Today’s threats are increasing with each passing day and I would go so far to say that many individuals do not understand nor take the time to properly address security. In fact the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon states:

1. Many users have a tendency to click on links without considering the risks of their actions.
2. Web page addresses can be disguised or take you to an unexpected site.
3. Many web browsers are configured to provide increased functionality at the cost of decreased security.
4. New security vulnerabilities may have been discovered since the software was configured and packaged by the manufacturer.
5. Computer systems and software packages may be bundled with additional software, which increases the number of vulnerabilities that may be attacked.
6. Third-party software may not have a mechanism for receiving security updates.
7. Many web sites require that users enable certain features or install more software, putting the computer at additional risk.
8. Many users do not know how to configure their web browsers securely.
9. Many users are unwilling to enable or disable functionality as required to secure their web browser.

Each of these points demonstrate the need for a mechanism that the average person can utilize to reduce the risk across the internet. Going back to the example of online banking, what would you say if you could simply boot off a DVD into a Linux Operating system and protect you credentials? This is entirely possible with Lightweight Portable Security (LPS) which was developed by the United States Air Force.

LPS differs from traditional operating systems in that it isn’t continually patched. LPS is designed to run from read-only media and without any persistent storage. Any malware that might infect a computer can only run within that session.

LPS is updated on a regular basis (at least quarterly patch and maintenance releases). Update to the latest versions to have the latest protection.

For those that are not familiar with Linux there is nothing to fear. Go grab yourself a download of Lightweight Portable Security (LPS) and see for yourself just how easy LPS is and protect yourself at the same time.

Books and Whitepapers

Discover how to protect yourself from Firesheep and other Sidejacking attacks! The release of the Firesheep Wi-Fi attack tool has increased awareness among both users and attackers of the inherent insecurity of unprotected HTTP connections. Firesheep allows an attacker connected to the local network to monitor the web sessions of other users on that network. As experts proclaimed in reaction to Firesheep, the best solution to the problem is to use TLS/SSL for all connections to web sites, including the home page. Download ” Protecting Users From Firesheep and other Sidejacking Attacks with SSL” to learn how to avoid these attacks.

The Web Security Challenge: A Competitive Guide to Selecting Secure Web Gateways. In the search for reliable, comprehensive Web security, there is a clear leader. Third-party testing confirms that only Websense Web Security Gateway meets or exceeds industry analyst criteria across nine functional areas including malware protection, data loss prevention, and Web 2.0 threat detection accuracy when tested against competitive products.

On January 1, 2012, I will giving away this theme. Wardrobe provides exceptional control for all aspects of your e-Commerce website. Whether you’re already running an online fashion store that needs updating, or planning to build a new WordPress-powered online store, the Wardrobe theme will be incredibly valuable to you. The pre-made template makes the job of putting up an online store easy without much complication.

Wardrobe has a simplified design with clean graphics and good use of color that shift the visitors’ focus to the products. Uncluttered design that makes great use of white space making it easier for the user to understand how to navigate and use the site.

Limited offer: Have 23 ColorLabs #WordPress themes for only $49! colorlabs.co/rtRuTA

— ColorLabs & Company (@ColorLabs) January 6, 2012

Features

• Automatic thumbnail resizer: Theme is powered with a script that automatically generates thumbnails from your post images. This will save you time and make your web site easy to re-design.
• Theme administration panel:Manage important theme elements from a dedicated panel and be free from the hassle of editing codes. Here you can integrate your web site with AdSense, Analytics and Feedburner in a few clicks.
• WordPress threaded comments:Optimize user discussion on your web site with WordPress threaded comments. Say ‘goodbye’ to hard-to-follow comment posts and ‘hello’ to neatly organized comment threads.
• Cross-browser compatibility: Coded and designed according to web standards. This ensures complete accessibility and compatibility in modern internet browsers, such as Firefox, Safari, Chrome and many others.

Contest Rules

Entering the contest is simple. All that is required is to follow @raddevelopment and leave a comment on this blog post that ranges between 100 – 200 words as to why you’re deserving of the free copy.

At the time of the drawing, January 2, 2012, Radical Development will select one random winners so be sure to follow the rules to win!

Summary of Rules and Regulations

To enter to win a single copy of the Colorlabs Wardrobe WordPress Theme, $69.00 retail value of prize, no purchase is necessary. Contest closes at midnight of January 2, 2012. If you’re selected as a winner, you must provide a valid email address.

Complete Rules and Regulations

1. This contest is open to residents of the United States of America, except employees of Radical Development who is sponsoring the Promotion and their affiliates.
2. The chance of being selected will depend on the total number of eligible entries received. If the selected entrant cannot be contacted by the email address provided in the comment within 10 days of being selected, he/she will not be eligible to win the prize and an alternate entrant will be randomly selected.
3. The prize is not transferable or convertible into cash or otherwise and must be accepted as awarded.
4. The right is reserved to terminate or withdraw this contest at any time without prior notice.
5. This contest is subject to all and Federal, State and Municipal laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
6. Radical Development and its affiliates accept no liability or responsibility in connection with injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising out of this contest or prize. Entries not meeting the guidelines or irregular in any way will be considered void.
7. There is no technical support from Radical Development nor Colorlabs and Company.
8. Good luck.

In the event you have not heard of the LaunchPad to be released within OSX Lion it is a nice feature that bring the iPad style of accessing your application to your MacBook. Apple says, “Launchpad gives you instant access to your apps — iPad style. Just click the Launchpad icon in your Dock. Your open windows fade away, replaced by an elegant, full-screen display of all the apps on your Mac. It takes just a swipe to see multiple pages of apps, and you can arrange them any way you like by dragging icons to different locations or by grouping apps in folders. And when you download an app from the Mac App Store, it automatically appears in Launchpad. Ready to blast off”.

In the event you want this capability today then you’re in luck. The Araelium Group has QuickLaunch available at a cost of $10.00 via their online store or the Apple App Store. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at the ease of use and quick access. It’s great from the aspect that you can create pages and add shortcuts to applications and folders. You can configure QuickPick to either use the keyboard or a screen corner for quick activation. You can even have the application sit in your dock and the menu bar or any combination of.

Now if you have made it this far then I wanted to let you know that you can grab QuickPick for free from MacUpdate. Act fast because I’m not positive how long they will offer this app for free! So what do you think of QuickPick? Is it something you would spend $10 on or will you wait for OSX Lion?

First things first, I am not advocating violating copyright laws and you should clearly understand the Digital Millennium Copyright Act surrounding digital media before you try capturing media. Previously I wrote about How to Backup DVDs with Handbrake and this article is very different in nature. Because you do not own the content that you wish to capture you will likely find yourself in a legal battle should you distribute such content. That being said since I am a paying NetFlix subscriber there are often times that I may be traveling and I don’t have access to the internet. Because of this fact I thought to myself there must be a way to capture that movie or television show and play it on my iPad and then ultimately deleting the media once I have watched it.

In the past few months I have begun using my MacBook Pro more and more and when it comes to digital media and software associated in this area I feel nothing performs better than the Mac Operating System. Case in point is ScreenFlow which is a professional screencasting studio. Just stop and think about it for a moment and I am sure you will begin to understand just how simple it is to capture streaming media.

Recording NetFlix Streaming Media with ScreenFlow on a Mac

• Grab ScreenFlow, a screen video capture software for Mac.
• Launch ScreenFlow for Mac and the following dialog window will appear:

• When you finish your recording, press command-shift-2 to stop recording. ScreenFlow will create a new video files with the recording.
• Press Command-E or select “Export” from the File menu to export your recorded video:

The end result is a high quality recording, grab ScreenFlow and see for yourself.

Update, I just ran across an article titled Media Converter for OS X is the Simplest Drag-And-Drop Video Converter Around where Whitson Gordon says, “If you need to convert a video for your iPod, a DVD, or even just rip the audio out of a movie, free app Media Converter will do it with just a quick drag-and-drop.”

Diskeeper has always been the de facto standard for tooling surrounding fragmentation in my book and while there are a number of similar products out there nothing can compare to Diskeeper… But now with new Diskeeper 2011, fragmentation is becoming a thing of the past!

Who Is Diskeeper?

Diskeeper is a Microsoft Gold Partner. They also serve as a Strategic Alliance Partner to accommodate the needs of Strategic Alliances such as Intel, IBM, Lenovo, Dell, and HP in providing an optimum solution to fragmentation and other performance and reliability issues to their customers. With this type of partners it becomes evident of the quality around the Diskeeper software.

Benefits

• Continually optimized read/write speeds with no resource conflicts
• I/O activity reduced an average of  40%*
• Backups 30%  faster*
• System reliability elevated to design expectations
• System longevity extended an average of 2½ additional years*
• Site-wide decrease in energy consumption (12%) and in server cooling requirements**
• Monitors new fragments and can clean fragments in a matter of seconds
• Defrag on the fly
• Runs in the background
• Pricing is easy on the wallet.

*Windows IT Pro  –  Improved Reliability Is Within Your Grasp
**Going Green With Diskeeper

Diskeeper 2011 Editions

• Diskeeper 2011 Professional edition
• Diskeeper 2011 Pro Premier edition
• Diskeeper 2011 Server edition
• Diskeeper 2011 EnterpriseServer edition
• Diskeeper 2011 Administrator edition

Contest Rules

Entering the contest is simple. All that is required is to follow @raddevelopment and leave a comment on blog post titled Diskeeper 2011 Product Contest that ranges between 250-500 words as to why you’re deserving of the free copy. Do you have a story surrounding fragmentation? If so, share with others. Don’t have a story? Well that is okay also, just comment in 250-500 words why you want Diskeeper 2011.

At the time of the drawing, April 22, 2011, Radical Development will select three random winners so be sure to follow the rules to win!

Summary of Rules and Regulations

To enter to win a Diskeeper 2011 Home Edition, $39.95 retail value of prize, no purchase is necessary. Contest closes at midnight of April 22, 2011. If you’re selected as a winner, you must provide a valid email address in order for Diskeeper Corporation to send you a licensed copy of Diskeeper 2011 Home Edition.

Complete Rules and Regulations

1. This contest is open to residents of the United States of America, except employees of Radical Development who is sponsoring the Promotion and their affiliates.
2. The chance of being selected will depend on the total number of eligible entries received. If the selected entrant cannot be contacted by the email address provided in the comment within 10 days of being selected, he/she will not be eligible to win the prize and an alternate entrant will be randomly selected.
3. The prize is not transferable or convertible into cash or otherwise and must be accepted as awarded.
4. The right is reserved to terminate or withdraw this contest at any time without prior notice.
5. This contest is subject to all and Federal, State and Municipal laws and regulations. Void where prohibited.
6. Radical Development and its affiliates accept no liability or responsibility in connection with injuries, loss or damage of any kind arising out of this contest or prize. Entries not meeting the guidelines or irregular in any way will be considered void.
7. Good luck.

N-tier application architecture provides a model for developers to create a flexible and reusable application. By breaking up an application into tiers, developers only have to modify or add a specific layer, rather than have to rewrite the entire application over. There should be a presentation tier, a business or data access tier, and a data tier.

The concepts of layer and tier are often used interchangeably. However, one fairly common point of view is that there is indeed a difference, and that a layer is a logical structuring mechanism for the elements that make up the software solution, while a tier is a physical structuring mechanism for the system infrastructure. For the purposes of this article I will be discussing the following architecture. This will be the foundation of which follow up post will be coming over the next few weeks so I hope you stay tuned.

Open up Visual Studio and create a new solution named RadDevExamples. From here create four class libraries with the solution and name them BLL, DAL, Model, and Utilities. Finally add a new ASP.NET empty web site. Your solution should look like this:

Model Layer

Create a new class named Employee. This class will reflect the attributes of the employee as well as the desired constructors.

public sealed class Employee
{
private Guid _employeeId;

public Guid EmployeeId
{
get { return _employeeId; }
set { _employeeId = value; }
}

private string _lastName;

public string LastName
{
get { return _lastName; }
set { _lastName = value; }
}

private string _firstName;

public string FirstName
{
get { return _firstName; }
set { _firstName = value; }
}

public Employee()
{
_employeeId = Guid.Empty;
_lastName = string.Empty;
_firstName = string.Empty;
}

public Employee(Guid employeeId, string lastName, string firstName)
{
_employeeId = employeeId;
_lastName = lastName;
_firstName = firstName;
}
}

Data Access Layer (DAL)

Create a new class named Employee. This class is only invoked by the BLL tier which in turn provides a crisp clean separation of logic.

public class Employee
{
private DbConnection conn;

public Employee()
{
conn = new DbConnection();
}

public List<Model.Employee> GetAllEmployees()
{
SqlCommand cmdSelectEmployees = null;
SqlDataReader rdrEmployees = null;
List<Model.Employee> employeeList = null;

try
{
SqlConnection dbConn = conn.DbConnect();
cmdSelectEmployees = new SqlCommand("select EmployeeID, LastName, FirstName from Employees order by LastName", dbConn);

dbConn.Open();

rdrEmployees = cmdSelectEmployees.ExecuteReader(CommandBehavior.CloseConnection);

if (rdrEmployees.HasRows)
{
employeeList = new List<Model.Employee>();

while (rdrEmployees.Read())
{
employeeList.Add(new Model.Employee(rdrEmployees.GetGuid(0), rdrEmployees.GetString(1), rdrEmployees.GetString(2)));
}
}
}
catch (Exception)
{
}
finally
{
if ((rdrEmployees != null) && !rdrEmployees.IsClosed)
{
rdrEmployees.Close();
}
}

return employeeList;
}
}

Utility Tier

This tier is used for anything that you will want to reuse. For example, the database connection is something that should only be wrote a single time.

public class DbConnection
{
private string _strConnectionString;

public SqlConnection DbConnect()
{
_strConnectionString = ConfigurationManager.ConnectionStrings["Thor"].ConnectionString;

SqlConnection conn = null;

try
{
conn = new SqlConnection(_strConnectionString);
}
catch (SqlException se)
{
throw new ApplicationException("The application was not able to connect to the database");
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
throw new ApplicationException("The application was not able to connect to the database");
}

return conn;
}
}

Business Logic Layer (BLL)

Create a new class named Employee. This classed is what the presentation layer will invoke in order to display the employee data we wish to return to the end user.

public class Employee
{
private readonly DAL.Employee _employeeDal;

public Employee()
{
_employeeDal = new DAL.Employee();
}

public List<RadDev.Model.Employee> GetAllEmployees()
{
Model.Employee employeeModel = new Model.Employee();

List<Model.Employee> employeeList = _employeeDal.GetAllEmployees();

return employeeList;
}
}

Presentation Tier

Now comes the step to put together the pieces of the puzzle. In four basic lines of code we have what we need to render the output.

protected void Page_Load(object sender, EventArgs e)
{
RadDev.BLL.Employee employeeBll = new RadDev.BLL.Employee();
List<RadDev.Model.Employee> employeeList = employeeBll.GetAllEmployees();
GridViewEmployees.DataSource = employeeList;
GridViewEmployees.DataBind();
}

The result is a GridView nicely populated:

That is all there is to it and as you can see N-Tier Architecture is a great way to separate logic in a controllable fashion. This is just one example and I urge you to dig into the details and find what works best in your case.

If you’re currently a student pursuing your education in hopes of landing the job of your dreams then pay attention. Microsoft provides a number of wonderful programs that will help you to purchase much needed software such as Word that might otherwise be to expensive for you to purchase at you local computer store, obtain certifications, and even participate in a program that allows you access to development tools for free.

If you’ve been in need of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office products you may be surprised to learn that you can grab Office Professional Academic 2010 for a cost of only $79.95. Other great savings include Microsoft Office for the Mac at $99.95 and Windows 7 Pro Upgrade for $64.95.

Microsoft even provides discounts on technologies related to their products in the form of Certification Exams. Not a bad deal if you ask me. This is a great opportunity to reinforce your education with a certification which will help to set you apart from your peers. for example, If you plan to get a job in IT after school, getting a Microsoft Certification will help improve your resume by differentiating you from others competing for the same jobs. To help you get started, Microsoft offers the following benefits:

• A free Exam Retake offer. If you do not pass your Microsoft Certification exam in the student series (exams that have a 72 prefix) on your first try, you can retake the exam at no additional cost!
• Up to 55 percent savings on Microsoft Certification exams.

If you’re a current university or high school student, you can download professional Microsoft developer, designer, and gaming software through DreamSpark at no charge. Yes, students get to download software at no charge. DreamSpark enables students, like you, to download and use Microsoft tools to unlock your creative potential and set you on the path to academic and career success by advancing your learning in the areas of technical design, technology, math, science, and engineering! It doesn’t matter what classes you’re taking right now, just as long as you’re a current student in a verified, accredited School and use the tools in pursuit of advancing your education. If you have not heard of this program Bill Gates started this program in 2008 and being that Microsoft has continued this program into it’s third year, I believe demonstrates their dedication to students.

Be sure to check out the Microsoft Student Experience, Student Lounge, Imagine Cup, and DreamSpark. Bottom line is if you’re a student and your looking for a career with Microsoft or just working with Microsoft technologies, do not miss any of the opportunities.

Good luck in your educational goals and I hope one day to see you working with Microsoft technologies should that be your goal.

The point of view that I take is technology is only as good as those that use it. What am I saying you may ask? All technology has good and bad points and the individual behind the use of the technology makes the difference. For example, just because I have the freedom to publish my thoughts that does not give me the right to do so should it cause harm to another. Using common sense should always be the focal point and as technology rapidly changes it is more important that ever that you understand the services you’re using.

If you’re concerned with you face being tagged then you will want to pay close attention. According to Facebook, for any reason you don’t want your name to be suggested, you will be able to disable suggested tags in your Privacy Settings.  Just click ‘Customize Settings’ and ‘Suggest photos of me to friends.’ Your name will no longer be suggested in photo tags, though friends can still tag you manually.”

Currently, you have the option of untagging photos you’ve been tagged in by friends. To accomplish this just go to the photo and click your name. There is no sure fire way to prevent friends from tagging you in photos, but you can prevent others from seeing the photos via your tagged name.

• From the Account menu in the upper right corner of your profile, chose Privacy Settings.
• Underneath the list of your current privacy settings, click “Customize settings.”
• Scroll down to “Things others share” section.
• Next to “Photos and videos I’m tagged in” click “Edit settings.”
• From the “Edit settings” prompt that appears on your screen, use the drop-down menu to choose “Customize.”
• In the “Custom Privacy” prompt that appears, you will see a drop down menu next to “These people.”
• From the “These people” menu, you have the option of choosing who can see photos via your tagged name. You can set it to “Only me” or you can add specific Facebook friends who are permitted see those photos via your tagged name. Here, you also have the option of preventing specific Facebook friends seeing photos via your tagged name.
• Save this option. As with other Facebook privacy settings, you can change it at any time. You just have to do it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kHGsKnf3_I

I personally have seen a great deal of conversation concerning Facebook’s facial recognition technology, but I simply do not understand what all the concern is about. I do agree with Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at security vendor Sophos comments that Facebook should make this feature an opt-in rather than and opt-out. If you’re a fan of Google Picasa this technology was implemented back in 2009 with Picasa 3.5 and unless you have been living under a rock more and more of our lives is becoming digital.

Client Interface

Web Interface

My question to you is simple; does Facebook’s facial recognition go too far? What are your main concerns with this type of technology and how the companies we engage with each and every roll out such technology?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iREJiSgIxAk

Is this the future?

What I was really seeking was the experience that I am accustomed to on my PC laptop and therefore I begun looking at other products. It was not long before I found a conversation at StackOverflow titled “Best VM Software for Mac OS X?” As I read the question and answers it was clear that much like anything else in technology people have their personal preferences and VM Software was no different. The two key players seemed to be Parallels and VMware Fusion3 so I decided to give them both a test drive since they both provided trail versions. I have high expectations and maybe my experience will help others make a decision about which product to consider.

Vendor Media

Parallels Desktop 6

I started off with this product mainly because my research turned up that more people were happy with Parallels over Fusion3. Once I had downloaded the trial version I begun the installation of Windows 7 and I must say that they install was fast and painless.

After what seems like less than 15 minutes the installation was complete and I was sitting at the Windows login screen. Just as a side not if you wish to try out Google Chrome OS within Parallels, Gilberto J Perera has this topic covered in an article titled How to Download and Install Chrome OS on Mac with Parallels 6.

The user experience was nothing short of amazing. I love the fact that the Windows OS felt like it was installed on the hard drive and while full screen mode is always nice, I found that enabling Coherence was the choice for me. Seamless integration of Windows and the Mac desktop is the best of both worlds, see for yourself.

Take notice that there is a Windows folder in the application dock where I can access the Windows Menu as well I can access this menu in the Mac desktop toolbar. Also you can see that I am running Windows Explorer and as I indicated the access to both operating systems just simply works and works very well for that matter. The alternative is full screen and it works well also, but only one desktop is actively visible.

VMWare Fusion3

It is important to note that since I started with Parallels and I therefore have a virtual image of Windows 7, Fusion3 has an option to import that image. Now this makes sense because these two products are in direct competition. Importing the image was just as quick and painless as was the install under Parallels, in fact it imported perfectly without any interaction. Once I was up and running there were three view options which are single window, Unity, and full screen. I tried each of these and they all worked well. The only issue that I noticed was at times the screen flickered and acted as though it was having problems with the graphics display. While this disruption was brief it was annoying none the less.

Full Screen

Unity

The screen shots above depict that this product works well in either view. I like the fact that the Mac desktop and the Windows desktop are running in cohesion and the ability to access features from Windows was a nice bonus which was accessed directly from the VMWare dock icon.

Conclusion

Overall both products worked as expected, however I decided to purchase Parallels over Fusion3 mainly because it did seem a little faster and just made me feel much more comfortable from a usability perspective. At the time of this article the price points were very different because VMware is offering a $30.00 rebate.

VMware Fusion3: $79.99 and now $49.99 after $30 rebate
Parrallels Desktop 6: $79.99

Now, maybe the rebate is something that I am reading more into than I should, but it does make me wonder if VMware is in direct competition with Parallels why knock of $30.00. Could it be that sales are low? Could it be Fusion3 is an inferior product? Could it be that VMware is simply putting out a great sale?

There you have my opinion in a nutshell. I realize that I did not cover the low level details of the products nor was it my intent to do so. Therefore the final question I pose to you, what virtualization product do you use on your Mac?

VMware Player

VMware Player is the easiest way to run multiple operating systems at the same time on your PC. With its user-friendly interface, VMware Player makes it effortless for anyone to try out Windows 7, Chrome OS or the latest Linux releases, or create isolated virtual machines to safely test new software and surf the Web. VMware Player can also be used to run a virtual copy of an old PC so that you can recycle the old machines you have under your desk or stored in the closet.

Virtual PC

Virtual PC is a virtualization program for Microsoft Windows. The newest release, Windows Virtual PC, is available for Windows 7 operating systems. Virtual PC virtualizes a standard PC and its associated hardware. Supported Windows operating systems can run inside Virtual PC. Other operating systems such as Linux may run, but are not officially supported, and Microsoft does not provide the necessary drivers (called “Virtual Machine Additions”) for Linux.

Getting Started

The first step is to decide which virtualization client you prefer. For the purpose of this article I will be discussing VMware Player since this product is my own personal choice.

Installing VWware Player could not be any easier. Simply go download the software and run setup. Once you have completed the setup phase you will need to reboot then you’re ready to begin installing the operating systems.

I personally have a need for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Ubuntu. I have these operating systems ready to go as you can see.

Now that you have your operating systems installed, all that remains is to click play virtual machine. Here is an example of Ubuntu running OpenOffice.

Open Source Operating Systems

Conclusion

As you can see the process of virtual operating systems is not as difficult as you may think. I hope that you find this article beneficial and while I have provided details on a number or free products this is not all inclusive, but it should be just enough to begin exploring virtualization.