You might be surprised at which Web browser aced this security test
By Ellen Messmer
October 13, 2012
— Network World —
Microsoft IE9 blew away Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Apple Safari in new tests by NSS Labs to measure the ability of web browsers to block malware and catch click fraud.
NSS subjected Apple Safari 5, Google Chrome 15-19, Microsoft Internet Explorer 9 and Mozilla Firefox 7-13 to over 3 million test runs against over 84,000 URLs determined to be active and malicious out of a unique sample set of 227,841. Out of 750,000 test cases per browser, NSS labs found in its 75-day review that IE9's malware block rate was 95%, whle Firefox and Safari trailed far behind at 6% apiece and Chrome was somewhere in the middle, with its rate varying from 13% to 74%.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
Replacing the double AA batteries in an Apple Wireless Keyboard.
In this article, we’ll go over the basic battery replacement process for Apple wireless keyboards made after 2007.
A wireless Apple keyboard takes two AA batteries in order to operate. You’ll want to make sure that the batteries you’ll be using in the keyboard are of the same type and have the same level of charge.
You can use rechargeable batteries, though I’ve noticed that the battery level readings reported by Bluetooth are a bit off when I do.
Standard alkaline AA batteries bought at the store should last you weeks (or even months) between replacements. The keyboard also tends to go through batteries slower than the Apple mouse, which also uses twin AA batteries.
You’ll also need a coin to undo the battery cap. It’s possible to unscrew this by applying pressure from your thumb, but it isn’t as easy for everyone.
Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Turn off the keyboard by pressing and holding the power button located on the right side of the keyboard’s lifter until the green light turns off.
Unscrew the end from the opposite side of the lifter using a coin or your thumb.
Take out the old batteries and set them aside.
Insert the new batteries with the positive side (the side with a bump) facing in.
Screw the cap back on the keyboard and tighten.
Press the power button until a green light appears above the eject key.
Wait a few seconds and your keyboard should connect to your Mac automatically.
Once everything is connected, you can check your battery levels via the Bluetooth icon at the top of the screen. New batteries should reflect a 100% charge starting out. If you inserted new batteries and they’re not reading a near-100% charge, you may have mismatched or faulty batteries.
A wireless Apple keyboard takes two AA batteries in order to operate. You’ll want to make sure that the batteries you’ll be using in the keyboard are of the same type and have the same level of charge.
You can use rechargeable batteries, though I’ve noticed that the battery level readings reported by Bluetooth are a bit off when I do.
Standard alkaline AA batteries bought at the store should last you weeks (or even months) between replacements. The keyboard also tends to go through batteries slower than the Apple mouse, which also uses twin AA batteries.
You’ll also need a coin to undo the battery cap. It’s possible to unscrew this by applying pressure from your thumb, but it isn’t as easy for everyone.
Here’s what you’ll need to do.
Turn off the keyboard by pressing and holding the power button located on the right side of the keyboard’s lifter until the green light turns off.
Unscrew the end from the opposite side of the lifter using a coin or your thumb.
Take out the old batteries and set them aside.
Insert the new batteries with the positive side (the side with a bump) facing in.
Screw the cap back on the keyboard and tighten.
Press the power button until a green light appears above the eject key.
Wait a few seconds and your keyboard should connect to your Mac automatically.
Once everything is connected, you can check your battery levels via the Bluetooth icon at the top of the screen. New batteries should reflect a 100% charge starting out. If you inserted new batteries and they’re not reading a near-100% charge, you may have mismatched or faulty batteries.
Additional news for Mobile users
Keep an eye open for these malware variants.
Loozfon is an information-stealing piece of malware. Criminals use different variants to lure the victims. One version is a work-at-home opportunity that promises a profitable payday just for sending out email. A link within these advertisements leads to a website that is designed to push Loozfon on the user’s device. The malicious application steals contact details from the user’s address book and the infected device’s phone number.
FinFisher is a spyware capable of taking over the components of a mobile device. When installed the mobile device can be remotely controlled and monitored no matter where the Target is located. FinFisher can be easily transmitted to a Smartphone when the user visits a specific web link or opens a text message masquerading as a system update.
Last week, security experts at McAfee announced that more than 60% of Android malware uses fake premium SMS messages. In their post on this subject, McAfee said, “Malware authors appear to make lots of money with this type of fraud, so they are determined to continue improving their infrastructure, code, and techniques to try to avoid antivirus software. It’s an ongoing struggle, but we are constantly working to keep up with their advances.”
Loozfon is an information-stealing piece of malware. Criminals use different variants to lure the victims. One version is a work-at-home opportunity that promises a profitable payday just for sending out email. A link within these advertisements leads to a website that is designed to push Loozfon on the user’s device. The malicious application steals contact details from the user’s address book and the infected device’s phone number.
FinFisher is a spyware capable of taking over the components of a mobile device. When installed the mobile device can be remotely controlled and monitored no matter where the Target is located. FinFisher can be easily transmitted to a Smartphone when the user visits a specific web link or opens a text message masquerading as a system update.
Last week, security experts at McAfee announced that more than 60% of Android malware uses fake premium SMS messages. In their post on this subject, McAfee said, “Malware authors appear to make lots of money with this type of fraud, so they are determined to continue improving their infrastructure, code, and techniques to try to avoid antivirus software. It’s an ongoing struggle, but we are constantly working to keep up with their advances.”
Tips for Mobile users on Internet safety
Safety tips from FBI to protect your mobile device:
When purchasing a Smartphone, know the features of the device, including the default settings. Turn off features of the device not needed to minimize the attack surface of the device.
Depending on the type of phone, the operating system may have encryption available. This can be used to protect the user’s personal data in the case of loss or theft.
With the growth of the application market for mobile devices, users should look at the reviews of the developer/company who published the application.
Review and understand the permissions you are giving when you download applications.
Passcode protect your mobile device. This is the first layer of physical security to protect the contents of the device. In conjunction with the passcode, enable the screen lock feature after a few minutes of inactivity.
Obtain malware protection for your mobile device. Look for applications that specialize in antivirus or file integrity that helps protect your device from rogue applications and malware.
Be aware of applications that enable Geo-location. The application will track the user’s location anywhere. This application can be used for marketing, but can be used by malicious actors raising concerns of assisting a possible stalker and/or burglaries.
Jailbreak or rooting is used to remove certain restrictions imposed by the device manufacturer or cell phone carrier. This allows the user nearly unregulated control over what programs can be installed and how the device can be used. However, this procedure often involves exploiting significant security vulnerabilities and increases the attack surface of the device. Anytime a user, application or service runs in “unrestricted” or “system” level within an operation system, it allows any compromise to take full control of the device.
Do not allow your device to connect to unknown wireless networks. These networks could be rogue access points that capture information passed between your device and a legitimate server.
If you decide to sell your device or trade it in, make sure you wipe the device (reset it to factory default) to avoid leaving personal data on the device.
Smartphones require updates to run applications and firmware. If users neglect this it increases the risk of having their device hacked or compromised.
Avoid clicking on or otherwise downloading software or links from unknown sources.
Use the same precautions on your mobile phone as you would on your computer when using the Internet.
Making money. Wall Street looks ahead.
The Stocks Wall Street Was Talking About
CNBC.com | October 13, 2012
Analysts and investors weighed in on whether Amazon is a threat to Netflix and whether Wal-Mart can take on Amazon this week. They also discussed their bank and restaurant stock picks.
Find out more in this weekly CNBC.com Stock Blog roundup.
Wall Street analysts are divided on what do with Netflix [ NFLX 64.3335 -1.6465 (-2.50%) ]. Morgan Stanley upgraded to stock suggesting Amazon.com’s online video offering is not a direct threat, while other analysts worry that as media companies put more content online, Netflix will have trouble attracting subscribers.
Wal-Mart [ WMT 75.81 +0.80 (+1.07%) ], meanwhile, is looking to take on Amazon [ AMZN 242.36 -1.86 (-0.76%) ] with same-day shipping. Joe Feldman, an analyst at the Telsey Advisory Group, is optimistic that Wal-Mart will be able to use its stores effectively to ship goods to consumers same-day.
Yield has been important to investors this year. There are five companies that could be poised to hike their dividends in the next quarter — AT&T [ T 35.63 -0.63 (-1.74%) ], Kinder Morgan [ KMI 34.50 -0.59 (-1.68%) ], Freeport McMoran [ FCX 40.14 -0.61 (-1.50%) ], Campbell Soup [ CPB 34.68 -0.20 (-0.57%) ] and Hormel Foods [ HRL 28.83 -0.29 (-1.00%) ].
CNBC.com | October 13, 2012
Analysts and investors weighed in on whether Amazon is a threat to Netflix and whether Wal-Mart can take on Amazon this week. They also discussed their bank and restaurant stock picks.
Find out more in this weekly CNBC.com Stock Blog roundup.
Wall Street analysts are divided on what do with Netflix [ NFLX 64.3335 -1.6465 (-2.50%) ]. Morgan Stanley upgraded to stock suggesting Amazon.com’s online video offering is not a direct threat, while other analysts worry that as media companies put more content online, Netflix will have trouble attracting subscribers.
Wal-Mart [ WMT 75.81 +0.80 (+1.07%) ], meanwhile, is looking to take on Amazon [ AMZN 242.36 -1.86 (-0.76%) ] with same-day shipping. Joe Feldman, an analyst at the Telsey Advisory Group, is optimistic that Wal-Mart will be able to use its stores effectively to ship goods to consumers same-day.
Yield has been important to investors this year. There are five companies that could be poised to hike their dividends in the next quarter — AT&T [ T 35.63 -0.63 (-1.74%) ], Kinder Morgan [ KMI 34.50 -0.59 (-1.68%) ], Freeport McMoran [ FCX 40.14 -0.61 (-1.50%) ], Campbell Soup [ CPB 34.68 -0.20 (-0.57%) ] and Hormel Foods [ HRL 28.83 -0.29 (-1.00%) ].
Is E tailers becoming mainstream retailing?
eBay and Groupon makes big waves and now this. When will there be an Amazon store along the lines of Apple?
FORTUNE — Fashion site BaubleBar has spent two years building an avid group of fans who turn to the site to sift through a fast-changing array of hip jewelry sold at reasonable prices. On October 17, the company will invite customers to try on that jewelry in person — at THE BAR, a 500 square-foot showroom that will open in the back of the company’s Manhattan corporate headquarters.
Consider it a modern twist on an old trend: since the birth of the web, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have been creating digital storefronts. Web sales of apparel and accessories, in particular, are growing far faster than any other e-commerce product category and are expected to reach $40.9 billion in 2012 according to eMarketer. But until recently, digital retailers rarely took to the streets. (When’s the last time you drove down to your local Amazon (AMZN) to pick up a skirt?)
Now that’s changing as a new crop of entrepreneurs are developing digital brands that migrate to physical locations. They know that the online opportunity may be big, but it is still dwarfed by more traditional shopping experiences; 80% of transactions still occur offline after all.
MORE: 3 things holding New York tech back
Thus trendy glasses-maker Warby Parker recently opened a SoHo showroom, and the company has retrofitted a school bus to be a pop-up store-on-the-go that will travel to nine cities over the next six months. It has also launched showrooms within existing retail spaces in nine US cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Another example: Last fall Bonobos, an Internet fashion brand that peddles trendy pants to affluent men, opened a storefront it called “Guideshop” in the company’s Chelsea headquarters. In April, the company took a $16.4 million investment led by Nordstrom’s (JWN) (along with Accel Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners) and struck a deal with the retailer to sell its clothes in more than 69 physical stores. A year later, Bonobos has “Guideshop” boutiques in Boston and Palo Alto and a Chicago store will open October 15.
It’s a strategy that makes sense, says Forrester (FORR) analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, because real estate is relatively cheap right now and online retailers have drastically reduced the price of inventory. (Many still mail the inventory online after customers have reviewed the products in the store.) “They’re small bets,” Mulpuru adds. “If it ends up being successful they can extend it to other places as well.”
That’s the model BaubleBar hopes to follow. Founders Daniella Yacobovsky and Amy Jain, both 30, developed the idea for the jewelry company, which sells necklaces, earrings and bracelets for an average between $20 and $120, a few years ago when they were classmates in their second year of Harvard Business School. They noticed most shoppers had no brand affiliation with jewelers the way they might with clothing, say, or shoes. Thus department stores competed on margins, not volume: they bought from many smaller designers without care-taking relationships and then marked the jewelry way up.
MORE: Facebook’s China problem
After meeting with hundreds of designers, Yacobovsky and Jain turned to the Internet to cut out the middlemen, bringing prices down for consumers while at the same time paying designers more. They launched officially in January 2011 after issuing BaubleBar invitations to friends, and have grown mostly by word-of-mouth. With $5.6 million in funding, the company, which adds roughly 100 new products to the site every week, is also able to move very fast — a classic Internet advantage — and to localize products.
Yacobovsky and Jain now hope that speed together with their expert product picks will pay off in physical stores. Beyond THE BAR, they plan to launch more boutiques across the country catering specifically to local tastes. If a fashion blogger in Atlanta is talking up spikes, for example, they can stock an Atlanta store with spiked jewelry within weeks. They can merchandise a store in Atlanta very quickly.
More e-tailers may follow suit. Even Amazon is rumored to be considering a brick-and-mortar store, giving a whole new life to the term “multichannel.”
FORTUNE — Fashion site BaubleBar has spent two years building an avid group of fans who turn to the site to sift through a fast-changing array of hip jewelry sold at reasonable prices. On October 17, the company will invite customers to try on that jewelry in person — at THE BAR, a 500 square-foot showroom that will open in the back of the company’s Manhattan corporate headquarters.
Consider it a modern twist on an old trend: since the birth of the web, traditional brick-and-mortar retailers have been creating digital storefronts. Web sales of apparel and accessories, in particular, are growing far faster than any other e-commerce product category and are expected to reach $40.9 billion in 2012 according to eMarketer. But until recently, digital retailers rarely took to the streets. (When’s the last time you drove down to your local Amazon (AMZN) to pick up a skirt?)
Now that’s changing as a new crop of entrepreneurs are developing digital brands that migrate to physical locations. They know that the online opportunity may be big, but it is still dwarfed by more traditional shopping experiences; 80% of transactions still occur offline after all.
MORE: 3 things holding New York tech back
Thus trendy glasses-maker Warby Parker recently opened a SoHo showroom, and the company has retrofitted a school bus to be a pop-up store-on-the-go that will travel to nine cities over the next six months. It has also launched showrooms within existing retail spaces in nine US cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Philadelphia.
Another example: Last fall Bonobos, an Internet fashion brand that peddles trendy pants to affluent men, opened a storefront it called “Guideshop” in the company’s Chelsea headquarters. In April, the company took a $16.4 million investment led by Nordstrom’s (JWN) (along with Accel Partners and Lightspeed Venture Partners) and struck a deal with the retailer to sell its clothes in more than 69 physical stores. A year later, Bonobos has “Guideshop” boutiques in Boston and Palo Alto and a Chicago store will open October 15.
It’s a strategy that makes sense, says Forrester (FORR) analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, because real estate is relatively cheap right now and online retailers have drastically reduced the price of inventory. (Many still mail the inventory online after customers have reviewed the products in the store.) “They’re small bets,” Mulpuru adds. “If it ends up being successful they can extend it to other places as well.”
That’s the model BaubleBar hopes to follow. Founders Daniella Yacobovsky and Amy Jain, both 30, developed the idea for the jewelry company, which sells necklaces, earrings and bracelets for an average between $20 and $120, a few years ago when they were classmates in their second year of Harvard Business School. They noticed most shoppers had no brand affiliation with jewelers the way they might with clothing, say, or shoes. Thus department stores competed on margins, not volume: they bought from many smaller designers without care-taking relationships and then marked the jewelry way up.
MORE: Facebook’s China problem
After meeting with hundreds of designers, Yacobovsky and Jain turned to the Internet to cut out the middlemen, bringing prices down for consumers while at the same time paying designers more. They launched officially in January 2011 after issuing BaubleBar invitations to friends, and have grown mostly by word-of-mouth. With $5.6 million in funding, the company, which adds roughly 100 new products to the site every week, is also able to move very fast — a classic Internet advantage — and to localize products.
Yacobovsky and Jain now hope that speed together with their expert product picks will pay off in physical stores. Beyond THE BAR, they plan to launch more boutiques across the country catering specifically to local tastes. If a fashion blogger in Atlanta is talking up spikes, for example, they can stock an Atlanta store with spiked jewelry within weeks. They can merchandise a store in Atlanta very quickly.
More e-tailers may follow suit. Even Amazon is rumored to be considering a brick-and-mortar store, giving a whole new life to the term “multichannel.”
It pays to pay attention. Dividends and stock.
Dividends Are Stronger Than Ever
Dan Caplinger - October 12, 2012
With dividend-paying stocks more popular among investors than ever, some controversy has arisen about whether there's a dividend bubble that could send those stocks plunging in the future. Yet despite extreme investor optimism about dividend payers, one fact is clear: On the whole, stocks are doing a good job of boosting their payouts to keep up with rising share prices.
Gauging dividend health
Every quarter, S&P Dow Jones Indices provides commentary (link opens PDF file) about the state of the dividend-paying stock universe. Looking at the figures that S&P compiles provides a useful snapshot of what's happening among dividend stocks and which way prevailing trends are moving.
By all accounts, dividend stocks had an extremely strong quarter from July to September. With stocks in aggregate giving shareholders $8.8 billion more in dividends during the third quarter of 2012, S&P believes that the U.S. stock market has never paid more in aggregate dividend distributions than it's paying currently.
Moreover, many more companies are financially secure enough to raise their payouts than are nervous enough to cut back on their dividends. During the quarter, 439 stocks implemented dividend increases, while just 53 reduced their payouts.
Taking a broader view to encompass the past 12 months, you can see just how important dividends have been to the stock market's general health. Since this time last year, a whopping 2,270 companies have boosted their dividends, the highest level since 2007. Even more impressive is the $42 billion in extra dividends coming from companies that raised their payouts, as well as $17.7 billion in new initial payouts.
Where's the growth coming from?
Obviously, some well-known names account for a lot of the dollar volume of new dividends going out. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) just started its dividend, but at its current rate, it will distribute $10 billion in payouts to shareholders each year. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) will give shareholders more than $1.25 billion extra in dividends annually, thanks to its recent 75% boost in its payout rate. And while Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) is a much smaller company than it used to be, its yield of more than 3% equates to an annual payout of more than half a billion dollars -- not small change for a stock with a market cap of just $16 billion.
But with hundreds of stocks boosting their payouts, this isn't just an isolated phenomenon. Companies have realized how much investors want to see the confidence that dividends communicate, and they're responding by putting their money where their mouths are.
What goes up must come down, right?
The obvious question is whether the current love-fest for dividend stocks will eventually come to an end. On one hand, companies aren't just raising dividends arbitrarily; in most cases, improving profits underlie the payout hikes. Moreover, better profits have pushed payout ratios to extremely low levels, leaving companies with more room than usual to increase the portion of earnings they return to shareholders.
In some areas, dividends are coming down. Mortgage REITs American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC) and Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM), for instance, have cut their payouts in the past year as conditions in the mortgage-backed securities market have deteriorated somewhat. Yet mortgage REITs have mandated minimum dividends based on earnings that can lead to more volatility than with other businesses, which can implement more stable dividend policies that better account for cyclical movements.
The longer-term answer to the question of whether dividends must fall at some point in the future is that it depends on what happens with earnings. If high margins and strong corporate performance prove unsustainable, then pressure on profits could bring dividend expansion to a halt. In all likelihood, though, it would take a disruption on a similar scale to 2008's bear market in order to bring on waves of dividend decreases. For investors hungry for income, good news is likely to keep coming for a while.
Dan Caplinger - October 12, 2012
With dividend-paying stocks more popular among investors than ever, some controversy has arisen about whether there's a dividend bubble that could send those stocks plunging in the future. Yet despite extreme investor optimism about dividend payers, one fact is clear: On the whole, stocks are doing a good job of boosting their payouts to keep up with rising share prices.
Gauging dividend health
Every quarter, S&P Dow Jones Indices provides commentary (link opens PDF file) about the state of the dividend-paying stock universe. Looking at the figures that S&P compiles provides a useful snapshot of what's happening among dividend stocks and which way prevailing trends are moving.
By all accounts, dividend stocks had an extremely strong quarter from July to September. With stocks in aggregate giving shareholders $8.8 billion more in dividends during the third quarter of 2012, S&P believes that the U.S. stock market has never paid more in aggregate dividend distributions than it's paying currently.
Moreover, many more companies are financially secure enough to raise their payouts than are nervous enough to cut back on their dividends. During the quarter, 439 stocks implemented dividend increases, while just 53 reduced their payouts.
Taking a broader view to encompass the past 12 months, you can see just how important dividends have been to the stock market's general health. Since this time last year, a whopping 2,270 companies have boosted their dividends, the highest level since 2007. Even more impressive is the $42 billion in extra dividends coming from companies that raised their payouts, as well as $17.7 billion in new initial payouts.
Where's the growth coming from?
Obviously, some well-known names account for a lot of the dollar volume of new dividends going out. Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) just started its dividend, but at its current rate, it will distribute $10 billion in payouts to shareholders each year. Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO) will give shareholders more than $1.25 billion extra in dividends annually, thanks to its recent 75% boost in its payout rate. And while Dell (Nasdaq: DELL) is a much smaller company than it used to be, its yield of more than 3% equates to an annual payout of more than half a billion dollars -- not small change for a stock with a market cap of just $16 billion.
But with hundreds of stocks boosting their payouts, this isn't just an isolated phenomenon. Companies have realized how much investors want to see the confidence that dividends communicate, and they're responding by putting their money where their mouths are.
What goes up must come down, right?
The obvious question is whether the current love-fest for dividend stocks will eventually come to an end. On one hand, companies aren't just raising dividends arbitrarily; in most cases, improving profits underlie the payout hikes. Moreover, better profits have pushed payout ratios to extremely low levels, leaving companies with more room than usual to increase the portion of earnings they return to shareholders.
In some areas, dividends are coming down. Mortgage REITs American Capital Agency (Nasdaq: AGNC) and Chimera Investment (NYSE: CIM), for instance, have cut their payouts in the past year as conditions in the mortgage-backed securities market have deteriorated somewhat. Yet mortgage REITs have mandated minimum dividends based on earnings that can lead to more volatility than with other businesses, which can implement more stable dividend policies that better account for cyclical movements.
The longer-term answer to the question of whether dividends must fall at some point in the future is that it depends on what happens with earnings. If high margins and strong corporate performance prove unsustainable, then pressure on profits could bring dividend expansion to a halt. In all likelihood, though, it would take a disruption on a similar scale to 2008's bear market in order to bring on waves of dividend decreases. For investors hungry for income, good news is likely to keep coming for a while.
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