Two Factor Authentication

These days spending time online can be dangerous regardless of whether you’re a private individual checking things out at home or the proprietor of a business. Admittedly there is more potential danger and loss to be had by a business who operates a network that stores client and business sensitive data. If this same company also has employees using the internet and email for any reason this opens the network and your data to even bigger and more damaging threats.

Danger has always lurked just around the corner for those who enjoy spending time online and since the inception of the Internet there have been various companies out to prove that they provide the very best in online security both for businesses as well as for the private sector. As someone who’s been using the Internet for the better part of fifteen years I can tell you that there are very good, middle of the road and very bad security programs available through different vendors.

The one portion of online security I find disconcerting however is the oversight many of the larger publishers have when dealing with the common computer user. The typical computer owner knows how to do little more than open a browser and peruse a few favorite websites. With the majority of people falling into this category I often wonder why security programs are continually churned out that are overly difficult to use, have poor interfaces, or require extensive computer knowledge to use. Businesses really aren’t affected by this however as they hire knowledgeable professionals who come to work already educated about such things.

Having spent the last couple of weeks researching online security programs I came across Two Factor Authentication which in layman’s terms ups your online security and protects valuable and private data by using a digital fingerprinting system to determine what is and isn’t safe and/or legitimate for you and any business who might use such security. This type of security can keep those individuals interested in practicing unscrupulous activities from doing so which in turn keeps valuable information safe.

Interestingly enough a few of the companies I looked into offered Two Factor Authentication services that required no tokens and required no installation of additional servers. I can see this as a big selling point for those businesses who might be interested in keeping their sensitive materials out of hands that might do harm, such as a man-in-the-middle looking to pull off phishing attacks. I was further surprised to find that some companies offer this type of security making use of retinal scans though I found these to be much more expensive than those utilizing fingerprints and the like.

So just how much security do you need? That’s actually a matter of how big your business is and how many people have access to the data and equipment you want protected. Should everyone with access actually have those privileges or do they have access simply because you don’t have the time to implement these types of security features? There’s no price you can put on security and peace of mind so those of you who may not have yet to look into Two Factor Authentication security should do so.

Why Dress Your Pet?

Many of us have been pet owners at some point during our lives. Bringing a pet into a home can generate both extra love and excitement within the house and for children the experience is an even bigger event, especially if it’s their first pet. Arguably the most popular family pet throughout the world is the dog. Everyone in my circle of friends and family has owned a dog at some point and a few have taken things one step further by dressing their lovable purebreds and mutts in Dog Clothes.

As a lover of dogs myself and having owned several both as a child and as an adult I’ve gone to great lengths to ensure my dogs have lived comfortable and healthy lives but I’ve never quite gone so far as to put a sweater on any of my furry friends or tied bows on the tops of their heads. Mind you I have nothing against this type of adoration for pets though I’ve never quite understood the desire or need to do such a thing.

I wanted to find out more about this phenomenon so I went to see my group of friends who regularly engage in such activities. My goal was to find out if there was something I was missing and to be quite frank, I didn’t expect to learn anything new about dressing a pet. So what did I find out? Let’s take a look.

I met my four close friends at a local restaurant to begin discussing Dog Clothes and the many reasons they all enjoyed putting their pet into such things. I had apparently overlooked a few key motivations, the first and most important being the need to dress pets to keep them warm in the winter. All but one of my confidants stated that this was their primary reason behind the decision to begin dressing their dogs. It is of interesting note too that all four of these individuals own small dogs so keeping their pet warm seemed logical considering their dogs have little hair in most cases and no hair in another.

Aside from keeping their K9 friends warm in the long winter months, they all stated that they dressed these pets in Dog Clothes for no other reason that to make the dogs look good. I’ll admit that I had associated those who dress pets in pet clothes with a certain stereotypical type of pet owner but as I found rather quickly there were many different types of Dog Clothes and many of the vendors offer a wide variety of styles and sizes, which shattered my perception of the typical dog sweater scenario. Though I visit all of these people on a regular basis, on average we don’t normally meet at our homes so I don’t see the dogs to often, so my friends where kind enough to bring pictures to this meeting. The pictures did reveal several interesting get up’s for pets which surprised me.

At the end of our rendezvous I found myself interested in looking further into this subject and was further astonished to find myself considering the purchase of several different sets of Dog Clothes for my Yellow Lab. Dog Clothes and the people who dressed their pets in such things really baffled me prior to learning more about it and seeing outfits other than sweaters really opened my mind to the possibility of buying something for my dog. It’s been just over four months now and am at present the owner of five outfits that I dress my Dog in anytime I take her out for a walk or run through the neighborhood.

An Education in IT

Though it’s not exactly new, Data Center Automation is sweeping through the world of IT Automation and is changing not only the way networks and their data are managed but is freeing up network resources as well as man power. Of course with the implementation of IT Automation comes many a benefit for companies large and small. As a long time computer user I wanted to know a lot more about this process so I decided to speak with a few key individuals.

After having spoken with several different heads of IT departments and teams it became very obvious very quickly that not only is data managed more efficiently but networks incorporating such things as runbook automation and itil service management find that their networks have fewer recourses being eaten up by processor and memory consuming tasks. This then leads to a faster and more secure network and allows programs dependant on a network to work faster and have less down time.

One of the gentlemen I spoke with early on in my research told me that putting IT Automation into practice equates to “showing an individual who is struggling with his/her workload how to manage their time and resources better and get the work done properly and out on time” Though I know only the basics of IT but as someone who’s quite competent with computers this explanation really made it clear just how automation works and how much good it has brought about for those companies whom rely on their networks heavily for both organization and for their day to day business.

I was also quite shocked to find that once automation takes root within a company many IT professionals who where once used to chase bugs and holes in the network where now being given more meaningful and productive tasks such as programming new proprietary software, alpha and beta testing, and many other duties that serve their companies in more dynamic means than they used to. Of the four individuals I spoke with, only one made little to no emphasis on this particular benefit. The other three touted this as the sole motive behind the decision to automate parts of their network. As a former business owner I can see just how motivating something like that would be too as making an employee more productive and efficient always helps the bottom line.

The one thing that all four of these gentlemen stressed however was just how important it is to spend time researching services and programs before any decisions are made. I was given one example of an ex employer who had rushed into and through the automation process only to find the services they had opted for delivered either to much or to little in the areas of need and therefore created a situation that created more problems for the network than it solved. There was further emphasis on research and planning as a lack of detail in those phases can help to speed a company to its demise in worst case scenarios.

So what have I learned through my inquiries with these four people? Well, I certainly have better understanding of the benefits automation carries with it and I now can say I understand why it’s taking businesses by storm and quickly becoming commonplace. It was also made clear how automation can hurt an unprepared and negligent company when care isn’t taken in the early stages. My new understanding of IT automation really leads me to believe that in just a few short years data center automation will be part of every business both small and large and will give companies an opportunity to fine tune their networks and the teams they employ to run them. The world of IT can at time be challenging and overbearing but opting for things like itil service management and even exin services can positively push the boundaries of your IT department.

Pellet Guns A Collectors Opinion

There are many arguments for and against gun control in this country and with so many misusing firearms it’s not hard to understand the position of those in favor of more control or banning and those who wish to see the owning of guns remain a choice that individuals make and not the government. I generally consider myself a fairly liberal person and while I believe there are always stronger ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who would use them improperly and to do other harm, I also believe that removing guns from society all together will only force immoral individuals to find another weapon with which to threaten us with.

In addition to traditional firearms, there has been a lot of attention of other types of non lethal guns such as pellet guns. As a long time collector and admirer of pellet rifles and air soft guns I find it unfortunate that there are individuals who make use of blank guns and other type of bb and pellet guns to threaten and even harm innocent people. Some of these guns look like actual firearms and in some cases are designed be an exact replica of their more deadly cousins. I think it unfair to lay blame on these guns or any type of gun, lethal in force or not because it’s not the gun that hurt anyone, it’s the person who pulled the trigger. Though any type of gun can be dangerous in the hands of irresponsible, angry, or immature persons, to remove firearms and even pellet guns is akin to placing a band-aid on top of a gaping wound. It solves nothing and those who used guns to do harm in the past will only find a new weapon of choice to use against innocents.

It is all too common a practice these days for people to look for and find a scapegoat and/or a quick solution. We as human beings should look at the tragedies caused by those with guns and realize that this is a human problem and not lay blame on an inanimate object. There are many physiological factors that contribute to a person being able to harm another human being and those are the things we should be looking at. This is where we should be attacking the problem because as I’ve stated before, even if we were to ban every single non-living object in the world, those with the ability to harm, maim, or even kill would still have feet and fists. As a society we should attempt to determine what motivates a person to commit such heinous acts and find ways of stopping this. I’m also a realist however and am well aware that there will likely never be a way to completely or even largely eradicate this type of behavior but we have a responsibility to try.

Recently I have had neighbors frown on me for allowing my teenage son to shoot pellet rifles in our back yard. Comments such as “how can you allow a child to shoot a gun” and “that’s irresponsible” reverberate throughout my front yard on a nearly daily basis. Sadly the majority of these people hold this position only because of what they see on the news or read in the paper. When it comes to guns, even air soft guns, it’s a case of a few bad apples ruining the barrel. I grew up shooting pellet guns with my dad and I like once did with me, have instilled responsibility and safety in my son before anything else. I grew up shooting and have not one time ever thought of using any of my guns for anything but target practice in my back yard or out in the mountains. I’m a well adjusted adult and I believe my son will one day be as well.

The bottom line with any type of gun is this. There are those of us who enjoy collecting and shooting for recreation. We are responsible, level headed people who know right from wrong and would never harm anyone or anything using any type of weapon. There are also those who will attempt to harm others out of frustration, immaturity, fear, revenge, etc. Sadly these people will find a way to do harm whether guns of any type exist or not. We can reduce the number of injuries though through education and responsibility and playing it safe can make shooting a lot of fun.