What Browser is Safe? Maybe Chrome

Similar to stealing this newly featured pony segway (via Gizmodo) from someone, is the ease to which Hackers were able to bypass security on Internet Explorer 8 on Windows 7, Firefox 3 on Windows 7, Safari 4 on Mac OS X 10.6, and iPhone OS 3.

Yesterday at the annual CanSecWest digital security conference and the renowned Pwn2Own contest, these well-known companies had to watch contestants demolish their security. Geek.com provides the details,

"The well-known name of Charlie Miller returned this year and took down Safari, a feat he has achieved three years running. Vincenzo Lozzo (of Zynamics) and Ralf-Philipp Weinman (post-doctoral researcher at the University of Luxembourg) managed to bypass the iPhone OS security, and Peter Vreugdenhil hacked Internet Explorer 8. Firefox was taken down by Nils."

Each contestant that succeeded gets $10,000 and the laptop that they hacked into. For more details on prizes, check out DVLabs website.

The funny thing is that no one attempted to hack into Google Chrome. This is starting to make me think that I should download Chrome for my MAC. I wonder if Firefox 3 on a Mac OS X could be hacked into. Anyone know?

Otherwise, I think that what these companies are doing is very intelligent. This will provide them the ability to make their browsers stronger against security glitches and problems. If I were them, I would hire the people that hack into their applications. Obviously, these people could prove to be a great asset in making their applications stronger.

Spokeo your E-mail, Forget Google

When you were applying for a job, you knew that the employer most likely Googled your name to do some background checking. What if they used Spokeo?

Spokeo is a social network aggregator, it searches and collects public records of fifty social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Amazon Gifts, and the blogosphere just by using an e-mail address. Meaning you enter in the e-mail address of a person and then POOF, you have information of what social networks their on and what they are posting online.

Kawaski gives a great example using his e-mail address to show us his results. It shows his social networks, blogging, employment, and pictures including Flickr (170 photos), MySpace, LinkedIn, his blog, and a total of nine social networks. Click on "View More" to find out which social networks and your taken to the sign up page. You have to pay $2.95/month for one year or $4.95/month for three months to see the details.


When you pay, you see more details like the exact social networks Kawaski belongs to (as seen above). When you click on the matches, it takes you to the person's public page on those sites.

What about privacy? Can they really do that? Spokeo has a page on privacy, where they write that “Spokeo finds only publicly available information by default. In other words, everything on Spokeo could have been seen by you and others all these times.” They compare it to Google-ing someones name but this is a quicker way to find all the information your looking for.

If you are worried they will find out, then don't fear because Spokeo doesn't notify people that you're looking at their online content. This means that employers could easily track employee's online adventures and ex-boyfriends could track ex-girlfriends without their knowledge. Bradley says that "It must be a gold mine for private investigators, stalkers and other unsavory people."

This does cause me to be concerned. I know that if you are careful and don't make things public or if you use a dummy e-mail account for social networks then you will be fine. Although, it bothers me that searching with my professional e-mail address, it claimed I had social network accounts that I was unaware of. Therefore, it is either lying or providing false information.

Either way, It can be a positive tool for a small business, consumers, Craiglist and eBay users, job applicants, employers, investors, entrepreneurs, consultants, parents and others. It can be used to get more information about an employers that you have an interview with. Parents can check on who their kids are dating. You can check on who you're dating or a someone you are thinking of dating.

There are positive and negatives of Spokeo but it all depends on how it is used. It can be used for either good and evil. What would you or will you use Spokeo for?

Jedi Mind Tricks and Google Voice will bring Change

When Obama was elected, everyone believed the world would instantly change. Well, I have always believed that if Google was elected president then the world WOULD change.

Getting to the point, there have been two new technology releases that make this blogger think that change is finally coming!
The first thing that caught my attention and really excites me is the Uncle Milton's "Star Wars" themed- FORCE TRAINER! It's a new toy that "harnesses the same technology doctors use to monitor brain waves." Basically, the toy gives you the ability to control the rise and fall of a pingpong ball in a clear tube by sensing a change in the user's brain-wave patterns. (I'm hoping that eventually they are able to make a device that actually let's you move other objects with your mind. Then again, wouldn't that make people similar to "Sylar" from Heroes or some other superhero?)
The next BIG release is Google Voice which I had been told about off the record about two years ago in London. At that time I thought that it was only going to be a way for people to make calls and send text messages. When I received an e-mail this morning from Google inviting me to open a Google Voice account, I was taken back by what they were really offering. As the e-mail said: "a service that makes using your current phones much better! Here's what it offers:

• A personal phone number that rings all of your existing phones when people call
• All of your voicemail in one inbox with unlimited online storage and free voicemail transcripts sent to your phone and email
• Low-priced international calling to over 200 countries and free SMS
• Other powerful features like the first phone spam filter to protect you from unwanted callers, the ability to ListenInTM on your voicemail messages while they are being left, conference calling and more

Please note that Google Voice is only available for sign up in the US."

Basically it's like turning your phone into an e-mail inbox. The only bad thing at the moment is that it is only offered in the U.S.. When I initially tried to register, it would not let me because of my IP address. I had to mask my IP so that I could register. (I was afraid all the good number would be taken if I didn't register now. Just like when facebook offered user names and I waited and then wasn't able to get a better name.) I've now tested it out about and am very excited to start integrating into my business. The only thing that I like about Skype versus Google voice is that everything is integrated in Skype. Maybe Google Voice will eventually add Google chat on the side and then we would be business! I'm just waiting for the Google Voice Ipod App.

So I hope you are all ready for the world to change. What do you think will be next due to these inventions? Do you think we could elect Google for president?

The Teaching Rollercoaster Ride!

What do you do when you wake up at 5am in the morning in S. Korea?

You call your lovers in the US to watch the sunset while they watch the sunrise behind you. (DUH!) In other words I woke up at 5am! Had a nice video chat using the wonderful Google video chat option in Gmail. Then I went to the gym by myself around 10 am. Sadly, I did not have my running shoes because they were in a locker with my co-workers shoes and I did not have a key to that locker. I did some casual exercises and once again was offered to take the cycling class. (I couldn't because I had the wrong shoes!)

When I was leaving the gym, another random women named Yongsan started to speak to me. She is a house wife that just moved back to Korea from living in Rochester, Mass. for a year. She had just joined the gym last week like me. We had a short conversation, decided we would see each other at the gym again and get coffee sometime. This is exciting because that means I have another Korean friend who will be able to help me learn Korean! (I'm starting to think that maybe it is better that I make a lot of Korean friends instead of Americans. Not that I have seen many in my area.)

I get to school with no idea of what I will be doing...AGAIN! (I'm starting to learn that I will just have to adapt to the Korean style of doing things last minute.) Dana (my co-worker) tells me that the director wants me to give a presentation to the staff at 7:30pm. (I start freaking out because I have no idea what they are talking about). After we went back and forth trying to understand each other, I came to the understanding that I would be exemplifying my lesson plan in front of my colleagues. (Since I will be teaching two new books to four classes on my own they wanted me to show them how I would be teaching the classes.) I started watching the Korean training video for the book (which didn't help since I don't know Korean yet).

I was told I would be given all day to prepare for the meeting. Next thing I know, I was put in a class to wing a lesson again. Apparently, my director had to speak to some parents and needed someone to stand in for her. Then I had to teach a class that I thought wasn't permanently being given to me. I have come to the conclusion that I will be teaching this class because they keep putting me in the class to teach it. The class is difficult to teach because all the students are at different levels and some are faster than others at learning. (This will be a new challenge for me as a teacher.)

The rest of my day was spent creating an activity for the my presentation. (Which didn't get finished in time but i will get back to that).

Around 7pm I had my favorite girls come by to say "Hello" and talk to me. First, it was Bebe (I think that's her name...) and her group of friends which I really enjoy speaking with. Then my two little ones, Elle and Jennifer (picture to the left), came by to ask me some questions and practice their English. They took pictures of me with their cell phones and told me I was pretty. Then Elle gave me a Christmas present! A Spider man key chain mirror! (It really touched my heart)
The kiddies said goodbye and it was presentation time! I said a frantic prayer for survival and did my thing. Pretending that my boss and co-workers were little obedient and interactive children. I gave the presentation and they said I did a great job. ::SIGH::

Now to finish creating my lesson plan activity... then all of a sudden my co-workers and boss really wanted to help me color my drawings! We all worked together and then had a Korean take out dinner in the office. It was so nice to spend time with them and fell like a part of the group.

I'm starting to think I might be able to get a hang of this! Guess we will see what tomorrow brings!

Social Media Hits DC with Insight

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to the Social Media Club - DC event at the National Press Building on social searches versus Google searches (not how they phrased it but it addresses the point). The speakers were Chris Seline (@dumbfounder), Laurence Hooper (@lhooper), Jared Goralnick (@technotheory), Greg Gershman (@greggersh) and Aaron Brazell (@technosailor). The reason I have names in parenthesis are because these are all their twitter names. I'll explain that more in a bit.

They started off discussing the difference between social searches and Google searches. There were many conflicting views amongst the board but here is what I got. Google searches will get what you want but it cost time. Social searches are more customized and personalized to the user. Aaron Brazell gives the example of Thomas Hawk whose goal in life is to publish 1,000,000 photos on flickr. He has already posted about 20,000. If Aaron wanted to find a photo that Thomas took of New York a couple years ago then it would take him awhile searching Google to find that pictures. If he searched Flickr then he would speedily find what he was looking for.

These social searches interact with people because the results are based on other opinions. It comes down to the perception of trust in social networks. We tend to put a trust value on the information we find by ratings like Yelp.

Julie Minevich, who also attended, gives a good run down of the remaining questions that were discussed:

• Is there any value in organizing and archiving old social networking actions?
• Are mobile communities the next step in this media revolution?
• What are the ways social networking sites are trying to create revenue?
• Why isn’t Google more involved in this social media space?

I'll try and highlight some of the responses from the panel on these questions from the notes that I took. (Yes, I took notes with a pen and paper! I felt very lame. Especially because it was on an HP paper notepad)

• The reason Google has not gotten involved in social searching is because they have not found a way to make money off of it. They are waiting to see how to make money off of Facebook and Twitter.
• Blogging, twitter and all these other mobile communities are affecting the future by creating a universe in social networks. These social networks describe who we are as a person and/or company. It is becoming a way in which we create our identity.
  
• Some sites for tracking social media: Trakr, Twitterbox, Radiant 6?, Blogpolls? and Relevant Noise (Someone let me know if these are correct...)
• Facebook is behavioral advertising and behavioral marketing. The new form of advertising.
• The great thing about social networks are that they are free. Compared to the past where you would have to pay to go to a social networking event.
  
• Social Networkers are finding ways to make money by finding ways to share ads on things like FanBox.
• Keep an eye out for Aardvark, a new start up that is like Yahoo Answers and Twitter meshed together.
  

The last point of discussion was on what's next. As Aaron responded, "we are finding ways to merge real life and online life. The closer you bring both together is better." We are constantly on our phones and online. For example, the best thing about this meeting was that every person was on their iPhone, Blackberry or mobile device (sadly I have not gotten an iPhone and am very uncool). While the speakers were talking everyone was on Twitter responding and making comments. As Julie said, "It was almost like there were two interconnected conversations taking place concurrently but separately. The second, the one on twitter, was, of course, a result of the in-person discussion and the twitter comments were mentioned a few times in the live discussion, but again, for the most part, they were taking place independently and simultaneously."

By the end of the night, I walked away with more than I expected. The discussion won't end due to all the new twitter friends I have attained. ( Follow me @cbenton!) It gave me a new perspective on the future and my career in life. I am looking forward to more events like these.

What are your points of view on some of the questions.

Personal Note with a Touch of Technology

I know I should really blog about some of the insane technology that is happening these days but some people wanted to know what was happening with me.
Here's the deal. I am in a state of confusion. I signed the contract to move to South Korea and teach at a GnB school in Taegu about a month ago. My understanding was that I had to send in a packet of information to get a visa approval number. I was told it would take about 2 weeks to get my approval number. I sent all my information Oct 13th, and they received the information by Oct 16th. I was told a week ago that I would receive the approval number. When I didn't receive anything, I wrote again. I was then told I should receive it this week. It's Friday and I still do not have a visa approval number. This is starting to make me concerned. Am I going to South Korea or not? If I am not going then I am back at the beginning. Looking for a job and figuring out where my path in life lies. I guess that's a pretty good sum up of where I am in life. Confused as hell and trying to pin point where I belong in life. I have ideas, passion, initiative, enthusiasm and a drive to succeed. If only the economy didn't suck right now.

On another note, I found some interesting sites that I was not aware of.

We ALL feel like we need a personal assistant. Why can't we have one? BECAUSE they are expensive and the hiring process is a hassle (just like trying to find the perfect employee or babysitter). Sandy has so far become a great personal assistant to me. As lifehacker explains,

"an information tracker you interact with via email. Register for a free account and you'll get an email address you can send your to-do's, contacts, bookmarks, notes, and appointments to in keyworded messages. Sandy receives the email, parses, stores, and organizes the information, and emails you back reminders and agendas only when you need 'em."

I have found Sandy as a better tool than iCal, Outlook and my mother put together. It can integrate with your Google, Outlook or iCal calendar. She is connected to twitter which makes things easier and she can send reminders to your phone. I just started using her and have found it very convenient so far but we will see what happens in the long run.

Last thing, through Sandy I came to discover another service or tool, known at Jott. "With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, stay in touch with friends and family, and interact with your favorite web sites and services...all with your voice!" I was excited at first because this sounds great! BUT there was a catch, to get all the features, you have to pay for a higher membership. I'm hoping that it's just time before they come out with a service like Jott for cellphones. It would make driving and texting a lot easier. (Not that I do that...)

Picture was edited with picnik

Google Chrome Browser Download Mystery

It's just time before Google creates their very own computer or phone. There have always been rumors about Google taking over the world but this is getting them closer to that goal. They have created a new open source web browser project dubbed Chrome. The browser is supposed to be an open source that is stable, faster, secure, clean, simple, and efficient. Compared to the way browsers were created that limit the functionality that we use for them today.

The genius perk to Chrome is the ability to have "each tab in an isolated 'sandbox', we were able to prevent one tab from crashing another and provide improved protection from rogue sites. We improved speed and responsiveness across the board. We also built a more powerful JavaScript engine, V8, to power the next generation of web applications that aren't even possible in today's browsers."

They released a 35 pg comic book describing the product (if you are really bored and have the time, then you can read it.) In my opinion, they should have a press release or something short describing the product than a 35 pg comic book that you have to continue to click "next" to get to each page. I found this page that gives you a better insight into the product. (WARNING some of the videos no longer exist)

The BEST part of this release is that it was supposed to be available for downloading TODAY!! Yet, when I clicked on trying to download it from other sites the link would not work. THEN I found a link to download Chrome.

I have now started using Chrome and am not sure what I think about it. It does seem to work much faster but I do miss my Google Toolbar that had spell check and other wondrous tools. With every new service, product or tool there are pros and cons.

[Via Official Google Blog]

Cheap, Easy and Different for Business

This post isn't anything new, fancy or jaw-dropping shocking. I thought I should warn you.
I recently had a discussion with the president of a marketing communications company. After investigating my future aspirations and career interest, he gave me some bloggy advice (Yes, bloggy is a word. I should know because I JUST created it!). His suggestions were great (I'm not telling you what they were. Otherwise, you would steal them.) but what stood out to me was his comment. He told me to keep in mind that he would be reading these posts. Obviously, this doesn't mean I will be censoring my posts or creating dull post subjects. What this suggested to me was to begin sharing some things that the older generation (or less-technically advanced generation. No offense.) may not be aware of or know how to use.

This leads me to Zoho! You may think Google has it all and no other site could offer more open based software than Google. I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. Zoho has a couple things Google does not. For example, it has business applications (Online Invoicing, CRM, DB and Reporting, etc.)as well as all Google products. You can easily get an account through you're Gmail or Yahoo account.

It can also be seen as a safe alternative. In case someday Google crashes and the world comes to an end. If this happen, I will travel to China and hope they have the cure for Googleitis.

[Picture taken from Larry Hendrick]

Bye-Bye GARMIN GPS, Hello, KNIGHT RIDER!

My love for my GARMIN GPS has always been strong and faithful. I have only been angry at it once (this may be an exaggeration). The time it brought me to an empty lot where a Sonic Drive-In was supposed to be located. If you knew how much I love Sonic, then you would understand the pain it caused me. Yet, I couldn't put all the blame on the Garmin. It was partially my fault for not recently up-dating the software. I have always thought my Garmin trumped all other GPS devices. For example, a Tom Tom is complete crap compared to Garmin and Google has not created a GPS . . . yet.

Here is where the truth comes out. I think I want to cheat on my Garmin. I KNOW! How could I?!?! What am I thinking?!?!? Let me explain, I am a Geek.

Mio will be releasing a $270 Knight Rider GPS unit that greets and speaks to you in the voice of KITT. It personally greets you by name. Just choose your name from a list of 200 names programmed in the device. After that, plug in your device and drive.

What they need to do next is build the Knight Rider GPS into the new voice activated cars and then we'll be talking (that's funny! It's a pun and I didn't even mean it that way!).

Social Networking E-mail?

After reading this article, I couldn't help but think about the use of Gmail chat. In my opinion, Gmail chat has already become somewhat of a social network. When you meet others that have Gmail, then you are able to Add them to your buddylist. In Gmail, you already have the profile which includes a picture of yourself and other information. You are also able to show your status and whether you are busy or not. This is similar to Facebook and their status option.

It seems Google has a way to go before making Gmail into a social network that is utilized by users. Although I do feel that Google is farther along than Yahoo, but Google is behind Facebook in the means of creating a social network.

I think the main point is that some people would love integrating a social network into their e-mail but at the same time others would not. We all have our preferences and we all want different things. For example, if we listened to our inner child, what would they say they wanted in a phone:



What do we want in an e-mail service?

Google Me, I Dare You!

While reading different article about "You are What Your search result returns" and "When the Patient Is a Googler" made me think about how I have googled people and myself. As A Googler myself, I tend to Google people I don't know or people I'm interested in dating. I have come to find a lot of information by doing this. The Googled individuals seem to always be surprised at the information I find about them. It's simple yet some people seem to be unaware of the power of Google or search engines in general.

Here's a good example of what people are unaware of that Google can do. I was looking to purchase a temporary cell phone because I had recently had my AT&T phone stolen. I looked on craigslist and found a good deal and wanted to purchase the phone from the seller the next day. After e-mailing him, he responded very quickly. When trying to arrange a time to meet he became delayed in responding. I needed a phone as soon as possible and was getting impatient. I googled his name and his respective area that he mentioned he lived in. I found his name under a graduate from a local middle school. It appeared he was in his 40's and I thought this was the guy. That didn't help me to get him to respond any sooner.

I googled his e-mail address and found his AIM screen name on a paintball forum. This may seem creepy but I was desperate to get this phone! I IMed him which freaked him out a bit, but it got him to set up a time to met and make the transaction. I waited for him at the assigned location, and out jumped a 16 yr old punk (dressed like a wanna be gangster with a pimply face). I found my assumption to be wrong, but at least my googling got me my phone. I left him with this advice. If you don't want people finding you then make your contact information private.

After that occurrence it was nice to know some teens use their brains, as I discovered reading a Pew Report on Teen, Privacy and Online Social Networks that said:

Some 55% of online teens have profiles and most of them restrict access to their
profile in some way. Of those with profiles, 66% say their profile is not
visible to all Internet users. Of those whose profile can be accessed by anyone
online, nearly half (46%) say they give at least some false information. Teens
post fake information to protect themselves and also to be playful or silly.

Let's hope more teens follow these guidelines because privacy is really important if you want to stay safe in this Internet age.

Last thing, I am proud to say I have googled my name and nothing has lead back to the real me . . . yet.