internet browser and the Chrome operating system (OS) which is based on Linux. A Chromebook is a laptop that runs Chrome OS and the Chrome browser. They normally have basic, low-cost hardware specifications. They are designed for use primarily when connected to the Internet. They use applications (apps) that reside on the Internet, instead of traditional apps that reside on the machine itself.  You obtain apps via the Google Chrome Web Store. All data is stored on cloud services accessed through an Internet connection.

What can you use a Chromebook for? 

Normally, a Chromebook has very limited local disk capacity because of using cloud storage.  Chrome OS loads very quickly, so a Chromebook starts up very fast. Chrome OS keeps itself automatically updated with security updates, etc, so the user never needs to be concerned about that.

While Chromebooks are designed to be used when connected to the Internet, users can use Google apps such as Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Drive while offline. Chromebooks come with a built-in local music player and a photo editor that can be used without Internet access. So you can listen to music, write emails, and edit photos offline, ready for when you go online to share or save them.

Why use a Chromebook instead of a normal laptop?

Increasingly, people’s perception of technology revolves around the Internet.  Millions use social networking sites to inter-react with their friends and colleagues, and online email services like Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and Outlook.com are very popular. If you spend most of your computer time on the Web, then the Chromebook might well be for you. When you need to do a bit of word processing, you can use Google Drive to create and edit documents both online and offline. It isn’t as sophisticated as Microsoft Word, but it does do a good job.

Why use a normal laptop instead of a Chromebook?

By definition, a Chromebook does not run Microsoft Windows. It can’t run Windows applications such as MS Office (Word, Outlook, Excel, etc) or others that depend upon Windows. If your computer use demands a Windows application that has no matching one in Chrome, such as an application for company book-keeping, then you need a normal Windows laptop and not a Chromebook.

You may also be like many and be very concerned about the safety of your documents. With a Chromebook, they are all stored on the cloud in Google Drive. Some prefer to have multiple backups on local network drives, as well as using the cloud.

So, there are many advantages, and some disadvantages, to the Chromebook. In a world where so much time is spent online, demand for low-cost access has meant widespread popularity of low cost devices like the Chromebook. You may well make one your next purchase.

The post Do Chromebooks Have a Role? appeared first on Hackworth.

Watch Design

The Pebble is a simple, thin design with a flat front and back. It is sealed to protect against water immersion so it can be worn while in the shower or swimming. It comes with a basic rubber watchstrap, which can be changed easily as the connections are a standard size. It has a low-power always-on monochrome 1.26 inch display with 144×160 pixels.  It is available in five colors including black and white.

It has a backlight which comes on when a button is pressed, or if the watch is shaken gently (it has a built-in accelerometer).  Talking about buttons, it doesn’t have a touch sensitive display; there are three buttons on the right side and one on the left to navigate through watch functions and make selections.

The watch doesn’t play sounds, but uses vibrations to grab your attention. The watch needs recharging about every 5-7 days via a magnetically-attaching charger cable as the case is sealed.

Main Features

The Pebble is a programmable watch with Bluetooth 4.0 (low power) capabilities.  It acts as a companion to an iPhone or Android phone. There is an official Pebble app for iOS and Android on their app stores that let you download new watchfaces and apps to the watch. There are many apps available to improve watch-phone communication and add extra features to the watch. Major app developers such as Runkeeper have started building in Pebble support to their phone apps.

The Pebble can be configured to receive notifications of events that occur on the phone. For example, each time a text message arrives, you can set your Pebble watch to vibrate and display the message.  It can notify you of any event that your phone would notify you about.

As standard, the watch can be used to accept or decline incoming phone calls, or accept them. It can control your phone’s music app – display the currently playing track, pause/restart play and move forwards or backwards through the play list. Advanced third-party music management apps let you adjust the playback volume and have many other useful features.

In Use

The best feature for many Pebble watch owners is the notifications. Having them sent to your wrist means you can leave your phone on mute in your pocket until you get a Pebble message about something that does need you to respond to it. It is much easier to check your wrist than dig out your phone EVERY time your phone gets an SMS or email.

The phone costs $150, and that mostly goes to pay for the guts of the device. It isn’t as flash as the Galaxy Gear by any means, but it DOES look great, it works well, the software used on the phone and the watch have received many serious upgrades this year, and third-party developer support is outstanding. Oh, and a hardware support environment is growing, including a wide range of skins to change the watch’s color.

The post Wearable Tech: What Is the Pebble? appeared first on Hackworth.