Let's discuss...

Recap

Ever wonder how when you use Google Maps, you can often see a very helpful "street view" of your location? Well Google uses a set of vehicles (yes even bikes) to capture some information about where they are driving in the world. Collecting images, GPS coordinates, and WiFi header packets that provide the SSID and MAC address of WiFi networks. The SSID is the identifier of your wireless network (The name you pick in your connection), and the MAC address is the unique identifier of the access point (a fingerprint). Using all this data, Google then creates their street view maps and helps map out the world's networks.

So where's the wrong?

Well your wireless network can either be secured, or unsecured. Meaning that the traffic running over the network is either sent "in the clear" (unsecured) or as psudorandom noise (secured). Most WiFi routers you buy today default to unsecured, because most average people do not know how to log into their WiFi router, change the SSID, and enable security. Something us geeks take for granted, it's really not as easy as we think!

So if you have a unsecured router (you don't enter a password when you first connect) all of the data (web addresses, passwords, emails, etc) that you send is just floating out in the clear for all to see! Kind of like how you have a radio, and if you tune it to the correct station you can hear music, same idea but with you passwords! Not a great thought isn't it? On the flip side, with a secured network, the same data is first scrambled and then all you can "see" in the sky, is junk.

Google used an open source application called Kismet which is a tool to grab wireless information for various ends. In general this tool is used to see the signal strength and determine locations of WiFi access points around you. By default this tool saves unsecured WiFi data that it sees, and does not save secured data (because it is basically impossible to read without a great deal of effort). Google mistakenly did not disable the "save data" setting, and thus captured all unsecured data when it was mapping.

So Google has my data!?

Yes and no. Yes if you were sending data over your unsecured (shame on you) WiFi network, but Google wasn't interested in this data, they just wanted to map locations to improve their mapping software. Depending what you were doing that faithful day when the Google truck drove by, Google could have a couple of web address, a password or two, or nothing. The issue is that this information was being sent in the clear to begin with, and passive collection of this data without intent to use it, is not illegal. Now it is illegal to actively collect the data with the INTENT to use it for evil purposes, remember intent is a large part of illegal activity.

Here is a rather relevant example of how unsecured WiFi works. 

You hear your neighbors having an argument. They are yelling loud enough for you to hear them and all the "juicy" details. Is it illegal that you are listening in to their argument by your window? No, although it is rather nosey of you. This is the same idea as how unsecured WiFi works, it is "yelled" out for all to hear within earshot, because that is how it works. The fact that I walk by with my laptop open running a program like Kismet because I am trying to map how far my WiFi signal goes, and I happen to capture a couple of your packets of data because I have the application running, is not illegal. The same as Google driving by mapping the global network so to speak.

Google sniffed my packets and I'm MAD!

Well... It is annoying that your email password could have been picked up by Google, but look at it this way, Google has no interest in your email password or whatever you were doing at that time online, hell if you are already an avid Google user, Google probably already knows a lot more about you! If you think that you are going to sue Google like Oregon, remember that unless you can prove that Google caused damages to you, just being annoyed that your traffic got captured is not enough to win the case. 

If this happened to you, I would take it as a good lesson in securing your WiFi, think of it as a "lucky break" that Google did this and will not be using this information. Imagine if a hacker was roaming your city, sniffing your traffic and saw your banking login information? Take this time to secure your WiFi, and don't be mad at Google, they made a mistake, yes they shouldn't have collected this data, they could have done a better job with the code they used (read more about the third party who verified the mistake), but think of how useful Google Maps is, and how much easier it has become to navigate the world with it!

Google's WiFi Slip... Filtered

• Google mistakenly collected some unsecured WiFi information while mapping the planet
• Multiple countries including the US are investigating
• Securing your WiFi is a necessity! This is a good example of how it could be worse!
• Google has said they mistakenly gathered this information, and that they are deleting it unless being asked by a country not to. (read about the delete)
• Countries like Germany can actually fine you for not securing your WiFi 

No Excitement For Me

Well lets start from the obvious, the iPad looks to be around a 10" touch screen that has the exact same interface as a iPhone (similar or same OS I would imagine)

(All Images used from Engadget's Live Apple Feed)

First lets look at how Steve interacts with it:

Look at that QWERTY keyboard, how can anyone hold that in their hands and type? You can't, you will have to lay that on a table or your lap to interact well. This worked fine on a iPhone where your thumbs can reach all the keys in any orientation, but at that size, you can't do that anymore. So that leaves it with no good way to type while the device is held.

Look at Steve's hands, to hold the tablet and type.... would be one hand, or thumbs only.

Screen Interface

I can understand that Apple didn't want to have a totally new OS for the tablet, so they went with the iPhone interface, but look at how much room there is between the buttons, there has been like no attempt to optimize the screen space, it's simply the iPhone with more space. It took years to get to this? A bigger screen iPhone could have been done day 1. If this tablet would have run a modified version of Snow Leporard, then think of the power and abilities that this could have had, but instead it's watered down and boring.

Of course the device does all the same iPhone stuff only bigger, multitouch, video, web (no Flash), no suprises there because it's a big iPhone.

Who uses flash anyhow? Oh EVERYONE!

I do think that the iPhone interface is a great one overall, but this feels sort of lazy in implementation.

Overall

Ok, 10 hours of battery, one month standby, ok, so that's respectable, but not groundbreaking in the world of batteries today (You can get netbooks that do that)

The idea is cool, but I don't think that you will get any better use on your lap than your iPhone. Sure you get a big screen and for watching a video or looking at pictures, that's great. However trying to use the web, you would be better off with a laptop that has a keyboard that you can actually use.

Pros

• Big screen great for videos and pictures
• Clean and sleek
• Good battery

Cons

• Can't use keyboard well when holding (thumbs or one hand pecking)
• Same UI as a iPhone, with no attempts to make it unique
• Can only use on your lap if you want to use any keyboard intensive features

This isn't ground breaking, this is size scaling with hype. Hype that makes a device that does media well, but interaction poorly.

Stay Safe - With A Little Preparation

1) One thing you should be sure to click on when you associate to the hotel WiFi is, be sure to indicate this is a public network (Vista and above). This will disable the file and print sharing and help protect your computer from people browsing the network.

2) Along with the above tip, getting a router to use in the room is a good idea. If the hotel has LAN jacks, the setup is as simple as plugging the router in. If you have to use WiFi, you need to get a router that supports a "client repeater" mode (most do in some form). Having a router between you and the hotel WiFi works along the same lines as your router does at home. It hides your computer from the "internet" and in this case, other users on the hotel WiFi. A added bonus is that you can easily hook up multiple computers to your room.

3) If you want to dig a bit deeper, a VPN subscription gives you a private tunnel onto the internet, keeping your data safe while you use the internet. (A list of free and pay VPN's can be found here)

Always be aware of where you are getting your internet, be extra careful about using web sites that contain valuable information and don't use a HTTPS connection. Sites are being better about securing connections, but always be aware of what is going on!

Engadget Windows 7 - What You Need To Know

Paul Turrott's Windows 7 Page

CNET's Review of Windows 7

Ars Technica Review of Windows 7 (Long but indepth)

Same words of wisdom that have come in the past for new operating systems. If you system is a year or 2 old and is currently running Windows Vista, the upgrade will be seamless and probably make your system run better. If you have Windows XP on a machine that is older than 2 years, then getting a new PC is your best bet.

The basis for metered internet from the view point of the ISPs is simple, since the FCC has backed Net Neutrality (FAQ on NN from PCWorld), ISPs can't discriminate from data going across the internet. This means, that your Skype call, YouTube video, Online game, and web page all have to be treated equally when it comes to getting you your data. This is a generally looked at as a good thing for the internet as a whole because people don't have to pay for "premium internet" as it were.

So Why Are the ISPs Mad?

Well think of your ISP, you more than likely have a choice of 1 cable company (TWC, Comcast, etc) and maybe if you are lucky, 1 DSL provider (AT&T, Verizion, etc). Most cites have 1 cable company because in general city governments allow the monopolization of cable providers, plus the FCC still views cable as a "growing" market, so they have more protection than the phone lines coming into your house. Whereas you may have multiple DSL providers, because of the 1996 Telecommunications Act which required local phone markets to be opened for anyone to use.

Well guess who is throwing up the latest stink in terms of metered pricing, AT&T and TWC. AT&T has both DSL and to a more limited market, UVerse, which is a lesser form of Fiber Optic which is made to compete with both TWC and Verizion's FIOS. The company's claim that because they can no longer block people from using tons of bandwidth, that they will have to charge per byte to make things fair. They claim that their costs will be to high if they don't provide caps.

For the most part, ISPs have no increased cost associated with bandwidth increases. Because of the monopolies that ISPs had for so long, they could afford to not expand their network, because of no competition. Now that people demand more from their internet, ISPs need to continue to expand their networks to keep up with demand, yes this costs money, but it is long overdue. However when a ISP claims that they need to increase rates because of their backend costs like increased bandwidth, don't believe them at face value. For 1, a good chunk of internet traffic is "peer 2 peer" based, where the ISPs need to do nothing but allow traffic to pass thru their pipes. Second, look at other countries like Japan they have way better internet and at much less cost than us, why? Because of competition.

But the biggest reason they are scared of people using more bandwidth and cry foul, is that The internet competes with their premium business models!

Think about it for a moment. You probably pay upwards of $100 a month for some kind of TV, Phone, and Internet package right? Is your phone that fancy Digital Phone service? Yep... that's VOIP the same as Skype which I talked about in a past article. Skype is $36 a year, vs around $40 a month for the cable company's digital phone that's $484 a year you are giving to the cable company for something the internet can give you for a fraction of the price! And TV, other than the HD (which is starting to become more widely available online) you can get almost all the same programs online for free! Hulu, Netflix, and other online companies offer either free, or low cost options that replace almost all of your TV you get from the cable company over your internet connection.

No wonder why the ISPs are worried about people using a lot of bandwidth, all of their premium services are rendered useless by using the internet. ISP's and cable company's are starting to become like the electric company, offering a "dumb" pipe of bandwidth and they are afraid of that.

Normally you pay upwards of $50 a year to get virus protection on your machine. You pay that for the peace of mind that hopefully the program catches viruses and keeps you safe. The first line of defense in protection is you, and your internet habits (but that is for another story.)

Microsoft in the past has had other products for the home market, such as OneCare. These worked but were fairly invasive in telling you "HEY I did something!" Everyone hates a popup.

Security Essentials is built upon the corporate level software that has been improved over the years to become a very good piece of security software. Essentials has just taken that good software, and made it lean, mean, and minimally footprinted on your machine.

I won't bore you with all the technical talk you can read that on Paul Thurrots excellent review of this software, he knows his stuff. His article also has a great writeup on how to use the software (which is VERY EASY) I am here to tell the average joe, that this software is not only FREE, but in its countless reviews on the internet, has received high praise for its ability and minimal footprint on your machine (your machine will run well even when Essensials is running!).

So save your self $50 a year. Be careful on the internet, watch your browsing habits, use Microsoft Security Essentials to keep your computer safe.

Understanding of Portable Power

• Avoid heat
• Remove the battery when using a power supply for a extended duration
• When not in use, store the battery at a 40 percent charge and keep it in the refrigerator (do not freeze)
• Buy fresh batteries from a retailer who sells a lot of batteries (avoid old batteries)
• A full discharge after every 30 charges will help recalibrate the battery

On security Now Episode 209 (First episode of the 5th year of the podcast, congratulations Steve and Leo!) Steve puts security topics aside for one episode and talks about his research into Vitamin D and let me say, his talk has really impacted me to take more Vitamin D since the FilteredGeek is a inside person :-). Now I will say that Steve, Leo, or I are not doctors so if you want to make any drastic life changes to your diet I would suggest talking to a doctor, but Steve makes a great case as to why you should consider taking at least a supplement of vitamin D, so much so, minutes after listening to his podcast I placed a order for some supplement tablets from iherb.com. (This particular type, Vitamin D3 5000IU taken once every 3 days, same type as Steve recommends)

I trust Steve since I know of the work he does in the industry (The man coined the term "Spyware"), and fully trust his research abilities. I would suggest at least reading his research on his site, he really did leave no stone unturned for this.

Note here that these people are not rummaging through your trash can, but gathering seemingly simple publicly available data from social networking sites. This is close to but not quite Social Engineering (Gaining data from a individual by deception), this is data that you have willingly displayed.

How Can I Protect Myself?

Social Networking is not inherently bad, it's a great way to keep in touch with people across the world. However being smart about what you choose to display is key. Here are a couple suggestions to help keep you safe online:

• Don't post or display any information that might be able to identify you personally
• While displaying your birthday might be fun, it can be used to help identify you
• Keep your personal details private, and only share with people you trust

For the most part, don't post publicly what you don't want people to know. Remember, posting something online means that it is now available, and most likely backed up and retrievable. What you say and do online is not always as private as you want / hope.

Keep your wits and common sense about you when using social networking, and you can keep safe online.