IT Executive news

• Security tech company employees are stingy in contributing to Presidential race

  30-10-2015 23:58
  
  Financial supportImage by ThinkstockThe campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Elections Commission reveal that employees from security technology companies have not been feeling charitable toward either political party’s candidates. CSO reviewed the filings of the two leading candidates of the Republican and Democratic parties along with former HP chief Carly Fiorina. With hundreds of thousands of dollars floating to candidates from general technology company employees, only work
  
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• Inventing 5G networks is hard work - but there's time for play, too

  30-10-2015 23:05
  Researchers developing 5G mobile technologies now have a "playground" they can visit in South Korea -- if they're not too busy attending meetings.
  Service provider SK Telecom opened its "5G Playground" on Thursday with partners including Ericsson, Nokia, Intel and Samsung Electronics. The same day, a group of regional standards bodies announced a series of events for "building global consensus" on 5G. They'll also "focus their efforts and leadership."
  Yes, meetings. One every six months. Each w
  
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• CIOs must look beyond their organizations' borders to create business ecosystems

  30-10-2015 19:50
  
  The Beatles had it right: You need a little help from your friends--to succeed in today's competitive, fast-paced, global environment, that is. But which friends? Why do you need them? And how do you play a leadership role vis-à-vis those friends in evolving business ecosystems?Business ecosystems are dynamic webs of partners who rely on each other for success. And they're emerging in every industry. One example is Home Depot, which is working with manufacturers to ensure that all of the
  
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• 7-Eleven takes a big gulp of customer data

  30-10-2015 19:27
  
  7-Eleven may be one of the most recognized convenience store brands in the world--and it's definitely the largest, with more than 56,000 locations worldwide. But until recently, the company knew nothing at all about its individual customers, who typically pay with cash.The 88-year-old retail chain began work on its first digital customer loyalty platform for the U.S. in 2012. Previously, some franchisees had run their own loyalty programs--usually involving old-school punch cards. "But more and
  
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• How to fight back against reputation damaging Internet monsters

  30-10-2015 19:08
  
  About 10 years ago I started watching an ugly trend with regard to identity theft. So I started looking into firms that could defend against these attacks. I think those that steal identities and attack people’s reputations on the Web are real Internet monsters and given this is Halloween week I figured it was a good time to tell you about a real Monster defense.One of the firms I wrote about was Cyber Investigation Services LLC (I made them a product of the week) and what attracted me to
  
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• Black Friday, er, Black November tech deals include cheap iPads, free shipping

  30-10-2015 18:26
  
  Online tech retailer Newegg isn’t messing around with just Black Friday anymore. It’s calling all of next month Black November as it gears up for holiday sales in what’s looking to be another all-out battle for techies’ wallets.
  Newegg hasn’t released specific sale information yet, but has outlined plans to kick off deals on more than 900 products Nov. 1-3, gaming bargains Nov. 4-9, a Black Friday preview sale Nov. 10-26, big savings on Black Friday (Nov. 27) itsel
  
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• Microsoft to test simpler get-legal process for Windows pirates

  30-10-2015 17:51
  
  Microsoft will make it somewhat easier for people running counterfeit copies of Windows to get legal as they upgrade to the newest edition, Windows 10, the company's top OS executive said Thursday.
  "We'll offer a one-click opportunity to get Genuine via the Windows Store or by entering an activation code purchased elsewhere," said Terry Myerson, who heads Microsoft's Windows and devices teams, which were recently reorganized under the "More Personal Computing" umbrella.
  "Genuine" is Microsoft's
  
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• US Army tests swarms of drones in major exercise

  30-10-2015 17:28
  
  The U.S. Army has for the first time tested swarms of consumer drones during a major military training exercise and determined the low-cost technology is at a stage where it could be used offensively.Off-the-shelf drones have brought what was previously complex and expensive technology into the reach of consumers, and the military was curious to see how much of a threat that might pose.So it brought consumer quadcopters and octocopters to the Network Integration Evaluation war gam
  
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• All CoinVault and Bitcryptor ransomware victims can now recover their files for free

  30-10-2015 17:22
  If your computer was infected with the CoinVault or Bitcryptor ransomware programs you're in luck -- at least compared to other ransomware victims. Chances are high that you can now recover your encrypted files for free, if you still have them.Researchers from Kaspersky Lab and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service have obtained the last set of encryption keys from command-and-control servers that were used by CoinVault and Bitcryptor, two related ransomware threats.Those keys have been uploaded
  
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• We're looking for an Awesome MSP ServiceNow Senior Solution Architect!

  30-10-2015 16:30
  
  Wanted: Innovative, ServiceNow Guru with an uncanny ability to see solutions before our clients realize they need them.
  
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• We're looking for a Passionate MSP ServiceNow Senior Engagement Manager!

  30-10-2015 16:23
  
  Wanted: Innovative, ServiceNow Guru with an uncanny ability to see solutions before our clients realize they need them.
  
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• Senior exec says Alphabet remains ‘committed’ to Chrome OS

  30-10-2015 15:25
  
  A story posted late Thursday by The Wall Street Journal citing unnamed sources said that Alphabet plans to unveil a single, new operating system to combine Android and Chrome in 2017 and that Google engineers have been already working for two years to combine the two OSes.
  In an apparent response to that story, Hiroshi Lockmeimer, senior vice president of Android and Chrome OS at Alphabet, tweeted, "There's a ton of momentum for Chromebooks and we are very committed to Chrome OS."To read this a
  
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• Box CEO: ‘I’m the biggest anti-shadow IT person’

  30-10-2015 15:12
  
  Box CEO Aaron Levie says he doesn’t like it when his 1,400 employees use technologies that the company hasn’t standardized on, a rich irony considering the collaboration software maker spent its formative years ducking and dodging CIOs on its way into corporations. It was a frank admission from a CEO whose company has perhaps become the poster-child for shadow IT, the phenomenon in which employees or business units purchase software and devices without the consent of IT. Clint Boulto
  
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• CSOs demanding more from cybersecurity tech

  30-10-2015 14:00
  
  CSOs and CISOs are becoming more powerful, and their wielding that power to demand more from their technology vendors, to throw out underperforming tech, and to take more risks on new and innovative approaches.
  Boards are genuinely more concerned about cybersecurity issues, said Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder at Ponemon Institute. And budgets have been rising to match.
  Over the past 10 years, cybersecurity budgets have increased by 593 percent, he said, adjusted for inflation, though 493 p
  
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• Federal IT outsourcing spend alarmingly poorly managed

  30-10-2015 13:51
  
  The U.S. government spent $30 billion on IT services in 2013, yet the majority of that investment is not strategically managed, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO). The GAO studied IT services outsourcing at three military branches within the Department of Defense (DoD) along with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which together accounted for more than half of reported federal third-party
  
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• Xen's highly critical virtual machine escape flaw gets a fix

  30-10-2015 13:49
  
  The Xen Project fixed several vulnerabilities in its popular virtualization software, including one that could allow potential attackers to break out of a virtual machine and gain control over the host system.Vulnerabilities that break the isolation layer between virtual machines are the most serious type for a hypervisor like Xen, whose main goal is to allow running multiple VMs on the same hardware in a secure manner.The Xen patches released Thursday fix a total of nine vulnerabilities, but th
  
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• Waze 4.0 packs new features, but it's still no match for Google Maps

  30-10-2015 13:32
  
  Waze 4.0 is now available for iOS, and it is coming soon to Android. The update offers a number of improvements over earlier versions of the popular GPS navigation app. But it's still not my primary app for driving directions. Here's why.Where Waze shinesThe new app interface in Waze 4.0 is streamlined; it's now easier to start routes, see alerts en route, and notify others of hazards on the road. If you choose to integrate it with your calendar, Waze tells you when you should leave for ap
  
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• CIO is pushing the right buttons

  30-10-2015 13:30
  
  Schindler Group moves 1 billion people a day. Most of those people go up and down via Schindler elevators and escalators operating in over 100 countries. Some use the company's moving sidewalks at airports. But it's not just the mechanical systems--the nuts, bolts and belts of its machines--that keep people moving. The Switzerland-based company has become increasingly reliant on its digital systems to ensure smooth operations, and today its digital organization is as critical as its mechanical o
  
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• Luchthavens investeren meer in IT om passagiersstroom te optimaliseren

  30-10-2015 13:23
  Luchthavens verwachten dit jaar in totaal 8,7 miljard dollar in IT te investeren: een budget van gemiddeld 6,25% van de totale omzet tegenover 5,82% in 2014. Dit blijkt uit onderzoek in opdracht van ICT-dienstverlener voor de luchtvaart SITA en de Airports Council International in samenwerking... lees meer
  
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• Microsoft to get pushy about upgrading to Windows 10

  30-10-2015 12:47
  
  Come the beginning of 2016, Microsoft will get much more assertive in distributing Windows 10 upgrades to consumers and small businesses, the company's top OS executive said Thursday.
  Rather than wait for customers running Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 to request a copy of the new OS -- the practice since June -- Microsoft will instead begin to automatically send the upgrade to PCs via Windows Update, the default security maintenance service.
  The push -- which some will see as too pushy by far -- w
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 10 great games for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus

  30-10-2015 12:44
  
  10 of the greatest games around for the iPhone 6s and 6s PlusThe iPhone 6s and 6s Plus are the most powerful iPhones ever released, with Apple’s latest and greatest CPU and graphics chip. And now it’s time for you to put all that awesome iPhone hardware to work with 10 of the greatest games around for the iPhone 6s and 6s Plus.These games will push your iPhone 6s and 6s Plus to the limit with gorgeous graphics and mind-blowing gameplay. Each game will help you take your iPhone 6s or
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: Bank of Personal Information: The security service you need today

  30-10-2015 12:42
  
  Another day, another data breach. That's what it has felt like this year. So, where are the security solutions?SEIM, denial of service protection, yet another encryption product, but no real offers to do something to actually protect customer data.Why?Because dealing with data breaches means dealing with real dollars. Target's breach costs are now estimated to be on the order of $252 million and counting. Some estimates put the total cost of a data breach at $154 per lost record. Smart companies
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: 4 reasons remote project management and virtual teams work

  30-10-2015 12:32
  
  Are you a project manager who needs to pitch the concept of remote project management to your PMO director? Or are you a PMO director or CIO or corporate exec building your project management model and you need to pitch the virtual project management team model to your CEO or the rest of your leadership team? I'm sure there are many resources out there that tell you why remote project management is a good idea or why virtual project teams work. Hint, if you read the phrase carbon footprint in th
  
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• UK police arrest second teenager over TalkTalk hacking

  30-10-2015 12:31
  
  UK police have arrested a second teenager in their investigation of an attack on the website of telecommunications operator TalkTalk that may have exposed the personal data of millions of customers.The arrest of the 16-year-old boy in Feltham, England, on Thursday follows the arrest Monday afternoon of a 15-year-old boy in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.Both boys were arrested on suspicion of offenses under the Computer Misuse Act, and have been released on bail. Thursday's arrest followed a se
  
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• Aloys Krechting (DSM), nieuw bestuurslid EuroCIO: “Betrokkenheid vergroten”

  30-10-2015 11:46
  Aloys Kregting, momenteel nog CIO van DSM en tweevoudig winnaar van de CIO of the Year Award, is onlangs aangetreden als bestuurslid van EuroCIO. Hoewel er binnen het bestuur nog geen portefeuilles en rollen verdeeld zijn, zou de toekomstige AkzoNobel-CIO zich graag ontfermen over de communicatie van de Europese... lees meer
  
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• With Surface Book, Microsoft targets Apple -- and OEMs

  30-10-2015 11:30
  
  Microsoft's rollout of its Surface Book line of Windows laptops looks like a clear shot at Apple and a move by the company to insulate itself from trouble down the road should any of its big OEM partners bail on Windows 10 hardware.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here(Insider Story)
  
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• 5 dead operating systems, and what their ghosts can tell us

  30-10-2015 11:30
  
  Tremble, mortals! Halloween is upon us. Ghosts, ghouls, and other undesirable creatures are prepared to slink out of their domains and into ours—it’s said that even the dead can rise on Halloween.
  In that spirit, let us light some candles, cover the mirrors, and conduct a séance of sorts to call forth the souls of operating systems past. Not so we can gaze upon their ghastly interfaces, but to see if we can learn anything from their digital carcasses and signs of a life well-
  
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• Zombies! 10 shambling technologies that refuse to die

  30-10-2015 11:00
  Beware the shambling undeadAmerica has an obsession with zombies. No, not the glut of undead-focused flicks like World War Z, The Walking Dead, or Z Nation (why do I still watch that show?), but the refusal to give up on technology that died long ago. These technological zombies persist far beyond their end-of-life, shuffling forward with us into the future, groaning under the weight of their own obsolescence.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• The secret to spooky jack-o-lantern photos

  30-10-2015 11:00
  Editor's note: This digital photo how-to, first published in 2009, is one of our Halloween favorites. If you're mixing it up with pumpkins and cameras, check out these photographic tricks and treats.For photographers, Halloween can be an especially scary time. With nightfall comes a host of photo horrors, including blurry images, unsightly noise, and mis-metered scenes. In fact, you’re likely to run into all of these ghoulish troubles when photographing your carefully-crafted jack-o-lanter
  
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• From bionics to 'magic,' MIT Media Lab celebrates 30 years of innovation

  30-10-2015 11:00
  
  The MIT Media Lab was launched in 1985 to bring together experts from different academic fields, founded on the idea that mixing and matching researchers and students, and encouraging people to draw on their unique experiences and perspectives, would yield previously unimaginable technological breakthroughs.
  Andrew Lippman, senior research scientist and associate director of the MIT Media Lab, calls it a "bubbling brew of differentiation."
  Out of that bubbling brew has emerged the predecessor t
  
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• Man whose iPhone passcode DOJ wanted Apple to bypass enters guilty plea

  30-10-2015 06:49
  Jun Feng, a defendant in a criminal case, has entered a guilty plea, removing pressure from a New York court to decide quickly whether Apple is required to aid investigators by bypassing his iPhone 5s passcode.Feng had been indicted on three counts related to the possession and distribution of methamphetamine. The U.S. Department of Justice had asked the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York for an expedited decision so as to secure evidence in a trial scheduled to begin on No
  
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• New beta build of Windows 10 enhances Microsoft Edge

  30-10-2015 01:20
  
  As part of a massive suite of Windows 10 news on Thursday, Microsoft rolled out a new beta version of its PC and tablet operating system to members of the Windows Insider Program. The big changes inside the new build are focused on improving Microsoft's Edge Browser. In particular, Edge now lets users send videos, images and audio over a network to any device equipped with Miracast and DLNA. Using that capability, they can share things like a Facebook photo album, a YouTube video or a Pando
  
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• Cryptowall ransomware revenue may flow to one group

  30-10-2015 01:03
  
  Just one cybercriminal group may be collecting the revenue from Cryptowall 3.0, a malicious program that infects computers, encrypts files and demands a ransom, according to a new study released on Thursday.The finding comes from the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), an industry group formed last year to study emerging threats, with members including Intel Security, Palo Alto Networks, Fortinet and Symantec. Cryptowall is among several families of "ransomware" that have posed a growing dang
  
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• GE uses lots of data to keep IT spend down

  30-10-2015 01:00
  
  The key to getting the maximum value out of every dollar spent on IT, according to GE executive director of sourcing Sam Guertin, is a combination of in-depth knowledge and tough negotiation.
  Guertin spoke to Al Subbloie, the founder and CEO of telecom expense management firm Tangoe, at the Gartner Symposium/ITExpo 2015 event held earlier this month at Disneyworld. The practice of taking deep-dive looks into every facet of the procurement process began, for Guertin, when he was the sourcing man
  
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• Microsoft offers amnesty of sorts to pirates of older Windows software

  30-10-2015 00:59
  
  If you pirated Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, Microsoft wants to welcome you back—all is forgiven. 
  Microsoft said Thursday that it will run an “experiment” to offer a path for those users who have either pirated or purchased an unlicensed copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 to download a licensed copy from Microsoft itself, or to use a code from a third-party reseller. Either way, the licensed Windows 10 software will be used to update the PC with a valid license.
  “We&rsqu
  
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• Motorcycle-riding robot may take on world champion racer

  30-10-2015 00:58
  
  Yamaha is working on a humanoid, motorcycle-riding robot that engineers say will use machine learning to one day ride better than a world champion human racer.
  Dubbed Motobot, the autonomous robot is capable of steering and balancing a racing motorcycle. Riding an unmodified bike, the robot – and its creators -- are being challenged to outrace Italian professional motorcycle racer Valentino Rossi,one of the most successful motorcycle racers in the worldand the winner of nine Grand Prix Wo
  
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• Lonely on the road? What about a robotic driving companion?

  30-10-2015 00:57
  
  After testing human-robot cooperation in space with its Kirobo robot, Toyota is working on a smaller version – actually a cup-holder sized robot – that can keep people company while they drive.
  Dubbed the Kirobo Mini, the nearly 4-in. tall robot is designed to detect and respond to the driver's emotions, speech and gestures.
  The robot, which could be installed in future Toyota vehicles, would not only be aimed at keeping drivers alert and calm but could collect information about dri
  
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• 20 terrifying PC horror games to play with the lights off

  30-10-2015 00:55
  
  The horror, the HORRORHorror games are a dime a dozen. Good horror games—well, those are much rarer. We've rounded up some of the best horror games ever made, running the gamut from big-budget extravaganzas released this very year to... text adventures. I'm serious.To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here
  
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• IDG Contributor Network: The case for moving to a cloud-based accounting system - the operations perspective

  30-10-2015 00:51
  
  I recently led a panel discussion with a CFO, CIO and an operations procurement manager who turned out to be something of a visionary. The three discussed their decision to move the company's accounting system to the cloud, based on a business case the manager built simply by observing that the status quo wasn't cutting it.
  In previous posts, I outlined the perspective of the CIO as well as the CFO. In this last installment, we'll examine the operations procurement manager's view
  
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• Which code is best? 3 JVM languages duke it out

  30-10-2015 00:35
  The Java virtual machine has become a popular destination for programming languages other than Java itself. Three of those languages -- Frege, Kotlin, and Mirah -- squared off at the JavaOne conference this week, with each ready to reach new milestones in their development.Frege, voted most popular language among attendees in the conference session, is a Haskell variant. The language scored a GitHub rating of 1,392 stars and is useful in cloud application development, said pr
  
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• Why client-server must die

  30-10-2015 00:27
  I write this week from IBM’s Insight conference in Las Vegas. A former InfoWorld editor in chief, Stewart Alsop, predicted that the last mainframe would be unplugged in 1996. This week I'll attend a session where IBM runs Apache Spark on a mainframe, even as the mighty beast's luster finally fades.
  I'm going to the Spark-on-the-mainframe session for the lolz. IBM loves its mainframes because they sustain one of the few noncompetitive hardware businesses in existence, where
  
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