The US Government is reviewing a program from Australia that will allow any Internet provider to alert their consumers if their computers are being hacked by unknown assailants and could limit all online access if people don’t fix the problem

Obama Administration had met with the leaders and experts to find other ways to be safe when online, while trying to find a balance for people’s privacy and civil freedoms.

These experts and some US officials are only interested in certain portions of the plan, which is set to start in Australia sometime in December. But any change in Internet regulations or monitoring by the US government could set of a crap storm of huge proportions from the public and others.

This discussion comes as private, corporate and government computers are constantly being targeted and exploited by hackers and other computer geeks that have way too much curiosity for their own good.

Government CyberCrime Unit Is Curious and Willing to Listen.

Washington’s cybercrime coordinator Howard Schmidt, said that the US is looking at a number of different ways to help the public and other small businesses to better protect themselves against unwanted hackers and other Cyber Criminals .

The possibilities include contingencies of Australian’s plan to enable consumers to get warnings from their Internet Providers if their computers get taken over by hackers through a botnet.

Botnets are series of networks of infected computer that can number into the thousands, and those networks are usually controlled by hackers through a fairly small number of scattered PC’s. Those owners are often unaware that their computer are linked to botnet and are used to shut down target websites, by spam or malicious codes.

If these companies are willing to give their customers better security online, I think the American people would have no problem with that, Schmidt said.

He said if we had no security there would be no privacy, and for all the people who care about our privacy, we look to make sure our systems are secure, Schmidt said in an interview. Internet providers he said, can help make sure our system are cleaned up if they are infected and keep them that way.

Having Second Thoughts

Officials are stopping short of recommending an option in the Australian plan that allows Internet providers to limit online usage by customer who don’t clean their infected computers, and saying this would be very difficult and likely to run into heavy resistance.

Prescott Winter, former chief technology Officer for the National Security Agency said, the United States is probably going to be well behind other country’s into stepping into a lot of these new areas says Winter who is now in the California based cyber crime unit called ArcSight.

In the United States he said the Internet is considered a technological wild west that should remain untouched and unfettered, but said this open range is in no way secure. So steps have to be taken to make it safe and reliable.

The Online customer may not want their service provider to cut off their Internet access if their computer are infected, and they may frown on at being forced to keep their computers free of infections or even botnets he said.

But they may agree with having there Internet provider warn them of any cyber traps and help them clear malicious and effected software off their computers by providing them with the instructions to add patches or anti virus programs.

They may even think about paying a small price each month for this special service, much like cable customers are used to pay a minimal monthly charge to cover their repairs.

What Protection is out there now?

James Lewis, who has been studying this issue for the CSIS, said it is inevitable that one day Internet providers will play a roll in protecting online customers from Computer hackers .

Comcast Corp, is expanding a Denver pilot program that alerts customer whose computers are controlled through a botnet. The carrier provides free antivirus software and other help to clean the malware off their machine, said Cathy Avgiris, senior vice president at Comcast.

These programs will not require their customers to fix their computers or limit online use of people who do their own repairs, Avgiris said.

She said the program will roll out around the country over the next few months. We aren’t willing to panic of customers, we want to make sure they are comfortable. Beyond that, I just hope we pave for others to follow these steps.

This voluntary program will not be enough, said Dale Meyerrose who is the vice president and general manager of the cyber integrated solutions at the Harris Corporation but unfortunately, he said it may take a serious attack before the governments and industries impose such high standards in these programs.

Australian Internet providers will be able to take a wide range of actions to limit the damage infected computers, from issuing warning to restricting inbound and or outbound emails. They could also temporary quarantine compromised machine while providing their consumers with the proper tools to fix these ongoing problems.

Australian · Elite · Internet · new · Program · Security · Technology

SEATTLE, Sep 15 (AP) — Microsoft Corp. unveiled the “beta” test version of Internet Explorer 9 on Wednesday, the first of a new generation of Web browser programs that tap into the powerful processors on board newer computers to make websites load and run faster.

IE9, which is free, also arrives with a more minimalist look and a few new tricks that start to blur the distinction between a website and a traditional desktop application.

Following the lead of Google Inc.’s stripped-down Chrome browser, Microsoft’s IE9 comes with far fewer buttons, icons and toolbars cluttering up the top of the screen. Its frame is translucent, and as people browse the Web, IE9 can be subtly adorned with small icons and signature colors of the websites being viewed.

The new browser also takes cues from Windows 7, Microsoft’s most recent operating system software for personal computers. In Windows 7, people can “pin” favorite programs to the task bar at the bottom of the screen, creating a one-click shortcut. They can also customize a menu of options for each program, such as opening a frequently used file in Microsoft Word.

IE9 lets people pin individual websites to the taskbar, and some sites have already customized their so-called “jumplist” menus. For example, when people pin USA Today’s site, the icon in the taskbar can display a menu that mirrors the color-coded sections of the newspaper.

The aesthetic changes bring IE9 in line with Microsoft’s newer software, but the changes under the hood push Microsoft’s technology a step ahead of its competition. The browser can take advantage of multicore microprocessors to crunch website code faster. It also uses the PC’s graphics processing unit – the same chips that make the images in elaborate video games run smoothly – to make images, animations, movie clips and other visuals appear or play faster.

And IE9 supports HTML5, a catch phrase for an updated set of rules and specifications that website programmers use. HTML5, which is currently under development, will include video playback and other graphics-intensive features that, in the past, could only be done by adding third-party software.

“What I saw impressed me,” said Endpoint Technologies Associates analyst Roger Kay, who attended Microsoft’s media event to promote the new browser in San Francisco Wednesday. “The bottom line is, this product is good. It’s pretty and it’s fast.”

Microsoft won’t stand alone at the front of the pack for long, however. Google and Mozilla, maker of the Firefox browser, are also working on similar technical upgrades to their software. All three players have different motivations for pouring resources into making their free programs stand out from the pack.

For Microsoft, selling Windows is a massive and profitable slice of its business. Dean Hachamovitch, corporate vice president of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer group, said the software maker is driven by the desire to make Web browsing on a Windows PC “great.” That, he said, will encourage people to keep buying Windows computers, rather than defect to Apple Inc.’s Mac machines.

Google, which makes most of its money from online advertising, simply wants to encourage people to spend more time surfing the Web. The Web search leader says it introduced the speedy Chrome two years ago in part to prod the market’s dominant players to accelerate Web surfing.

And Mozilla, a nonprofit, sees its own browser development as a way to make sure that users’ privacy and the tenets of free, open-source software don’t get left behind as Google, Microsoft and others try to shape technology in ways that boost profits.

With the new crop of browsers, the companies are doing more than competing against each other. IE9 has arrived at a time when the future of traditional Web surfing is itself in question. Today, people can skip visiting many websites in favor of “apps” available for download for devices such as Apple’s iPhone and iPad, or Google’s Android mobile phones. The apps deliver the same content but don’t limit people to pointing and clicking links with a mouse.

The new browser works on PCs with Windows 7 or Vista, but not on PCs with the much more widely used Windows XP computers or on Macs. At the media event, Microsoft showed off several big-name websites that have been designed to take advantage of the new browser, including ones from Amazon.com Inc., Facebook and Twitter. The sites are built with code that older browsers can understand, but some may be sluggish without IE9.

Microsoft did not say when IE9 will leave the test phase, but the final version isn’t likely to change much. It is available for download at beautyoftheweb.com.

AP Technology Writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

IE9 · Microsoft · new · performance · promises · zippier

The new iPhone was unveiled on June 7th by Steve Jobs at the World Wide Developers Conference.(WWDC) A lot of us that follow the iPhone already got a sneak preview when Gizmodo showed off images of a lost/stolen iPhone weeks ago, but there was still plenty to see.

New Features

First and foremost the most impressive, the new Retina display. While Apple did not increase the size of the screen (currently 3.5″) they did pack as many pixels in there as humanly possible. The result a stunning 326 ppi (pixels per inch) screen with so many pixels you can’t see a single one. Text is smooth, images are crisp and all other phones you look at afterwards will look like crap. In addition to this Apple has doubled the resolution from 480X320 to 960X640.

Second another long sought after feature a LED flash. While many phones have had flashes for years it’s nice to see Apple catch up by adding it this year. In addition to the flash they have upgraded the camera from 3mp to 5mp, again many other phones have done this already with some phones as high as 12mp but the quality on this camera dwarfs many that have higher mega pixels. The front facing camera is also a nice touch but the quality isn’t as high with it being only a VGA camera. mypadmedia review

Facetime is the new feature which will utilize the new front facing camera but almost no one will be able to use it. It only works on wi-fi and only for iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 calls, although Apple says in the future it will work on 3G and be an open standard for all phones to adopt. My thoughts, don’t hold your breath and while they may have cute commercials for it it’s just not something I can imagine using as more than a way to show it off.

Another cool new feature is the built in three-axis gyroscope. This by itself isn’t all that exciting but when added to the accelerometer, gps, and proximity sensors you have a device that can sense your every move and that will make for some very cool games, imagine your phone will now be as intuitive as a Wii remote.

Upgraded Features

Now the upgraded features are almost more impressive than the new ones, while they have packed all these cool new features in this new iPhone they have also managed to fit in a bigger battery that will last longer than anything Android has to offer. With all this you’d think the new iPhone is bigger, but guess again it is 24% thinner than the 3gs at just .37 inches thick!

Another cool upgraded feature is the video camera, the LED flash can be used in low light and it is capable of 720p (HD) video. And with the new iMovie app ($4.99) you can edit and upload video with ease. This new phone will make the need for owning a camera or video camera not so much of a priority unless your a professional photographer/videographer.

Design

Now this is where they took a cool device and made it look sleek, sexy and futuristic. They ditched the curved back and went back to a flat surface. Now front and back they have coated the phone in a unique new glass which is 30 times harder than plastic, scratch and fingerprint resistant and comparable to sapphire crystal.(how cool is that!) Also they have developed a new blend of stainless steel along the edge of the phone that also houses the antenna. No more cheap plastic or aluminum parts, this phone is built to last.

Speed

While every iPhone has increased speed this year sees the biggest jump, with Apple’s A4 processor (same as the iPad) they have increased the speed from 600mHz to 1gHz. Also are you sick of your phone freezing up on games? (ex. Sim City) Well they’ve also doubled the amount of ram available from 256mb to 512mb to handle more complex tasks and prevent games from crashing.

Overall

I’m going to buy one, while a lot of cool new features (multi-tasking, springboard wallpapers, etc) will be included in the iOS4 software update the new iPhone itself contains enough new features to convince me (plus it looks really cool). While I may not be waiting in line all night for one, I will buy one as soon as I can (June 24th). While Android may offer more features and some higher specs, iPhone yet again shines as a more user friendly and polished device. mypadmedia

Features · iPhone4 · new

Today I went to downtown and got my new phone.
After using three years’ bar phone, and each of them were either black or grey, which made me very boyish, so I would like to change another style! I bought a very feminine phone. The background is white, interspersed with some small purple patterns. And the cell-phone cover is dark purple. The fundamental hue is still purple. Anyway, I love this cellphone.
So this time, I have to protect her very very very carefully!
Not having been to downtown for almost 2 months, I happily found many wonderful transformation. The bus routes are more reasonable, the sanitary condition of buses are improved, in spite of the traffic jam as usual. Besides, most of the dustbins consist of recyclable and non-recyclable parts, which were not that universalized in Chongqing not long ago.
Just now, I have seen a status updated on Renren of one of my classmates:

Having read this, I really couldn’t help laughing. Indeed, Chongqing looks like always in trouble in the past few years, especially since I came here for my university life. Well, I don’t consider myself pathetic or poor, on the contrary, I have learned so much during these years. And I have been very accustomed to Chongqing since the very begining, not only the climate, but also the cuisine. I love spicy food, even if I never eat spicy things in my hometown. Well, I have also paid for that! I have gained so much weight. So now, I am trying hard to lose weight, hoping back to normal. And I believe that preparing for the postgraduate exams can help this plan works.
Keep my fingers crossed!

new · Phone

I used to be a very conventional girl. I hate it when people smoke around me. I never take parties when people drink beer or wine. Of course I won’t drink any wine or beer. I always have my own principles and keep to be a responsible and kind person. I really did that. People around regard me as loyal and they have faith in me. But they also know that I am a conventional girl they can’t go too far with me. It reminds me of my high school the boys sitting in front of me whom I called as “bad boys” usually played jokes with each other. While talking with me they would be very serious considering of my character.
So, this kind of life had lasted from my middle school until my sophomore year. For about eight years, I was a girl burying myself in my own room, separating myself from all the activities unrelated to study and my parents’ willingness. I’ve never opened my heart to love even though in college.
Then I met this song ”start of something new”. The scene in “high school musical 1”, Troy and Gabriella sung this song for the first time. I was deeply fascinated by the rhythm especially the lyrics.

Living in my own world
Didn’t understand
That anything can happen
When you take a chance
I never believed in
What I couldn’t see
I never opened my heart
To all the possibility
……

Wow, this is the true me I used to be. Every time I listen to this song, I’m so touched. Maybe I should open my heart to some possibility. Sometimes I wonder what kind of life should be called meaningful. Full of adventures, colorful or great success? I prefer a life colorful so I won’t feel regret when I get old. At least at present I think so. I have missed out on so many things, I don’t want to lose more. Something new should start in my life.

new · Start