Practical Technology

for practical people.

May 12, 2020
by sjvn01
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Out-of-date, insecure open-source software is everywhere

Open source rules. Everyone from Apple to Microsoft to Zoom uses it. Don’t believe me? Synopsys, a software and silicon design company, which also covers intellectual property, reported in its 2020 Open Source Security and Risk Analysis (OSSRA) report that nearly all (99%) of audited codebases contained at least one open-source component. That’s good news. The bad news is 91% of the codebases containing components were either more than four years out of date or had seen no development activity in the last two years.

Out-of-date, insecure open-source software is everywhere More>

May 12, 2020
by sjvn01
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Google vs. Oracle: The next chapter

Ten years ago, Oracle, desperate to monetize its failed Sun purchase, sued Google to squeeze profits out of its use of Java APIs in Android. Oracle won its point — that application programming interfaces (APIs) were subject to copyright. More recently, Google got the Supreme Court of the US (SCOTUS) to reconsider Oracle’s court victory. But the case, which should have gone to court this spring, has been yet again delayed, but not because of the coronavirus. University of South Carolina Intellectual property (IP) law professor Ned Snow pointed out the federal circuit court’s ruling, which had awarded victory to Oracle, violated the Constitution’s Seventh Amendment.

Google vs. Oracle: The next chapter More>

May 11, 2020
by sjvn01
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Rowhammer memory attacks close in on the real world

We used to think of computer security troubles as being pretty much exclusively software problems. Things have changed. In 2014, Carnegie Mellon University students found that, in theory, just by reading and closing data stored on one row of memory cells over and over again at high speeds, you could alter data stored in nearby memory rows. Then, in 2015, Google Project Zero researchers showed not just one, but two ways this “rowhammer” attack could gain read-write access to a laptop’s memory.

Rowhammer memory attacks close in on the real world More>

May 8, 2020
by sjvn01
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Google expects its staff to work from home until 2021 and it’s not alone

According to a Bloomberg report, Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, told Google employees on Thursday to be ready to work remotely through October and possibly to the end of the year. Actually, a Google spokeswoman said most Google workers are expected to work from home until 2021.

So, life’s going back to normal? Not at this tech giant.

Google expects its staff to work from home until 2021 and it’s not alone More>

May 8, 2020
by sjvn01
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The best way to protect the US electrical grid is with open source

Recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect the US electricity grid from cyber attacks by blocking power-equipment imports from “foreign adversaries.” Presumably, that includes Russia, Iran, and — most important of all — China. There’s only one problem with that: The vast majority of high-end electrical equipment is built outside of the US.

The best way to protect the US electrical grid is with open source More> 

May 7, 2020
by sjvn01
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Best cloud storage services in 2020: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more

In 2007, Drew Houston, Dropbox‘s CEO, got sick and tired of misplacing his USB drive, so he created the first personal and small business cloud storage service. It was a radical idea in its time, and everyone loved it. Today, there are dozens of cheap or free cloud storage services. But — beyond giving you storage — they’re very different.

How do you choose which one is right for you? You could just pick on the basis of how much free storage space you get from them. That’s simple, but it only tells part of the story. The real value from a cloud storage service comes from how well it works for you or your business. As you’ll see, some work much better with some operating systems and business plans than others.

Let’s start, shall we?

Best cloud storage services in 2020: Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, and more More>