Everyone Has Been Hacked. Now What? | Threat Level | Wired.com

I wanted to share this great article my coworker Laura found.

Everyone Has Been Hacked. Now What? | Threat Level | Wired.com

Proud to be here!

On May 1st I started my new position at Veracity Technologies.  Before I get into that conversation I want to thank all of my previous employers.  I've learned something in every position I've had the pleasure of holding.  Why did I make a move?  I thought and prayed about this decision quite a bit.  I was afraid at first to admit that I was not fitting in where I was.  After selling my business I had a need to have a steady pay check and...well...health care benefits.  So I was accomplishing that but I was not fulfilling my purpose.  In 2000 I decided to move out of Telecom and into the IT world.  I went back to school and began taking certification exams with the goal of becoming an engineer.  This is what I did for about a year.  Then the dot.bomb hit and I was out of work.  That is when I started my own IT company.  This was out of the necessity to work.  It took off and we had a blast for 5 years.  Then I sold it to my business partner and headed back out into the world of being an employee.  My family was tired of living paycheck to paycheck and so was I.  I went to work for a communications company that wanted to be in the IT managed services business and they wanted my "expertise".

Well 4 years later and I've decided that the best place for me to be is with a company who is dedicated to being excellent at providing IT support and Managed Services to small and medium sized businesses.  Here is my info:

Peter H. Zubert Veracity Technologies 10225 Yellow Circle Drive Minnetonka, MN 55343-4667 pzubert@veracitytech.com http://www.veracitytech.com Direct: Company: Fax: +1 (952) 279-2487 +1 (952) 941-7333 +1 (952) 826-2497

"Managed IT Solutions that let you focus on your business." P Please consider the environment before printing.

I look forward to growing in my knowledge of IT and how to help businesses be there best with Technology.  We have a high standard of engineering excellence here at Veracity Technologies.  I've been very impressed in my short 3 days here.  I'm excited to share my experiences and Ideas.

I'm really excited!!!

Stay Tuned  ~pz

Ice cream sandwich

I just picked up the HTC One.  It is running the latest version of android called ice cream sandwich.  Right off the bat the voice recognition software is improved.  I do miss my menu button.  I understand that those features have been relocated.  I'm gradually finding them.  I was sceptical as to what the need for dual core processors as in phones.  Now I can see by the speed on this device and the type of applications that it runs how the power is being utilized.  Overall I really like this device.  Ishould not forget to mention the battery life on the One is very nice as well.  I seems to go for a whole day pretty easily.

Now if I could stop fat fingering the keyboard. 

Pz

Great Article from the Star and Tribune

Think twice before you resell that device

DEBORAH NETBURN, Star Tribune

Thinking of selling your smartphone or laptop computer? If you have a BlackBerry or an iPhone, go right ahead. If you were planning to sell an Android phone or a computer running Windows XP, however, you may want to think again, McAfee identify theft expert Robert Siciliano says.
Siciliano recently purchased 30 electronic devices from Craigslist -- mostly smartphones and laptops -- to see how effective normal people are at removing personal information from their gadgets before selling them.
After he got the devices home, Siciliano, who calls himself a wannabe hacker, did some digging around in the phones and computers himself and then sent the machines to a forensics expert, who he describes as "just some kid who knows a lot about computers" to see what personal data he might glean.
Fifteen devices revealed no information about the previous owner's identity, no matter how thoroughly Siciliano and his young forensics specialist looked. But as for those other 15 devices -- they coughed up plenty of private data.
Siciliano said he was able to get bank account information, Social Security numbers, court documents, credit card account log-ins and a host of other personal data off those devices with not much effort.
And the worst part? Most of those devices had already been "wiped" by their previous owner -- meaning all personal files had been deleted and the user had restored the device's factory settings as per the manufacturer's instructions.
"What's really scary is even if you follow protocol, the data is still there," Siciliano said.
So, what's the difference between the devices that still reveal personal information after being wiped and those that don't?
Siciliano said it came down to the type of device that was sold and what kind of operating system it was running.
BlackBerries were totally impenetrable, "RIM has fantastic software," he said. "They did a really good job of destroying data when you reset the factory settings."
Similarly, he was unable to get data off devices running iOS such as the iPad and the iPhone. Devices running Windows 7 that are wiped by their owners also got his vote of confidence.
As for smartphones running the Android system and computers running Windows XP, Siciliano said he recommends people don't sell them at all.
"Put it in the back of a closet, or put it in a vice and drill holes in the hard drive, or if you live in Texas take it out into a field and shoot it," he said. "You don't want to sell your identity for 50 bucks."

Business Etiquette: 5 Rules That Matter Now | Inc.com

I really like this article.  With my love of technology I'm wary of getting too casual.  This is a great reminder.  I generally avoid writing thank you notes because my writing suffers, regardless,  it is a great Idea.

Business Etiquette: 5 Rules That Matter Now | Inc.com

5 Steps to Game-Changing Relationships | Inc.com

This article has nothing to do with technology but I wanted to share it because I think what we end up talking about in business most of the time is communication.  I'm a student of communication.  I figure the more I know about communication the better I am able to help my clients.  This article gives great insight into how Men and Women see networking and relationships differently.
5 Steps to Game-Changing Relationships | Inc.com

Blogging from Florida

Its interesting how blocked up the mind gets when we never give it a chance to breath.  Now that I've been in Florida for 3 days I finally feel more clarity.  I've been thinking a lot lately about the cloud.  It's interesting how when a new technology movement comes along people will rush out to consume it before really understanding its capabilities or its risks.  Like me moving all my pictures up to Google plus.  Who knows how secure it actually is?

Its time to decide if this cloud is offering life renewing rain or dangerous thunder and lightning.  Take the positive stance.  The ability to enjoy the abundance the cloud has to offer is dependent on our readiness to consume it.  Have we virtualized? Do we have affordable bandwidth?  Are we keeping up on the latest versions of the applications we run?  How do we figure out where to start?

This where we need to make sure we have the best support team.  Both internal and external to our company. Do our vendors put us first or their quotas? Or their manufacturer relationships?  Craft some creative questions to truly understand your vendors motivation.  Talk to their customer list.  Get ready for the road ahead which leads to the airport to fly to the clouds.