Mobile Phones and Convergence

A friend asked me what I thought about downloading music over mobile phones. I think it'll be a big hit.

Mobile phones seem to be the one essential fashion accessory these days! Even on my recent trip to central Siberia, almost everyone seemed to have a mobile phone with them.

As mobile phones gain more capabilities and merge with other devices, more and more services will become available AND popular.

I've been on the other side and was proven wrong like many "experts." Many of us laughed at the concept of a camera built into a phone, but they've proven to be extremely popular. Perhaps more importantly, "camera phones" have shown mobile phone users don't mind paying small additional fees, for example for sending or printing photos, or downloading music.

I also thought text messaging would have some, but limited, appeal. Now many teenagers consider email to be archaic and use text messaging exclusively.

Recently I thought being able to watch video, for example full length feature movies, on a cell phone was silly. Who would actually watch video on such a tiny screen?? Some friends tell me I'm wrong - it's popular with them, and great for children!

Gene Koprowski has a great article on video on cellphones for children called Streaming Babysitters. He was kind enough to include my some what amusing comments; "Bert and Ernie on the mobile phone is exactly right . . ."

I look forward to the day when I can ditch my laptop for business trips and instead just use my full-featured mobile phone. A year ago I would have been joking, and now I think it just may be possible someday.

AT&T plans a 24x7 Security Video Channel similar to CNN

The Internet Security News Network (ISN) will be available via streaming video within the year. It is unclear if it will be available to everyone or only AT&T customers.

At first thought, "What?? 24 hours of only Internet Security??" Of course most of us thought the Weather Channel was a silly idea - "24 hours of just the weather?? Absurd!" Or even CNN - "just news??"

Interviews of security experts, their own analysis of viruses and other threats, and lots of other stuff that would bore most people except security dudes like myself are planned. It'll be interesting to see if they can fill up the time with worthwhile material.

I think they should offer me my own talkshow. Perhaps I could model it on Geraldo Rivera - I can grow a fierce mustache and be silly and ridiculous! "You might call it free software but I classify it as spyware! How can you distribute this garbage?"

Or perhaps I shouldn't even attempt at a veil of professionalism and should model my show on Jerry Springer? Tonight's show is "Peeping Toms who videotape sex acts and post them on the Internet, and their unsuspecting loved ones."

No, I've got it: "Judge Ted." Move over Judge Judy!! "I sentence you to pay 256 MB and 2 weeks of NO computer access!"

What IT Consultants and Resellers want from Software Companies

IT Consultants like myself recommend and influence probably billions of dollars of sales every year. Often my clients buy specifically because of my recommendations. The same goes for trusted resellers - they have preferences and make recommendations themselves.

It's interesting that software vendors almost never ask me what I want! The last time was when I filled out a survey at a conference for a free T-Shirt, and got picked on because I wasn't a "real customer." Hey Bozos, I recommended millions of dollars worth of your software most years! Free T-Shirt? I deserve a free car!!

Marketing Sherpa has a great article by Dianna Huff called How to Market to Small-Medium Businesses Via IT Consultants & Resellers. Dianna really did her research well and interviewed many influential IT consultants and resellers.

She even quotes me a few times. Even if she didn't, recommend the article. I wish I could write like she does, and I learned quite a bit from the article.

Alleged Spyware Company Intermix Media settles Charges for US$7.5 Million

Intermix Media reached a settlement with New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer to settle charges it bundled spyware with its free programs.

It agreed to pay the state of New York US$7.5 million over the next three years and to permanently refrain from distributing adware, redirect applications and toolbar programs. Intermix shares rose considerably after the announcement of the settlement.

Finally - someone held accountable! Hopefully this will be a trend and this will be seen as a landmark ruling.

Criminal charges against the individuals at Intermix responsible would be a good idea too. Of course those who are responsible may no longer be with the company - or so Intermix claimed.

Preventing Identity Theft

Identity theft is big business and a big hassle should you be victimized! It can take years to fix problems and clear your credit report.

Here are some very simple steps to help keep your identity safe.

Offline (and in general):

• Shred documents before throwing them away - err on the side of paranoia.

• NEVER give anyone your Social Security number unless they absolutely need it (not just say they need it). Common organizations that claim they need it include hospitals and doctors (none of their business!), lawyers (why??), and credit card companies. Credit card companies only need your SS# for a credit check - DEMAND they remove it from their files after your card is issued. If you don't live in the US, protect your National ID or Passport number as discussed above.
  

• Your birthday is your business - don't give it out.

• Your phone number is yours - give it to people you want to have call and no one else. "Toys R Us" asked me for my phone number yesterday - they didn't get it.

• Beware of people calling and asking for information.

• If an offer looks to good to be true - it is!

• Check your credit report occasionally for odd/suspicious entries.

• Actually read your credit card bill. Unknown charges, even very minor, are a red flag. This can be a tough one to check when a couple uses the same credit card.

Online:

• NEVER give anyone your password or other "private" information. If they were legit, they wouldn't ask!

• If in doubt about an online request, call them on the phone. Don't trust the phone number provided - look it up yourself.

• Take basic computer security steps - run anti-virus, anti-spyware and a personal firewall, have a good password, take the computer offline/turn it off when not using it for extended periods of time.

Remember, it's not paranoia when people ARE out to get you, and they are!

Meeting your Objectives Despite other People

Statism is the idea that the structure of any human organization drives the human behavior within it.. This applies to large corporations as well as organizations that consists of one person. People define themselves two ways: relative to the organization they are in, and relative to the organizations they are dealing with.

There is no success in business except by the cooperation of organizations and you don't get that unless you are able to convince the other guy(s)that you appreciate their reality as well as they do themselves.

It is a simple lesson. We've all heard it, "cooperation results from a setup of win-win for everybody." But if it's so obvious, why do people constantly & loudly declaim about "the procedures," whenever they don't get what they want? The procedures are history. All they can be is a starting point. They are a snapshot of what was true, which is why right now they very often don't work.

Statism is also about the idea that departmental behaviors and employee behaviors are predictable. All 6th level vice presidents have certain things in common. Whether they work for Kentucky Fried Chicken or the Army.

If organizational behavior isn't a lot more knowable and gameable than most people realize, then why is Dilbert funny?

I especially enjoy the Accounting trolls. One deals with Accounting trolls by bringing gifts upon every visit and being unusually friendly. They are lonely. No one ever drops by Accounting.

John Foster does not take project management or marketing seriously, except when it makes money. John has a tendency to confuse departments with customers, and customers with people. His year-to-year product revenue record stands at +34%. John cautions you not to take this seriously, and not to take him seriously, unless he is making you money. 718-624-5433 or john.t.foster@verizon.net

Introducing Guest Blogger John Foster

I'm honored to have guest blogger John Foster joining us for an occasional post. John is a smart dude who has been involved in blogging since probably before the term was coined and brings business skills to the table that most people don't even know they lack. John doesn't see the world like most of us which explains why his results are anything but average - I'd say more than one standard deviation from the norm in the POSITIVE direction.

I don't know how he does it: radio signals from other galaxies, a strange form of Woman's Intuition, or a combination of street smarts, experience and guts, but his results speak for themselves. He's pretty good at speaking for himself as well. Actually sometimes he won't shut up!

Feel free to drop him an email or call on the phone; his email and talk are cheap (actually free). His results can be priceless. Don't be afraid! Although he's an adopted native New Yorker, beneath his New York City Issue Troll-like Demeanor (tm), he's a sweetheart.

Don't worry! For those of you that know him, we're keeping him on a short leash! He's concentrating on business issues. We'll try keep him away from politics, philosophy, religion, Veronica and Jughead, and other unrelated and perhaps less valuable topics.

An Example Internet Hoax

I was just writing an email to a journalist about Internet Hoaxes when someone emailed me this link: Scrotal Safety Commission.

I would categorize this as an example of a "Benign Internet Hoax," similar to a practical joke. It looks legitimate, but upon reading its clear that several of the safety tips are bogus, e.g.

"never sit on an escalator tread, even if the escalator is not in service"

"Get a professional to "size" you for under-shorts. Many scrotal accidents could have been easily avoided by sporting proper fitting under garments."

On closer examination, it's clear that the entire site is a joke. Many men will find this site hilarious. I'm not too sure about women!

Perhaps especially on the Internet, never believe everything you read!

Avoiding Phishing Emails

Phishing is the evil practice of sending fake emails that try to get the recipient to disclose confidential information such as passwords, credit card details, etc. These emails are sent by criminals, and I always get several a week.

Earthlink's Protection Blog has an excellent article on 10 ways to recognize phisher (spoof) emails.

Examples include:
Generic Greetings, A False Sense of Urgency, Mispellings and many more.

Phishing attempts stand out to me because I'm an uptight security dude. However, they do fool many intelligent people so beware.

Microsoft Bans Freedom Words in China

I lived and worked in China and I respected Chinese rules. My two current Chinese based startup companies respect Chinese rules. Any business anywhere must follow the local rules, both laws and customs, in order to be successful.

When you are a guest in someone''s house it is common courtesy to obey the house rules. If you don't like the rules then you shouldn't visit. If you don't follow the rules you may be asked to leave. My five year old understands this and so does Microsoft.

Microsoft's recent decision to ban the word 'democracy' and other politically sensitive words by bloggers on its new Web portal in China is respecting China'’s "house rules." If Microsoft found the rules to be unethical or too onerous they wouldn't be there. This is their decision to make and different companies are free to make their own decisions.

China holds huge business potential. To do business in China one must play by the Chinese rules. Microsoft is a for-profit business and while this is not a carte blanche to make purely profit driven decisions, they are doing nothing immoral and not breaking any US or Chinese laws. Microsoft is not banning the words themselves, and Chinese bloggers can certainly use them on many other sites. One could also argue that the mere presence of Microsoft and other US companies is a positive force in China.

China is rapidly evolving from a totalitarian state to a wide open and free country. It is not Microsoft's or anyone else's place in the world to force US ideals and morals on China. Let them evolve at their own pace and in their own way. If where they end up differs from American style democracy and freedom, then so be it. It is their country, not ours.

As the Chinese curse says, "“May you live in interesting times."” The Chinese are both cursed by rapid change and blessed by enormous promise and potential. How they manage it is their business.

Spam signup man convicted of harassment

In a variant of the old high school trick of signing classmates up for lots of magazines with the "bill me later" option, a man in Maryland signed up his female boss for emails from dating services and job sites.

The signup emails were traced to him and he was convicted of harassment and sentenced to probation and 100 hours of community service. This is the first case of this type in the US and perhaps anywhere.

It was undisclosed whether he thought she needed dates and perhaps a different job would suit her better, but it's probably safe to assume he didn't like her and wasn't merely trying to be helpful!

You can read the article by clicking here.

Mini Ultra Marathon Man

I'll admit it; Ultra Marathon Man got me motivated. Certainly not to run - I hate running.

I figured if Dean could run 7 Marathons in a row, then I could bike 2 - that's 52.4 miles.

Now you need to know something about me. I'm 5'10" and weigh 245 pounds, about 110 kilos. I'm no athlete. Although I like to bike I had gone on exactly three bike rides this year and had been quite lethargic all winter. Plus, I have extremely low blood hemoglobin (medically, I suffer from Thalassemia). Besides, I'm a lazy slug.

If I walk by a gym I put on muscle. If I walk by a Pizza place I put on fat. I'm large and non aerodynamically shaped. Aerobic fitness is extremely difficult to attain or maintain due to my Thalassemia. But I'm stubborn and motivated, and excess runs in my blood. Anything worth doing is worth overdoing!

I biked 52.4 miles straight, which took me about 4 hours. I was totally wiped out after about 25 miles but found my "second wind." I laid down with the kids at 7:30 PM and slept about 11 hours, waking up feeling great. I biked another 20 miles the second day and then went to the gym for an hour.

Yes, I got sore, but not that sore. Somehow it all felt good. The exercise equivalent of 0 to 100 mph in 5 seconds. I don't think I could have done this when I was 20 and I'm more than twice that old now.

Motivation, Mind over Matter, or a lifetime dedicated to "Healthy Excess?"

Book Review: Ultra Marathon Man, Dean Karnazes

Confessions of an All-Night Runner

I loved this book. Read it in one sitting -– couldn't put it down!

I hate running. I had a lady friend that used to run once. We'’d run 4 or 5 miles together and then she'd go for a real run. My friend Girlieman Dave used to run seriously. I ended up at a few parties where I was the only non-runner. I guess I don'’t like runners either. They seem to hang around and discuss their injuries - shin splints etc -– endlessly, and are quite morose and as far from festive as I can imagine.

Why did I buy this book?? I like excess! Running 6 or 7 back-to-back marathons is excessive, but if you enjoy it, go for it. The author, Dean Karnazes, obviously loves running and his enthusiasm bubbles through the pages. His honesty is refreshing too (e.g. he doesn't know why he runs). The book chronicles his running career and is fascinating. From his eating an entire cheesecake and large pizza while running (think about how hard just holding all that food while running would be), to his 100 mile run through mountains, to his race in Death Valley (he passed out the first time), this book captivated me.

Dean and I have a lot in common. We are both Greek, have lots of upper body muscle (i.e. we are not built like runners), are excessive, successful in business, and dedicated family men. We differ in some ways: he runs and I don't, he'’s ripped and I'’m a bit overweight, his resting heart rate is in the 30s and mine is somewhere above twice that. But I'’m willing to bet we'’re a lot more alike than dissimilar; he has an overdrive to excess in the things he loves as I do.

"The average obsessive-compulsive takes seven years to get help. The average runner covers 10,920 miles in that time." I'’m willing to bet Dean is not "“average" in anything that'’s important to him, and I sure hope I'’m not either!

"“Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely and in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming: '‘WOW!! What a ride!'" a running buddy of Dean'’s.

Buy this book. Read it. Get motivated. Do something excessive that matters to you. Succeed.

Junk Mail reaches New Lows

I just got a credit card solicitation in the mail for Todd Stewart. I know Todd, he did some work for one of my companies, The Security Training Institute. We list my address as the US address for STI although we don’t do any work in the USA.

Todd lives in Singapore. I sincerely doubt he has ever used my USA address for anything. Yet Advanta is sending him a credit card offer to my address.

Someone, perhaps not Advanta, is grabbing names and postal addresses off the web and selling them. Perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised!

I think I’ll drop the “Business Reply Envelope” in the mail so they can pay postage. Or maybe I can tape it to a brick first :)

Startup Follies, Part IV

I was paid entirely in stock, with the promise that all my expenses would be paid. The amount of stock was adequate, and the vesting schedule aggressive. The four partners in the company had suggested it and I had accepted. No negotiation was necessary as it was a fair offer.

Suddenly, after several months, I was told, "we can't honor that deal." The venture capitalists didn't like it. Of course they had defaulted long ago and should have been entirely out of the picture.

Gamblers have a saying, something about not throwing good money after bad money. My time spent with this startup had just been made entirely bad. Renegotiating was simply wasting more of my time - throwing good time, my future time, after bad time, time already wasted with these bozos. The company and principals had proven they had no scruples - I should have walked immediately! Probably should have filed a lawsuit too.

Unfortunately I didn't! In retrospect, my actions were pretty stupid and naive!
(of course none of my expenses were ever reimbursed either).

There are two sides to every story

"You know -- it's funny -- there usually are two sides to any story. Sometimes, the world is better off not hearing either. "
- a quote I stole

Comparing Security Certifications: CISSP, SANS GSEC and more

Our latest newsletter is online:

Security Certifications: CISSP, SANS GSEC and more
The two most important security certifications are CISSP (Certified Information System Security Professional) and SANS GSEC (Global Information Assurance Certification Security Essentials Certification). The rest aren't significant in comparison, although I’ll briefly comment on a couple others.
With certifications, there are two things to consider: the value of the certification, and the value of the knowledge. Presumably you need to learn or at least review something to pass the certification test/requirements. That’s certainly true for CISSP and GSEC. Security is a broad enough area that almost no one can just waltz in and pass the tests for either of these.
CISSP is THE best known security certification. SANS GSEC is second, although rapidly increasing in prominence. CISSP has been around roughly twice as long GSEC, which accounts for at least some of its preeminence. They are both excellent programs with significant overlap as well as some significant differences.

click here to read more

Startup Follies, Part III

I was the Chief Technical Officer. We wrote software for others on a contract basis (or at least wanted to). We had an offshore site with relatively inexpensive and great programmers. We had a mixed model with technical expertise locally and offshore.

At a company meeting our CEO made a pronouncement: " We were now developing intellectual capital, not merely providing contract programming services." I think a change in the technical direction of the company should be something discussed with the CTO first, namely me. And such a significant business change should probably have been discussed with the VP of Marketing and Sales who had probably more business experience than all of us combined.

Our sales and marketing guy told me he was out of there right after the meeting ending. I should have left then too!

All of securITy newsletters now online

We just put all our securITy newsletters online at http://www.demop.com/Newsletter.html.

Who's we? Just me, Ted. I guess I'm using the "Royal We" :) - although I do have occasional expert help with my website.

Feel free to subscribe if you like what you see! Just send an email to newsletter@demop.com or leave a comment here. No spam - guaranteed!

Startup Follies Part II

We had venture capitalists promise us a small amount of seed capital - in the low 6 figures. Terms were half up front, and the second half once we had our first sale of US$50,000 or greater.

Once we had a signed deal for over US$50,000 they promptly told us they were bankrupt and going out of business. Now clearly they knew ahead of time and their behavior was unethical!
As soon as they knew they would not be able to fulfill their commitment to us they should have told us. We would have spent money differently if we knew more wasn't forthcoming.

At this point we should have ditched these unethical venture dudes - they sucked! Legally speaking, they were in default.

However, the four principals in the company disagreed. They might have screwed us by hiding their pending insolvency, but they were well connected, they knew important people, they might be useful in the future, blah blah blah. They kept taking advice (and demands) from these unethical venture capitalists.

I should have quit at that point, but unfortunately didn't!

Startup Follies, Part I

I was once with a startup where our CEO announced "we have decided to concentrate on the Wiltshire 5000 instead of the Fortune 500."

Our CEO might have been a nice guy, but he needed a serious dope slap!

What we needed was A SALE - our first one. That was what mattered. Then we needed our SECOND SALE, and then our THIRD SALE.

Didn't matter if the sales were to a Fortune 500 company, the local truckstop, or the dogcatcher's uncle's brother's company (now that would be quite an example of networking!).

Sometimes it's hard to focus on what is important. An external view can be immeasurably valuable. That's why external advisors, consultants, and anyone outside can have valuable advice.

Last weekend's activity - ham radio contest

Last weekend I spent 36 hours playing Morse Code on my ham radio. Why??

Obviously I must like it. I was in a ham radio contest, which is as pointless as car racing, mountain climbing, running marathons, and spectator sports. And like all these other “pointless” activities, extremely rewarding to those who enjoy them.

A ham radio contest is the natural, yet perhaps excessive, progression of what an intelligent person does with a 2 way radio. First, if you’re an intellectually curious person you might want to see how far you can communicate. Once you realize you can talk anywhere when conditions are favorable, you might try to talk to lots of interesting places. Eventually you might try to talk to as many interesting places as possible as quickly as possible (the “if some is good more is better theory”).

A typical contest is 48 hours, a weekend long, often with no rest periods. If you sleep, take bathroom breaks, go eat a sandwich, etc., you’re falling behind. A serious participant can’t take a break in a marathon or iron man competition either can they? You get points for each person you talk to, and all your “talking points” are typically multiplied by the number of countries you manage to talk to on each of the 6 main ham bands or some similar scheme. Each contest has it’s own nuances.

This was a somewhat relaxed contest – only 36 hours of operation out of the 48 were allowed by the rules. Picking the right “off times” is a key part of strategy, although I must admit my 2 and 5 year old had quite a bit on influence as well. Choosing the right band to be on at the right time is critical as well, and last years winning strategy is rarely this years. It’s slightly more complicated as most top scorers, including myself, have two radios going simultaneously – one per ear.

I did OK – preliminary results show me in 4th place, literally less than a toilet stop from 5th place.

How many people did I talk to?? About 2600. Think of a politician shaking hands as a gesture of goodwill at some international event with 2600 people.

Another way to look at a ham radio contest, or “Radio Sport” as the Europeans often call it, is as a very popular spectator sport where the players (the serious competitors) need to interact with all the fans (less serious competitors who normally concentrate on fun instead of high scores) in order to make points. Think of the Super Bowl, where every fan is also an active participant and the players need to interact with the fans to get points.

Interactive multi-user computer games are extremely popular. Imagine a game with many thousands of players. Instead of reliable communications over the Internet being a given, communications is the game, and all these thousands of players are competing and often interfering with each other. Did I mention instead of a computer connection I’ve got literally a few thousand pounds of steel and aluminum antennas and towers, plus a few miles of wire?

Had fun – can’t wait until the next one!!! This beats running a marathon or watching sports on TV ANYDAY!!!

You can read my description in ham radio vernacular at http://lists.contesting.com/_3830/2005-05/msg00581.html

Virus Alert: Osama Bin Laden captured? NOT

Three well crafted emails arrived over night, each claiming that Osama Bin Laden had been captured. They claimed this info had just been released, and came with a "low quality picture" of the capture attached.

Of course I trashed these emails immediately!

Was it a virus, Trojan or other nasty attached? Absolutely, in this case in the form of a zip file.

Don't open attachments from people you don't know. Be wary of attachments even from people you do know!

dot XXX domains

Looks like we'll soon have domain names ending in .xxx to complement .com, .org, .edu etc.
.xxx will (perhaps obviously) be for pornography.

Pornography is very important in the history of the Internet. Internet pornography was the first regularly successful type of Internet business! Early Internet porn sites were quite profitable, as opposed to most early commercial Internet sites which were economic failures. Remember the Internet is built on "FREE," and any commercial ventures used to be absolutely not allowed!

I promise not to get demop.xxx and thetedrap.xxx and post naked pictures of myself!

High Speed Internet now Cheaper than AOL dialup - SBC

SBC has just announced high speed Internet access for $14.95 a month, MUCH cheaper than AOL and most other dialup services. Hopefully this signals a widespread lowering of high speed Internet access fees and a will be boon to consumers.

SBC has 5.6 million high speed Internet users. The offer has some restrictions such as a 12 month commitment but is nonetheless groundbreaking. I wish SBC offered services here! The ONE provider here is more than twice the price.

They do service some major areas including California and Texas, although due to technical limitations of their high speed service (it's DSL), rural access is limited. An unofficial SBC spokeswoman refused to comment and seemed confused (I Googled a phone number for them and called: "This is Ted Demopoulos of The Ted Rap Internet News Service calling . . . .").

US Residents Email Junkies

A new survey sponsored by America Online shows US residents to be email junkies:

41% check their email immediately after waking up (I usually go to the bathroom and make coffee first)

The average user has 2-3 accounts (yup, that's about right, I've got three primary ones)

The average user checks email 5 times a day (if I'm in email all day, does that count as only once?)

The average user spends an hour a day with email (wonder how that compares to heroin junkies?? I wish I could spend only an hour a day, but I'd never finish my email!)

And the most email addicted cities are: Miami/Fort Lauderdale, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York and Houston (I never would have guessed. Shouldn't Durham New Hampshire be on the list?)

I'm NOT alone!!

Hmmm, whatever happened to the term "Internet Addiction??" And why can't I get the 70s hit by The Tubes "White Punks on Dope" out of my mind ??