Tag Archive for Google

| May 21, 2013
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Hotmail is Dead

Hotmail is DeadHotmail is dead. Microsoft (MSFT) has completed the transition from Hotmail to the new Outlook.com. The Hotmail replacement has more than 400 million accounts. According to a blog entry at Office.com most Hotmail users will not notice much difference. They can continue to use those accounts as long as they choose and can claim an Outlook email address whenever they like.

HotmailWriting in the company blog, Dick Craddock, Outlook.com’s group program manager said that Hotmail had more than 300 million active accounts that had to be moved. MSFT completed the epic live upgrade in only six weeks. The upgrade from Hotmail to Outlook.com required communicating with hundreds of millions of people, upgrading all their mailboxes and making sure they preserved  every email, calendar, contacts, folders, and personal preferences.

The new Outlook email client has several different features from Hotmail, such as two-factor authentication, an updated calendar and app as well as integration with cloud service Skydrive and Skype. it allowed users to connect easily with Facebook (FB), Twitter and LinkedIn (LNKD).

Outlook.comGigaOm reports that MSFT will even allow collaboration with Google users. They report that:

... if you’re reading an email from a Gmail user, you can reply with a 
chat icon from your Outlook.com inbox. Or, if you and your 
Google-oriented buddy are collaborating on a document in Microsoft
Skydrive (as opposed to, say, Google Drive), you can send an instant
message to your Google contact with the click of a button. Microsoft
is also rolling out Google Chat integration.

All of these new features haven’t thrilled everyone, Mr. Craddock is quoted in the IBT, “Of course, whenever a widely used consumer service makes any substantial change, there will always be some folks that don’t like it, and that shows up in the feedback…”

Microsoft logoHotmail was one of the first web-based email services. Founded by Sabeer Bhatia and Jack Smith it was launched on July 4 1996 as “HoTMaiL”. Microsoft bought the web email service in 1997 for an estimated $400 million, and it was rebranded as “MSN Hotmail”.

Outlook.com was launched in February 2013.  It’s based around Microsoft’s Metro design language, and closely mimics the user interface of Microsoft Outlook.

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For anyone who has ever had to be involved in a hot email upgrade you should recognize the technical feat moving Hotmail to Outlook.com really was despite occasional problems. During most email system upgrades, anything that can go wrong will go wrong. There will be power or network issues that will interrupt the mailbox transfer across the wire, there will be Confusedusers with 32 Gb of email messages, there will be people who file their active messages in the trash can (yes, I’ve seen it) there will be strange shared calendars and accounts that just won’t transfer unless you move them item by item to find the corruption.

Kudos to MSFT for migrating Hotmail to Outlook.com, lets see if it matters in the face of Google’s (GOOG) Gmail and Doc’s.

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Category: Cloud computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| May 9, 2013
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Tech Disrupters

Tech DisruptersThe BusinesInsider notes that analysts at investment bank Citi (C) have issued a new research report, that takes a look at 10 disrupting technologies, According to the BusinessInsider these technologies will change the way we do business. The  firm which took $300 billion dollar taxpayer-funded bail-out looked into practically every sector you can think of: energy, entertainment, IT, manufacturing, and transportation among them.

SDN is too cheap to resist.One of the information technologies that Citi called a disrupter is Software Defined Networks (SDN). SDN’s simplify IT networks by separating the Control Plane (the intelligence) from the Data Plane (the packet forwarding engine). “Instead of having intelligence distributed across the network in separate boxes, SDN centralizes the Control plane in an overriding software layer which disseminates instructions to each router or switch.”

Citi claims that SDN is too cheap to resist. They cite data from IDC that says Software Defined Networking is expected to grow from just under $360 million in 2013 to $3.7 billion in 2016. Revenues are likely to be split between startups, traditional network vendors like Cisco (CSCO), and big IT vendors like IBM (IBM), HP (HPQ), and Dell.

SaaSThe progonistators at Citi also identified SaaS another disruptive opportunity. The article explains that Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is Internet-based software delivery. Basically customers can use software that they’d otherwise have to buy via downloads or at a store. Examples include Google (GOOG) Apps, Microsoft (MSFT) 365 and Amazon (AMZN) web services.

In 2012, the SaaS market grew 26% to become an $18 billion market according to market research firm IDC.  According to Citi’s survey, SaaS has already captured 8% of their software wallets so far and firms expect to increase spending to 70% of their budget over time — a 9-fold increase.

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The Citi progonistators are so smart, they are at least a year behind the Bach Seat. I have covered cloud since 2011. I think we all know that cloud computing and software defined networking are information technology disrupters. Thanks guys.

 

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Category: Security | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
| April 16, 2013
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Dropbox Adds AD for SSO

Dropbox Adds AD for SSOWhen people talk about the consumerization of IT, Dropbox is invariably part of the discussion. Dropbox, like Box, Google Drive, Microsoft SkyDrive and others is a cloud-based storage system that enables users to sync and share files. This can and often is done without IT intervention, potentially putting sensitive data at risk or organizations out of compliance according to Debra Donston-Miller at InformationWeek.

DropboxHoping to land some street cred with corporate IT, the consumer cloud file storage leader Dropbox, rolled out Dropbox for Teams, with security tweaks designed to give companies more control over what their users do with Dropbox, (which I covered here).

Now Dropbox has announced a rebranding, from “Dropbox for Teams” service to “Dropbox for Business” with an eye toward business and its IPO.  So it is taking notice of existing enterprise authentication infrastructure to grow its customer base into authorized corporate use.

Active DirectoryThe InfofWeek article says Dropbox will now add single sign-on (SSO) capabilities to its Active Directory integration and is working with several partners to ease that integration. “Active Directory is really core to IT architectures, security and compliance strategies,” Kevin Egan, Dropbox VP of sales, told InformationWeek. “It lies at the heart of security, so we’re going to make it a lot easier for customers to plug-in to their existing Active Directory infrastructures, and leverage things like secure sign-on.”

Thomas “Tido” Carreiro, growth engineering lead for Dropbox, explained in an interview that the integration with Microsoft’s Active Directory will let companies use the work they have already done in setting security and authentication policy. This helps end users and admins alike, he said. “It’s good for the end-user not to have another password to remember — they can just use what they’re familiar with”

Two-factor authenticationMr. Carriero also claims the new Dropbox for Business will be good for IT Pro’s. “Admins can set up security policies depending on the nature of the data being stored, and they can do things like set password requirements, reset passwords as often as they’d like, set up two-factor authentication, set up other kinds of authentication — whatever they have decided on for their business.”

According to Dropbox’s Egan and Carriero, the firm will provide SSO out of the box. Dropbox SSO uses the industry-standard Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML), so it will also integrate with any large identity provider companies are using or with companies’ own SAML-based federated authentication systems. DropBox SSO partners include: Ping Identity, Okta, OneLogin, Centrify and Symplified.

The author notes that Dropbox has some pretty stiff competition in the cloud-based storage space, including no less than Google (GOOG) Drive, SugarSync, Apple’s (AAPL) iCloud, Box,net, and Microsoft’s (MSFT) SkyDrive. But the SSO integration with Active Directory is an important step forward in making Dropbox a corporate tool, and not just a tool for consumers.

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The producers of these consumer targeted technologies need to recognize that for deals in tens of thousands of seats, firms like Dropbox, Box and Evernote need to offer those of us charged with protecting the firms assets assurances about security, privacy, and integration with Microsoft Active Directory.

Despite that, Box Enterprise GM Whitney Bouck also told CITEworld, “The premise of Box is to make it super-easy to share, communicate, and collaborate … At its most open, there should be as few controls as possible.”

Data breachAnd then there are the security breaches. In 2011, Dropbox accidentally pushed a code update that introduced a bug into the company’s authentication mechanism, allowing third parties to log into user accounts and access files. Last year, hacks at other Web sites allowed attackers to penetrate accounts used by Dropbox employees, including a document from which they may have been able to harvest email addresses. In August, those email addresses were apparently used to send Dropbox users spam.

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Category: Cloud computing | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
| March 27, 2013
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Mobile Patent Troll Sues Everyone

Mobile Patent Troll Sues EveryoneSurprise, surprise there’s another mobile-related patent lawsuit. at GigaOM says this time the plaintiff is an obscure Delaware-registered limited liability non-practicing entity called Steelhead. The patent in question covers ‘mobile radio handover initiation determination’ – in other words, choosing which cellular base station has the best signal as the handset moves from one place to another.

Cell phonesThe defendants are a who’s who of the mobile world: Apple (AAPL), AT&T (T), Google (GOOG), HTC, Kyocera (KYO), LG (LGLD), MetroPCS (PCS), Motorola Mobility, NEC Corporation (6701), Pantech, Research In Motion (RIMM), Sony (SNE), Sprint (S), T-Mobile, Verizon (VZ) and ZTE (763). The article says these firms committed the mortal sin of allowing their mobile phones to act as mobile phones. But the interesting thing about this particular suit is the origin of the suit – or, more precisely, the reporting around that origin.

Mr. Meyer reports that U.S. Patent No. 5,491,834 comes from BT (BT) was filed in 1993 and granted in 1996, the patent is still listed by the USPTO as belonging to BT. In its court filings provided by the author, (the Motorola/Google example is here), Steelhead notes that it “owns all rights of recovery under the ‘834 Patent, including the exclusive right to recover for past infringement”.

The author suggests that this case may not BT “aggressively monetizing” its patent portfolio. BT told Mr. Meyer, “BT sold all of its rights to the patents last year. We have no involvement in Steelhead Licensing LLC’s litigation activity.”

BT claims the troll is not a shell front for the firm. A spokesperson for the telecom giant told GigaOM,  “BT doesn’t share in Steelhead’s licensing income”.

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I have covered the mobile patent wars many times here. I don’t know why I find patent trolling so interesting to follow. Maybe its the same reason I watch NASCAR highlights, for the crashes, or the buy a few Powerball tickets, just in case.

Maybe someday all the money spent on lawyers will actually go back to making things and creating jobs.

Patent warsShame on BT if this is a legit patent and they were not smart enough to enforce their claim when they had it. I’m no lawyer, it seems to me that mobiles that can’t find a cell tower to connect to don’t work.

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Category: Business | Tags: , , , , , , ,
| December 27, 2012
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F-Secure’s Top 7 Security Predictions for 2013

F-Secure's Top 7 Security Predictions for 2013As the new years looms, all kinds of firms start making predictions, mostly to boost their sales next year,  I will be looking at a number of firms predictions for next year, a lets see how smart they are this time next year.

Here are top 7 security predictions for 2013 from Finland based F-Secure Labs’ shared with Help Net Security.

The end of the Internet as we know it1. The end of the Internet as we know it? – Secure Labs predicts that the ITU WCIT in Dubai could mean the end of the Internet (which I covered here and here). Sean Sullivan, Security Advisor at F-Secure Labs says that the World Conference on International Telecommunications, could have a major impact on the Internet as we know it. “The Internet could break up into a series of smaller Internets,” Sullivan says. “Or it may start to be funded differently, with big content providers like Facebook and Google/YouTube having to pay taxes for the content they deliver.”

rb- WCIT has concluded with the US and most of Europe refusing to sign the treaty due to language backed by Russia and China that could have large ranging impacts on Internet freedom.

2. Leaks will reveal more government-sponsored espionage tools – “It’s clear from past leaks about Stuxnet, Flame, and Gauss that the cyber arms race is well underway,” says Mikko Hypponen, Chief Research Officer at F-Secure Labs. While we may not always be aware of nation-states’ covert cyber operations, we can expect that governments are more and more involved in such activity.

Commoditization of mobile malware will increase3. Commoditization of mobile malware will increase – The Google (GOOG) Android operating system has solidified in a way that previous mobile operating systems haven’t, extending from phones to tablets to TVs to specialized versions of tablets. The more ubitiquous it becomes, “the easier to build malware on top of it and the more opportunities for criminals to innovate businesswise,” Sullivan says. Mobile malware will become more commoditized, with cybercriminals building toolkits that can be purchased and used by other criminals without real hacking skills. In other words, malware as a service, for Android.

4. Another malware outbreak will hit the Mac world – First it was Mac Defender and then Flashback that attacked Apple (AAPL) Macintosh’s. According to the article, the Labs predict 2013 will bring another Mac malware outbreak that will have some success within the Mac community. Sullivan says. “And while there have been smart security changes to the Mac OS, there’s a segment of the Mac-using population who are basically oblivious to the threats facing Macs, making them vulnerable to a new malware outbreak.”

Smart TVs will become a hacker target5. Smart TVs will become a hacker target – Smart TVs are wide open to attacks. “It’s very easy for hackers to scan for smart TVs on the Internet,” says Sullivan. “When found, they only need to use the default username and password, and they’re in.” 2012 already witnessed LightAidra, a breed of malware that infected set-top boxes. 2013 could see smart TVs being used for such purposes as click fraud, Bitcoin mining, and DDoS attacks.

Help Net Security reports that hackers can tak control of Samsung Smart TV’s (rb- I wrote about this threat a year ago, here).

6. Mobile spy software will go mainstream – 2013 may see a rise in popularity of tracking software, and not just for parental control purposes speculates the author. There has already been growth in child safety apps that monitor kids’ activities, such as, their Facebook behavior. “Of course this kind of software can also be used to spy on anyone, not just kids,” Sullivan says. “The more smartphones there are, the more people will be seeking out software like this – to find out what their ex is up to, for example.”

Free tablets will be offered to prime content customers 7. Free tablets will be offered to prime content customers – Tablets and e-readers are all the rage, and more and more often in closed ecosystems such as the iPad with iTunes or the Kindle with Amazon (AMZN). As the Kindle price keeps dropping, the Labs predict that 2013 may bring a free e-reader or tablet for prime customers of companies who charge for content, like Amazon or Barnes & Noble (BKS). “Closed ecosystems are more secure, but you have to trust the provider to protect your privacy,” says Sullivan.

Do you think F-Secure’s Top 7 Security Predictions for 2013 are right?

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