You need “green space.”
Green spaces, formerly known as parks, have a multitude of psychological benefits. Spending time in nature has been shown to reduce stress and criminal behavior, restore attention, and increase people’s self-reported health. “This means space that you don’t have to make a special trip to, but space that you encounter in daily life — even green space that you see from your window,” McCay says. Much of the same holds for “blue spaces,” or ocean views. If you want to be more deliberate about getting your nature in, consider the Japanese practice of shinrin yoku, or wilderness bathing.
You need “active space.”
“When people are designing for health, this is the focus,” McCay says. “It’s a big opportunity for physical health, but there’s also a strong mental health correlation.” As in: Tons of research points to how physiological health drives emotional well-being, including a million-person study that came out last month saying that cardio protects you from depression. From an urban-design perspective, it’s not just parks that contribute to that, but active commutes, like walking and cycling — which are, coincidentally, the most energizing ways to get to work.
RELATED STORIES
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You need “social space.”
These are places where neighbors might spontaneously interact. “It’s a question of making public places more social, by, say, putting in more benches or setting up chessboards in a park or square,” McCay says. A bonus: It also reduces the need of going to bars.
Providing spaces for bonding looks increasingly essential: Several decades of research point to how social support bolsters well-being and makes people more resilient; and a clever study of getting strangers to talk on commutes indicates that people are more eagerly open than they assume, even for introverts.
And “safe space,” too.
“This is crucial, whether it means security in terms of crime, traffic, or, for people with dementia, safety from getting lost,” McCay says. “But you don’t want to design a safe space so that it feels suffocating or sterile. For example, people should have choices about which route to take rather than being constrained into one specific ‘safe’ route.” These things have cascading consequences, as illustrated by a 2016 study of single working moms participating in an education program in Philadelphia. Women living in insecure neighborhoods didn’t feel safe letting their kids play outside, so they stayed in the home — making it harder to get their own schoolwork done.
TAGS: URBANISMDESIGNCITIES
In the world of digital marketing, the numbers tell the story.
Want to know if the time your are spending writing those clever Facebook posts is worth it?
Check the number of reactions, comments and shares you are getting and see how many of your "Fans" and their friends you are reaching.
Are your followers loving your tweets on Twitter? Check the number of retweets you are getting.
It seems like every action you take online has a COMPLETE analytics suite to support it.
That can be good, but it can also be a little - no A LOT - overwhelming!
I will confess, I am a "numbers guy".
But, I will even admit that, after awhile, everything runs together and the value of any single "metric" starts to lose its meaning.
That's why I focus on just 5 numbers, the 5 digital marketing metrics that will drive your business in 2017.
Key Metric #1 - Page Behavior on Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a number lover's nirvana. The problem is there are literally thousands of numbers to look at.
I go directly to a single screen to see how our website traffic as a whole, as well as any single individual page, is doing.
It's the "All Pages" screen. Here's the one for kimgarst.com, one of our two websites.
You can get there by entering Google Analytics, then selecting the "Reporting" tab first and scrolling down and clicking on "Behavior". Once there click on "Site Content" and then "All Pages".
Look at the wealth of information!
I can see our top perfroming pages ranked by "Pageviews" and all of the key data on each. From there I can make decisions about what's working, what's not and what our community wants more (or less!) of.
For instance, from the data above I can see that two of our free offers are crushing it (#2 and #4) and that we might want to add a free offer on top Instagram Hashtags (that blog post received 63,000 pageviews and people spent, on average 10:01 on the page!)
Key Metric #2 - E-Mail Open Rates
What's the point of spending all of the time and effort building an email list if the people on the list never open the emails that you send them?
Yes, email open rates are a critical metric that you should be intimately familiar with, but what's a good open rate?
That's a question I get asked A LOT!
My answer is "It depends", and that answer usually drives people crazy! But, let me explain and you will see why.
So far in 2016 we have sent 65,823 "batches" of emails ranging from a single email to a single person to one reaching over 160,000 individual subscribers.
Our opens rates ranged from a low of 5% to a high of 68% with an average of about 14%.
The massive fluctuation is based on the segment of our entire subscriber base we choose for the mailing and the subject.
For instance, the results below are for a follow-up email we sent to people who signed up for and attended one of our open training webinars.
A whopping 48% of the subscribers opened the email and 15% actually clicked on one of the links in it.
Whereas just 11% of the subscribers receiving one of our recent newsletters opened it and just 2% clicked on a link.
However, the "top" performing email had 236 link clicks while the "bottom" performing one had 2,493!
My point?
Email open rates are a critical digital metric that will drive your business in 2017.
Email open rates are a critical digital metric that will drive your business in 2017.
CLICK TO TWEET
You need to become familiar enough with yours to understand what a good open rate is versus a bad one based on your business, your market and the type of emails you are sending to the different segments of your list.
Key Metric #3 - Facebook Post Engagement
Our Facebook Fan Page numbers are HUGE. We have 400,000 Fans and our posts typically reach 1,000,000 - 10,000,000 people per week.
However, in my opinion, those numbers don't mean a thing!
What really matters is the number of people "engaging" (meaning reacting, commenting or sharing) with our Facebook posts.
As a rough comparison, the number of Facebook Fans you have is similar to the size of your email list. The number, or percentage of post engagements is similar to your email open rate and link clicks.
I know our posts for the week are particularly engaging when the post engagement rate (number of post engagements divided by Facebook Fans) is above 25%. In the screen shot above it's 29%, which is pretty strong.
Key Metric #4 - Landing Page Conversion Rate
Is this a good landing page? By good, I mean high converting.
Let's find out.
We have an absolute scale we measure our landing pages performance against.
If our landing page conversions rate (the number of people who complete the information divided by the number of people who land on the page) is under 30% we pull the page, work on it and try again.
From 30% to 50% is considered "average" for us and we leave the page up while we continue working on it.
Above 50% is considered "good" and we pore a disproportionate percentage of our Facebook Ads budget to promote is.
How do you calculate your landing page conversion rate? There are lots of ways. Google Tag Manager is free and pretty easy to set up.
We use Facebook Ads and fiind the two pieces of data we need in the Ads Manager dashboard.
The landing page conversion rate is simply the "Results" (the number of people who made it to the "Thank You" page) divided by the "Link Clicks" (the number of people who clicked the actual ad and were taken to the landing page).
In the example above ,the landing page conversion rate is w whopping 60.2% (5,231/8688).
So, the answer to my question is "Yes", this is an exceptional landing page.
Key Metric #5 - Blog Social Sharing
We use a WordPress plugin (Social Warfare) to make sharing our blog content quick and easy.
How many people share our blog posts, and where, tells us the relative value of the information we are providing for our online community.
For instance, the realtively new post above, a post about the best time to post on Facebook, has been shared 149 times...on Facebook!
We have had posts shared 50,000+ times and other shared under 100. By tracking this metric we know which of our blog posts are resonating the best with our community.
A Few Final Words about Digital Marketing Metrics
What I have presented above are the 5 digital marketing metrics I use on a weekly basis to tell me, in a glance, how our website, email, Facebook, landing page and blog are performing.
Each of the above is free and realtively easy to set-up.
Don't be afraid of the numbers, embrace them. They provide amazing insights that will drive your entire business in 2017!
Don't be afraid of the numbers, embrace them. They provide amazing insights that will drive your entire business in 2017!
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What are your favorite and/or the most powerful digital marketing metrics you look at? I would love to hear you answer in the comments section below.
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Updated: 12/19/2016 - Sponsored by Instant Checkmate
What Lies Have Been Written About You Online?
What Lies Have Been Written About You Online?
What lies have been written about you online?
We all know that employers do background checks on potential employees, and it’s important for you to know exactly what could pop-up. Most people just Google themselves, but that basic search won’t reveal everything that’s out there.
Think you’ve got nothing to hide? You probably don’t – really – but you could still have a damaged record. Whether some disgruntled ex lied about you on social media, you missed paying a bill years ago that went to the collectors, or someone has used your identity fraudulently, that information could ruin your future.
Instant Checkmate is the leading background search site chosen by people all over America. It lets users perform background checks on themselves, friends, family, neighbors and acquaintances. Instant Checkmate finally gives you peace of mind, through quality searches across hundreds of millions of criminal, traffic, arrest records and much more.
Through searching and compiling the information from millions of databases, Instant Checkmate provides:
• Traffic and arrest records.
• Criminal history, including DUIs and sexual offenses.
• Online dating profiles.
• Financial history.
• Credit and debt information, including foreclosures and tax liens.
• Properties owned and home value.
• Current and past known home addresses.
• Birth, death and marriage records.
• Drives license information.
• Email addresses and phone numbers.
• Voter registration.
• Corporate affiliations and job history.
• Known associates, friends and family.
It’s all available at your fingertips, and it’s only a search away.
After getting a subscription you’ll also have access to unlimited searches, so you can look up potential employers, future dates, friends, neighbors and even your own family. Find out what they’ve been hiding.
Suspicious that your date may be married, or some kind of predator? Instant Checkmate has also become a popular background check for single men and women around the country. Find out the facts before that first kiss!
Of course, learning people’s secrets can be highly addictive. Fortunately, if you decide to start searching for friends and family it’s entirely anonymous — so they’ll never know you did it.
Try a search on Instant Checkmate right now to discover what secrets you can uncover.
Learn More
This article sponsored by Instant Checkmate Copyright Howlifeworks.com 2016
http://www.syntelinc.com/ http://www.syntelinc.com/syntbots/ SyntBots®: Transform Your Business with Intelligent Automation
Overview
The digital age has brought together the technology and process maturity required to fundamentally transform IT services. Today, enterprises in every industry are under pressure to cut costs and become more agile. They face fierce competition from disruptive startups with a digital advantage, putting pressure on them to transform their businesses.
Today’s “digital native” consumer is brand agnostic and attracted to ease of access and convenience. They expect services to be delivered anytime and anywhere, through social, mobile and other digital channels.
Therefore, today’s enterprises must modernize and migrate their mission critical systems in order to engage digital native consumers and avoid a “digital disconnect”.
In this environment, it has become critical for enterprises to:
Create the financial and staffing capacity to plan and execute future business models, rather than day-to-day operations
Quickly develop and market high-quality new products, services and functionality with lower costs
Keep mission critical operations and systems running at peak performance around the clock
To help enterprises cross this digital barrier, Syntel has built the SyntBots® platform. SyntBots is an integrated IT automation platform that enables efficient business transformation using recursive automation. Smart businesses are implementing intelligent automation by using SyntBots to transform and adapt to this new digital reality.
SyntBots has certified integration with SAP NetWeaver, enabling clients to automate the implementation, rollout, and upgrade of SAP applications. It can be easily integrated into SAP environments and operates seamlessly with SAP applications.
Services
Syntel's Managed Services powered by SyntBots provides a holistic solution that enables businesses to thrive in the digital economy. SyntBots is a next-generation automation platform that utilizes intelligent automation to transform IT operations, DevOps, and processes across the entire enterprise. SyntBots addresses three key transformation areas:
Ensure highly available IT systems and processes to serve customers across the globe over multiple channels using SyntBots for IT Operations
Enable faster development of new products and ensure first time right using SyntBots for DevOps
Automate processes to free up bandwidth to work on transformation ideas with SyntBots for Processes
Three Pillars of SyntBots Three Pillars of SyntBots Three Pillars of SyntBots
SyntBots for IT Operations
SyntBots for IT Ops delivers a single, unified automation platform for managing an enterprise’s IT infrastructure, including application support, infrastructure support, monitoring, event handling and remediation.
This is not simple trigger-based scripting that responds to failures and outages. SyntBots for IT Ops bases its actions on predefined business rules and guided machine learning to take precise and intelligent steps to keep the business running at peak performance.
Through the power of predictive analytics, SyntBots for IT Ops can learn and understand trends — to enable preventive scaling instead of reactive recovery. It leverages recursive automation to virtually eliminate the cost associated with manual effort, reduces staff workload, and boosts system uptime.
Solution Highlights:
Automated management for applications and infrastructure, with auto remediation of monitoring, incident management and problem management
Customizable levels of automation – from enriched or assisted to fully automated
Creates a unified automation approach, vs. silos of tools
500+ ready to deploy SOPs for common recurring incidents
Integration with ITSM tools for automatic updates
Plug and play architecture
Ticket enrichment and prioritization for problem tickets
Rule-based workflows
Metrics and reporting dashboards
Enables increased offshoring and reduction in TCO
70%
Improvement in SLA
35%
Reduction in TCO
Active
Business Continuity Planning
Reduced
Operational Risk
Insights
SyntBots has helped customers address the challenge of transforming their businesses in the Digital Age. SyntBots has enabled many organizations to succeed in today’s marketplace, helped them revolutionize the way they use technology, and created future-ready enterprises.
Video Overview
Brochure
Transform your Business with Intelligent Robotics
Transform your Business with Intelligent Robotics
Case Studies
SyntBots Delivers Build Automation Processes
SyntBots® Delivers Build Automation Processes
SyntBots Helps Leading Financial Regulator with Successful Digital Transformation
SyntBots® Helps Leading Financial Regulator with Successful Digital Transformation
Reduce TCO by 35% in STP Exception Handling Operations with SyntBots
Reduce TCO by 35% in STP Exception Handling Operations with SyntBots®
SyntBots Delivers 60% More System Availability for Speciality Retailer
SyntBots® Delivers 60% More System Availability for Speciality Retailer
Contact Us
To learn how SyntBots can power your digital transformation, get in touch with us today.
http://www.nytec.com/
NYTEC
In our 41st year, we are a full service design and engineering consulting firm providing end-to-end solutions and resources to make on-demand consumer lifestyle products a reality. We have deep expertise in research, design, and engineering across hardware, software, and cloud services. We can work on or off site, managing projects completely end-to-end in our Product Innovation Center (PIC) or embedding our talent into your team where there are gaps, through our Consulting Services (staff augmentation). From innovative new startups to the most recognized Fortune 100 companies, we utilize a collaborative approach between clients and our world class interdisciplinary team, to bring insightful research, thoughtful design, and end-to-end engineering solutions.
The Nytec Product Innovation Center offers our partners a fresh perspective and full service end-to-end product design and development in a secure state of the art center. This competitive edge allows design and engineering to bring both form and function, balanced with a strong business point of view to help our clients deliver on their business objectives. We pride ourselves in providing partners with creative, practical designs that add more value than competing product design companies, all with superior customer attention.
It took me more than a decade of “trying to learn” how to code to actually learn to code.
Starting in high school I had a burning desire to learn the exotic languages of computer programming. Like most, my interest began in a computer class while playing around with HTML. But it was only about a year and a half ago that I finally felt competent coding. Maybe I’m not going to blow the doors off, but man, does it feel great to say “I can code.”
This post is dedicated to those who truly want to learn to code — to understand the fundamentals — using free online coding classes and tools that are available to everyone.
A word about formal education
Before we jump into the free courses, I would be remiss not to mention formal training. When I first attempted to become a competent coder, I signed up for a community college course around the corner from my office. It felt like I was in an episode of Community.
While I enjoyed the physical presence of a professor, plus the structured time commitment and grading pressure, I found the biggest challenge with this approach is that most college curriculum is far behind commercially used languages and frameworks. I understand this statement paints colleges with a very wide brush, and I’m sure there are some excellent programs out there, but I’m an advocate for the “teach yourself” method. So, onto the reviews.
Note: I’ve personally used all the courses listed below. There are far more out there, which you can find here.
Learn to code: Getting started
What should you learn first? Backend? Frontend? What’s the difference? This is super-basic stuff, but here’s a quick refresher so that we’re all on the same page. Here’s how I am using these terms:
Backend development is all about creating the “brain,” which does all the processing of your website or app. If you’re using Facebook, the backend is the part that tells the user-facing web page what to show.
Frontend development is what you “feel and touch” when it comes to the website or app. It’s the color and operation of a button, or the way a picture is displayed and what a user can do to it.
If you’re just getting started, I recommend learning frontend development first, for the simple reason that you can easily see changes and updates as you make them. For example, you alter the spacing on a window, then refresh the page and boom — see if the changes occurred as you expected.
4 free online classes to learn how to code
1. Codecademy
Code Academy Learn to Code
A big player in the space and probably the one you’ve already heard of is Codecademy. In my opinion, Codecademy is the easiest to use, and probably the most basic. I haven’t taken all their courses, but I did enjoy their JavaScript course twice, as well as the Make an Interactive Website course.
Pros to Codecademy:
Easy to use
Most basic
Cons to Codecademy:
Limited scope of learning
Courses felt repetitive
2. Code.org
Hour of Code Learn to Code
I’m not embarrassed to say that I took a coding course aimed at young grade schoolers, all thanks to Code.org. The website pairs their online courses with live demonstrations happening around the United States. As such, you’re given a really simple, graphical way of understanding code and computer science. You’re not going to learn functional languages here. But if you’re looking to grasp the basics of coding, it’s a great introduction to how computers “think.” Try the accelerated course for 6- to 18-year-olds.
Pros of Code.org:
Learn the basics of basic computer programming
Great to understand how computers think
Cons of Code.org:
You’re not going to learn web languages
3. Harvard’s CS50
Harvard CS50 Learn to Code
A few years ago Harvard offered their seminal Introduction to Computer Science course online for free, which you can now find here. This is a great combination of Codecademy’s focus on learning usable languages with Code.org’s theoretical approach. Plus, you almost feel like you’re attending Harvard. At least when I took it a few years ago, the course ran the same time as spring and fall semesters, so a bit of time scheduling is required.
Pros of CS50:
Good balance between theory and practice
Great videos of the lectures (not boring at all)
Harvard…‘nuff said?
Cons of CS50:
It can move quickly at times
The course was designed for full-time students so be prepared to put in the work
4. Khan Academy
Khan Academy Learn to Code
Khan Academy is probably my favorite of all coding courses. It was also the most recent one I took. Overall, the courses are in-depth and I really appreciated the structures in place to learn. At the same time, they’re probably the most challenging. Khan Academy interlaces interactive coding demos and quizzes with videos of lessons taught by teachers. I found the balance between the two really helpful in their JavaScript course, and the challenge level was just enough to keep me motivated and encouraged.
Pros of Khan Academy:
Live video alongside interactive coding
Most challenging (in a good way)
Cons of Khan Academy:
Requires dedication as it’s not easy to start and stop
Help and support aren’t as robust as Codecademy
Bonus: Code with a buddy
One final bonus suggestion is to pair up with a friend when learning how to code. I was fortunate enough to sit beside a great developer and I’d just bug him constantly with questions. If you have a patient friend who you can sit beside for a few Saturday coding sessions, it will pay HUGE in dividends.
When you understand code enough to get the jokes…
That’s when you know you’ve made it. This is really the goal. If you can understand developer jokes, you’ve gotten past the biggest learning curve. Why do I believe this? They say the last thing you comprehend when learning a new language is the jokes. Humor always relies on a nuanced understanding of any dialect.
After 10 years, I finally get the jokes, and now laugh confidently with the best of them.
Did you use free online courses to learn to code? Please share in the comments!
Also published on Medium.
Image by Dean Hochman via Compfight cc https://www.google.com/search?q=Free+Coding+Classes http://en.lmgtfy.com/?q=Free+Coding+Classes
Virtual private network
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"VPN" redirects here. For other uses, see VPN (disambiguation).
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VPN connectivity overview
A virtual private network (VPN) extends a private network across a public network, such as the Internet. It enables users to send and receive data across shared or public networks as if their computing devices were directly connected to the private network. Applications running across the VPN may therefore benefit from the functionality, security, and management of the private network.[1]
VPNs may allow employees to securely access a corporate intranet while located outside the office. They are used to securely connect geographically separated offices of an organization, creating one cohesive network. Individual Internet users may secure their wireless transactions with a VPN, to circumvent geo-restrictions and censorship, or to connect to proxy servers for the purpose of protecting personal identity and location. However, some Internet sites block access to known VPN technology to prevent the circumvention of their geo-restrictions.
A VPN is created by establishing a virtual point-to-point connection through the use of dedicated connections, virtual tunneling protocols, or traffic encryption. A VPN available from the public Internet can provide some of the benefits of a wide area network (WAN). From a user perspective, the resources available within the private network can be accessed remotely.[2]
Traditional VPNs are characterized by a point-to-point topology, and they do not tend to support or connect broadcast domains, so services such as Microsoft Windows NetBIOS may not be fully supported or work as they would on a local area network (LAN). Designers have developed VPN variants, such as Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), and layer-2 tunneling protocols, to overcome this limitation.
Contents [hide]
1 Types
2 Security mechanisms
2.1 Authentication
3 Routing
3.1 Provider-provisioned VPN building-blocks
4 User-visible PPVPN services
4.1 OSI Layer 2 services
4.2 OSI Layer 3 PPVPN architectures
4.3 Unencrypted tunnels
5 Trusted delivery networks
6 VPNs in mobile environments
7 VPN on routers
8 Networking limitations
9 See also
10 Further reading
11 References
Types[edit]
Early data networks allowed VPN-style remote connectivity through dial-up modem or through leased line connections utilizing Frame Relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) virtual circuits, provisioned through a network owned and operated by telecommunication carriers. These networks are not considered true VPNs because they passively secure the data being transmitted by the creation of logical data streams.[3] They have been replaced by VPNs based on IP and IP/Multi-protocol Label Switching (MPLS) Networks, due to significant cost-reductions and increased bandwidth[4] provided by new technologies such as Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)[5] and fiber-optic networks.
VPNs can be either remote-access (connecting a computer to a network) or site-to-site (connecting two networks). In a corporate setting, remote-access VPNs allow employees to access their company's intranet from home or while travelling outside the office, and site-to-site VPNs allow employees in geographically disparate offices to share one cohesive virtual network. A VPN can also be used to interconnect two similar networks over a dissimilar middle network; for example, two IPv6 networks over an IPv4 network.[6]
VPN systems may be classified by:
The protocols used to tunnel the traffic
The tunnel's termination point location, e.g., on the customer edge or network-provider edge
The type of topology of connections, such as site-to-site or network-to-network
The levels of security provided
The OSI layer they present to the connecting network, such as Layer 2 circuits or Layer 3 network connectivity
The number of simultaneous connections
Security mechanisms[edit]
VPNs cannot make online connections completely anonymous, but they can usually increase privacy and security. To prevent disclosure of private information, VPNs typically allow only authenticated remote access using tunneling protocols and encryption techniques.
The VPN security model provides:
Confidentiality such that even if the network traffic is sniffed at the packet level (see network sniffer and Deep packet inspection), an attacker would only see encrypted data
Sender authentication to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the VPN
Message integrity to detect any instances of tampering with transmitted messages
Secure VPN protocols include the following:
Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) as initially developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) for IPv6, which was required in all standards-compliant implementations of IPv6 before RFC 6434 made it only a recommendation.[7] This standards-based security protocol is also widely used with IPv4 and the Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol. Its design meets most security goals: authentication, integrity, and confidentiality. IPsec uses encryption, encapsulating an IP packet inside an IPsec packet. De-encapsulation happens at the end of the tunnel, where the original IP packet is decrypted and forwarded to its intended destination.
Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) can tunnel an entire network's traffic (as it does in the OpenVPN project and SoftEther VPN project[8]) or secure an individual connection. A number of vendors provide remote-access VPN capabilities through SSL. An SSL VPN can connect from locations where IPsec runs into trouble with Network Address Translation and firewall rules.
Datagram Transport Layer Security (DTLS) – used in Cisco AnyConnect VPN and in OpenConnect VPN[9] to solve the issues SSL/TLS has with tunneling over UDP.
Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE) works with the Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol and in several compatible implementations on other platforms.
Microsoft Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) tunnels Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol traffic through an SSL 3.0 channel. (SSTP was introduced in Windows Server 2008 and in Windows Vista Service Pack 1.)
Multi Path Virtual Private Network (MPVPN). Ragula Systems Development Company owns the registered trademark "MPVPN".[10]
Secure Shell (SSH) VPN – OpenSSH offers VPN tunneling (distinct from port forwarding) to secure remote connections to a network or to inter-network links. OpenSSH server provides a limited number of concurrent tunnels. The VPN feature itself does not support personal authentication.[11][12][13]
Authentication[edit]
Tunnel endpoints must be authenticated before secure VPN tunnels can be established. User-created remote-access VPNs may use passwords, biometrics, two-factor authentication or other cryptographic methods. Network-to-network tunnels often use passwords or digital certificates. They permanently store the key to allow the tunnel to establish automatically, without intervention from the administrator.
Routing[edit]
Tunneling protocols can operate in a point-to-point network topology that would theoretically not be considered as a VPN, because a VPN by definition is expected to support arbitrary and changing sets of network nodes. But since most router implementations support a software-defined tunnel interface, customer-provisioned VPNs often are simply defined tunnels running conventional routing protocols.
Provider-provisioned VPN building-blocks[edit]
Depending on whether a provider-provisioned VPN (PPVPN)[clarification needed] operates in layer 2 or layer 3, the building blocks described below may be L2 only, L3 only, or combine them both. Multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) functionality blurs the L2-L3 identity.[citation needed][original research?]
RFC 4026 generalized the following terms to cover L2 and L3 VPNs, but they were introduced in RFC 2547.[14] More information on the devices below can also be found in Lewis, Cisco Press.[15]
Customer (C) devices
A device that is within a customer's network and not directly connected to the service provider's network. C devices are not aware of the VPN.
Customer Edge device (CE)
A device at the edge of the customer's network which provides access to the PPVPN. Sometimes it's just a demarcation point between provider and customer responsibility. Other providers allow customers to configure it.
Provider edge device (PE)
A PE is a device, or set of devices, at the edge of the provider network which connects to customer networks through CE devices and presents the provider's view of the customer site. PEs are aware of the VPNs that connect through them, and maintain VPN state.
Provider device (P)
A P device operates inside the provider's core network and does not directly interface to any customer endpoint. It might, for example, provide routing for many provider-operated tunnels that belong to different customers' PPVPNs. While the P device is a key part of implementing PPVPNs, it is not itself VPN-aware and does not maintain VPN state. Its principal role is allowing the service provider to scale its PPVPN offerings, for example, by acting as an aggregation point for multiple PEs. P-to-P connections, in such a role, often are high-capacity optical links between major locations of providers.
User-visible PPVPN services[edit]
OSI Layer 2 services[edit]
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Virtual LAN
A Layer 2 technique that allow for the coexistence of multiple LAN broadcast domains, interconnected via trunks using the IEEE 802.1Q trunking protocol. Other trunking protocols have been used but have become obsolete, including Inter-Switch Link (ISL), IEEE 802.10 (originally a security protocol but a subset was introduced for trunking), and ATM LAN Emulation (LANE).
Virtual private LAN service (VPLS)
Developed by Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, VLANs allow multiple tagged LANs to share common trunking. VLANs frequently comprise only customer-owned facilities. Whereas VPLS as described in the above section (OSI Layer 1 services) supports emulation of both point-to-point and point-to-multipoint topologies, the method discussed here extends Layer 2 technologies such as 802.1d and 802.1q LAN trunking to run over transports such as Metro Ethernet.
As used in this context, a VPLS is a Layer 2 PPVPN, rather than a private line, emulating the full functionality of a traditional local area network (LAN). From a user standpoint, a VPLS makes it possible to interconnect several LAN segments over a packet-switched, or optical, provider core; a core transparent to the user, making the remote LAN segments behave as one single LAN.[16]
In a VPLS, the provider network emulates a learning bridge, which optionally may include VLAN service.
Pseudo wire (PW)
PW is similar to VPLS, but it can provide different L2 protocols at both ends. Typically, its interface is a WAN protocol such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode or Frame Relay. In contrast, when aiming to provide the appearance of a LAN contiguous between two or more locations, the Virtual Private LAN service or IPLS would be appropriate.
Ethernet over IP tunneling
EtherIP (RFC 3378) is an Ethernet over IP tunneling protocol specification. EtherIP has only packet encapsulation mechanism. It has no confidentiality nor message integrity protection. EtherIP was introduced in the FreeBSD network stack[17] and the SoftEther VPN[18] server program.
IP-only LAN-like service (IPLS)
A subset of VPLS, the CE devices must have Layer 3 capabilities; the IPLS presents packets rather than frames. It may support IPv4 or IPv6.
OSI Layer 3 PPVPN architectures[edit]
This section discusses the main architectures for PPVPNs, one where the PE disambiguates duplicate addresses in a single routing instance, and the other, virtual router, in which the PE contains a virtual router instance per VPN. The former approach, and its variants, have gained the most attention.
One of the challenges of PPVPNs involves different customers using the same address space, especially the IPv4 private address space.[19] The provider must be able to disambiguate overlapping addresses in the multiple customers' PPVPNs.
BGP/MPLS PPVPN
In the method defined by RFC 2547, BGP extensions advertise routes in the IPv4 VPN address family, which are of the form of 12-byte strings, beginning with an 8-byte Route Distinguisher (RD) and ending with a 4-byte IPv4 address. RDs disambiguate otherwise duplicate addresses in the same PE.
PEs understand the topology of each VPN, which are interconnected with MPLS tunnels, either directly or via P routers. In MPLS terminology, the P routers are Label Switch Routers without awareness of VPNs.
Virtual router PPVPN
The virtual router architecture,[20][21] as opposed to BGP/MPLS techniques, requires no modification to existing routing protocols such as BGP. By the provisioning of logically independent routing domains, the customer operating a VPN is completely responsible for the address space. In the various MPLS tunnels, the different PPVPNs are disambiguated by their label, but do not need routing distinguishers.
Unencrypted tunnels[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this template message)
Main article: Tunneling protocol
Some virtual networks do not use encryption to protect the privacy of data. While VPNs often provide security, an unencrypted overlay network does not neatly fit within the secure or trusted categorization. For example, a tunnel set up between two hosts with Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE) is a virtual private network, but neither secure nor trusted.[22][23]
Native plaintext tunneling protocols include Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP) when it is set up without IPsec and Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP) or Microsoft Point-to-Point Encryption (MPPE).[24]
Trusted delivery networks[edit]
Trusted VPNs do not use cryptographic tunneling, and instead rely on the security of a single provider's network to protect the traffic.[25]
Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) often overlays VPNs, often with quality-of-service control over a trusted delivery network.
Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol (L2TP)[26] which is a standards-based replacement, and a compromise taking the good features from each, for two proprietary VPN protocols: Cisco's Layer 2 Forwarding (L2F)[27] (obsolete as of 2009) and Microsoft's Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP).[28]
From the security standpoint, VPNs either trust the underlying delivery network, or must enforce security with mechanisms in the VPN itself. Unless the trusted delivery network runs among physically secure sites only, both trusted and secure models need an authentication mechanism for users to gain access to the VPN.
VPNs in mobile environments[edit]
Mobile virtual private networks are used in settings where an endpoint of the VPN is not fixed to a single IP address, but instead roams across various networks such as data networks from cellular carriers or between multiple Wi-Fi access points.[29] Mobile VPNs have been widely used in public safety, where they give law enforcement officers access to mission-critical applications, such as computer-assisted dispatch and criminal databases, while they travel between different subnets of a mobile network.[30] They are also used in field service management and by healthcare organizations,[31] among other industries.
Increasingly, mobile VPNs are being adopted by mobile professionals who need reliable connections.[31] They are used for roaming seamlessly across networks and in and out of wireless coverage areas without losing application sessions or dropping the secure VPN session. A conventional VPN can not withstand such events because the network tunnel is disrupted, causing applications to disconnect, time out,[29] or fail, or even cause the computing device itself to crash.[31]
Instead of logically tying the endpoint of the network tunnel to the physical IP address, each tunnel is bound to a permanently associated IP address at the device. The mobile VPN software handles the necessary network authentication and maintains the network sessions in a manner transparent to the application and the user.[29] The Host Identity Protocol (HIP), under study by the Internet Engineering Task Force, is designed to support mobility of hosts by separating the role of IP addresses for host identification from their locator functionality in an IP network. With HIP a mobile host maintains its logical connections established via the host identity identifier while associating with different IP addresses when roaming between access networks.
VPN on routers[edit]
With the increasing use of VPNs, many have started deploying VPN connectivity on routers for additional security and encryption of data transmission by using various cryptographic techniques.[32] Setting up VPN support on a router and establishing a VPN allows any networked device to have access to the entire network—all devices look like local devices with local addresses. Supported devices are not restricted to those capable of running a VPN client.[33]
Many router manufacturers, including Asus, Cisco, Draytek,[33] Linksys, Netgear, and Yamaha, supply routers with built-in VPN clients. Some use open-source firmware such as DD-WRT, OpenWRT and Tomato, in order to support additional protocols such as OpenVPN.
Setting up VPN services on a router requires a deep knowledge of network security and careful installation. Minor misconfiguration of VPN connections can leave the network vulnerable.[citation needed] Performance will vary depending on the ISP.
Networking limitations[edit]
One major limitation of traditional VPNs is that they are point-to-point, and do not tend to support or connect broadcast domains. Therefore, communication, software, and networking, which are based on layer 2 and broadcast packets, such as NetBIOS used in Windows networking, may not be fully supported or work exactly as they would on a real LAN. Variants on VPN, such as Virtual Private LAN Service (VPLS), and layer 2 tunneling protocols, are designed to overcome this limitation.
See also[edit]
Anonymizer
Dynamic Multipoint Virtual Private Network
Geo-blocking
Internet privacy
Mediated VPN
OpenVPN
Opportunistic encryption
Split tunneling
Tinc (protocol)
UT-VPN
Virtual Private LAN Service
Virtual private server https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCdGkE9wcNXF9sENUr1YMMw/videos
VPNBook
Further reading[edit]
Kelly, Sean (August 2001). "Necessity is the mother of VPN invention". Communication News: 26–28. ISSN 0010-3632. Archived from the original on 2001-12-17.
References[edit]
Jump up ^ Mason, Andrew G. (2002). Cisco Secure Virtual Private Network. Cisco Press. p. 7.
Jump up ^ Microsoft Technet. "Virtual Private Networking: An Overview".
Jump up ^ Cisco Systems, et al. Internet working Technologies Handbook, Third Edition. Cisco Press, 2000, p. 232.
Jump up ^ Lewis, Mark. Comparing, Designing. And Deploying VPNs. Cisco Press, 2006, p. 5
Jump up ^ International Engineering Consortium. Digital Subscriber Line 2001. Intl. Engineering Consortium, 2001, p. 40.
Jump up ^ Technet Lab. "IPv6 traffic over VPN connections".
Jump up ^ RFC 6434, "IPv6 Node Requirements", E. Jankiewicz, J. Loughney, T. Narten (December 2011)
Jump up ^ SoftEther VPN: Using HTTPS Protocol to Establish VPN Tunnels
Jump up ^ "OpenConnect". Retrieved 2013-04-08. OpenConnect is a client for Cisco's AnyConnect SSL VPN [...] OpenConnect is not officially supported by, or associated in any way with, Cisco Systems. It just happens to interoperate with their equipment.
Jump up ^ Trademark Applications and Registrations Retrieval (TARR)
Jump up ^ OpenBSD ssh manual page, VPN section
Jump up ^ Unix Toolbox section on SSH VPN
Jump up ^ Ubuntu SSH VPN how-to
Jump up ^ E. Rosen & Y. Rekhter (March 1999). "RFC 2547 BGP/MPLS VPNs". Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).
Jump up ^ Lewis, Mark (2006). Comparing, designing, and deploying VPNs (1st print. ed.). Indianapolis, Ind.: Cisco Press. pp. 5–6. ISBN 1587051796.
Jump up ^ Ethernet Bridging (OpenVPN)
Jump up ^ Glyn M Burton: RFC 3378 EtherIP with FreeBSD, 03 February 2011
Jump up ^ net-security.org news: Multi-protocol SoftEther VPN becomes open source, January 2014
Jump up ^ Address Allocation for Private Internets, RFC 1918, Y. Rekhter et al., February 1996
Jump up ^ RFC 2917, A Core MPLS IP VPN Architecture
Jump up ^ RFC 2918, E. Chen (September 2000)
Jump up ^ "Overview of Provider Provisioned Virtual Private Networks (PPVPN)". Secure Thoughts. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
Jump up ^ RFC 1702: Generic Routing Encapsulation over IPv4 networks. October 1994.
Jump up ^ IETF (1999), RFC 2661, Layer Two Tunneling Protocol "L2TP"
Jump up ^ Cisco Systems, Inc. (2004). Internetworking Technologies Handbook. Networking Technology Series (4 ed.). Cisco Press. p. 233. ISBN 9781587051197. Retrieved 2013-02-15. [...] VPNs using dedicated circuits, such as Frame Relay [...] are sometimes called trusted VPNs, because customers trust that the network facilities operated by the service providers will not be compromised.
Jump up ^ Layer Two Tunneling Protocol "L2TP", RFC 2661, W. Townsley et al., August 1999
Jump up ^ IP Based Virtual Private Networks, RFC 2341, A. Valencia et al., May 1998
Jump up ^ Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), RFC 2637, K. Hamzeh et al., July 1999
^ Jump up to: a b c Phifer, Lisa. "Mobile VPN: Closing the Gap", SearchMobileComputing.com, July 16, 2006.
Jump up ^ Willett, Andy. "Solving the Computing Challenges of Mobile Officers", www.officer.com, May, 2006.
^ Jump up to: a b c Cheng, Roger. "Lost Connections", The Wall Street Journal, December 11, 2007.
Jump up ^ "Encryption and Security Protocols in a VPN". Retrieved 2015-09-23.
^ Jump up to: a b "VPN". Draytek. Retrieved 19 October 2016.
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DEC. 14, 2016
How to Protect Your Personal Information Online
Runa Sandvik, The New York Times’s director of information security in the newsroom, and Nicole Perlroth, who writes about cybersecurity and privacy, answered reader questions about cybersecurity and protecting personal data online. Read the full transcript below.
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
8:26 PM ET
Hello! I’m Runa, the Director of Information Security for the Newsroom at The New York Times. What questions do you have about information security and how to protect yourself online?
Please submit your questions in advance and we’ll answer some of them during tomorrow’s chat.
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
9:04 PM ET
Hi, I’m Nicole and I cover all things cybersecurity and hacking for The Times. I’m looking forward to your questions and hearing about how you have dealt with your issues around data protection.
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
1:57 PM ET
Hi everyone - we’ll be starting our chat shortly. Nicole is unfortunately running late, but we’re looking forward to answering your questions!
M
Marc
Reader, United Kingdom
2:00 PM ET
Should I buy a 2FA token or continue using my mobile phone to secure my account? How would you describe to my tech-illiterate relatives the importance of securing their email accounts?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:00 PM ET
Marc - I usually say that not securing an online account is like not having a lock on your front door. The better the lock, the harder it is to get in. Describing the importance of security to others is all about figuring out what matters most to them; sometimes it’s more about access to content and not so much encryption and security and privacy.
A
Andrew
Reader, Netherlands
2:01 PM ET
Besides a firewall and anti-virus software, do you recommend encrypting a harddrive as an extra measure against cyber crime?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:02 PM ET
Andrew - that’s a great question! Encrypting your hard drive will protect data stored locally on the drive if the computer is ever lost, stolen or seized. To protect data you have stored in the cloud, I recommend that you consider good passwords and two-factor authentication where possible.
CK
Charles Koppelman
Reader, Berkeley, CA
2:03 PM ET
Without giving away too much, can you tell us what security protections NY Times reporters take in their communications? Especially with sources.
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:03 PM ET
Charles - earlier today we launched a tips page with secure communication channels for sources. This page (https://nytimes.com/tips) tells sources how to reach us on Signal, WhatsApp, SecureDrop, via encrypted email and postal mail. In short, we are familiar with and frequently use various secure communication tools to ensure that we protect our communications, data, and sources.
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Rosie
Reader, Philadelphia, PA
2:10 PM ET
I am one of the unfortunate yahoo users. To update “security” they are asking for my phone number and another email. Isnt this just foolish to give to the site? What else can I do? What happens if you shut down an account (which I have never tried to do)
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:10 PM ET
Rosie - I’m sorry to hear you were affected by the Yahoo breach! If you’re not confident that the provider can protect the additional information it is now asking for, you may want to consider other providers. The provider will still have all the contents you’ve given up so far, but at the very least you won’t give up more going forward.
J
Julie
Reader, Ireland
2:11 PM ET
If your browser asks, “Do you want to remember this password?” what should you choose?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:12 PM ET
Julie - instead of relying on a single browser to remember passwords for you, I recommend you look into a password manager instead. The password manager will help you create and remember good, unique passwords for all your sites and services. By using a password manager, you can access your passwords from any computer, regardless of the browser you are using.
WS
Waheed Shams
Reader, Brooklyn, NY
2:12 PM ET
Can I make a new e-mail account and transfer all data to the new address for protection?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:12 PM ET
Waheed - you could technically create as many email addresses as you want, but the bigger question here is what you’re trying to protect yourself or the emails from? If the emails are already with a provider, moving to a different provider isn’t going to change the fact that the first one already has access.
WS
Waheed Shams
Reader, Brooklyn, NY
2:13 PM ET
What can I do AFTER finding my e-mail was hacked?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:13 PM ET
Waheed - in situations where one of your online accounts have already been hacked, it is highly recommended that you secure the account as best as you can. This means changing the password, setting up two-factor authentication (if possible), reviewing active sessions and devices for anything suspicious (that is, for devices and activity you don’t recognize).
JG
Joan Garrity
Reader, White Marsh, MD
2:13 PM ET
Is it really realistic at this point to think it is possible to protect one’s personal information from being hacked??
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:13 PM ET
Joan - within the information security community we always say that nothing is 100% secure. What’s important is that you consider how the service will use the information you’re providing; this is essentially information that you are trusting the service with, information that could leak at some point in the future. This is true not only for emails, but for social media, messages, etc.
L
Liz
Reader, Boston, Massachusetts
2:17 PM ET
How do I validate an email from my email provider telling me I need to change my password if there is a chance it is a hacker?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:17 PM ET
Liz - some phishing emails look very realistic and it can be hard to tell a phish from a real email. A few things to look out for include; is the sender someone you recognize? did the email come from the provider itself? if you hover over the link in the email, does it point to the domain owned by the provider? If you receive an email requesting that you change your password, I suggest you open a new tab in your browser, go directly to the email provider’s website and change your password there. Do not use the link in the email to do so.
P
Patrick
Reader, San Francisco, CA
2:18 PM ET
What is a 2 FA token
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:18 PM ET
Patrick - good question! 2FA is short for “two-factor authentication.” That’s when you use your username, password and a random code that, say, your phone has generated to log on to your account. In this case, your phone is the ‘token’ that generates the code. You can also receive the code via SMS, or you can use a hardware token, such as a YubiKey (looks like a tiny USB stick).
B
Bryan
Reader, Chicago, IL
2:19 PM ET
Can you suggest a password manager? There are so many to remember.
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:19 PM ET
Bryan - a password manager is a great option if you’re looking for ways to create and remember good, unique passwords for all your services. I highly recommend you look at 1Password, Dashlane and LastPass.
M
Marc
Reader, West Islip, NY
2:20 PM ET
Hi, do you recommend storing files on a separate drive to protect from ransomeware?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:20 PM ET
Marc - I’ll always recommend creating backups of data you care about, whether you’re concerned about ransomware specifically or something different. For many, cloud services are great for backing up content. If you don’t want to put your data in the cloud, using an external hard drive is a great alternative.
B
Barb
Reader, Philadelphia, PA
2:25 PM ET
Are we really protected by secured apps if a hack were to happen?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:25 PM ET
Barb - when we talk about secure messaging apps and what they can do for us, it is important to remember that while the apps may not provide 100% security or any guarantees, they do protect a bigger portion of the communications than if we didn’t use the apps. With Signal, for example, the app will encrypt the contents of the messages (and calls) and the service does not retain any metadata about the who and when and how often.
Photo
Subpoenas and Gag Orders Show Government Overreach, Tech Companies Argue
Open Whisper Systems received a subpoena for information on its Signal app subscribers and an order not to talk about it, a practice Microsoft and others say is too prevalent, and unconstitutional.
The New York Times
WK
William Kolb
Reader, Memphis, TN
2:25 PM ET
A billion were hacked; out of how many? How do I know if I’ve been hacked?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:25 PM ET
William - I believe Yahoo is currently notifying users who were affected by the most recent breach. If you have not received such a notice, I’d still advice you to change the password on your account (and anywhere else where you’ve used the same password) and set up two-factor authentication where possible. This is true not just for Yahoo and email in general, but for any other account that you have.
J
John
Reader, Pasadena, MD
2:27 PM ET
Are password managers like keychain and lasspass really a good idea? Doesn’t this just mean that a hacker has to crack/discover/fish one password to get access to all your passwords?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:27 PM ET
John - you’re asking a good question and I understand it may seem a bit backwards to put all your passwords in the cloud, hope the provider doesn’t get hacked and trust us all when we say this is better than not using a password manager. Realistically, using a password manager with a good, unique master password is better than not using one. If you’re not using one, you’re likely to start re-using passwords at some point and that’s far from ideal.
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:29 PM ET
Hello readers! Nicole Perlroth, cybersecurity reporter for the New York Times here. Sorry I’m late! Excited to jump in and answer your questions.
C
Cynthia
Reader, Manhattan Beach, CA
2:34 PM ET
Is there any way to permanently delete old messages from email and social media accounts?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:35 PM ET
Cynthia - deleting content means that it’s no longer available to you or anyone who gains access to your accounts. The majority of service providers out there do retain content, however, even if you have deleted it yourself. Something to keep in mind depending on whether your concern is a hacker or someone taking legal action.
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Larry
Reader, Encino, CA
2:35 PM ET
I am a CEO concerned about protecting my employees’ emails in the wake of this Yahoo attack. What can I do to prevent them from reusing passwords? Is 2FA an option for me?
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:37 PM ET
Larry, Your best defense is to encourage employees to enable two-factor authentication and to set policies that force employees to change up their passwords every 90 days or so. You are bound to hear some gripes, but some complaining is much preferred to having your data in the hands of hackers.
J
Jerry
Reader, New York, NY
2:41 PM ET
Are firewalls such as Sonicwall effective in preventing hacking?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:41 PM ET
Jerry - a firewall is one tool in the security toolbox that can help you protect your network and the devices on it. There is sadly no one tool that can defend against all possible attacks. Keep in mind that you also need to secure all your online accounts - we’ve talked a bit about use of two-factor authentication and password managers as starting points for doing so.
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:47 PM ET
Jerry- Firewalls are never a bad idea. But I put them in the same bucket as antivirus software, in that they make it harder for hackers, but are not a cure-all. It’s important to layer on other security defenses, like two factor authentication for email, to protect your data.
A
Arne
Reader, Dallas, TX
2:41 PM ET
Is it true that most SMS message apps are easily read by outside parties, but that Signal cannot be?
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Rosie
Reader, Arlington, MA
2:41 PM ET
I heard iPhones are encrypted. Should I be using Signal anyway?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:45 PM ET
Nicole has a good point here about the iPhone and the Signal messaging app; the iPhone does encrypt the data stored locally, but does by default not do anything for your communications using the phone. That’s where apps such as Signal come in; the app will encrypt your messages and your calls, and the service is designed to retain as little metadata as possible.
Correction 12/16/16: Suggesting that the iPhone does not do anything to protect your communications is an oversight on my part. iOS does, by default, use end-to-end encryption for messages sent using iMessage from one iPhone to another. In addition, FaceTime will encrypt audio and video calls by default. If you are communicating with someone who does not have an iPhone, however, it is recommended that you use an app such as Signal to ensure end-to-end encryption. — Runa
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:41 PM ET
Arne and Rosie had similar questions about protecting text messages from snoopers. iPhone content is encrypted and harder for hackers to intercept, but I also recommend that people use secure, encrypted messaging apps like Signal and Wickr for more sensitive communications.
P
Phil
Reader, Cary, NC
2:43 PM ET
Runa, you said to use an external hard drive to protect data from ransomware. Doesn’t ransomware take all drives connected to the computer hostage?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:44 PM ET
Phil - you’re correct in saying the ransomware will grab whatever is on the local drive and any attached devices. What you could do is either use the cloud to back up your data or use a hard drive that you attach, back up the data on, detach and store somewhere safe.
G
George
Reader, Tampa, FL
2:50 PM ET
How reliable is checking to see if the email comes from the alleged sender? My niece published an op-ed in today's Times explaining how she became a victim of a spear phishing attack courtesy of Qatar. Can phishers fake domain names? And I believe the Times reported on the Israeli company that developed the hacking tools and sold them to Qatar. See http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/26/technology/apple-software-vulnerability-ios-patch.html.
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:51 PM ET
George - it can sometimes be difficult to tell a fake email from a legit one, and the people behind these emails are getting more and more creative with how they do it. Sometimes they create fake domain names that look just like the real ones you’re expecting to see, other times the contents of the email is almost exactly the same as what the real company would send out (minus a spelling mistake or two). A great piece on what it’s like to have your accounts hacked is this one from Mat Honan
https://www.wired.com/2012/08/apple-amazon-mat-honan-hacking/
D
David
Reader, Austin, TX
2:51 PM ET
I’m still unconvinced about using a password manager, in effect ‘putting all your eggs in one basket’- it seems like these companies would be prime targets for hackers. How long before we hear of one of these 'vaults’ being hacked?
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:51 PM ET
David, You’re right to be skeptical. Password managers like LastPass have themselves been compromised in a breach. It’s important to do some diligence to understand which Password Managers have the best reputations. I am also a skeptic and keep my most sensitive passwords (for banking and email) off the web completely.
S
Susan
Reader, Dallas, TX
2:53 PM ET
I, too, have had a Yahoo email account for a long time. I see above that you said people might consider switching, which I want to do. What type of email do you use personally and/or what would you recommend?
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:53 PM ET
Susan - I personally use Google for email and that’s the provider we use here at The New York Times too. I can’t speak to other providers, but I would encourage you to choose a provider that allows you to do things like: set a good password, turn on two-factor authentication and review active sessions and devices (this comes in useful if you need to review where your account was last accessed from, for example). Some providers have better terms of service agreements and privacy policies than others, so you may want to review those as well to better understand when/how your information is collected, stored and used.
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Priya
Reader, Glen Ellyn, IL
2:59 PM ET
I was talking to my colleagues today about protecting data online and trying to articulate why its important. They think I am paranoid and a conspiracy theorist. Am I? Can governments, businesses and individuals really use your information against you? Emails, google searches, photos, etc?
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
2:59 PM ET
Priya, That is a great question. You are paranoid and these days, that’s a wonderful thing. Government hackers have routinely scoured LinkedIn and Facebook to send tailored emails to targets they want to hack. There was even one case of an oil company that state hackers could not breach head on, so they researched which restaurants employees preferred by looking at their Facebook Likes and infected the PDF take out menu of a Chinese restaurant employees ordered from. I would recommend sharing that story with any colleagues that consider you a paranoid, conspiracy theorist. It’s sure to be a wake up call.
Photo
Hackers Lurking in Vents and Soda Machines
Companies are finding that their greatest cybersecurity threats can hide in third-party systems, like networked air-conditioning equipment.
The New York Times
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
2:59 PM ET
Priya - that happens to me all the time! I find that it’s easier to argue for why it’s important if you can find a hook that helps them understand why it’s important to them. One example is use of the Signal messaging app; not everyone will care about the fact that it encrypts all calls and messages and retains little data. For some, the fact that it allows calling and messaging for free is a better selling point (and gifs, everyone loves gifs).
Nicole Perlroth
Reporter, The New York Times
3:00 PM ET
Thanks so much for your (very thoughtful) questions, today, everyone. It’s been a pleasure. I hope we didn’t scare you off the digital universe completely!
Runa Sandvik
Director of Information Security, The New York Times
3:01 PM ET
Thanks everyone! This has been great and I hope our answers were helpful.
new post
interactive media is the future of content marketing Bookmark this link to get instant access to our 12 days of content as we upload them. Content that connects: Interactive media successes in 2016
DECEMBER 13, 2016sep 3 MIN. TO READsep GRAPHICS
Not sold on the idea of interactive media? Video game developers might beg to differ to the tune of $99.6 billion in revenue during 2016 alone.
Content marketing certainly isn’t the same as the latest Triple-A first-person shooter, but the factors that drive video game success are equally applicable to interactive content. In short, being able to interact with media inherently boosts audience engagement, as individuals become participants instead of passive consumers.
Brafton has seen firsthand how an interactive approach to content marketing can provide huge return on investment. Meanwhile, data shows interactive content is increasingly in demand.
That’s why your brand should take a closer look at this emergent form of content marketing.
Deryk King, Director of Technical Services at Brafton, has spotlighted four prime examples of interactive media done right during 2016. Keep these top of mind heading into the new year.
Cross Me
When it comes to dating, “interactive” is the name of the game. So it makes sense that Japanese dating application Cross Me would double down on user engagement. The app’s highly interactive official website was even awarded “Website of the Day” by CSS Design Awards.
“During loading, the merging of the two sides and the count up of percentages is engaging and different,” King said. “Each panel is short and succinct, with items being interactive to at least provide a level of feedback (bubbles grow and even the background is draggable a few pixels), and even something as mundane as the cursor has been transformed to provide a unique browsing experience.”
Mondial de l’Automobile
The Paris Motor Show has been attracting millions of automobile fanatics for more than 100 years. Now, thanks to its interactive website, those who may not be able to board a jet to the City of Lights can still get a feel for the excitement.
“[The website] provides a great use of a 360-degree imagery to get you to interact with different aspects of the image and provide you with further info on the cars,” King said.
Cartoon Network Studios
Children and adults alike have helped make Cartoon Network a success. The cable and satellite television channel has made headlines in the past for unique, in-your-face marketing campaigns that appealed to both demographics. On the official Cartoon Network Studios website, the organization continues to think outside the box by integrating site navigation with interactive capabilities.
“[The website] takes their logo and transforms each letter into something interactive with animation,” King said. “Not all items are clickable, making the user search for the menu items (they are also all at the top in traditional style), but since each one provides some entertainment value, it represents a unique and fun interactive navigation.”
Android
Proving that pretty much any form of online content can be interactive, Android has transformed the dreaded 404 screen into a game. Not being able to find what you’re looking for is usually cause for internet-user frustration. However, Android has turned this scenario into something users may even seek out.
“[This isn’t media so much as] an interactive 404 page that is a fun game to play as a result of a website error,” King said.
There’s a strong case to be made that interactive media is the future of content marketing. The question for businesses is what form this media will take for their brands. While many associate interactive media with online quizzes and the like, the above examples show there’s no end to creative ways to align content with audience engagement.
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Eric Wendt
Eric Wendt is a writer and editor at Brafton. He discovered his love of words after realizing he was terrible at math. If he's not updating his Tumblr with poetry he's too embarrassed to share, there's a good chance he's out in search of the perfect pale ale.
Today HD360X has announced the release of a super-premium auxiliary smartphone zoom that will bring professional image magnification to today’s Smartphone Cameras. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJLjsRL91aw
Are you a social media aficionado who likes to post pictures of everything you do? How about someone who likes to take pictures of outdoor objects, but doesn’t want to spend money on a big camera with a quality zoom? If you’ve ever been jealous at the quality of some of the photos that you see, you may be surprised to learn than they didn’t spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a standard DSLR camera.
Those impressive photos could very well have been taken with the HD360X Zoom lens that attaches to your smartphone! I know what you’re thinking…there’s no way that a smartphone can take high quality photos like that. But I’ll tell you that you are in for a pleasant surprise when you see what this little lens can do.
And when I say little; I mean it. The HD360X Zoom is less than 3” long and weighs less than 2-ounces, so it’s extremely easy to carry around with you. And the fully universal clip technology allows you to use the lens on any smartphone, so you won’t have to buy a new one!
The HD360X Zoom was developed for the recreational photographer who wants to take professional quality photos, but can’t afford a professional camera. The price is affordable for almost any budget and it’s easy enough for anyone to use. If you’ve ever had a dream about taking high quality photos from your smartphone, then your time has arrived!
Check Availability
Cory Brown, lead technologist from Stuttgart, said this on the record: “Our design goals were specifically set to make this lens the absolute best in the world. We combined the highest quality optics with rugged materials that will make the HD360X Zoom withstand a variety of environments. People no longer have to buy an expensive camera. They already have an expensive smartphone that they carry with them all the time, so our idea was to give consumers a small zoom lens that will provide the sharpest focus and produce a sparkling image quality without putting a big hole in their budget.”
- Cory Brown
With the HD360X Zoom, you will experience 8x magnification that will allow you to take pictures and videos of objects that are far away. Whether you are at a sporting event or just out in the city or country, there won’t be many things that are too far away for you to get a quality photo with this lens.
But if you don’t want to use the lens to take a picture for some reason, then you can remove it and use it as a monocular as well!
So what does all this mean for you?
It means that you will be able to take high quality photos wherever you go. And if you are big on posting your photos on social media, prepare to get even more likes, comments and followers on all of your platforms. Once your friends see the high quality images that you can take with your phone, they will be impressed and share your photos with their friends to make you a hot commodity!
It is designed to ensure that you never miss a moment, whether you want to take a flawless selfie, a long-distance shot or even a panorama of a beautiful horizon. The adjustable zoom for taking photos or videos ensures that you can capture exactly what you want at the exact time that you want.
View Far Away Objects As If They Are Inches Away!
The HD360X Zoom is a durable lens, but you still need to take extra care of it. That’s why we include rubber lens caps for the front and back, as well as a microfiber cleaning cloth to delicately wipe off your lens without scratching it.
You’ll never have to worry about overpaying for a big and bulky DSLR camera again. Instead, spend your money wisely on the new HD360X Zoom lens and enjoy the same quality photos at a cheaper price and with less hassle!
This Zoom Lens is selling for 75% off it's normal price! So make sure you hurry and grab yours now at the discounted price before supplies run out.
You save OVER $160.00 by paying $56 instead of the original price of $224.45!
New! New discounts. Get Internet Download Manager for a low price now!
Internet Download Manager (IDM) is a tool to increase download speeds by up to 5 times, resume and schedule downloads. Comprehensive error recovery and resume capability will restart broken or interrupted downloads due to lost connections, network problems, computer shutdowns, or unexpected power outages. Simple graphic user interface makes IDM user friendly and easy to use.Internet Download Manager has a smart download logic accelerator that features intelligent dynamic file segmentation and safe multipart downloading technology to accelerate your downloads. Unlike other download managers and accelerators Internet Download Manager segments downloaded files dynamically during download process and reuses available connections without additional connect and login stages to achieve best acceleration performance.
Internet Download Manager supports proxy servers, ftp and http protocols, firewalls, redirects, cookies, authorization, MP3 audio and MPEG video content processing. IDM integrates seamlessly into Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape, MSN Explorer, AOL, Opera, Mozilla, Mozilla Firefox, Mozilla Firebird, Avant Browser, MyIE2, and all other popular browsers to automatically handle your downloads. You can also drag and drop files, or use Internet Download Manager from command line. Internet Download Manager can dial your modem at the set time, download the files you want, then hang up or even shut down your computer when it's done.
Other features include multilingual support, zip preview, download categories, scheduler pro, sounds on different events, HTTPS support, queue processor, html help and tutorial, enhanced virus protection on download completion, progressive downloading with quotas (useful for connections that use some kind of fair access policy or FAP like Direcway, Direct PC, Hughes, etc.), built-in download accelerator, and many others.
Version 6.27 adds Windows 10 compatibility, adds IDM download panel for web-players that can be used to download flash videos from sites like MySpaceTV, and others. It also features complete Windows 8.1 (Windows 8, Windows 7 and Vista) support, video page grabber, redeveloped scheduler, and MMS protocol support. The new version also adds improved integration for IE 11 and IE based browsers, redesigned and enhanced download engine, the unique advanced integration into all latest browsers, improved toolbar, and a wealth of other improvements and new features.
April 13, 2015 Randy Milanovic
The concepts behind “social networking” aren’t anything new – ever since there have been humans, we have been looking for ways to connect, network, and promote with one another – but they’ve taken on an entirely new meaning (and momentum) in the digital age. Where we used to have handshakes, word-of-mouth referrals, and stamped letters, today’s relationships are often begun and developed on LinkedIn, Google +, and Facebook.
That means savvy business owners have to know and use a variety of social platforms to stay relevant, not to mention take advantage of emerging opportunities. Below, you’ll find what I consider to be the 21 most important channels and tools you need to be aware of. 1. Twitter. Perhaps the simplest of all social media platforms, Twitter also just happens to be one of the most fun and interesting. Messages are limited to 140 characters or less, but that’s more than enough to post a link, share an image, or even trade thoughts with your favorite celebrity or influencer. Twitter’s interface is easy to learn and use, and setting up a new profile only takes minutes.
2. Facebook. Considered to be synonymous with “social media” by some, Facebook is the one site where you’re likely to find friends, colleagues, and relatives all floating around. Although Facebook is mainly centered around sharing photos, links, and quick thoughts of a personal nature, individuals can also show their support to brands or organizations by becoming fans.
3. LinkedIn. One of the only mainstream social media sites that’s actually geared towards business, LinkedIn is to cyberspace what networking groups once were to local business communities. It’s great for meeting customers, getting in touch with vendors, recruiting new employees, and keeping up with the latest in business or industry news. If it matters to your company or career, you can probably do it on LinkedIn.
4. Xing. Another professional networking and recruitment site, Xing has the global presence and focus that LinkedIn lacks. Although it can be mistaken for a job search portal, the site actually has a number of features and communities that make it easy to develop relationships with suppliers, colleagues and even thought leaders within industry.
5. Renren. Literally translating into “everyone’s website,” Renren is China’s largest social platform. Hugely popular with the younger crowd, it works in a way similar to Facebook, allowing users to share quick thoughts, update their moods, connect with others, and add posts or ideas to a blog-like stream.
6. Google+. Social media’s big up-and-comer has really arrived over the past few years. By combining the best of Facebook and Twitter into one site – and backing it by the power of the world’s largest search engine, Google has given users a social site that has a little something for everyone. You can add new content, highlight topics with hashtags, and even separate contacts into circles. And, a G+ profile only takes a few minutes to get set up.
7. Disqus. Disqus isn’t actually a social media platform so much as a social engagement platform, but it can definitely help you improve your social engagement. As a tool for commenting, managing feedback on your own website (or other Disqus-enabled websites), and managing spam/troll type messages, it’s invaluable. Advanced features allow for social monitoring and upvoting.
8. LinkedIn Pulse. Even though Pulse is technically a part of LinkedIn, it’s big and important enough to deserve its own entry. Serving as something between a blog and “best of” outlet, it’s the perfect medium sharing new ideas and keeping up on the thought leaders in your industry.
9. Snapchat. This surprisingly-addictive app gives you the ability to take a picture, add art and text if you’d like, and then send it to recipients for a set amount of time (after which the photo will delete itself and be removed from the company’s servers). Lots of fun, and potentially a good way to stay in touch with friends.
10. Tumblr. This platform is different form many others in that it essentially hosts microblogs for its users. Individuals and companies, in turn, can fill their blogs with multimedia (like images and short video clips). The fast-paced nature of Tumblr makes it ideal for memes, GIF’s, and other forms of fun or viral content.
11. Pinterest. Serving as a giant virtual idea and inspiration board, Pinterest has made a huge impact on social media in the last few years. Especially popular with women and the do-it-yourself crowd, it lets you share pictures, creative thoughts, or (especially) before-and-after pictures of projects that others can pin, save, or duplicate.
12. Twoo. This Belgian social network site is geared for the 25 and under crowd all over the world. Alongside normal social features like posts, updates, and photo sharing, it also boasts online games and chat features that make it popular with younger users who want to stay entertained while connecting with each other.
13. MyMFB. Created as a Muslim alternative to Facebook (it was previously called MillatFacebook), this site aims to connect the faith’s 1.5+ billion followers into a single social platform. While that might sound ambitious, it’s growing quickly and offers many of the same post, update, and sharing features as the original Facebook, and is already immensely popular in some parts of the world.
14. YouTube. As a video sharing service, YouTube has become so popular that its catalog of billions and billions of videos has become known as “the world’s second-largest search engine” in some circles. The site has everything from first-person product reviews to promotional clips and “how-two” instruction on virtually any topic or discipline. Users have the ability to share, rate, and comment on what they see.
15. Instagram. If you’re looking for a quick, convenient connection between the camera feature on your smart phone and all your social profiles, then Instagram is the answer. Not only will allow you to share via Twitter, Facebook, and the Instagram website, you can choose from a variety of photo filters and invite friends to comment on your photos or ideas.
16. Vine. This site (also available as an app) offers users the chance to share and view brief video clips. While that theoretically offers a virtually endless range of uses, most of Vine’s content is entertainment-focused, with a heavy preference towards “viral” and “meme” clips that are easy to share.
17. WhatsApp. The WhatsApp concept is simple: send text-style messages to anyone else using the platform, but without paying data charges. That straightforward idea has already gathered more than 700 million fans, making the app the world’s most popular messaging platform.
18. vk.com. Promoting itself as Europe’s largest social media site, vk.com is essentially the Russian version of Facebook, with the same kinds of profiles, messaging, and games you would expect. Like Facebook, vk.com allows users to enter both personal and professional information about themselves, and to follow or show support for organizations and businesses.
19. Meetup. Meetup is a perfectly-named platform, because it’s perfect for organizing local groups around specific interests. There are meetups centered on just about everything, from music to hobbies, and get-togethers are almost always open to newcomers. That makes it perfect for exploring an interest and making new friends at the same time.
20. Secret. This might be the best social media app most people haven’t tried. The premise is simple: join into a group of friends (or create your own), and then share an anonymous message. It’s great for fun interactions, idea starters, or just finally getting something off your chest. (Editor's note, 5/13/2015: Secret has folded. Co-founder David Byttow writes: "After a lot of thought and consultation with our board, I’ve decided to shut down Secret. Over time, I plan to publish postmortems so that others can learn from the unique mistakes and challenges we faced and the wisdom gained from such an incredible 16 months.")
21. Medium. If you’ve ever wished that social engagement could come with an ongoing, up-to-date “how to” manual written by the experts, Medium might be just what you’re looking for. With lots of helpful advice, tips, and articles, it can give you everything you need to start connecting like a pro.
social networks / shutterstock
AUTHOR INFORMATION
RANDY MILANOVIC
CEO, Author
@kayak360
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Randy Milanovic's picture
Apr 15 Posted 1 year ago
Randy Milanovic
Twitter:
Recent improvements to analytics make for some interesting behavioural observations. Don't forget to check out the metrics on your posts.
Facebook:
Two interesting points: a) you start your experience in FB by connecting to friends & family, and b) FB places considerable barriers to marketers, forcing them to pay to play unless they have content that truly resonates.
LinkedIn:
For those new-ish to LinkedIn, be aware of SWAM (site wide auto moderation). All it takes is one person to flag you as a spammer and poof, you are moderated across the network. It's a fantastic way to block spammers, while simultaneously placing a dangerous tool in the hands of your competitor.
Google+:
The big thing that sets GPlus apart from the likes of Facebook is that people go there searching information. And through that info search, end up making friends. My FAV network.
Disqus:
I'm beginning to look at Disqus as my newest fav stealth app. I've written a bit on this tool lately, describing it as a wonderfully useful influencer stalking tool. Of course, "I'd" never use it so nefariously. Just sayin. ;-)
LinkedIn Pulse:
When Pulse first launched, it auto-subscribed your existing contacts to post alerts, creating a ready-made subscriber base.
SnapChat:
(Or post sensitive data, such as a bad selfie or a rant.)
Vine:
Recent entries into the space include Periscope and Meerkat, streaming longer length video via Twitter feeds. Keep an eye on this trio.
No doubt I've just brushed the surface here. There are literally thousands of apps out there that offer social activity in one for or another. Seek and you shall fine. Have fun.
