Famine City

Update to security post

Less than 24-hours after I made this post, apparently there were fraudulent charges on my credit card. The good kids at Capital One found it and I was able to close the account before damage was done. Will I change my own personal security habits? Probably not. Just goes to prove that there has to be a ton of pain to actually drive behavioral change.

Security is a myth

Have you ever read one of those emails with the security notice on the bottom and scoffed? Me too. Yesterday I was reading an article about security with iPhones and people are concerned about security. People were making comments on how the Palm, BlackBerryor other devices are more secure than an iPhone. Security on the web, email and mobile devices is largely a myth. It's not the devices or technology are inherently insecure; admittedly some are not very secure by design. Some of the best security is breached by our usage habits and this undermines any security the technology may have built into it. 

Unless you work for the CIA/FBI or otherwise, there's holes in your security. My suggestion is live with it. Let's look at a few examples. 

- Look through your email attachments and tell me there isn't corporate documents, presentations, graphics or otherwise? If you work in a corporation, it's a guarantee you'll find items in your email that shouldn't be there. Let's right the ship here, email isn't secure. The connection to server isn't secure. It wasn't designed to be secure and you probably use the same password as you do for something else as well. 

- Your web browsing isn't secure either. Any HTTPS protocol might be used for your financial institution, but that's about it. Most other websites are exposed as well and even secure layers aren't foolproof. How about the rest of your browsing experience? Even if you use the "secure/private" browsing in Chrome or Firefox, you're internet provider can still monitor you. If you are interested in more secure browsing, try Megaproxy. I just jumped on two wireless networks in my neighborhood, you know what they are searching for? I do and it took me about 3 minutes to figure something meaningful out about what they were doing. 

- Walk around your office, if you work in a corporate environment, and see how many people actually leave their computers logged in and open. Try getting into your building after hours and onto your floor. People entering and exiting the building allow just about anyone in the doors. Why? They are being courteous and being neighborly by holding open the door. 

I won't belabor the point anymore. We're not a secure society, unless we're in a heightened threat level (joke). Like the door example above, we value courtesy and are inherently trusting until it is time to not be trusting. The biggest loopholes in security isn't the technology, it's us. Furthermore, it's easier to deal with the problems that arise if someone exploits the security than actually taking measures to be secure. Admit it. Move on. 

follow me on twitter @marty_b

Quick guide to video on the web

Below is something I did to begin to categorize all of the video services on the web. The main thing it is designed to do is really serve as shorthand for helping people organize all of the services that are out there. By design, this is supposed to be a 5-minute presentation, but you can imagine it needs a speaker to give it justice. Nevertheless, the idea at its core is simple there are more video services emerging all the time, but as they pop up, it seems as though you can categorize them fairly simply according to their business model. If you are in the space a lot, you'll recognize a few omissions, porn, p2p apps, and live streaming. Those in particular fell outside of the radar here. 

I'd love to get any type of feedback or improvements to this as I've yet to present it. 

Sorry for the delay in blogging, it's not the ideas that I'm lacking to write about, it's the time. Follow me on twitter @marty_b.

How well do you know me? Txt, email, phone, dm, Twitter... Home phone?

It was so casual. So easy. You needed to contact people and you'd call them at home. Maybe, and only if it was an emergency, you'd contact someone at work. With all of the ways to contact someone, what's the right way to reach out and "touch" someone (remember that old, AT&T ad)? I started conducting some informal research on the topic. What's the right way to reach out and touch someone? In a non-harassing way, of course. Here are my results: 

1. Txt- this is the starting point. Everyone tends to agree with a casual txt message is the right way to start the conversation or reaching out to someone, given you know them. However, just because you have my digits doesn't mean that you should call. Appropriate for business only for co-workers or established relationships. Don't txt me if you don't know me. 
2. Twitter/IM- I know these are not the same thing, but you can DM someone on Twitter, right? Pretty much the same as an IM in my book in terms of the direct message. This is the second rung of reaching out. This is a form of communication that I do not use with my professional contacts (yet). 
3. Facebook me - send me a note on Facebook, or find me when I'm on Facebook and IM me. This contact method falls into the same category as Twitter, don't use this method unless you really know me, meaning that we've had a conversation in which we communicated something meaningful, like our shared love for bourbon. 
4. Email- send me an email. This is pretty much the standard issue of contacting someone, business or personal. This is the most appropriate for business or personal realtionships. 
5. Mobile phone- my cell phone is the first number that I give to people. When I'm asked what my home phone number is, I actually have to look it up in my phone or dial it (after almost ten years). This falls into work, home, play, whatever. It's the first number that I hand out and if you know me, you can then txt me. 
6. Contact me through my friends - ask my wife or one of my friends to ask me to give you a call. My social network is pretty tight, word gets around quick here in the 'Nati. You better know me if you expect a call back from this source. 
7. Home phone- you probably really don't know me or I owe you money if you're trying to contact me this way. My home phone is pretty much relegated to bill payment and/or account related information. In other words, you don't know me and I probably won't call you back. It seems the only important calls I get here are the ones at 5:45am telling me my kid's school is being called off for the threat of snow or Hoxworth Blood Center. I have some popular O-Positive going on apparently. 
8. All other forms of contact, from FedEx to snail mail. You really don't know me or just want to sell me something. FYI- I shred your documents and attempted to get off your mailing list. Somehow you made it through. You and/or your company is probably not remotely close to being on my radar.     
9. Voicemail in all forms are pretty much non-committal. I don't listen to voicemails. I'll return your call promptly, but I won't listen to voicemail unless I am explicitly awaiting your dial.  

Contacting someone used to be so simple. It simply isn't that easy anymore. It reminds me of the Seinfeld where the Keith Hernandez did level jumping on the friendship by asking Jerry to help him move too soon into their friendship. There are rules as to which contact method that you use. Whether they are explicit or implied, better figure them out or people, like me, may not return the communication.  

follow me on twitter @marty_b