Google overtakes Microsoft in reported security vulnerabilities

Google overtook Microsoft in having the largest number of reported vulnerabilities in its products, according to the latest quarterly Threat Roundup from Trend Micro. Total reported vulnerabilities increased from 901 in the second quarter of 2011 to 990 in the third quarter, and Google's quota jumped from 65 to 82 to put the company into the top spot ahead of Oracle and Microsoft. The number of reported Microsoft vulnerabilities fell from 96 to 58, while Oracle saw a spike from 50 to 63, placing it in second place. Trend Micro explained the jump in Google security problems was caused mainly by the Chrome browser, but that none of the flaws in Chrome was as severe as those in Microsoft products.

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first published week of:   11/21/2011

10 Cloud Predictions For 2012
by Andi Mann

Welcome to IT prediction season! Again, I am inspired to throw my exceedingly fallible hat into the ring with my predictions, specifically for virtualization and cloud. I seem to have had a decent run of predictions last year, but I claim more luck than credit. I still think predictions are a mug's game, and continue to eschew both the importance and reliability of prediction

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first published week of:   12/12/2011

10 Technologies That Will Change the World in the Next 10 Years
3D printers, sensor networks, virtual humans and other technologies under development now will drastically change our world in the decade to come, according to Cisco chief futurist Dave Evans.

As computational power rises exponentially, not linearly, so does the rate of change — and that means the next 10 years should pack in far more technological change than the last 10.

Disruptive technology is, by its very nature, unpredictable, but it is still possible to look at the work being done by R&D labs around the world and see clues as to what the future holds. That’s the full-time job of Dave Evans, Cisco's chief futurist and chief technologist for the Cisco Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG).

At Cisco Live, Evans outlined what he believed to be the top 10 trends that will change the world in 10 years. Here is his list, with commentary augmented by yours truly based on interviews in the past year with numerous other industry analysts and visionaries.

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first published week of:   07/25/2011

10 Years After 9/11: How Far Did $635 Billion Spent on Homeland Security Go?

Since Sept. 11, 2001, the nation has spent a reported $635.9 billion on homeland security. But as we pass the 10th anniversary of the attacks and wrestle with dire economic issues, homeland security funds are being constrained.

A look into homeland security funding since 9/11 raises almost as many question as it answers. How is money apportioned? Are we spending enough — and how would we know? Are we, in fact, any safer?

These questions make homeland security funding a contentious issue in any economic climate, but especially the current one.

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first published week of:   09/05/2011

123456: the Worst Passwords of 2011
If one of your passwords is “654321” or “superman” or“qazwsx” congratulations for having one of the least secure passwords of 2011.

Internet users never learn. No matter how many times we hear about obvious, hackable passwords, people keep using them. And the situation doesn't seem to be getting better.

Below is a list of the 25 worst passwords of 2011, compiled by SplashData. The security software developer generated the list from millions of actual stolen passwords, posted online by hackers. Not surprisingly, the most common passwords are also the worst, including “password,” “123456” and “qwerty.” Even passwords that seem kind of unique, like “trustno1” and “shadow” are actually quite common. And why does “monkey” always show up on these lists?

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first published week of:   11/28/2011

150,000 Gmail accounts reset and contents deleted

Word about the accidental resetting of G-mail accounts has been spreading on the Internet in the last 2 days as users Tweeted that their e-mail accounts were stripped clean of all e-mails, attachments, and chat logs collected in them over the years. Google confirmed the glitch and its results, saying that less than 0.08 percent (around 150,000) of the Google Mail user base has been affected. The issue has still not been resolved and some users still cannot access their accounts. Google confirmed “users may be temporarily unable to sign in while we repair their accounts”, but did not say if the content would be restored.

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first published week of:   02/28/2011

Volume 31

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