In the UK, identified sex offenders are facing bans from social networking sites which is to boost the reliability and security of having these social networksUK where surveillance has become a part of everyday life, with CCTV systems and all types of other video surveillance abound that may be possible with current facial recognition techniques that can scan a person’s face from any angle allowing identification without that person in question even knowing about it.
The intent is quite good but just how will these social web sites go about identifying sexual offenders is a very tough task indeed. With millions of registered users that span the globe along with the hundreds of social networking sites that may be next to impossible. Don’t expect these people to enter their true identity for that is the first thing they would make them most identifiable. To invent some form of technology that would brand them as such would be better and can indeed make the internet a safer place for all of us including your kids who are often the victims of such criminals.
Biometric Scanning to become standard for EU Visitors
The European Commission is planning to implement biometrics screening and automated security checks for all visitors who wish to enter all the current member countries. This is a move to bolster internal security which has been quite troublesome in the past years with problems like terrorism and identity theft on the rise. The plan calls for mandatory scanning of a person for biometrics information which is compared to a database of known criminals and fugitives from around the world. This would bolster or even curb the growth of illegal immigrants who have overstaying status in that corner of the world. Though much of the plan is under wraps, it would surely include pioneering technology such as the facial recognition system used in the football match series that allows a person’s face to be scanned and compared to an online database of known hooligans which allows denial of entry to stadiums and even the host country to prevent violence. Hooliganism has risen in the past years with several violent clashes between police and rioters who have turned unruly during the games.
Several games had to be moved or postponed indefinitely due to fears of rising violence on and off the courts between rowdy fans and security forces.
The introduction of a scanning camera that has the ability to reveal what’s under your clothes but not enough to reveal the skin (which is to address privacy invasion issues of the past) is sure to play a vital part in the said security plan. The information of travelers would be scanned and entered into the biometric database upon visa application which is then again checked during entry into the country of destination. The system is initially for testing with suspicious travelers who may have something to hide, such as fake passports and other identity theft cases which if successful would be implemented full-scale to address the need for increased security.
All the above measures are to address the increasing cases of identity theft, cross-country crimes, illegal immigration and other related matters. Most of the countries who are voting for the said security measures are the ones who share borders with the exception of some like the UK which is separated from mainland Europe and some other countries that form the EU who are under deliberation if they would avail or support such a measure.
Encrypted Hard Disks – Data Secure —Naaaahhhh!!!!
As the evolution of the lowly hard drive goes with the increase of storage capacity into the terabyte range and hardware based-encryption it seems that data cannot be more secure once it is stored within the said hard disk. Well, according to WindowsIt Pro, not totally for based on their testing of several hard drives that come as wireless removable storage devices you connect to your USB 2.0 ports, it ain’t that secure after all. The device/s tested was even secured by a wireless security key that used rfid technology to unlock the drive for use by authorized users only (which in the real world is anyone who has the keychain key).
The name and brand which we would not name for obvious reasons have indeed admitted the weakness and that the advertised capability of the drive was wrong. As it turns out, the true 128-bit AES security system was used only by the RF chip and the controller on the drive which was easily defeated by removing the drive from the case and connecting to a now standard SATA drive connector. The drive was encrypted, but not at the ‘military grade’ levels that were advertised for the encryption chip used only a basic encryption level which was not up to par with accepted high-encryption standards.
Both the manufacturers of the controller boards, casing and key, have acknowledged the flaw and promise a more robust system (which is to use a more secure encryption chip that is said to come out this year but is still only in development) by the end of the year. So we guess the false advertising with regards to the encryption standard of the drives should be changed from ‘Strong 128-bit AES encryption’ to ‘standard encryption’, which would only be fair for people do make choices based on the products qualities and capabilities.
Facial Recognition and Smart Mice – biometrics of the invasive kind.
The future (not actually that far off) sees computer systems that are powerful enough to map out the human face which is known as facial recognition, scanning it into a database that takes a full-360 degrees picture mapping the individual face into a digital fingerprint of sorts allowing no need for invasive security systems. Imagine walking towards your workplace which is studded with cameras that constantly takes pictures of your face and compares it to a digitized database of many other faces in the system. As you get to your terminal, you get immediate access (for the system has seen you as the rightful owner of the computer terminal) to all you stuff without having to physically go through invasive security systems (like the one seen on the sci-fi movie the Minority Report). In the movie, society has evolved into a centralized environment where there are security scanners tied into all major computer systems such as media advertising boards located in major city center’s. Advertising that is suited to one’s preferences and such other information are obtained on a person through retinal scanners that continuously scans one’s location and other information such as the case in the plot which has a rogue officer of the law being subject of much fuss. This gives an insight into the possible future of the human race and how much information technology play’s a part in that future world where nothing is secret and just about anything with the right access can get enough information about you. Hot Forest’s introduction of biometrics-technology based interface system (initially a mouse) that have embedded medical grade sensors that monitor blood pressure and other vital bodily functions to indicate the productivity of their staff based on baseline information collected as the system is implemented. Their system, ‘OPTIMAL OFFICE’ monitor’s the health of their employees through sensors (heart rate monitors) and software helping management create a less stressful workplace. This allows offices to monitor their employees productivity by monitoring their blood pressure which is a sure sign of stress or too much of it allowing better management and control.
The system works and begins to provide important information about an employee who uses the system for more than 2 hours allowing the collection and collation of vitals which are compared and rated according to standards set by the medical field as either healthy or hazardous to one’s health. Management is then alerted to whether they are under or over stressed based on these information allowing the conduction of adjustments or other health analysis tests. This is said to promote a better office for healthy people who work happily are more productive. Though many see the system as too invasive, it may offer an insight on what tomorrow would hold for us as technology become’s more of a necessity rather than an addition to the way we live day by day.
IP-Based Security Surveillance ( Part -1 )
Security cameras in its many shapes and forms have evolved into more of a necessity rather than a luxury usually available to those firms who could afford it. Developments in CCD technology and miniaturization of electronics components have allowed the price to fall steady making them widely available and easy to deploy. Similar to webcams, IP based security systems like the one from LPM, are now more and more becoming well accepted for like VoIP, it allows the video feed from a site hundreds of miles away to be sent over the internet to a security center in the company’s security center allowing centralized monitoring of warehouses and other facilities that would otherwise need security personnel saving in manpower costs.
The technology has evolved to a point that all one needs for IP-based security surveillance monitoring is a peripheral card one installs into the standard PC and the necessary cameras that are desired. Another deterrent of security systems of past was the requirement for extensive cabling which can be quite costly if one wishes to monitor a large area which needs to have all supporting cabling installed (power, video feed cables, audio cables, etc.). The advent of the many wireless radio communication technologies have also contributed to ease of implementation allowing wireless communication between a site’s central console and it’s subordinate cameras, who then send the information through the internet to it’s security base which can be a few blocs to hundreds of miles away.
[tags]Security Systems, Video Surveillance, Remote Security Systems, Asset Protection [/tags]
Malware Removal Tools…duuuhh!!!
Everybody loves free stuff on the web but once in a while, well, most of the time that is, we get duped for something that describes itself to be a free virus/malware removal tool ending up with more malware and viruses. These scams are all over the internet with many still falling for their lure of being what else, FREE.
These tools have flooded the internet and even with common knowledge that it is best to trust only programs and offers from reputable brands, many still fall victim. They can either be anti-virus or malware removal tools that are being offered as swift response to remove them from your computer system.
Big names in the Anti-virus and Malware removal development industry have known about this and they even advice that one not to trust programs even from them that are not from their own secure sites. Though they produce some of the most sophisticated virus removal and repair software but who knows what can be done if a hidden script was run while downloading their programs from unauthorized sites. McAfee, Symantec, Kaspersky are some of the most successful developers of such software that have stood the test of time. Even they are finding it hard to remove and repair the damage done by such malicious code due to the many forms and strains they are taking.
Sites that offer them without the authorization of the developer can include malicious code within the download causing more damage than you started with. For someone who depends totally on a computer system, it would be best to subscribe or purchase a virus/malware protection software which are now evolving into security systems that are customized based on a user’s needs. One can purchase them out of the box at computer retail stores or order and download them straight from their secure sites once subscriptions are done. Old software is available for renewal or discounted for re-purchase of newer versions which gives you the latest protection available based on their development. Updates are usually done online and can be done automatically is configured to do so. So to best protect yourself from identity theft, Intrusion, virus damage and malware damage install one right away for if you remain open to attack no one knows what could happen.
[tags]Computer Viruses, malware, Free Tools[/tags]