Open Source More Secure?

In a study of 11 major open source projects, Fortify labs discovered multiple vulnerabilities in every one.

Technology (& Security) in Agriculture

Information Technology is beginning to make its way into the agriculture world. Along with Information Technology comes a great anecdote for the need for Information Security controls.

Real Life "Sneakers"

Ever wonder where those guys in the movie Sneakers work in real life? Popular Mechanics found and interviewed one from the NSA.

Wedge of Discouragement

I love this story for putting a little bit of perspective on why keeping a positive outlook on life is so important.

One day the devil was having a sale, hawking his many diabolical tools of the trade. On display, with their price tags attached, were all the devil's tools and weapons: The arrows of jealousy, the hammer of anger, the dagger of worry, the slingshot of doubt, the axe of hatred and numerous others.

But one tool stood out above them all. Displayed prominently on a pedestal high above the rest of his wares was showcased, "The Wedge of Discouragement."Intrigued by this little tool, which was dented and worn with use, a curious shopper inquired about the price, because the wedge cost more than all the other tools combined.

"Ah yes," said the devil, "THAT is my favorite tool of all. You see, it's so easy to use. It hardly takes any effort. All I have to do is get the very tip of the wedge into my victim and the rest is easy. Once the wedge is in, I just tap it ever so slightly and it slides in deeper and deeper.

"Sometimes I don't have to do anything - my victims drive the wedge in deeper all by themselves! A small opening soon becomes a gaping crack, making room for the rest of my tools. Before you know it, my wedge has completely split a person's dreams, hopes and aspirations in two."

"That's why the wedge of discouragement commands such a high price - because it's my most effective tool. It has opened more doors for me than all my other tools combined."

Research and data

Wired magazine published an article on the effects of massive amounts of data on new research that has me thinking today. I may have to use this for a research project.

Presenters Everywhere Beware? Or Embrace?

How would you react if you were making a big presentation and everyone in the room was chatting and having sidebar conversations? With all the blog, microblog, and chat websites out there days, how do you know they are not? CNN reports even without WiFi, the comments may be pouring down while you speak.

Top Security Tools

At least in the humble opinion of Security Focus these security tools are the best.

10-dirty little secrets for IT Pros

TechRepublic has a great article on the "10-dirty little secrets for IT Pros".

Classic Speeches

Boyd K. Packer delivered a fabulous address on emotional and spiritual self reliance at a BYU Fireside in May of 1975.

The Widget World

GCN reports that widgets are changing the application development landscape. Does this have any affect on Software Project Management?

Ben Shneiderman | Visualize data

ARE COMPUTERS making everyone more visual? Perhaps, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing, said Ben Shneiderman, professor of computer science at the University of Maryland. Interview by GCN.

Pesky Windows Passwords

Can't remember your Windows password? Petter Nordahl has the answer in a handy boot disk.

Dark Reading's Best Ever List (Part Two)

Dark Reading published their 2nd edition of the "Most Popular Articles" list. These guys publish some very compelling articles.

Man-in-the-Middle

I've seen IT Security professionals using ParosProxy to test web applications. Interesting tool.

Sports in Perspective

A little known and probably underreported story of what sports should really be about. On the surface the story is about two girls helping an opposing player round the bases on her only career home run. The deeper meaning is for each one to apply to our own lives and decide if that kind of spirit is in our own hearts.

Key RSA Messages

Ex-CIO of CA, Dave Hansen, speaks about the need for IT Security Pros to "step up" and be noticed in the boardroom.
IBM Global Services executive, Val Rahamani, spoke about the need for a paradigm shift from IT Security to Business Sustainability.

Duty to God

Dutytogod.com is a great resource for planning and tracking Duty to God (and scouting) progress for young men.

Great lessons on disaster recovery

10 Lessons on Disaster Recovery from ComputerWorld.

Security vs. Privacy

Bruce Schneier has a great blog posting on Security vs. Privacy. The ACLU has a provided a great backdrop for this conversation with a flash simulation on Ordering Pizza 2020.

Hackers with poor taste

Wired.com posted an article on malicious users targeting people with epilepsy. Sad.

"Natural Man" explained via finance and psychology research

CNNMoney article "Can't save? Blame your brain" is a psychological look at why it is so difficult for people to save.

The same concept is explained by a prophet/leader (King Benjamin) roughly 100 B.C. in the following words (Mosiah 3:19 p. 153 in the Book of Mormon)

"19 For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticings of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man and becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."

Scary report on Malware

Sounds like the bad guys are back ahead of the good guys in the computer security world. Malware is up 5 to 10 times in 2007 over 2006.

Kids and high power prescription drugs

Check out this PBS Frontline documentary titled "The Medicated Child". You read some of the transcript or watch it online. This is a sad commentary on an old joke "Why do doctors call it a "practice"?" The "joke" seems rather sick after watching this.

Time to get back to the ole' blog!

“We cannot stand on the sidelines while others, including our critics, attempt to define what the Church teaches,” he said.
“While some conversations have audiences in the thousands or even millions, most are much, much smaller. But all conversations have an impact on those who participate in them. Perceptions of the Church are established one conversation at a time.”

This quote above comes from a BYU-Hawaii graduation address by Elder Ballard where he encouraged graduates to use new media to clarify and explain Mormon beliefs.

While published in the Deseret News (a Utah newspaper) a great example can be found here.

NCAA Forecast

Interesting article on ESPN.com to track come NCAA tournament time. The focus of the article is on trying to get inside the numbers to predict NCAA tournament success. The authors claim that the keys are defense and controlling the interior.