Friday, August 11, 2017

Protecting Your Digital Footprint

We all have a Digital Footprint regardless of how much you spend on-line. Even if you have never been on-line, don't have email or use social media, you still have a Digital Footprint. Yes, the more you are on-line the greater your exposure to some sort of identity theft.

Here is something to think about. Is it safer to go to a store and use your credit/debit card in person, or is it safer to shop on-line with your credit/debit card? The answer and explanation will be at the end of this article.

So how do we protect ourselves while on-line?

Have a different password for each on-line account you have
Use a non-dictionary password, using caps, numbers, symbols at least 12 characters
Use a password manager to keep track of all your passwords
Be careful of what you put on social media
Keep all your devices OS up to date (do the updates)
Use Internet Security software for you PC's
Use security software for your phones and tablets
When you are banking or investing on-line it would be wise to use what is called "Two factor Authorization". This means that after you put in your User Name and Password, you will get a text with an authorization number that you must input to gain access.
Soon finger prints, eye scans or other biometrics will be used as a login. These are getting better and more reliable, expect to see them soon in wide scale use.

Most infections or hacks come in through email or infected apps that are downloaded. Be very careful when clicking an embedded link in an email. If possible don't do this, instead go to that web site directly. For example, you may get an email from your bank that says your statements are ready, do not click the link, instead go to the bank site directly from your browser.

Now the answer from above. Generally, it's safer to shop on-line. The reason, when you put in your credit card numbers they are encrypted all the way to the credit card clearing center. When you use your card at a store you hand it to a store employee, in some cases you lose sight of that card. On-line the only human hands that your card touches are yours.

You should always use a credit card when shopping on-line, never a debit card. You have more protection with a credit card.

George Uliano is a security professional with years of law enforcement and security experience. He earned a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice and Business graduating with honors. George holds three U.S. patents on different locking principles. This combination gives George and His Company Locking Systems International Inc the unique ability to provide its customers with the correct security at an affordable price.

Thursday, August 10, 2017

Top 4 PCB Surface Finishes - Pros and Cons

PCB Surface Finish Solutions Pros & Cons

PCB Surface finish form the critical interface between the board and the components. In recent years, their widespread availability has overwhelmed some electronic designers. This post hopes to shed some light on the pros and cons of the four most dominant PCB surface finish solutions on the market: Organic Solderability Preservative (OSP), Electrolysis Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG), Electroplated Nickel Gold and Immersion Tin or Silver. The following post applies to Rigid Printed Circuits Boards (PCB) and Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC).

Note: PCBs are generally made of rigid materials and will not bend during their application. FPCs are usually thin and made of materials capable of bending and/or movement during application. Processing and application requirements dictate whether the PCB surface finish is electroplated, electrolysis, immersion or deposited.

Conditions that influence PCB Surface Finish Selection:
Oxidation protection of PCBs metal traces (usually copper).
Surface solderability for electrical and mechanical component attachment.
Surface bondability for chip mounted components using gold and aluminum wire.
Any combinations of the above.
Mechanical applications (e.g. stress, strains etc.).
Environmental conditions (e.g. temperature, relative humidity etc.).
Mechanical contacts requiring abrasion resistance and oxidation protection.
General Discussion of Available Surface finishes
Organic Solderability Preservative (OSP)
OSP has a limited shelf life. Its most frequent use is soldering when the protectant is dissipated during the process, thus no additional removal processes are needed.

Caution: once removed, the bare copper is exposed and subject to oxidation. When multiple finishes are needed on the same PCB, OSP can be applied over other types of surface finish (e.g. wire bonding and soldering, mechanical contact surfaces and soldering, etc.).

Electrolysis Nickel Immersion Gold (ENIG)

ENIG is a widely used surface finish for soldering, aluminum wire wedge bonding and mechanical contact points (connector pads, test points, etc.). The copper surface has an electrolysis nickel layer deposited (150 micro inches minimum) to seal the copper. A layer of gold is then deposited to protect the nickel from oxidation and provide a solderable surface to the nickel. The gold is absorbed and dispersed into the solder. The gold is an immersion process and the thickness is self-limiting (2 to 3 micro inches max).

The nickel layer is very brittle and cannot be subjected to stress or strains in the Z axis without cracking. Flexible PCBs are especially susceptible to this with all areas subject to potential bending supported with rigidizing materials.

Caution: Improperly controlled ENIG processing can result in weak solder connections which may not be visible and/or result in failure. A typical sign of failure is a flat black copper pad after the attached component has been forcibly removed.

Electroplated Nickel Gold

In today's complex circuits, this surface finish is very limited because it requires that all surfaces to be plated have to be electrically connected (i.e. an electrical charge must be present for plating). These interconnections must then be broken to make the circuit functional. The plated nickel is very solderable and not subject to the solderability issues of ENIG. The plated gold has no limits on thickness and can support wire-bonding processes like Thermo Compression Bonding (i.e. ball bonding).

Caution: Thicker gold can result in solder joints being too brittle when using lead based solders.

Immersion Tin and Immersion Silver

These processes provide solderable surfaces but tend to have oxidation and tarnish issues that impact solderability. They are not widely used or available.

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

The Heart of Your Computer

The Central Processing Unit (CPU), the heart of your computer, is located on a single integrated circuit (IC) chip. The IC chip also contains the memory (the data that you have created or captured and stored) of your computer. Some technicians refer to the memory as the brain, but a brain thinks, reasons, and forms ideas, whereas memory, like a library of books, only gives you back what it has.

Most folks know about the IC chip, the most important (and most expensive) component of their computer. Those who do not know that usually learn it when a chip manufacturer (such as Intel, AMD, Nvidia, or other) reports that they will send a software patch to correct a vulnerability in chips they sold or placed in electronic devices, like your computer. Think of a technology vulnerability like a door left unlocked in your house. Someone unwanted might enter your house. A vulnerability in your IC chip provides an opportunity for someone to get access to your memory data, to steal it, mess it up, or lock it up until you pay them a ransom to get a code to release it.

But, remember that your computer has a heart, the CPU, which processes the patches of vulnerabilities. Find out who sends the patches to your computer and how. Microsoft supports your computer that contains a Microsoft Windows operation system. Apple supports your iPad or other Apple product. You may have a Linux operating system and need to get your patches from Redhat or other Linux supporter. Other types of microprocessors exist as well. Check your purchase data to learn about them. When you find the correct one, contact them and find out when they push the patches electronically to their product users. Probably your operating system support company sends a massive electronic push once per month, a smaller weekly push, and (in an emergency to correct a serious IC chip flaw), as soon as the patch exists.

You may leave your computer on all of the time. If you do, your operating system support company regularly sends the patches to your computer. Check your security history file to see which ones you have (you want to see current dates). Contact the sender if you want to know more about the patch. If you turn your computer off at the end of your day, pick one day each week in which you will leave it on to get the patches. Also, say a prayer for your CPU. As long as it has a heart, you have a computer.

The Twenty Minute War

Jannsun Rader had started work for Matrix right after he tired of trying to write the great American Novel, which was about five years ago, right after the war. He was old for a Web Zone designer but who knew? Who cared? His work was all done via satellite and as long as his work was good, his online brokerage account kept growing and growing.

He grabbed his sat phone, his digital companion, and headed topside. The wind had settled down and he was making 5.5 knots over the surface of the water according to the GPS. He gained some sort of comfort in thinking of the cloud of satellites overhead keeping track of his exact location anywhere upon the surface of the globe. Single handed sailing was surely not what it used to be. Now the isolation was more illusion than reality. If he should encounter serious trouble, his position would be marked from satellites and a hover craft would be on site within two hours. Hell, they probably would even have a photograph of his terror stricken face. Of course the insurance bill would be hefty, but it was the law. The illusion was fine though, he could really feel himself to be the last (or the first) man on earth. From horizon to horizon for days on end, not one sign of human habitation.

He walked to the rear of the cockpit and sat behind the wheel as the auto pilot silently turned it ever so slightly in accordance with the next way-point previously set into the Global Positioning System software. Through the fog, he could see the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance, or what was left of it, since the earth changes had started. It would be good to get back to San Francisco or San Frantasia as it was now called since it had been pretty well destroyed by the Richter 8.9 quake the previous year.

On his radar, Jannsun could see the blip of a large freighter coming over the horizon. These cargo carriers were absolutely huge. As he got closer he could see the helicopter lift off and turn back toward land. That would be carrying the crew. These new ships were totally robotic once they reached the twenty five mile limit. Then the crew was choppered off and the ship sailed on controlled by the auto pilot and the overhead satellite array. Since they were so large they could not turn to avoid a small craft such as Jannsun's, so their defense was an ungodly loud alarm horn which woke Jannsun up on more than one occasion. The klaxon would be triggered at five miles separation if the ship's radar suspected a possible collision. Once the horn was sounded it was the smaller craft's job to move out of the path of the floating city of steel. Still there was no guarantee. Many a large cargo ship had entered port with the debris of smaller vessels caught in the anchor chain and smeared across the steel bow.

As Jannsun watched the sails pull his boat along over the small waves he had to laugh when he thought of the recent War and the rumors about the war. He had been between the Marshall Islands and Hawaii when it happened. It was supposed to be a secret but it seemed the older he became and the more connected he became, the more secrets he was becoming privy to.

He heard it from a guy, who heard it from a guy, who knew a guy, who was actually involved. According to this guy, The War lasted twenty minutes, give or take a few seconds. The computers told each side who would win, by how much and the outside limits of the overall devastation. But the losing side was new to computer war and insisted on firing a real nuclear salvo. That mistake would not be made again.

Jannsun had been aware of the holo-projection of soldiers and implements of destruction on and over battlefields and street corners but he hadn't been aware of the Time Benders, the Mach 50 anti-gravity machines. Machines that were so fast they could actually intercept an enemy missile before it's physical body could completely lift off its launching pad. Machines so fast it was said they literally--bent time. These Time Benders were said to be able to move from a base in the states to a foreign battle field before a hostile combatant's hand could cycle a round into the firing chamber of his rifle. So fast, they could be there before an enemy tech's fingers hovering over a computer keyboard somewhere in a subterranean bunker could even reach the "Enter" key. Two seconds, maybe less. Some even went so far as to say that the newest stealth, skunk works stuff was so fast it could actually bend time and travel slightly backward so as to be there looking over the enemy's shoulder as the hostile idea first seemed to occur in his mind. Time Benders. San Frantasia to New York in two seconds, maybe four. The time delay was to give the controller on the ground a chance to gather his thoughts. No passengers allowed.

These craft were not piloted by human beings. It was found way back in the nineties that human pilots could not take anything above 12 "G's" before slipping out of their bodies. This was called "G-lock" and it spelled the end for super high performance manned fighter planes. These robo-drone super planes were now all flown remotely by teenagers from underground bunkers. It was the ultimate synchronicity that children (future warriors) had been training for years on very sophisticated and ever evolving 3-d video games. The athletic pilot/engineer of the 20th Century was a thing of the past, just another artifact. Technology was on the verge of time travel, and American teenagers would be the ones with their grimy little fingers on the buttons.

In the case of the Twenty Minute War, five enemy nucs blew about ten feet off their own launching pads. "No Nucs Today", was the glad news on CNN that evening. At least not on American soil. The media, fed by the government machine, made it appear the enemy was so incompetent that all their missiles misfired and exploded in their silos but both sides knew the truth. Jannsun knew the truth, or as much of it as his personal data net was aware of. Who really knew anything for sure anymore? It looked like the technology of perception had finally outrun the technology of verification.

Maybe there was no truth. Things had become so strange that sometimes Jannsun suspected that everything had already happened and we were just toying with selective memory.


Tuesday, July 4, 2017

How To Stop Thinking About Technology

Is technology always on your mind? It need not be. It's a wide world out there for you to venture and experience a lot of other fun stuff which may be missing from your life. Please stop thinking about technology for a while. This article gives you seven ways for that. Read on to find out.

Here they go:

1) Life is not only about cell phones and digital screens. The more you focus on them, the more UV rays radiating from them deteriorate your eyesight and may even lead to blindness. It is so much better to spend time, cuddle and chitchat with your family members for a greater while.

2) You don't want to be contacted every five minutes by your family or friends. Switch your cell phone off and enjoy the scenes and sceneries around as you drive on the highway. Let your hair down, drive carefully and enjoy the beauty of life.

3) There are so many fun activities to do instead of sitting slump on the couch with a bowl of popcorn and watching the TV. Be active and join the volunteers team of your community and do some volunteer work for instance, mowing the highly grown grasses of your environment and planting new seeds for growing trees. Working as a team and spending time in mother nature will definitely raise your spirits and make you look forward to doing more of it again and again.

4) Instead of staying addicted to technology, engage yourself in one or two hobbies in your spare times. It can be cooking new recipes or plotting a fiction story whatever you love and spend your time fruitfully. It will definitely broaden your outlook and you will be wiser day by day as you engage more in hobbies you love.

5) Instead of opening your digital screens, borrow books from the local library and make time for reading them. It may be anything you like to read in your niche or a niche you are beginning to get interested. You become learned by the number of books you read every month and you will soar to great heights.

6) Instead of staying glued to technology, find a way to better your fingers at playing the piano which gets little attention in the piano space of your home. Get more musical sheets and play more and more until you are ready to play in a concert for fund-raising reasons for sick children or adults near about your community. God will acknowledge your good intentions and shower on you with more blessings.

7) Instead of chatting with new modern girls or celebrities, control yourself, get real and buy roses for your spouse to show how much you love her and how much you appreciate her contribution to the family, without whom your life would be empty.

These are seven special reasons why you need to stop thinking about technology for a while, be manly, carry out responsible activities as a spouse, parent, colleague or Boss and make the most out of everything from your life.

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

The Benefits Of A Fiber Optic Cable

Let us begin with understanding what exactly these fiber optic cables are; it is firstly a cluster of network cables that contains certain glass fibers in the form of strands that are placed inside an insulated casing. They are specifically designed for long distances, a performance data networking that is very high as well as telecommunications.

If you compare the function and potential of these with the wired cables, these optic cables have a much higher bandwidth and thus have the capability of transferring data over long distances.

Of course there are a certain reasons behind companies making use of this material of fibers rather than any else.

Let us have a look at the advantages:

• LESS EXPENDITURE TO BE TAKEN CARE OF

Of course the amount of money needed matters a great deal. Anyone would opt for a cable line that is cheaper compared to others and at the same time gives excellent service. It is said that tons of miles of this kind of cables can be made to be available at a much cheaper rate when compared to the other types. This not only saves your provider but saves a great amount of your money as well. So you should definitely opt for this kind to save the extra money from getting spent.

• THE CAPACITY OF CARRYING IS MUCH HIGHER

Since these fibers are thinner in diameter, more number of wires can be bundled together for use when compared to the other types. This gives a much broader pathway for more number of phone lines to be crossed over the same cable line or maybe get more number of channels through the cable into your set top box. Either way the benefits are in abundance. Therefore more the carrying capacity more beneficial it gets.

• VERY LESS CHANCES OF LOSING DEGRADATION

Probably the best and the most useful features for all the users of this kind of cables, the possibility of degradation of optic fibers are much less and so people invariably opt for this to not face the problem of loss of signal. It can be a really irritating phase when you have a cable line that has endless issues with the catching of signals. Hence to avoid that problem people opt for the optic fibers and enjoy the use immensely.

Seeing the top most benefits you can easily make out that there are some really noteworthy benefits of the usage of these materials that can give you a much smoother run, so without any further delay or discussion you should totally opt for these.

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

5 Benefits of Artificial Intelligence

One of the most misunderstood terms in technology is artificial intelligence. There have been several arguments of how this could result into a very disturbing concept for the human race. However, without knowing, the cognitive system is already in use and even appreciated by all who fear its effect. Some argue that it will cause several distortion especially unemployment. However, artificial intelligence are managed, maintained and even coded by humans. This is an employment means, instead of unemployment.

What this simply means is that artificial intelligence can help to improve human life and reduce stress. Here are the benefits of artificial intelligence.

Insight in Marketing and Business

Data is probably the most important raw material for the transformation of an economy to a digital economy. However, this raw data are hovering in the air untapped, unprocessed, and useless. It can be deployed for data mining, and processing of big data in a few minutes to provide information on business insights.

Fraud Detection

One of the movies that displayed to a high extent what Artificial Intelligence can really do is the 2012 BattleShip. Artificial intelligence can be deployed in the detection of fraud by data analysis of several fraudulent behaviors. The system can trace out links and possible direction, which a fraud is most likely to take through the application of artificial intelligence, which involves Data analysis of previous record deployed in a cognitive system to track, trace, and even be totally be aware of possible fraudulent action before they occur.

Speedy Input and Management of New Information

Over the years, companies are constantly seeking ways to manage date, speedily input them and also recover them when needed. This has go through different series of improvement from introduction of filing to several other storage methods. However, data can be imputed at a faster rate and also be fast in recovery, and arranging every single file accordingly without time wastage by the use of artificial intelligence.

Big Data Analysis

For every company, organization and even the government, decision-making is a very vital role to play. A single error could cost a lot or possible bring the organization to a ruin. There are possible millions of data that need to be analyzed to make sure that every single aspect have been viewed before decisions are taken. Big data analysis helps to extract, analyze and compress raw information to assist in decision-making.

Automated Systems

Since the evolution of the industrial sector, the improvement of technology has always recognized and work along side automated systems to improve works. Introductions of artificial intelligence in hotel bookings, tractors and factory machine are all speedily becoming automated with a lot of advantages as to minimizing waste, decreasing errors and improving production.

As business, begin to plan their improvement and growth; it has become paramount to introduce different measure that will assist in achieving this goal. Artificial intelligence has come to play that very pressing role that can transform the face of a business, a government and even an entire economy from just a regular way of getting things done to a more sophisticated means.