I created 360DegreeNetworking.com as a go-to blog site to address all aspects of Information Technology (anything computer related). I have posted a few articles myself but my current objective has been building the site’s viewer traffic. I will continue to do this but now is the time I would really appreciate any help in adding content (articles) to the site. Therefore, I am asking for all computer people (geeks, techies, professionals, secretaries, educators, daily computer users, anyone!) for contributions in the way of informational reviews, tips, guides, news, etc. that we can feature on the site giving you full credit through your own by line. This will give many of you the opportunity to share that bit of golden wisdom you know you have deep inside but have not had an outlet for until now.
At the moment there is no profit being made by the site so all contributions will be voluntary (no pay) but you will hopefully benefit from the personal satisfaction and synergy of posting with like minds and enlightening those who are interested in learning from your experience and real world knowledge. If interested, please visit the site and submit an article for approval or email me at compuwise@netzero.com (put 360 in the subject).
Articles will need to be around 400 words (no stubs), relevant to current technology, factual (opinions welcome but back them up with some facts) and will be approved returned for editing upon review.
WANTED!
February 28th, 2012 
xwinuser The Infamous Cloud
February 19th, 2012 xwinuser The truth is “the cloud” is just another name for the Internet that techs have used for over a decade. Add applications that are web based which is not a new concept either and you have “cloud computing!”, “icloud”, “cloud networking”. Oh well, I guess it was time someone reinvented the Internet.
Windows 8 Developer Preview
December 18th, 2011 xwinuser {EAV:e0e09b5e459f4d5d}
Ok Windows 8 Developer’s Preview is not even a Beta so complaining about bugs does not really make sense BUT I have to say I really do not like the Metro UI they are using. 
This is the tablet-like GUI. A few days after install, all of the pre-installed and pinned applications quit working. Some forums said the fix for this was to up the screen resolution because the problem was actually a user input decision box that could not be seen because it was off screen. My resolution was about 4 clicks higher than they recommended so this did not work.
The most annoying thing about Windows 8 is that the Start menu button on the screen and the keyboard of course only toggle you from the Metro UI to a stripped down Windows 7 desktop. This means it no longer brings up a list of programs. No All Programs! There is no Run box either. There is no way to get to your programs without browsing to them and making shortcuts to them on the desktop. I made shortcuts to the programs I use the most but that was tacky and they took up too much space on the desktop and task bar.
The “solution” I used for all of these problems was to use a tweak program that edited the registry so that Metro UI was disabled completely and the Start button acted like it did in Windows 7. After that there were only a few tell-tale signs that I was using Windows 8: A few new looking menus, a few system animations and other stuff left over from the Win 8 theme were still around but they cause no problems.
Anyone else try the preview yet? How have your experiences with it been?
Here is a link to the Metro UT Tweak app I used – http://www.zdnet.com…windows-8/14976
Google Facial Recognition
December 18th, 2011 xwinuser Many may not know but Facebook tried this same thing and was lambasted until they quickly removed the feature.
Google promises an opt-out though. What are your thoughts?
Google will now scan all your pictures and try to tag you and your friends automatically. An invasion of privacy?
http://money.cnn.com…e_find_my_face/
Xbox 360 w/ Kinect
December 18th, 2011 xwinuser Ok I got this Xbox 360 for my kids for Christmas but I let them go ahead and open it. They have had a blast. No controller needed. The Kinect sensor uses a laser like a in bar code scanner (from what I can tell). Much more accurate than infrared. The sensor actually moves and measures the available (empty) space on the floor. It tells you if you have “good” space, around 6 feet, which is best for single player or if you have “better” space, around 8 – 10 feet which is better for two player. Then it has the user(s) stand in front and it scans them. It picks up on everything! Even when one of my kids scratched his nose or when I was playing while holding a soda in my hand. The characters did the same thing as us.
At the same time it has a regular digital camera built into the sensor that takes pics of you acting a fool in the game. The kids were doing this one river rafting game and it took snap shots to show them at the end of the ride like at Disney and other amusement parks.
There was a racing game that allows you to paint your car (not unusual) but you can hold up something in front of the sensor and it will paint the car the color of the object you are holding. Sweet!
I just have to get some more games for it. Something I can play.
Alexa ratings at Alexa.com
December 14th, 2011 xwinuser Claimed my site on Alexa.com the other day and have been tracking my score. Seems to be coming down (lower is better) pretty quickly.
YOU are the weakest link!
December 4th, 2011 xwinuser Even with great software, hardware and physical security measures, people can and will introduce
viruses and other security breaches into your network.
This can be done through the introduction of physical media, such as music CDs that were burned at
home or pen drives loaded with corrupt data and even bypassing security measures to access
questionable websites.
The latter is usually done by the guy who has just enough technical knowledge to be dangerous. It could
also be the employee that wants to download their favorite MP3 or that can’t wait until they get home
to check their Facebook wall. While you can disable the ability to use flash or pen drives on their
computer and filter the websites they access, there also needs to be strict policy that is taught to the
employees in continuing training sessions. These policies are setup to keep people from inadvertently
jeopardizing network security. Using common sense is always a bonus. If your employees or customers
learn to avoid questionable software, sites and email messages you can avoid a myriad of security
problems. Still, with all these precautions in place, you have some who just don’t care. Proper logging
may help to weed out these people for retraining, reprimand or dismissal but there will always be a need
for non-human intervention.
Hacktivism
November 20th, 2011 xwinuser Hacktivism has the allure of using hacking for a noble cause but there is nothing noble about the type hacking that is commonly referenced by the media. Hacktivism is the so called blend of hacking and activism. The purported motivation and purpose of hacktivism is to support a political cause but in direct opposition of true activism, hacktivism often negatively impacts or disrupts the political process as a whole. The methods used by hacktivists are actually attacks to the electronic systems of anyone with an opposing view. As mentioned, anyone is fair game but generally there are specific targets. Usually the hackers go after websites with high visibility and large a viewership so to cause the most disruption.
These attacks are illegal and give an unfair advantage and sometimes unwanted advantage to one political party or cause over another. Quite often hacktivist are outsiders and not a part of the formal group in which they are supporting. Therefore their support may not even be welcome. None of the formal groups involved may have privately asked for or advocated an attack and as a result they will not return the favor of supporting the hacktivists especially if they are caught in the act.
Introduce a naïve, honest or otherwise innocent person into the scenario and you often have a scapegoat for the real perpetrators. This is a person who is drawn in by the activism side of the scheme. They want to support what they feel is a good cause. Hacktivist are skilled at presenting what they would call a solution to a legitimate problem that often plagues the masses. This solution may obscure or make light of the illegal techniques involved by touting them as necessary evils in the fight for the common good.
Hacker vs. Cracker
November 20th, 2011 xwinuser The term hacker is used by the media because they feel and are probably correct that the common reader or less technically minded reader cannot and will not discern it from the less favorable practice of cracking. The terms are generally only used by those people who work in or with the Information Technology (IT) or Information Systems (IS) industries in describing two unique practices. To the rest of the world the terms are interchangeable.
Also, by a sort of natural selection, the public has accepted the word “hacker” over “cracker”. They have gravitated to what is more comfortable for them to use in everyday conversation. This is similar to the process by which slang words are sometimes accepted into formal languages.
The media gravitates as well not only to words they think the public would more likely use but to what sounds more sensational. Cracker is not really a unique
word. It often describes a type of bland food.
This may sound silly at first but the media is in the business of getting their message out to the masses and using bland wording does not sell stories. The word “hacker” is unique to the electronics and computer industries. You won’t hear a florist, doctor or even a lumber jack being described as a hacker and you definitely will not mistake a hacker for a type of food.
