In the news recently have been a breach or breakin of one  internet website or another. In the last few weeks, we have first heard about LinkedIn, then eHarmony and then Last.fm. It is no wonder than, that companies with a major web presence, have started taking counter measures.  Facebook, the major social networking website, has started a “bug bounty” program where it actually pays hackers who  detected security flaws with its systems.

So Far, Facebook has paid $40,000 to people who have identified a weakness of the website. About 50 people  have been acknowledged in Facebook’s whitehat section (a section designated for a good hacker)  for identifying problems related to the website. Facebook is not the first company to do this. Google and Mozilla also have similar programs for rewarding hackers that identify vulnerabilities in their systems. It is like they say if you can’t beat them, hire them.  

 

http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2011/08/31/facebook-pays-40g-to-hackers-in-new-bug-bounty-scheme/

Steve Jobs – A life in Technology

 

http://www.zdnet.com/videos/tech-news/steve-jobs-a-life-in-technology/6309863?tag=content;selector-videos

I have always been a big fan of Steve Jobs. The founder of the Apple Macintosh, the iPhone and the iPad was a true genius who revolutionized the way we interact with technology. He impacted not just the computer industry but the telecommunication and entertainment industry as well. He dedicated his life to technology. Here a brief biography:

Steve Jobs was born in 1955 in San Francisco, California, to student parents who were unmarried at the time and gave him up for adoption. He was adopted and raised by a working class couple, Paul and Clara Jobs. He went to Reed College in Portland Oregon but dropped out after only one semester. For a short time he worked for the video game manufacturer Atari, where he met Steve Wozniak. Later both of them worked together to build the first Apple computer and thus the company Apple Computer was formed in 1976. The Apple II was credited with starting the personal computer revolution, which was further strengthened by the launch of Apple Macintosh in 1984.  The iMac was released in 1998. The company's MP3 player, the iPod, followed in 2001, with the iPhone launched in 2007 and the iPad in 2010. In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and after struggling with the disease succumbed to it in October 2011. Today there are millions of Apple product being used worldwide. Steve maybe gone but his inventions leave a deep impact on our lives.

For a detailed biography visit:  www.biography.com/people/steve-jobs-9354805

A Brief History of Computers

Considering how much computers have become a part of our lives, we
sometimes forget how recent a phenomenon the inception of computers
is. Although the making of the first freely programmable computer could
be traced back to the 1930s,  (http://inventors.about.com/library/blcoindex.htm)
the more noted usage started in the 1950s where IBM mainframes were
used for defense computation. The ARPANET (also created by the Department
of Defense) which is considered the original internet, was not created till 1969.
The first microprocess chip by Intel was created in 1971. The first consumer
computers (commercial IBM 5100) were made by IBM in 1974. In 1976, Apple
came forward with it's I, II & TRS-80 series which were the first consumer
computers by Apple.

IBM introduced it's PC - Home computer in 1981, which created the home computing
revolution. It was followed by Apple Macintosh computers introduced in the 1984.     
(http://news.yahoo.com/photos/first-apple-computer-to-be-auctioned-slideshow/)
I thought this slide show was really interesting about the first Macs introduced in the
1970s. Microsoft Windows were introduced in 1985 and started the competitive war
with Apple.

Technology has surely changed the way we live. The Internet has become a deeply embedded part of our everyday lives. Whether it be checking your email, taking a class, looking for information, shopping or social networking, we are using the internet in every capacity.  Such being the case, one wonders about the level of security provided to personal information available or traded on the internet.

In the news recently was the data breach at the social networking site LinkedIn. The company, which caters to companies seeking employees and people looking for jobs, has millions of  members worldwide. Encrypted password files of the site's users  were found on the underground websites where criminal hackers frequently exchange stolen information. Organizations need to invest more time and effort in protecting the user's data  they have been entrusted with.

http://news.yahoo.com/security-experts-linkedin-suffered-data-breach-172600705--finance.html