If you are purchasing a PC today over $700, chances are the specs include a dual core processor. Multi-core processors have been thetrend for several years. A dual core processor is a CPU with twoseparate cores on the same die, each with its own cache. It’s the equivalent of getting two microprocessors in one. A typical server today has at least two dual core processors. Quad cores are also very popular too. The organization that I work for typically uses dual quad core processors for any of the servers that will be carrying a processing load such as a database server, email server or a virtual host.
But as you can surmise, it’s not stopping at quad core. Intel will be releasing a six core processor later this year. AMD will be releasing theirs early next year. These will be strictly targeted at the server market since desktop software can barely fully utilize dual core processing. And if 6 isn’t enough, both companies plan on releasing a 12 core processor sometime in 2010.
Thanks to Nick Cueva for permission to use this Photo.
There isn’t a profitable business segment today that isn’t competitive and that even includes the SPAMMING industry. Two of the biggest Spamming organizations, Nugache and Storm are currently going at each other head to head to dominate the SPAM/malware market. Yes, there is a market for SPAM and malware. Surprised? These organizations are not owned and operated by legitimate business people. No in is yet sure who is behind Storm but many IT security experts feel that Nugache is linked to the Russian Mob, aka the Russian Business Network.
Both of these organizations distribute SPAM through Zombie networks and both have been involved in highly criminal activities. Zombie networks are composed of PC’s across the globe, which have been compromised by some type of Trojan Horse which allows the Zombie controllers to then use them to send SPAM, conduct phishing attacks or other types of illegal activities. Each of these organizations control hundreds of thousands of computers. Take Storm for example. Some IT security experts have estimated that the Storm Zombie network, called the Storm Botnet, runs anywhere from one to fifty million computer systems. Even the most conservative estimates place the size somewhere around 150,000 to one million. The Storm Botnet in 2007 accounted for 8% of all malware on Microsoft Windows computers.
This year, Storm has an extremely viable competitor, Nugache. Although its zombie technology is not as sophisticated as Storm’s (for instance, Storm is somehow able to send SPAM in the native language of the receiver while Nugache cannot) Nugache has a big thing going for it right now, price. In an attempt to unseat Storm from its botnet dominance, Nugache has initiated a price war. Nugache will send one million emails for only $100. For $800 you can send 10 million emails.
It is because of the ridiculously meager amount of money that is required to SPAM a million people that SPAMMING is very profitable, even if the response rate to SPAM is only .01%. It is the sophistication of these controllable zombie networks that worry IT security professionals. Many fear that the current war for control of the malware market is only the beginning of this illegal destructive industry.
Thanks to conskeptical for permission to use this Photo.
Have you ever wanted to revisit a link that was fifty or more characters long and was impossible to remember? Have you tried to tell someone about a site with an extensively elongated URL? A great example is the link for a specific link on YouTube.
If you access such a site from the same computer all the time you can simply save that site as a favorite in your browser. But what if you want to access the site from any computer you want? Here is a great website to help you do just that,
This is a nasty link that only someone with a photographic memory could possibly remember. Simply go to tinyurl.com and paste in the link. Then assign it an easy to remember name such as
win2008book_i_want
And save it. You would then access the link by simply typing
You have to type in unique names that no one else has used before because each link has to be unique. Most easy links such as www.tinyurl.com/Brad are already used. Of course, like most technological tools, this site poses a security risk to organizations as well as a great benefit. People who use computers at organizations that utilize web filtering, such as schools and businesses, can create personal custom links for websites that are filtered by the organization, allowing them full access to these sites. For this reason, Tiny Url is sometimes blocked by organizations to prevent this. I recommend that you try it out for yourself…
Johnny Lee is a brilliant technologist who’s become a YouTube star through his amazing demonstration of Wii remote hacks. After watching this video, you’ll never look at your Wii the same again. I love this video because Lee once again proves how integral human creativity and ingenuity are to the process of technological innovation. In this case, a relatively unknown guy like Lee on center stage at the famed TED conference, reinventing the very essence of what an already popular technology’s applications can ultimately be. These hacks are insane. Don’t miss this one…
Thanks to Sherrie G. for permission to use this Photo.
A few days ago I purchased a new computer. The computer has a 4 gig hard drive — not much space for many programs. Well, I downloaded the updates or SP2 service pack the second day that I owned the computer. As we may see the hard drive is not built for that much data. Long story short; the hard drives capacity was reached.
Here is the solution: Re-install the software after a format and new partition. Well, the computer is small and has no CD drive. So, what to do? I thought that I could try to copy the software to a memory card and or an external hard drive and install from there. Guess what? The software was installed but the format was not in existence. The new installation files were copied right on top of the already full hard drive. Two other times the files were installed to the memory card and external hard drive.
After all this trouble the hard drive (c:/) did not register. Even better, the computer asked me what OS I wanted to load! I did make a selection but I had no luck. At that point I was without a functioning computer.
The problem: The programming or software on today’s memory cards and external hard drives are not always set to handle these installation problems. What we need is a solution to this problem. I have heard from other students that there is software for this situation, but it must not be an every day item. I have not seen much . . . to talk about.
Finally, I just paid for the external CD drive and I was back in business. Two things: 1. Attempting something new with available resources can lead to win, lose, or newly gained insight into a problematic situation. 2. Attempting something new can very much so be devistating to our equipment.
What did I gain, well; I understand that from a situation like this I can see what problems non-techs may have when they work with today’s computers. Although, I will be able to walk away from this task knowing that I can create software that is built for the common man or woman. I think it is a policy in today’s computer companies to think about the problems that can arise with software before it is sent out to the public. The main problem is the company that produced this computer did not realize that a 4 gig hard drive is not enough for today’s world. Solution: Do not allow the software to update, if it does the millions of customers out there will suffer the same fate that I did. Easy solutions for head-acking problemes!
Thanks to tacvbo for permission to use this Photo.
Even in a poor economy, the IT job field remains hot. Despite the current economic woes, IT employment for the first quarter of 2008 shot up more than 12% compared with a year ago according to Information Week Magazine. The US added a total of 376,000 IT Jobs, making a total of 3.8 million people in the IT field.
This bodes well for future graduates of Ashworth University’s information technology programs because the biggest increase is in the computer support specialist field which grew by an astounding 41% in the past year, adding 127,000 jobs. Network and system administrator jobs grew by 31%, adding 51,000 jobs total. Despite the sustaining perception that the IT field has been weak ever since the IT bubble collapse and that all the jobs are going to India, the industry has added nearly 600,000 new jobs since its low point in 2002. In a digital and virtual world, the IT labor market is here to stay.
The 2008 Global Information Security Workforce Study was recently released. A total of 7,548 professionals in the field were surveyed. The complete study can be downloaded at https://www.isc2.org/cgi-bin/content.cgi?category=510
The most interesting headline from the study was the fact that 70 percent of all respondents reported that their own employees are the biggest threat to their organization’s security. This is contrary to the common belief that organizations must throw most of their resources at the outside perimeter of the organization’s network to prevent outsiders from accessing their network.
This premise is supported by a recent finding that email is now no longer the number one manner in which viruses access an organization’s network. With the ease at which employers now bring in thumb drives, personal laptops and PDA’s. Network security plans must focus on an umbrella approach that guards the entire network.
Thanks to David K for permission to use this Photo.
Back in 2000, we were constantly told that the world was running out of IP addresses. This was because IPV4, the IP standard we use for IP addresses only has so many mathematical combinations, thus there is a defined limit to the number of IP addresses that can be utilized. Due to the wide spread use of IP in the world, a usage rate far beyond what the creators of IP ever visualized; the IT world was stressing out as to how to address the problem. The solution was a new standard called IPV6 which introduced more bits into the addressing scheme. In turn, millions of additional mathematical combinations were created, resulting in an equal number of additional IP addresses.
Unfortunately, IPV6 is more complicated than its predecessor, requiring a degree of training for networking professionals. We were told back then that IPV6 would be implemented by the middle of the decade and alleviate the crisis.
Well guess what? It’s 2008 and the world hasn’t run out of IP addresses which is why IPV6 is barely used in the industry today. This is because of the wide popularity of NAT, Network Address Translation, which is used by most organizations that have a WAN presence.
For those unfamiliar with NAT, Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router to act as an agent between the Internet (or “public network”) and a local (or “private”) network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers. This isn’t to say that IPV6 will wither on the vine. As of right now, government offices are required to transition to IPV6 within the next couple of years and other organizations are planning such an implementation in the future, but IPV4 is and will continue to be alive and well for some time to come.
Thanks to 3ep Media for permission to use this Photo.
I received a couple messages yesterday from student bloggers who were having difficulty embedding videos on their blog. In the spirit of open community resources, I’d like to provide you with the same wordpress plugin that I’ve found very easy to install and quite reliable. Here it is. Let me know how it works out for your blog!
Blip.tv is regarded as “the world’s leading videoblogging and podcasting service,” but it’s their community based ethos and collaborative principles that really persuaded our Ashworth University Student Life team to deveop our own television channel through this incredible company. Blip.tv’s video publishing, sharing, and syndication features make it easy for anyone to get their message heard in the increasingly crowded online video marketplace. We here at Ashworth University would like to thank Blip.tv for their outstanding service. We’d also like to encourage you to check out our Ashworth University Television channel on Blip.tv. If you are a video content creator and would like to work with Ashworth University, please feel free to contact me at the following email address to discuss the possibilities. Thank You!
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