Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Which is Best For You?

Posted on by

But there are a couple of other possibilities. Some open-source wrapper APIs under construction claim to support a whole set of clouds. In fact, here’s one on Sourceforge; I haven’t personally tried it and can’t vouch for it in any way, except to say that it’s just one example of a handful out there (do a Google search).

I suspect we’re going to see more of these open-source APIs that target multiple vendors. With one of those, you can potentially use any number of clouds. As for the APIs themselves—if you’re not worried about vendor lock-in, then both Amazon’s and Microsoft’s platforms are actually pretty easy to use and are in many ways quite similar. I personally rank them both about equal in programmability.

via Microsoft Azure vs. Amazon Web Services: Which is Best For You?.

Using the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as a Phone, For Free (+ a Privacy Hint)

Posted on by

In short, yes, even though the N7 doesn’t obviously have phone-related user interfaces, you can use the N7 as a phone for both outgoing and incoming calls via VoIP, and this can be accomplished completely for free via Google Voice accounts.

The fairly easy steps:

Obtain and install the GrooVe IP Lite (GIPL) app via Google Play. This version is free and has everything you need for this situation. You still might wish to purchase the full version for $5 to support the fine work of the developer.

via Lauren Weinstein’s Blog: Using the Google Nexus 7 Tablet as a Phone, For Free (+ a Privacy Hint).

Inside a ‘Reveton’ Ransomware Operation

Posted on by

In an alert published last week, the FBI said that The Internet Crime Complaint Center — a partnership between the FBI and the National White Collar Crime Center — was “getting inundated with complaints” from consumers targeted or victimized by the scam, which uses drive-by downloads to hijack host machines. The downloaded malware displays a threatening message (see image to the right) and blocks the user from doing anything else unless he pays the fine or finds a way to remove the program

via Inside a ‘Reveton’ Ransomware Operation — Krebs on Security.

Apple owns US smartphone market while Samsung dominates worldwide

Posted on by

Smartphone market share numbers for the second quarter of 2012 reveal that occasional bitter rivals Apple and Samsung continue to dominate the market, while competitors fight over the leftovers. Market research firm IDC shows Samsung holding a 30 percent share worldwide, while Apple trails with 17 percent. But NPD’s recent data paints a different picture domestically, with Apple garnering 31 percent of the US smartphone market share, and Samsung holding 24 percent.

via Apple owns US smartphone market while Samsung dominates worldwide | Ars Technica.

Groupon shares fall 27% on disappointing results

Posted on by

Meanwhile, stiff competition from rivals such as LivingSocial, Amazon.com and Google, may be compressing margins, by offering participating merchants higher shares of deal revenue. Gross margin in the second quarter fell 2.4 percent from the first quarter, to 76.2 percent.

via Groupon shares fall 27% on disappointing results – chicagotribune.com.

Revenue from Groupon’s international business fell 4 percent in the second quarter from the first. The international business accounted for about 54 percent of total revenue in the second quarter.

Canadian hacker dupes Walmart to win Def Con prize

Posted on by

In short, he got all sorts of information that could be used in a hacker attack. How? A bit of research and an ability to spin a few lies over the phone.

As security systems get increasingly difficult to crack, hackers are turning toward a new source of information: people.

via  Canadian hacker dupes Walmart to win Def Con prize

Hackers have always utilized people or social engineering.

Chris Hadnagy, who organizes the Def Con contest, said social engineering is a “hardly discussed, trained or defended against” threat.

“Social engineering is the easiest and most widely used way to infiltrate companies,” Hadnagy said.

Inside the real economy behind fake Twitter accounts

Posted on by

Fake Twitter accounts need some information — an image to use as an avatar, perhaps some bio content, maybe even some tweets. For merchants that need to create an inventory of 20,000 accounts quickly, this simply cannot be done manually

via Inside the real economy behind fake Twitter accounts.

By now, though, even this process has been open sourced. First-page results on a Google search for “program to make fake twitter accounts” return this forum on Freelancer.com, titled “Software create fake twitter users jobs.” There, several development projects are posted for bidding that request a program that grabs information from Twitter users’ accounts.