Op-Ed

Passwords Are Not Broken, but How We Choose Them Sure Is

By Bruce Schneier, author of recent book, Carry On: Sound Advice from Schneier on Security

I’ve been reading a lot about how passwords are no longer good security. The reality is more complicated. Passwords are still secure enough for many applications, but you have to choose a good one. And that’s hard. The best way to explain how to choose a good password is to describe how they’re broken. The most serious attack is called offline password guessing. There are commercial programs that do this, sold primarily to police departments. There are also hacker tools that do the same thing.

As computers have become faster, the guessers have got better, sometimes being able to test hundreds of thousands of passwords per second. These guessers might run for months on many machines simultaneously.

The Changing Age of Entertainment: Bringing the Cinema Home

Kolla filmer & serier på Netflix med Philips HD-mediespelare HMP2000

With fuel costs seemingly constantly on the rise, the cost of movie tickets and snacks, it’s understandable why some people are looking to get their movie entertainment without leaving home. So what are the options today for kicking it on your own couch?

Streaming and Rental Services

Options like Netflix and Redbox make it simple to watch recently released movies in your living room. Netflix also offers a substantial collection of new and older TV shows. Many of today’s entertainment systems – streaming boxes, DVD players, computers, tablets, etc.  – can work directly with Netflix’s streaming services, allowing you to enjoy their digital media on a variety of devices.

Best Buy Closing 50 Stores

Best Buy Store Closure Best Buy announced in March it would close 50 stores across the country and has already closed stores in Kansas City, Mo., and Scottsdale, Ariz., according to a statement released by the company. Prior to this weekend, Best Buy had already notified five stores in Minnesota and a San Antonio store they would be closing.

The statement released Saturday said, “This was not an easy decision to make. We chose these stores carefully, and are working to ensure the impact to our employees will be as minimal as possible, while serving all customers in a convenient and satisfying way. But we also recognize the impact this news has on the people who deserve respect for the contributions they have made to our business.

Is 2012 the Year of the 3D Printer?

It looks like 2012 could be the year the 3D printer breaks out. As prices creep down towards $1,000 per unit, 3D printers are now within the reach of small design companies, and it may not be long before they’re in all our homes too. But is it time to buy? Here are three things to consider before becoming an early adopter of 3D printing technology.

OnLive on an iPad for gaming

The iPad as a Gaming Console

OnLive on an iPad for gaming

The impossibility of technology can often be well…seemingly impossible. There has been some talk about OnLive. I say some because many have deemed what OnLive claims to be able to do impossible. Many gaming sites such as EuroGamer don’t believe it is possible, but with the testing of an avid gamer on Popular Science, Dan Nosowitz says that it is.

OnLive now offers the same abilities it once claimed to be available on the iPad, Honeycomb tables—like the Motorola Xoom—the Kindle Fire and Android smartphones. So what does that mean?

Piggy Bank

Stay Smart About Personal Finance With These Smartphone Apps

Piggy BankIf you have a smartphone, you already know how useful it is in a myriad of ways. Personal finance is such an integral part of our daily lives; make sure you’re harnessing the power of your phone to keep track of expenses, budgets, and investments. It’s a lifeline in today’s fast-moving world.

Whether you are a seasoned investor, starting out with your first checking account, or somewhere in between, you can probably benefit from tracking your personal finances with a software program. Knowing at a glance just where you stand financially can help you decide whether to give into that impulse purchase, or if you need a payday loan to cover your unexpected care repairs. …

AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint and Verizon: Their Smartphones with the Best Specs

In the last few years the smartphone market has exploded. New devices seem to come out on each network nearly every month. In general, a good strategy for buying a new smartphone is to buy the highest spec smartphone available at the time in hopes of not being too obsolete until you get another upgrade. Here are the highest spec smartphones on each carrier.

Laptop on laps

Bring Your Office into Your Bed with Your Laptop

Laptop on laps

It is becoming increasingly common for people to use their laptops in bed when they telecommute. When asked why they bring their laptops in bed, people have a variety of reasons. Some will say, “I’m lazy.” Others simply prefer to lie down while watching their favorite movies online. Still, even more say that they bring their laptops to bed with them because it’s much more comfortable than sitting at a desk.

When doing this, it’s important to make sure that you bring your laptop to bed easily and aren’t harming your laptop, or possibly harming yourself. 

Microsoft and Skype

Will Microsoft Spoil the Skype Home User Experience?

Microsoft and SkypeSo what will Microsoft do with Skype now that they’ve paid a staggering $8.5 billion for the Internet-based communications company? Are you worried that your free video conferencing service will die at the hands of Bill Gates’ former empire?

The Internet is rife with our patents and rumors regarding what Microsoft plans to do with Skype. For example, tech commentator Robert Cringely is depressed that the Microsoft bought Skype because he feels that Skype will die with its new Redmond overlords.

LG 3D TV

Why Hasn’t 3D-TV Taken Off?

LG 3D TV
Image courtesy of LGEPR

Technology has the ability to enrich our lives and at a furious pace of change. It used to be true that a new product, especially one of an electronic genre, would require as much as one generation, or about twenty years, to be fully absorbed into the mainstream of life. Radio, television, and even personal computers fell in line with this general rule of thumb. But in today’s ultra-modern age of the Internet, Google, and Facebook, the accelerator has been floored.

One case in point is HDTV. This new technology went through all of the stages of early adoption even with high launch prices, continued interest while prices fell, and then full adoption by consumers, manufacturers, and network content providers in the span of only five years. At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) of 2010, purveyors of upgraded television viewing were at it again, hoping for the same adoption response rate to 3D TV offerings to consumers.

Scroll to Top