iHelp Innovate

Your KRACK is showing!

2017-10-23T16:16:00.000-04:00

You may have heard about it in the news, earlier this year two researchers from the University of Leuven, Belgium submitted their research for review, exposing a flaw in our WiFi security. They discovered a critical vulnerability they dubbed, KRACK, which affects the WPA2 security of ALL client WiFi devices. For clarity, examples of client devices are your laptop, phone, tablet, e-reader, etc.

Is this something you need to be concerned about? Short answer is, YES!

If you’re using any Android device, it is of particular concern, because this attack executed on an Android-based client can result in a complete breakdown of the devices wireless security until this is patched. Fortunately, the security patch is relatively simple, but you can expect manufacturers will want to test it to make sure it doesn’t cause issues before releasing. Expect to see big companies like Apple publishing it as beta (aka, not ready for primetime) at first.

Devices such as WiFi access points are at lower risk unless they also act as client devices themselves to connect to other access points. Examples are wireless extenders and the new “Mesh Network” devices such as Eero, Google WiFi, and Linksys Velop that connect together to extend wireless access throughout your home. However, unless you’re very tech-savvy, you may not be aware of a client capability your wireless router has, and there is a long history of exploits against wireless routers. Although less likely, it’s not impossible that a router could be attacked, have its client capabilities enabled, and then compromised. Therefore, please do update if possible, or check that your ISP has done this for you, if you are one of them millions that rent a wireless router as part of your Internet service.

Although sites such as banks and Google are already HTTPS encrypted, the researchers warn that this was easily bypassed in a “worrying number of situations”. The good news is, if you’re using a VPN such as StrongVPN to encrypt all your Internet traffic, you’re safe from attack, because all of your data is rendered unintelligible to prying eyes the entire time you are connected to the VPN service.

Additionally, Mac and PC users do not need to be concerned, because the WPA2 protocol was never properly implemented by either Microsoft or Apple, which consequently made them immune to the attack, and official patches are already available.

Should you update everything you own that connects by Wi-Fi? In a word, yes, but since it may be very difficult to know whether or not the manufacturer has updated your device automatically, or if it must be done manually, whenever you have the opportunity to connect securely via a VPN, we recommend you do so. This will make your life easier and take a lot of worry off your mind.

It’s also important to know that this attack is very sophisticated at the moment, and requires an attacker to be within radio proximity, such as free Wi-Fi in a coffee shop. But, black hat hackers do not wait to take advantage of vulnerabilities like this, and you can be sure a method of simplifying this attack is in the works, seeking those that are unknowingly still vulnerable.

To find detailed information about the KRACK vulnerability, be sure to visit the EFF post about it. For a list of updated devices and those not yet updated, BLEEPINGCOMPUTER is one site taking the lead on tracking this complicated issue.

Have a comment or question? Please gives us your feedback in the comments sections and do join in the discussion on Twitter @dougkrug where you'll find us posting about the latest news in tech, IoT and smart home innovations.

Beating Ransomeware So You Won't WannaCry

2017-05-15T23:27:00.000-04:00

The rise of "Ransomware", has been steadily growing and the most recent spread of the ransomware identified by the names WannaCry, WannaCrypt, WanaCrypt0r 2.0 and Wanna Decryptor is BIG!

If you're not familiar with Ransomware, you should be. It's a very disruptive and costly threat if you have no protected backup to recover from. Ransomware is malicious software that extorts victims by encrypting ALL files on their system and demanding payment to release the key necessary to decrypt user files and regain access. The victims are threatened with permanent loss of access to their files if they fail to pay-up within a typically short time frame.

Widespread Damage

Reports suggest that upwards of 230,000 PCs running the Microsoft Windows operating system in 150 countries have been infected with WanaCry. Organizations such as the UK National Health Service, FedEx, Deutsche Bahn, LATAM Airlines, Telefónica and others have experienced widespread infection. These are obviously large organizations with very capable IT departments, so this is not a simple matter of incompetence as some are quick to suggest.

The researcher who inadvertently activated a kill switch that stopped the spread of the ransomeware virus said in a quote from The Guardian, “This is not over. The attackers will realise how we stopped it, they’ll change the code and then they’ll start again." No one should get too comfortable.

Preventing Ransomware Attacks

Windows users:

If you're running Windows on a PC make sure you're have the latest critical updates installed, you are running anti-virus software AND anti-malware software.

We suggest Google Chrome as a web browser to reduce the risk of system wide infections executed through browser code.

To check if Windows auto update is enabled:

Start > Control Panel > System & Security > Windows Update

Macintosh users:

If you're a Macintosh user, make sure you're up-to-date with the latest MacOS security updates. Even though this particular ransomeware virus does not apply to Macintosh computers, there is no guarantee a previously undiscovered vulnerability in the MacOS won't also be found and exploited in future attacks. If you are using a Macintosh operating system older than 10.9, you are at risk of many type of attacks and should update your operating system if possible. If the computer does not support MacOS 10.9 or later, it's time to upgrade.

We suggest Google Chrome as a web browser to reduce the risk of system wide infections executed through browser code.

To check MacOS is up-to-date:

Apple Menu > About This Mac > Software Update...

Backup properly - Not to a USB Flash Drive

As always, after updating the operating system and any applicable protection software, the best line of defense is a complete backup of your computer.

Macintosh users should utilize the built-in Time Machine backup software. With the exception of a few system settings, Apple Time Machine can restore your Mac or migrate to a new one as if nothing had changed. In the case of a new computer, you get the benefits of the latest OS, with all your existing files and programs intact, and exactly where you left them.

Windows users have many choices, but we prefer Acronis True Image for it's ability to return the system to a state where it would seem nothing had ever happened, and for painless migrations to new machines when it's time.

Backing up is more important than ever before!

While any backup at all is a good backup, redundant backups are always better. Ransomware can often attack ALL drives that are attached and mapped to the operating system. Keeping data on a separate drive that is not connected is one method, but the problem we see often is, people forget to plug it in, so their backups are out of date. A single backup drive is also a risk when it's used for double purpose. We see this often with laptops that don't have enough storage space. Data, photos and videos end up on the backup drive because it has lots of free space, but then it's only in one place.

Drive failure is also a very real risk. It's a great feeling when we're able to recover data from a hard drive that has started to malfunction. Our clients are happy and that make us feel great too. Unfortunately in some cases, it's not possible.

With drives that won't spin up or with some solid state hard drive failures, the only choice is an expensive recovery service. Expect companies that specialize in data recovery to charge anywhere from $500 for just a small amount of your data to $1000 or much more, depending on how much data has to be recovered and how difficult the steps required are to get it back.

If you have data in just one place, you are at risk

Don't fall into the trap of not backing up because it's inconvenient. If you know you're not disciplined enough, don't have the time, or simply don't want to spend a lot of time manually duplicating backups, take action and get a reliable automated solution. It's painful when we can't recover a drive that had our client's family photos on it, but we know our pain is nothing compared to what they are feeling. Most can't afford to take their faulty hard drive to one of the expensive recovery services, so it makes sense to invest in comparatively inexpensive automated backup solutions

Three backup are best - One off-site

Theft and fire are also very real risks. When a client recently came to us with the news of a stolen laptop and a single backup drive that could not be accessed, we were happy the story ended well and we were able to recover the 5 years of data they had backed up on that hard drive. They made the smart choice of purchasing a Synology NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive after that experience.

In March 2017, we wrote about the benefits of a NAS (Network Attached Storage) drive to reduce dependency on cloud backups, but these devices are also capable of automatic redundant system backups, including one of them on a cloud drive for automatic off-site backup.

Synology NAS drives can also be configured to keep an external backup drive off-line and only connect it when it performs a backup of your backup files in the middle of the night. When the backup is complete, the drive ejects until the next backup. This is a great way to keep backed up files secure from many type of ransomware attacks.

If you are not regularly backing up your system, photos and videos on three different physical drives (one of them off-site), ask us about a Synology NAS for your home or business. We can provide a free quote for automatic worry-free file backup. Your system can even backup via a wireless connection where appropriate.

Please reach out to us and we'll help you choose the right fit for your home or business. Ask us about free demonstrations so you'll know you're getting the right solution before you buy.

Image courtesy of thanunkorn/Freedigitalphotos.net

Taking control back from the cloud

2017-03-19T18:00:00.000-04:00

When we founded iHelp Innovate, there was and still is a primary goal in mind. Make it simple.

For this, we've always been big proponents of cloud based solutions like iCloud, Google, Microsoft Office 365, FreshBooks and LastPass to name just a few. But, as the cloud has grown into serious business, prices have steadily increased and free tiers are either shrinking or disappearing altogether.

Clouds of a different shape

Cloud services are under greater threat of attack with their growth in popularity, and as millions discovered in recent months, the threats from attack and mistakes can result in lost productivity and revenue. We're referring to the highly publicized attack on Dyn, the domain name provider for many large companies like Amazon and PayPal, as well as the massive Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage caused by human error.

Pay up, or else...

Many proud owners of shiny new iPhones and iPads will come to the realization shortly after purchase, that the 5 GB of iCloud data storage that Apple provides free of charge, is quickly filled and they are now expected to pay a monthly fee to store data and pictures in the cloud. Even Macintosh and Windows 10 PC owners are now encouraged to store everything in the cloud, and then a short time later are told they're out of space and will have to pay the monthly fee to continue backing up their data and photos.

Taking back control

Tired of iCloud, Google and OneDrive telling you you're out of space and asking you for more money? We've got new solutions to automatically shift cloud storage so everyone in your office or family can be covered for no more that $1 per month or less. It's not a subscription and you own it. You'll only have to pay for the electricity to run it and that's somewhere between 50 cents to 1 dollar per month, depending on how often you access it.

How about securely and privately accessing content on the internet? Previously we suggested doing this with an additional WiFi router, but as the threat to privacy has grown, VPN or Virtual Private Network providers are no longer supporting connections that don't have ultra strong security. This results in slow performance with routers that don't have the processing power to handle the extra computations required by stronger encryption methods.

What if you could have 24/7 access to your Documents, Music, Photos, Videos, and have every device wirelessly and regularly backed up, plus have instant access to a secure VPN connection, giving every device a border-free internet connection, without slowing it down? Not only do we have that solution, but it will also back itself up automatically, and notify by email or text message of any abnormal events.

Introducing Synology

We're excited to be able to offer all this in a compact, quite device, no bigger than a standard hard drive. It's eco-friendly too, consuming no more power than a typical LED lightbulb.

Meet Synology. A Network Attached Storage or NAS device, capable of all the above mentioned and more, with no extras to buy, no monthly fees, and no heavy support requirements or massive electric bills. Whether you're a home user or a small business owner, Synology makes a powerful, low cost NAS device that fits perfectly.

Features

Music backup and remote access

Free space on your laptop by moving music to a Synology NAS, but still access it like you never left your home or office.

Photo backup

Keep your phone free to take new photos without having to pay higher and higher rates for cloud storage. In fact, you'll pay nothing at all to store multiple terabytes of photos. Your phone can automatically upload photos to a free cloud service, then Synology will backup those same photos locally and then back that up again, even to another cloud! All fully automatic.

Documents and Data

Never worry about losing your data to viruses, ransomware or equipment failure. Not only can Synology backup Macs with built-in Time Machine support, it can also backup PCs, plus backup itself to multiple free cloud services. It can even automatically encrypt all the data before sending it up to the cloud, so no one but you can ever access your private data.

Access the internet privately at full speed

Can't get content because it's not available in your region, no problem. We still recommend a VPN for this, and Synology lets you do it without having to compromise your internet speed. This centralizing of the VPN account also allows a large number of users to access a VPN service without a need to purchase multiple account subscriptions.

Store notes and access your own office software

There's no guarantee the notes you store with Apple, Google or Microsoft will remain private, but with Synology you can store notes and documents securely and privately without ever sending them to the cloud. Plus you can also backup everything locally and privately in the cloud for free. You control the encryption keys, not Apple, Google or Microsoft. There's even free office software included that you run and access on your own Synology device, keeping all your work safe and private. Ready to take back control of your files and save money? We can install simple one drive solutions for home or multi-drive RAID solutions with automatic "Hot Spare" drives and offline backup for worry-free data management in your workplace.

Please reach out to us and we'll help you choose the right fit for your home or business. Ask us about a free demonstrations so you'll know you're getting the right solution before you buy.

How-to: Nest in a Hive with Ecobee 3

2016-02-12T16:58:00.000-05:00

We really like the second generation Nest Protect.

Despite their early mistakes, they have now produced a really good product to help protect you from harm and property from damage. No other detector available to consumers can detect both slow and fast burning fires, plus CO, plus talk to you and wirelessly interconnect. There are eight other significant features, but this is not a second generation Nest Protect review; instead, we're focusing on one particular feature.

The Nest Protect has a very special feature; in the event of a smoke or carbon monoxide emergency, it can communicate via Nest Thread protocol to the Nest Thermostat and turn off your heating/cooling system to help limit danger from smoke or CO leaks spreading throughout your home. This is a big deal and we're not aware of any other smoke and CO alarm available today with this capability. But what if you decided a Nest Thermostat isn’t right for you, and instead prefer the Ecobee 3? Don't hold your breath for Ecobee to join the “Works with Nest” program, but don't despair, there's a mediator that can easily make these competitors cooperate in perfect Harmony.

Enter the Logitech Harmony Hub.

If you’re even slightly interested in home automation and you don’t have one of these, it is an invaluable intermediate hub that allows a large list of connected home products that would otherwise be isolated to connect with one another, as we wrote in a previous post.

Alright, so now that you have a second generation Nest Protect, a Logitech Harmony Hub, and an Ecobee 3, follow these simple instructions to make them work together in the event of an emergency.

1. If you’ve had your Harmony Hub for a while and it’s not running the latest firmware, you should update it first. This is done from the app on your smartphone or tablet. Click here for an easy to follow guide on how to update the firmware on your Harmony Hub.

2. In the Harmony app under “Devices”, add the Nest Protect and Ecobee.

3. Create a new activity and call it “Emergency HVAC Off”.

4. Edit the “Start Sequence” and select the name you assigned to your Ecobee Thermostat from the list of devices and click the next arrow.

5. Now select your thermostat again on the next screen and set the “Mode” to OFF and “Hold” to ON, then click the x in the upper right to close the window. You should keep the field “When to Adjust” set to Always. Now click the next arrow.

6. Leave the “End Sequence” unchanged. If you have an emergency, you will resume schedule on your thermostat manually once you are sure there is no danger.

7. Select “Sensor Triggers” and choose the name you assigned to your Nest Protect. On the next screen tap CO, then “Emergency”, then “Save”. Do the same for a smoke emergency.

8. Tap the next arrow, then once again and you’re done.

Now if there’s a CO or smoke emergency detected by your Nest Protect, it will talk to the Logitech Harmony Hub, which in turn will communicate with the Ecobee to automatically disable the HVAC system. If you have connected lights such as Insteon, Philips Hue, SmartThings, or LIFX, you can also set them to turn on if there’s a CO or smoke emergency. Similarly, you can do the same thing with a Wink Hub using “Robots”, since it also supports both Nest Protect and Ecobee.

NOTE: This method of deactivating and activating devices in the event of a CO or smoke emergency requires WiFi and Internet access. If either is disrupted it will not work. This is not true of Nest Protect to Nest Thermostat, which use Nest Thread to communicate and therefor do not require internet access to disable an HVAC system the Nest Thermostat is wired to.

Do you like this simple "hack"? Please contact me or send me a tweet @dougkrug and let us know! If you have ideas of how you would or have bridged a smart home connection with the Harmony Hub, we'd love to hear about it.

How-to: Choose DIY Smart Home Products

2016-01-20T16:39:00.000-05:00

|Updated - February 2017|

Early adoption of electronics is not without its risks, especially for startup companies struggling to survive what some might refer to as "The Valley of Death", where a startup's early investor capital is running out and they are just beginning to approach the break even point. Many haven't made it and many more will not.

Even if the startup is actually a spinoff or acquisition by a larger corporation, they are responsible for turning a profit and if they don't or if there are product issues or concerns that tarnish a reputation, they are unlikely to make it past the initial dip or even a second, or third round of funding without enough momentum to carry them forward.

This is a growth industry and it's projected to be massive. The stakes are high and there will be many new companies, bringing forth amazing products and ideas, but unfortunately many will not be around to support your purchase. So if you're well to do, an early adopter who doesn't care about the risks or you're just interested in funding new companies without any monetary gain, then you may only be interested in discovering who has reliable options. If you instead need to take a conservative approach to this new idea of the smart home, then you will hopefully gain both perspectives here.

Starting out - Watch for warning signs

Your initial investment should be small. Look for a product or family of products that will solve a need or a powerful want. Spend a fair amount of time acquainting yourself with it to ensure you are happy and it meets or exceeds your expectations, but be realistic. Be cautious of products from startups that offer "a total solution" in a single purchase. With advancements and rapid changes in IoT communications and operating layers, the total solution doesn't exist and will not exist until the dust settles and the victorious emerge.

Choose a team, but be willing to welcome free agents

As young as the Smart Home industry is, there are some established brands and communication protocols that are a pretty safe bet, but you have to make choices and at the moment, you will encounter limitations.

The limitations can come in many forms:

• Communication protocol

• Reliability

• Speed

• Accuracy

• Security

Few offer everything, but do your homework and make sure the last point is well addressed. Even if there might still be potential security flaws (which is a risk factor you must consider), the company should have a documented and firm policy regarding the device security and updates to address any that are discovered.

Apple is one such company and although they don't make any Smart Home devices, any product that is Apple HomeKit certified should meet that criteria as long as they are operated in the Apple HomeKit environment. To encourage adoption, most manufacturers products that support Apple HomeKit certified can also allow use with non-HomeKit compatible devices such as Android smart phones. If you connect your HomeKit certified smart home devices with non-Apple phones, tablets and uncertified hubs, the HomeKit security precautions cannot protect you. You will then become partially responsible for ensuring your device is securely connected to the internet.

If you want to have maximum choice in the smart home of today, you should also expect to have multiple hubs in your house. A hub is typically in the form of a small box and is a device that connects your home network either via ethernet cable or WiFi, to the smart home devices that you want to control.

It is the translator from the internet to the language that your smart home devices speak.

Since there isn't one standard, it's best to keep your options open with at least two hubs and at least two different supported communication protocols among the two hubs. Expect to pay between $50 and $100 for each hub, depending on whether they are on sale or part of a kit that might lower the initial purchase price.

Plan how you will interact with your Smart Home

Look ahead and plan what you might want to do and how you think you might like to use and interact with your new smart home. One of the hottest smart home products this year is the Amazon Echo. What looks like nothing more than a Bluetooth speaker about the size of a tennis ball can, is in fact an assistant like no other. Echo spends it's days waiting for its wake word "Alexa", and then springs to life with the ability to control the physical world on your command. The Echo is a marvel of natural language research that is sure to impress. This well designed gadget responds very quickly to every voice that's tried it in our testing center, including a visitor with a very heavy accent. He was surprised and said that Siri has a lot of trouble with his voice.

Today, Echo is able to natively control lights and outlets on hubs from Insteon, Philips Hue, Samsung SmartThings, Belkin WeMo, Wink and more are added on a regular basis. Echo can also control many other devices and perform other tasks via "Skills" which you could equate to apps on a smart phone or tablet. Another game changing connection service called IFTTT (If This Then That) is also available to Echo users. As you ask "Alexa" to turn OFF or ON lights in your home, tell you the weather, read you the latest news, read a book to you, convert a measurement or tell you the traffic ahead of your commute, to name but a few of it's many uses, you get the real sense that a Star Trek like future we've been waiting for has finally arrived.

If you choose Apple HomeKit compatible devices, you can control them with Siri on iOS devices, but you'll need your iPhone or iPad near by, and all the devices HomeKit can control must bare the Apple HomeKit compatible label. Amazon Echo on the other hand can control devices and services from a much broader selection, and even some devices that allow both HomeKit and non-HomeKit compatibility. Amazon Echo pleasantly responds to anyone from across a room, without shouting or having to constantly repeat yourself.

Protocols to consider

Decide what products you want and check their supported protocol before deciding how you will connect them. The current six most popular choices are Bluetooth LE, Lutron ClearConnect, Insteon, WiFi, ZigBee and Z-Wave. Each has strengths and weaknesses. None are dominant or perfect.

Strengths and Weaknesses of each:

• Bluetooth LE - Ubiquitous, secure and low-power consumption, but not yet capable of forming a mesh network, where devices help each other by repeating signals from one device to the next. This significantly limits the possibilities because the transmission range is so short. Few smart home devices exist that can address the current limitation and those that do may not be compatible with the future hubs that will support Bluetooth Mesh Networking. However, Bluetooth is the one to watch. We definitely expect to see the first Bluetooth Mesh smart home products at CES 2017 or at least in the early part of the year.

• Lutron ClearConnect - Designed for lighting control, Lutron's proprietary protocol is used in the DIY Caséta product line and is well liked by those who are using it. It also controls Lutron Serena shades and certain Honeywell connected thermostats are compatible. While an Apple HomeKit version of their hub is also available, you must use Lutron switches and dimmers. Wink hubs are compatible with some of the devices, but controlling Serena shades still requires a Lutron hub.

• Insteon - Mature protocol from a stable manufacturer that has a lot of experience with smart home and a large product selection. Most devices use a dual mesh network that utilizes both your home power lines and proprietary radio signals to repeat communications from one device to the next. The proprietary nature means the Insteon hub is restricted to controlling Insteon devices using the Insteon protocol, with the only exception being infrared devices via the Insteon to IR bridge and the just announced IP control of Sonos devices.

• WiFi - Ubiquitous and devices do not require a hub. Problems can arise from signal loss (we've all experienced that with WiFi) as each device must communicate back to the main router because it is not a mesh network. Power consumption is high and this lowers the feasibility of battery operated devices, but new methods of using low power are emerging. Known as 802.11ah or HaLow, it has just been announced and is not yet available. You're also going to need a new WiFi router, so our advice is to buy a hub and enjoy having a smart home today instead of years in the future.

• ZigBee - Supported typically in lighting products such as Philips Hue, GE Link, Cree Connected and others. Uses radio only mesh networking and power consumption is very low, but compatibility from one manufacturer's ZigBee device to the next is hit and miss. Most manufactures test and certify devices for use on specific hubs to avoid support issues and dissatisfied customers.

• Z-Wave - A large catalog of Z-Wave device are available. Power consumption is higher than ZigBee, but much lower than WiFi. Communication is radio only and setup can be challenging. More than one type of Z-Wave exist and this can be frustrating for a smart home owner who just wants things to work. The Wink hub, for example is Z-Wave Plus compliant, but some Z-Wave Plus devices simply will not work with Wink.

Which hub offers what protocol?

Oort: Homegrown Bluetooth Mesh

Zuli Smart Plugs: Bluetooth LE

Cassia Networks High power Bluetooth LE, up to 1000ft open air, expect less range in the real world where buildings exist

Lutron Caséta Smart Bridge Pro with HomeKit: Lutron ClearConnect

Insteon 2245-222 Hub or Insteon 2243-222 Hub Pro: with HomeKit: Insteon

Belkin WeMo, D-Link, and iDevices: WiFi (iDevices also uses Bluetooth LE)

Philips Hue 2 with HomeKit: ZigBee

SmartThings v2 and Wink: Bluetooth LE, WiFi, ZigBee and Z-Wave (Wink also supports 433MHz Lutron and Kidde for integration with Kidde Connected Smoke and CO Alarms).

[Intermediate Hubs]

Logitech Harmony Hub: Bluetooth LE, IR and WiFi (ZigBee and Z-Wave via Harmony Hub Extender)

Amazon Echo: Bluetooth LE and WiFi

Hubs to consider

We use many hubs in our research facility, but Insteon and Wink hub are among two of our favorites. Despite all the negative things people wrote about this hub early on, we find this first generation hub is really quite stable as long as you keep it at least 3 feet away from your WiFi router. The initial WiFi setup was tricky, but once you understand the timing required, it's pretty simple and it's not something you have to do all the time. We're also big fans of Insteon. Their products are well made, respond very quickly and they're very consistent. Initial setup can be weird and a pain at times, but once you get the hub online, adding products is as simple as pressing a button. No need to walk around with the hub to set things up.

You may not think of Logitech Harmony when building a smart home, but this is a very important hub to bridge connections between devices.

They support connection and control of Nest, Ecobee, Insteon, Philips Hue, Hunter Douglas, Samsung SmartThings, Lutron Smart Bridge, Honeywell, Rheem, Lifx Bulbs, and certain WiFi devices like Belkin WeMo and the August Smart Lock Connect bridge. In addition, they also offer ZigBee and Z-Wave compatibility by attaching a Harmony Hub Extender. IFTTT scripts can also be used to activate Harmony Hub Activities. They allow time-based activation, scheduling and grouping to create "Activities" that are similar to scenes used by other hubs. The ability to tie your AV control together with other home automation products is especially impressive when you control it all by voice. In our setup, the Amazon Echo handles this task.

If you're into tinkering and custom scripts, the Samsung SmartThings hub is quite powerful and has a large user base.

The latest version has local control, so even if internet access goes down, you can still control your devices. A recent announcement from Wink stated their hubs are slated to also get local control in the next update. All the other devices we've mentioned with the exception of Bluetooth, need internet connection for a user to control devices from an app, but local control at the light switches works even if the hub is unplugged. In other words, they survive the "babysitter test" since they are familiar looking wall switches and anyone can operate them without any training or prior experience. The Insteon and Wink hubs will also continue to control device timers even when the internet is offline.

What about home security?

Of course we didn't forget. It's the most popular use case for the internet of things. We'll go into more detail in a later post, but we would advise that you strongly consider a connected stand-alone security system, the one exception is SmartThings which gets very high ratings as a connected alarm. However, we feel the system that will protect you, your family and your valuables should do just one thing and do it well. Leave the lighting control, leak detectors and other inputs to the smart home hubs to handle. There are several good choices out there like iSmart Alarm, Scout, and Oomi. All are connected, all are relatively new to the scene.

How about connected smoke alarms?

Hands down it's still the Nest Protect v2. No other manufacturer offers as many features in a single smoke/CO alarm. In fact, it's such a good value for the protection and peace of mind you get, we suggest you just go buy one today, your lives are worth it. To keep cost low for the rest of the house where you just need a regular smoke alarm, you can receive notifications via any phone with the Leeo Smart Alert Nightlight. We like this more than most other options since it will phone any regular number. No smartphone data plan required to be notified of a smoke or CO emergency in your home.

Want more? There's tons more, but for now these are the basics to help point you in the right direction and clear up some of the confusion. Keep checking back. We'll be telling you more about connected security solutions, Wink's revival and return from the brink, Amazon Echo in detail, connected multi-use buttons for your smart home and more.

As always, you can find me on Twitter @dougkrug posting and exchanging ideas around the latest news and development in IoT and smart home innovations.

|Update - February 2017|

As can be expected, a lot has changed in a short time.

• Apple HomeKit is rolled into iOS 10 making it easier to use than before and the choice of devices and functionality continues to improve, albeit at a slower and some would argue, more cautious rate than devices that operated via both Android and iOS without HomeKit compatibility.

• Amazon Echo now has competition from Google Home. Although the edge still goes to Amazon as far as smart home control is concerned, the massive data and search capabilities behind Google are a serious threat to their market lead if Google is as open to developers and the proliferation of their voice services on non-Google hardware as Amazon has been with AVS.

• IFTTT now has both stiff competition, and at the same time, collaboration from Stringify, a free service that allows flows with multiple input and output variables, triggers and actions. To our great delight, Stringify has acted on our advice to partner with IFTTT, allowing input from, and output to IFTTT applets. With this powerful partnership and support for nearly all the major smart home hubs and devices, Stringify is one of the most powerful means to connect otherwise disparate devices in your smart home. Like IFTTT, Stringify operates from the cloud, so there is no need to have an app running all the time.

• Lutron Caséta now supports Samsung SmartThings; ZigBee Alliance and Thread Group's IP Network Protocol have joined forces to bring ubiquity to Thread and potentially better security to ZigBee in the future; and the Z-Wave alliance introduced the Z-Wave Plus certification program to help manufacturers and consumers move to more secure devices utilizing the Next Gen, Z-Wave 500 Series capabilities.

• Wink 2 is out and now has Ethernet, WiFi and Bluetooth LE built-in. In addition to local control so your devices can still be controlled locally if your internet goes down, Wink has continued to expand their device support, which now includes August Smart Lock via their August Connect bridge. We're particularly pleased with this addition because it allows the exceptional August HomeKit Smart Lock to be controlled by Wink, Stringify, and Flic buttons. Flic recently added support for Wink via Wink Shortcuts.

• Amazon now allows developers to integrate any smart home device directly to Alexa Voice Services via the Echo or any device that uses AVS. Most notably, you can now control your AV devices with Logitech Harmony Hub as if they were connected smart home devices, without using the nomenclature "Alex Ask..." or "Alex Tell...". As a side note, Logitech has added an Alexa Skill to "Ask Harmony" to expand voice control even further with commands like Pause, Play, Fast Forward, lower the volume, etc. and we're big fans of this new capability.

Entering the Smart Home

2015-03-10T17:52:00.000-04:00

Chances are, if you’ve started to hear or read about “The Smart Home”, you’ve learned something about controlling your thermostat or unlocking your house from a smartphone. But what you probably haven’t been exposed to, is the idea that you can interact with your entire home. The technology already exists to enable your smart home devices to react based on which occupant has arrived home or an input received from sensors and detectors. Actions such as opening a gate or garage door, unlocking the entry door, turning on the lights to a pre-set level, playing their favorite music and setting the temperature to their preference are trivial when compared with what is possible today.

One problem; Only hobbyist and the manufacturers for luxury markets have expertise to bring all this together at the moment. The standards needed to help foster smart market growth don’t exist yet, but that’s truly an over-simplification of the complex barriers the so-called “Internet of Things” industry is trying to solve.

Today, consumers exploring smart home products in their local Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes or on Amazon are presented with a confusing range of devices that often do not play well together, if at all. Strangely, industry members are addressing this issue by creating consortiums, formed of members holding patents for opposing connected-device communications technologies. At first glance, someone looking to make their home “smart” may not realize they need to choose a team.

Let's say you shell out $249 for a WiFi connected Nest thermostat. Not only is it great for family members with Android phones, it works with iPhones and a host of other products, all thanks to the “Works with Nest” developer program. Great! Now the iPhone users in the house may have also heard about Apple’s HomeKit project, where Apple will attempt to work with several companies to bring this fractured industry of smart home startups and established manufacturers together.

Works with Nest right? NO

With Google having purchased Nest in 2014, it is of no surprise they are not invited to hang with HomeKit. So if you want to crash this house party, you're going to need to bring someone who knows and gets along with both of them.

Enter the “Hub”

A hub is a box that connects to your WiFi network and bridges the gap between the various technologies. Increasingly, it also connects to the cloud so you can more securely access your smart hub from anywhere. To date there is only one company capable of merging Apple’s vision of the smart home with Google. At the 2015 Consumer Electronics Show, Insteon, a 10 year veteran in the smart home industry announced their $149 Hub Pro that supports Apple HomeKit. Since the current Insteon Hub already supports control of the Nest Learning Thermostat, it's a reasonable assumption that the Apple HomeKit version will too, however Insteon declined to comment on the capabilities of their yet to be released Hub Pro, beyond the official press release.

With the soon to be available Apple Watch, Apple also has a new
tool that adds interesting possibilities for owners of HomeKit compatible iOS devices and a HomeKit compatible Insteon Pro Hub. From your wrist, you could use voice activation, geo-fencing location services, and touch control to interact with your smart home from a single, secure interface. This could potentially simplify and secure two-way interaction with door locks, lights, thermostats, gate and garage openers, cameras, sensors and alarm systems from anywhere in the world.

Apple is not the only company trying to bridge the divide. Samsung also purchased smart home startup SmartThings, a hub manufacture that tries to bridge several communication types. Staples, though a partnership with D-Link, has the Connect hub which, similar to SmartThings, connects multiple device types. Google also purchased the intellectual property from startup Revolv under the Nest brand, which until they closed down operations, had one of the most intriguing hubs around, promising control of multiple vendor smart devices with no less than eight different communications types from a single box.

Security

Unfortunately, when technology is built as quickly as possible, for the lowest price possible, security is not at the forefront. Good security is hard to get right, and many vendors try to patch it in after the fact. According to sources, security has been a cornerstone of Apple HomeKit from the start, which is good news if you’re an iOS user. Devices compatible with Apple HomeKit require special silicon chips to make them compliant with Apple's security requirements. But what if you have an Android phone, is the secure smart home possible? Turns out there’s both good news and no news.

Next time I’ll go into more detail about the security issues, the current progress, what’s still missing and steps you should take to protect your privacy as the Internet of Everything starts to enter your home.

Interested in joining the discussion? Leave me a comment or send me a tweet @dougkrug. I'd love to hear your perspective about what you think this smart future should look like.

2014 Tech in Review: What Made the Cut

2015-01-05T13:16:00.000-05:00

The 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) brought a lot of interesting technology to the surface.

As we head into CES 2015 (The Consumer Electronics Show), lets take a look back at some consumer tech that caught our eye and a reality check. Some surprise contenders have won us over and some still haven’t left the manufacturer.

BLUMOO

The now $99 hub that turns your smart device into a universal remote and bluetooth streamer. But with remote giant Logitech having nearly the same capabilities in a better looking app, plus either a physical keyboard/mouse/remote, dedicated remote or both, it’s hard to still want to choose BLUMOO. The Harmony Hub product line may not include steaming audio, but BLUMOO can’t control home automation products and that’s a significant advantage for Logitech in the Internet of Things.

http://www.blumoo.com/

AIRTAME

I was intrigued by this video streaming competitor to Apple, Google and others, but a year after debut, they are still tweaking. It’s not going to turn out well for them I’m afraid, as they are manually modifying each and every one of the prototypes. To effectively compete, they really needed to be in full production 6 months ago. Too many lower priced options out there to keep their $150, unavailable product in the game I fear.

https://airtame.com/

POWERMAT

With P&G’s money and the Duracell brand recognition backing them, Powermat Technologies’ $10 charge rings that can also be borrowed at Starbucks, started rolling out in November at San Francisco locations. However battery, processor and component improvements are changing the need and this stop gap solution may never see a wide spread rollout. It’s popularity remains to be seen, but with inexpensive and sometimes free portable batteries popping up everywhere, expect the lifespan of this device to be short.

http://powermat.com/how-it-works/

AUGUST

After a lengthy delay, August began shipping their smart lock partly designed by Yves Béhar. I cancelled my own pre-order after the company failed to ship by August after announcing further delays. Turned out they were preparing to stock Apple stores and Amazon. Aside from saving $50, pre-order meant nothing as many did not receive their pre-orders, but could walk into an Apple Store and buy one. Early reviews have been mixed and the installation reportedly finicky.

http://www.august.com/

OKIDOKEYS

Silly name aside, OKIDOKEYS which also appeared at CES 2014 flew largely under the radar of most tech journalists. Their parent company OpenWays is an experienced manufacturer that supplies secure room locks and hospitality software to hotels worldwide. For $200 on Amazon, they offer two different packages with 3 covers of your choice to match your existing door hardware, or a paint your own option. This truly easy to install smart lock does everything they claim, and can be opened by any cell phone or a NFC (Near Field Communication) fob, not just Bluetooth 4.0 enable smart phones with their $250 package. There’s also a Smart-Gateway option for remote operation and connected home integration, Smart-Gate openers, Smart-Garage openers, more optional covers, upcoming integration with Apple HomeKit, Logitech Harmony Hub, and geo-location unlocking additions. OKIDOKEYS is the only manufacturer to date that specifically states their product uses strong 256bit AES encryption, instead of just stating "same as bank encryption" or "a company secret" as competitors have.

https://www.okidokeys.com/

Interested in what's to come in 2015? Follow me on Twitter @dougkrug as the doors open on CES 2015, January 6. We'll be following the Internet of Things in the connected home closely, bringing you updates on these and other yet unannounced new technology for your Smart Home and Office.

[Update 2017]

I don't usually go back and update pieces like this, but I felt it would be of interest to some.

Blumoo seems to have closed shop, likely unable to compete with the popular Logitech Harmony Hub, which also now controls your smart home too and has great Amazon Echo integration.
Airtame is still around for now, but at double the original offered price and with the streaming options and low cost devices available, I can't see them surviving much longer.
Powermat has continued on with their partnerships, but it seems pretty clear that companies like Apple and Samsung are targeting completely new ways of charging that will make this type of inductive charging obsolete in the next few years.
August has continued their development and partnerships. Their second generation smart lock is excellent and I now own one myself. They have a remote connect module available, along with a wireless keypad, doorbell camera and many integration partners, including Amazon Echo.
Okidokeys was purchased by Somfy and their operations and sales are now in France, although they have yet to offer the product for sale again. For now, North American models still work, but there is no guarantee that they will in the future. Somfy has already stopped the registration of the NFC module from North America and will likely stop supporting at least that part in the near future. Auto unlock support has already halted.

Avoiding the Netflix Peering Problem

2014-08-28T20:23:00.000-04:00

If your ISP is Verizon, Comcast, AT&T or Clearwire, you may have some of the worst Netflix streaming speeds around. Netflix traffic now occupies 30% of all internet traffic during primetime hours, so it's no wonder there's an issue, but it's not as simple as demand.

The Good:

With Netflix coming back strong from the Qwikster misstep, cranking out good original shows and Disney deals for the kids, it's no wonder they're occupying the lion's share of evening internet traffic.

The Bad:

Great for Netflix subscribers, not beneficial at all for ISPs who sell ads and also pay for content to rebroadcast. The amount of data flowing into their networks is unbalanced with Cogent, the Tier 1 bandwidth provider that delivers Netflix to broadband networks like Comcast.

The Ugly:

Netflix struck a deal with Comcast on February 24th, 2014 that gives them a "fast lane", benefiting Netflix and Comcast customers. Other popular streaming providers are left without a resolution to the problem. Net Neutrality is put at risk; the equation is unbalanced. Pay more and get preferential treatment. A fast lane for some, a slow lane for those that can't afford to pay the price demanded. Not the free and open internet we've come to love.

A Fix:

Turns out, there's a relatively simple and inexpensive fix that will avoid all the high-level fighting over peering agreements I'm almost certain most of you don't care about. You just want to watch Netflix, YouTube and other streaming services without buffering or a low quality picture right?

Use a VPN:

By connecting through a VPN or Virtual Private Network, you bypass the normal peering routes so your video streams fast and with higher quality. The second benefit is that because your internet connection through your ISP is encrypted with a VPN, your ISP only sees data flowing. The automatic throttling of streaming traffic they claim they aren't doing is defeated, and you have a private connection to the internet.

But setting up a VPN on every device and remembering to activate it is a hassle that no one really wants. Besides, some VPN providers don't support multiple connections at once, but they do support connection to their service by a customized router. Setting up a router to do the VPN connection for you gets around multi-user limitations. The router makes a single connection and shares it with you over WiFi and Ethernet, just like you're used to with your ISP modem/router. To help you, I've written an easy to follow, step-by-step guide so you can convert an inexpensive router into a round-the-clock VPN connection in your home. Want it done for you? Get in touch with me.

Aside from encryption and getting around peering problems, VPN has an additional feature and the reason that many outside of the United States use them. Your connection to the VPN provider can be in multiple countries and cities. So if you're in Toronto and you connect to a VPN server in New York, you will appear to be accessing the internet from New York. Same goes for other locations like the UK, Netherlands and Canada if your accessing from outside Canada. Geo-fences drop and in-market games become available.

Have questions about peering problems, setting up a VPN router or having it done for you?
Get in touch with me, leave me a comment or send me a tweet @dougkrug.

Image courtesy of pat138241/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Computer Security at Home and Online

2014-04-03T14:55:00.000-04:00

Had a great time presenting "Computer Security at Home and Online" seminar to a sold-out crowd for Ontario Association of Social Workers!

If you missed the event, we discussed -

• How to mitigate the risk if you can't switch from Windows XP before the April 8, 2014 deadline

• Myths and recommendations surrounding secure passwords

• Secure password management - i.e. LastPass and 1Password

• Tips on WiFi security

• Cryptography basics and what you really need to know now

• How to easily encrypt your files before upload to cloud providers

• Guarding against Social Engineering attacks

• Smartphone and tablet security recommendations

A PDF of the presentation is available from this secure link

Please leave me a comment or send me a tweet - I'd love to hear from you and help you with your security questions and concerns.

Image courtesy of ddpavumba/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Easily Protect Identity and Safeguard Your Privacy

2014-02-24T11:10:00.000-05:00

Strong passwords are critical to preventing identity theft, loss of assets and damage to personal privacy. Almost a year ago, I wrote about how our online security is under attack. Things have gotten worse since then and we're currently losing the battle, in part due to weak passwords or duplication on multiple websites. One site gets hacked and the gates are open everywhere.

Don't think for even a second that because you used your kid's name and a few numbers, you've somehow fooled the bad guys or made it difficult, because you haven't. Just as dangerous is the use of the same passwords everywhere, making them all rememberable or writing all of them down on paper; Big mistakes in our complex online world.

Read my latest post on Solo Traveler and learn a simple, free and very secure method for endless strong passwords, automatically generated and stored for you.

Trusted by security experts who really understand cryptography and how to safeguard your privacy, these solutions are a must-have. Don't make identity theft easy for the ever increasing number of attackers out there. Take this simple step and protect yourself!

CryptoLocker ruins a perfectly good day

2013-11-11T21:34:00.000-05:00

There's a new, very serious, and worrisome threat that can affect any Windows user. Even if you're a Mac or Linux user, keep reading because you inevitably know someone with a Windows PC. Even if you don't know any Windows users, it's only a matter of time before a special version of this threat is made just for you.

Before I describe the ransomware and its very serious threat, let me stress that prevention is the best defense. Do not assume that you are safe just because you have anti-virus or anti-malware software installed.

Follow these recommendations

1. Avoid being tricked by phishing email.

Do NOT click links in email or open attached applications. If you get an email that looks reasonable and has a link, do not click it unless you are certain about where that link is going to take you. Typically you can mouse over a link (without clicking it) and you will be able to see where it's going to take you. Most browsers show this at the bottom left of the browser window.

2. Avoid the use of Internet Explorer. I have lost faith in Microsoft to adequately secure this browser. They have been endlessly trying and do not seem to be able to do it for any significant length of time. Exploits are frequent. For secure browsing I suggest any of the following browsers for Mac, Windows or Linux users

Firefox, Chrome, Safari (for Mac users) or Opera

3. Avoid web pages that you are unfamiliar with or that look official, but something is not quite right. If you are unsure, do a Google search and look for search results that show the name of the service or company in the first part of their web address. This is not always the case, but very often it is what the company or service will use.

Example: Although Microsoft has many other websites, you are safest to navigate to a Microsoft satellite website by first starting from www.microsoft.com and searching for what you are looking for from there.

4. Look for secure sites where they should be secure. This is not to say that every site must be secure, but where appropriate, you want to verify that the site is using what is known as an SSL certificate (Secure Socket Layer) and that it is valid. If your are navigating to your bank for example, it should always start with https: when you are at the login page, not http:

Your browser should automatically notify you when an SSL certificate is not valid or has been revoked.

Note: Although ihelpinnovate.com does not use an SSL certificate, it is hosted by Google and you can check that it does not contain any threats by using Symantec's Norton Safe Web, where it is registered and has been verified.

View my Norton Safe Web report at https://safeweb.norton.com/

While we're on the topic of site security certificates, any site that asks for you to enter a username and password for an account you hold, should always start with https: when you are at the login stage. Some exceptions are certain sites that have a separate drop-down window for login. This annoying trend practiced by companies like Bell Canada is in-fact connecting you by a secure link. Unfortunately, non-technical users do not have the simple method of verification by looking at the browser address bar before entering confidential username and password information when logging on via their home page. If you're a Bell Canada user and you want to be sure you're logging onto your account via a verifiably secure webpage, use the link https://mybell.bell.ca/

OK, so now that we've reviewed basic prevention, let me tell you about the ransomware and its very serious and costly threat.

There's been a lot written about this and it's been in the mainstream media lately as well. This latest malware threat called CryptoLocker holds victims hostage to pay a $300 ransom within 72 hours. They do this by using a very strong, unbreakable encryption algorithm and systematically applying it to all files on your local disk and attached drives.

In order to decrypt the files, you must obtain what is known as a private key. This is required to "unlock" the encryption. Since this malware attacks "hot" volumes with mapped drive letters, like Drive C, D, E, etc., your files on services like DropBox are also at risk of being encrypted. Even if you've already encrypted your files before storing them, the encrypted files can still be encrypted by the malware, making access by your own decryption software impossible without the private key from the attackers.

If you don't have the files backed up via a "cold" backup solution that is either offline at the time of the infection or that is not backed up via a shared drive letter (i.e. Drive C, D, E, etc.) then you will not be able to regain access to your files unless you pay the ransom, get the decryption key and hopefully, it works. There have been reports of all types. Ranging from the ransom being paid without a decryption key being delivered or the ransom was paid and the key did not decrypt the files, to the ransom was paid and the files were successfully decrypted, making them once again accessible.

It's easy to recommend not paying the ransom because it encourages this kind of criminal activity in the future or you might not regain access to your files anyway. But if you don't have the files safely backed up and you really need them, then there is no other way to decrypt your files. It is not possible to break this encryption level.

Worse still, the ransomware is reported in recent incarnations, to also be deleting windows shadow copies. A shadow copy is the technical term for Microsoft's roll back technology that normally allows you to restore the system to an earlier state, before a problem existed.

In the latest security news covering this, there is apparently a service being offered by the offenders that will get your files back even after the 72 hour period has past, but it will cost you 10 Bitcoin, which is about $3200 at the moment.

One particularly bad result of this is, people who have not backed up might misunderstand the exact severity of this whole thing. Part of the reason I felt compelled to write about this in the first place. If you simply remove the malware, well that may not be what you wanted if you were willing to pay the ransom. It's not so easy to just say goodbye to data that is critically important, when you had no backup and there's a chance for recovery.

It's not all grim. There are some effective means of protection.

1. Use Sandboxie.

http://www.sandboxie.com/

By using this software to "Sandbox" (isolate) your web browser and email client, you are able to stop the malware from encrypting files on your local hard drive or shared drive.

2. Backup your files using products that run backup applications to backup to cloud backup, without mapping the drive. An example is a product like Cryptonite Cloud Backup.

3. If you're a slightly technical user, you can always run your web browser and email inside a virtual machine, like Virtualbox

https://www.virtualbox.org/

4. For now, users of the paid OpenDNS Umbrella service are reportedly safe, because the malware cannot reach the randomly generated domains it needs to, in order to begin encrypting the victims files. However, a solution like this may not last if the attackers modify the malware to generate an encryption key locally that could still be effective at ruining your day.

5. Lastly, there is CryptoPrevent, but this is one of the less favorable forms of protection and it can cause a lot of false positives.

I hope this information helps to prevent you from getting the malware. I'm following this in the security arenas and I'll update this blog if I find some good updates.

Please share this blog. I know it's long, but if not in its entirety, please at least share the information regarding best practices and prevention.

For more information about this, please visit the following safe links, leave me a comment or send me a tweet @dougkrug

http://www.us-cert.gov/ncas/alerts/TA13-309A

https://www.grc.com/sn/sn-427.txt

Image courtesy of Pixomar/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

VoIP: The Voice of the Internet

2013-09-24T18:43:00.000-04:00

Whether traveling the world or just crossing town, Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP for short, can dramatically reduce the cost of reaching out to anyone, anywhere in the world.

Find out more about the gift of freedom this Cloud-based technology can provide you, in my latest Travel Technology post on Solo Traveler Blog.

Image courtesy of Chanpipat/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Just another iPhone 5S review

2013-09-11T23:56:00.000-04:00

The Announcements

If you were hoping for revolutionary, and were disappointed by the evolutionary announcements from Apple on September 10, take a break from hype and the haters to see it for what it is. I'm not going to describe every feature and curve of the phone, Apple are masters of that, so start by having a look at their website if you missed what's new.

A7 64bit Processor

64bit processors matter where you're dealing with math that can't fit into 32bit. The obvious winner from this is the iPhone 5S and later owner. This would seem to indicate that Apple is serious about security since one of the key benefits is cryptography.

Another key benefactor of 64bit architecture is graphics. There will be a new iPad soon and having better gaming graphics was highlighted in the iPhone keynote. Harmonizing 64bit apps across the top sellers makes perfect sense.

Touch ID

Apple's mysterious new fingerprint scanner to unlock your phone and purchase items from the App Store, some have commented is one of few innovations in this latest generation of iPhone. On the surface, it definitely sounds as though Apple has taken the time to do this properly out of the gate.

Security-wise, it stores your impression as an encrypted hash. This is good, as it means that even if someone were to somehow gain access to the stored information representative of your fingerprint, it would be useless to them.

Although it's early to make a call, many who understand biometrics are claiming that simply analyzing a print without measuring temperature leaves the iPhone 5S open to spoofing by lifting prints and copying them on a 3D printer. Once the phone is in the hands of the public, we'll have the answer, because you just know there's a line up of hack attempts waiting for it.

Still, the fact that Apple is putting their money where their mouth is by allowing purchases from their store, says a lot about their confidence in this new feature.

The M7 coprocessor

This power saving addition has had very little mention versus the 64bit architecture, Touch ID and what the phone doesn't have. But even though Phil Schiller only mentioned fitness uses for the M7, this isn't to say that it won't have strong benefits to mapping and navigation. Trying to navigate in areas with spotty GPS coverage can be helped tremendously by a low powered coprocessor that can continue to report direction, movement and orientation even durning a loss of coverage.

What's most interesting about the M7 chip is not the stated use, but the potential uses from constantly tracking how an iPhone is oriented and what direction its facing. Is the phone moving and if so, how fast? This is significantly important realtime data.

True Tone Flash

I'm personally an iPhone user and strong admirer of the great innovations in Android and the phones that are challenging Apple to keep their composure. One thing that has kept me content with iPhone is the exceptionally good photos (for a phone anyway).

There's no question that Phil Schiller caused an outburst from many photographers by stating the iPhone 5S camera was in anyway DSLR level. Every iPhone is said to have a better camera than before, higher this and bigger that.

But what is exceptionally important is the idea that we can now have smartphone cameras that will balance flash photography before taking the picture. This is a big deal, since up to this point, smartphone flash photography has been a dismal effort.

iOS 7

Let face facts, the real changes are coming with iOS 7. Borrowing from Android, features like control center to put common settings in one panel will make the iPhone easier to use.

Another long awaited improvement is the ability to store passwords on the iPhone. Perhaps Apple just wasn't satisfied with their previous security capabilities, but it's been odd to have this feature only exist in MacOS until now. Regardless, you won't find me personally giving up the security and convenience of LastPass unless the NSA forces them to shut down.

AirDrop for iPhone makes perfect sense as a simple way to share photos between iPhones. This has been a wonderful feature to use since it was introduce to MacOS. Emailing or sharing via the cloud is not at all difficult, but AirDrop trumps it in terms of easy to use sharing with other iPhone users in close range. Unfortunately, you will need to have at least an iPhone 5, 4th gen iPad, iPad mini, 5th gen iPod Touch and iCloud to take advantage of AirDrop in iOS 7.

iTunes Radio, while seemingly a me too product to competing services like Pandora, Spotify, Rdio, etc., some have pointed out that they are only being served music related ads, which helps with discovery of even more music.

What's missing?

Let's face it, haters are going to hate, so let's put it all out on the table.

NFC

There's no NFC (Near Field Communication) for paying at designated stores and coffee shops. I really wanted this feature when it first stated to appear in the Google Nexus phones, but the adoption in North America has been so slow that technologies like Geo-fencing, used by Square and others have made it almost obsolete before it's really even taken root.

It's rumored that Apple is testing low energy Bluetooth radio as an alternate mobile payment system and will bypass NFC altogether.

5G WiFi

Apple skipped adding the new, faster WiFi known as 802.11ac or 5G. Possibly because of its effect on battery life. I tested a Samsung S4 for 802.11ac performance with the latest Archer C7 router from TP-Link. While the speed was nice, I didn't find that it was a significantly better experience than similar phones with only 802.11n. While my testing did not involve battery capacity, users of the first two phones with 802.11ac, the HTC One and Samsung S4, have complained that their phones need charging more frequently than the previous HTC One and Samsung S3.

Bigger Screen Size

Although many were still hoping to see screen sizes like the Android phones are getting, it was pretty obvious that if the leaked images were true, as they turned out to be, then the next iPhone screen would not grow in size, and that turned out to be accurate.

Apple has no need to follow the other phone manufactures in widening their screen size. While it seems an attractive feature, many don't want a phone that fills their pocket more or feels larger in their hand. I've heard as many complaints as praises for the size of these larger phones. Many think it's what they want until they start using the phone regularly and discover it's larger than what is comfortable for them.

While I'm not betting against Apple eventually increasing the iPhone screen size, I wouldn't be surprised to find that they resist increasing it longer than expected.

What are your thoughts about the iPhone 5S? Has Apple missed the mark or are you planning to purchase when they're available beginning September 20?

What features were you hoping for that you'll now have to wait and see if they appear in iPhone 6?

Please leave me your comments or send me a Tweet @dougkrug

Securing your data on Flash Drives

2013-09-05T15:46:00.000-04:00

Advances in solid state memory read/write speed and lower manufacturing costs are making Solid State Drives attractive options in new computers. Not to mention that your smartphone, tablet, and USB flash drives all use this technology.

One problem -

Flash memory cannot actually be erased

A study by researchers at University of California San Diego revealed that between 4% to 75% of a files contents remain completely intact when an attempt is made to erase flash memory. USB flash drives fared worse, were researchers could recover between 0.57% to 84.9% percent of file contents remaining on a USB flash drive after an overwrite attempt was made.

Testing 12 Solid State Drives, UCSD researchers found that none of the available software techniques for erasing individual files proved effective. Erasing entire SSDs with native sanitize commands was most effective, but only when performed correctly. The software techniques were found to work most, but not all of the time. Of the twelve solid state drives they tested using the native "Erase Unit" command, only four were actually erased. One SSD had reported itself to be sanitized, yet the data was recoverable by the researchers.

Additionally, the methods used by the researchers to determine if the data has been truly wiped from flash memory is not available to the average consumer. Without a way for consumers to verify data has actually been completely removed from flash memory, there is no way to know if so called "data sanitation" is truly effective.

The key issues stem from the way that flash memory differs vs a conventional magnetic hard drive. Flash memory works by pushing electrons from one side to another of a barrier. This change of position is monitored and registered as either a 1 or 0, the binary code that is the basis of all modern computing.

Problem is, this pushing of electrons back and forth, causes the material to fatigue rapidly. To combat this, solid state memory manufactures use a method called "Wear Leveling". This moves data around so read/write is not constantly occurring in the same physical spot on the memory.

Wear Leveling creates a security issue

Flash memory doesn't actually erase data at the time new data is written, it just marks it for deletion. Then comes Wear Leveling, duplicating chunks of data and moving it around between the time it's first written and then overwritten. Data marked for deletion is duplicated and moved by wear leveling and the so called "garbage collection" algorithm that was supposed to go back later and erase data marked for deletion, knows nothing about the data that was duplicated by wear leveling.

Since mobile smartphones, tablets and computers with solid state memory are purchased, sold and discarded at an ever increasing rate, it's important going forward that you are aware that your personal information and data cannot simply be permanently "sanitized" from these devices and could be recovered at a later time by someone who should not have it.

One workaround that researchers suggest for manufacturers to employ is called "Crypto-Erasure". But this method requires that the data is encrypted at the time it's first written. The idea is to encrypt all data on the device, so even if it can be recovered later, it will be useless to anyone who does not have the encryption key to access it. For the majority of devices, this is not the case and unsecured data has already been written to flash memory. This means any data already written to the device cannot necessarily ever be made secure.

Why not just use degaussing to erase flash memory?

Degaussing is a method used to render conventional magnetic media unreadable by exposing it to a very powerful magnetic field. For magnetic media, it is very effective, but flash memory is not affected by magnetic fields. In their research document, the method was evaluated and found to be completely ineffective on flash memory.

So what's the answer? How do you protect yourself?

Anyone with a Windows desktop or laptop can use TruCrypt or PGPDisk to protect their data on an SSD or USB flash drive. Mac users can take advantage of the built in FileVault function found in the Security & Privacy settings. Using these methods, the data will be useless without the encryption key, leaving the device or storage media to be erased and securely re-written to again.

For smartphones and tablets, end user privacy and security is largely in the hands of the manufacturer. While some data could be encrypted before storing on the device, native applications on the phone like note pad, address book, etc would not necessarily encrypt the data and protect your privacy when the device is end of life, and no longer in your possession.

Thankfully there are highly affordable, secure solutions such as LastPass and 1Password that can store your passwords, notes, credit card and other personal information securely so they cannot be accessed without a secure master password.

Hopefully these issues will come to the forefront of mainstream media, forcing all manufactures to provide verifiable encryption on all devices that use flash memory, which for now will increasingly be the storage media of choice until the day when data storage using nanostructures, in so called "Superman Memory Crystals" makes the leap from laboratory to commercially viable and affordable.

With all the news over the NSA's intrusion into privacy, the latest poll shows that 50% of users don't care. Where do you stand on the subject?

Do you care if your personal data can be retrieved after you no longer own a device or storage disk?

Please leave me a comment or send me a Tweet @dougkrug

Image courtesy of thanunkorn/Freedigitalphotos.net

Cloud 101

2013-07-31T21:03:00.002-04:00

Curious about what this so called "Cloud" this is and what it means to you in the future?

Explore Cloud 101 - The ever changing cloud, your privacy and security on boomerbizbuilder.com in Trudy's latest news letter written by your's truly.

Chromecast redefines HDTV streaming

2013-07-24T23:59:00.000-04:00

I don't typically write about products on launch day, but I'm very excited about Google's announcement today of Chromecast. Streaming from the cloud directly to any HDTV just got incredibly simple and inexpensive.

Not only is the tiny device, a bargain at only $35, but it's also incredibly flexible. No need to learn a new interface or change your behavior, with Chromecast you can send the content you want to your TV with the touch of a button.

Since Chromecast streams content that is already in the cloud, it doesn't rely on the speed of your device or the speed of the WiFi network between your device and Chromecast, allowing for smooth streaming directly from content already on the internet.

Chromecast currently streams content from Google Play Movies & TV, Google Play Music, YouTube, Netflix, or it can mirror a tab in a Chrome browser on your smart phone, tablet or a computer you already have in your home, allowing you to show content on your TV from sites like Hulu, Amazon Instant Video, Clicker, etc. You can even multi-task on your device, without interrupting the video that's playing on your TV.

How it works:

Chromecast runs a slim version of the Google Chrome browser and communicates with your Andriod, iOS, MacOS or Windows device to discover the content you are watching. With the touch of a button, Chromecast taps into the same content you are streaming on your device and streams it from the exact same point on your HDTV.

No need to download a new application or learn a new interface, since Chromecast simply streams the exact same content you're already watching on your device by pulling it from the cloud at the same time.

Your device becomes the remote, allowing you to control playback and volume. Additionally, playback that started with one device, can be controlled seamlessly with another on the same WiFi network. For example, if someone in your home started streaming from their iPhone, you could easily take over later from your Android tablet.

Control from other apps like Pandora are coming and development is fully open without an approval requirement from Google. As if you weren't already sold on it, the product also comes with a complimentary three months of Netflix. There's little question that this pretty well replaces Google TV as a streaming device for most people, for roughly 1/6 of the price.

Making perfect sense for anyone without an large investment of purchased iTunes content, this is serious competition to the much loved Apple TV. For just over the price of one Apple TV, you can tuck away three of these tiny devices behind the HDTVs in your home, and since you can stream content from Chrome, combine this with a VPN service and you can potentially stream anything on the internet to your TV, except iTunes.

What do you think about this new way of streaming content to your HDTV? Please leave me your comments or send me a Tweet @dougkrug.

Image source - Google - CC

Internet Privacy & Security

2013-07-02T14:06:00.000-04:00

There's no question that privacy online and security are top of mind these past few weeks. Whether you're traveling or not, I've posted some great tips you'll want to checkout on traveldudes.org

Keep things private online and guard your personal security, while at the same time opening restrictions from borders so you can enjoy the benefits of an unblocked internet.

Have a question or comment, contact me or send me a tweet @dougkrug.

Improving WiFi signal and security

2013-06-26T15:25:00.000-04:00

I have to thank Mashable for their well intentioned, but slightly flawed article on improving WiFi signals for inspiring this post.

This is the time of year when being outside is a real pleasure, but using your laptop, tablet, or smartphone while staying connected on your deck or front porch is a struggle for many.

You might think that you need a new WiFi router, and it's possible that you do, but try my tips before you spring for a shiny new box you may not need.

1. Get the WiFi off the floor!

I've seen many WiFi routers tucked underneath a desk and this is the worst place if you're trying to extend your signal range. Get it up high (minimum of 3 feet off the ground) and you'll see an instant improvement.

2. Don't block the signal path

The antennas of WiFi routers may send the signal in multiple directions, but the path to your WiFi enable laptop, tablet or smart phone is a straight line, not around a corner. Some signal bounce occurs, but mostly its just absorb or blocked by building materials and objects in your home. Avoid putting your WiFi router behind a monitor, as the metal shielding they contain works all too well at blocking signals.

3. Centralize the WiFi router in your home

If your goal is even coverage throughout your home, don't put the WiFi router in a corner of your basement and expect a strong signal (or any at all) on the second floor, at the opposite end of your home. Too often I've found WiFi routers tucked in a corner of the basement under a tiled kitchen floor above. When ceramic tile is laid on a flexible surface like the wood subfloor of a house, they use a heavy steel mesh to keep it from flexing at the grout lines. This mesh is a good signal blocker, and obviously not what you want.

4. Optimize the WiFi router settings

As explained in the Masable article, its a good idea to turn off features you don't need like 802.11b for older devices, but while these improve speed, they won't boost signal strength. What you need for distance is a lower frequency setting (2.4 GHz WiFi), but this comes at a price. If your WiFi router is operating at 2.4 GHz (Gigahertz signal frequency) you are more susceptible to interference from your neighbor's WiFi, Microwave ovens and some cordless phones that don't use the newer DECT 6.0 technology. To combat interference from neighboring WiFi, search for WiFi channels that are not in use near the location of your WiFi router. You can use free software like iStumbler for Mac or inSSIDer on a PC to discover what WiFi channels are in use around you and manually set your router to an unused channel or to one with a weak signal from your neighbors.

There's a common misconception that 5 GHz WiFi will solve all your problems and that is false. While you'll gain some independence from the common sources of interference, this higher frequency (shorter radio waves) cannot penetrate walls and objects in your home as effectively as the 2.4 GHz frequency range can. Also, don't be mislead into thinking that the new 802.11ac standard is going to boost signal, because it won't. The new 802.11ac gives you faster throughput, but operates in the 5GHz frequency range, so the same issues occur whether your router is using 802.11n @ 5 GHz or 802.11ac @ 5 GHz.

5. Spend money wisely

I've tried repeaters or range extenders with unimpressive results. Keep in mind that depending on the type and settings, these can actually slow down the entire WiFi network in your home. If positioning the Internet Service Provider's combination modem/WiFi router is limited by where the cable or phone line enters your home, consider running a physical ethernet cable from the ISP modem/router to your own WiFi router in a better location for signals. This will allow you to either have two separately located WiFi points of access in your home, or a single optimally located WiFi router for maximum coverage. If fishing an ethernet cable through your home is not your thing, consider using Home Plug to extend your wired network to a WiFi router placed in an optimal location for good signal reception.

Secure advice

The technician your Internet Service Provider sends out will not always have your personal security in mind. Take control and make sure no matter how you access WiFi that it is secured with WPA2 encryption. NEVER USE WEP encryption. WEP is old encryption that was permanently compromised not long after it became available. Anyone can download software that will quickly break into a wireless network encrypted with WEP. The WiFi Alliance and all responsible router manufacturers do not recommend it and new routers often default to WPA2 encryption out of the box, but if you have an older WiFi router or a 2WIRE modem/router, these may be set to WEP security by default. You can easily check this yourself. When you are connected to a WiFi network, it will often be shown in the WiFi connection settings. On a Macintosh, hold down the Option key and click on the WiFi signal icon to see what security type your connection is using.

Make sure you have the SPI Firewall of your WiFi router enabled and disable UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) if your router does not pass a stealth test, which you can find here at Steve Gibson's Sheilds UP!! You can also check the full security of your router using Steve's complete test by clicking "All Service Ports" on the Shields UP!! Home page. With these two tests, you can make sure your router is not inviting in the bad guys.

If you find you're not getting the signal strength you need from your WiFi or you discover your security is compromised, I'm here to help. Send me a tweet, drop me an email or give me a call and enjoy your tech on the deck this summer!

Image courtesy http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/

How much money are you OK losing?

2013-05-31T15:17:00.000-04:00

If you were to ask most people how much cash they're OK with losing, the answer would be zero, but if some pocket change goes missing they're not overly distraught by the event. What if your business is overspending on technology by $410 per month? A bit disconcerting isn't it?

You can protect yourself from much hardship in life and business with insurance. It's money well spent when something unavoidable happens. Similarly, every business owner will have technology expenses that are unavoidable, but by simply having help to make the right choices, you can dramatically cut losses.

"Damages due to loss or theft have great potential to cause nearly immeasurable consequences"

The reality is, $410 per month is a low average. Most small business owners are needlessly overspending by much more than that amount every single month, because they have been misled into purchasing technology and services that never pay for themselves.

If you're a small business owner, here's a list of the average amounts after taxes and fees you are likely spending on your technology, just to "Keep the Lights On" as it's said:

"Many people don't know what they pay for individual phone, cable and internet services each month, and the amounts are staggering"

$101/month for a single small business line. Possibly more if you use a mobile phone exclusively (don't forget those long distance charges and fees). This doesn't include your home phone, so often the bill is well over $200/month.

$73/month for internet access

$180/year for Microsoft Office

$1250/year due to data loss. This is a very conservative estimate, actual financial losses could go into several thousands of dollars depending on your business, the amount of data lost and the importance of the data lost.

Neglecting to secure your privacy on those "Free" WiFi hotspots and the security of any data you store online. Damages due to loss or theft have great potential to cause nearly immeasurable consequences and permanent damage to your business and personal finances.

Don't forget to include what you spend on Cable TV every month. For most, this is not a business expense, but it's a huge technology expense that is commonly forgotten about since it's usually bundled in with internet and phone. Many people don't know what they pay for individual phone, cable and internet services each month, and the amounts are staggering.

Without the right choices, you could easily be overspending by $5000 or more per year. No one wants this, but you either weren't aware of the better choices that add value for less money, you just don't have time or you don't know where to start.

This is where I can help you. On average you will save:

$510 to $2100/year less expense for much better phone service, with an incredible list of easy to use features.

$475/year less for fast internet with greater usage allowance

$180/year less on Microsoft Office

$1150 to $1250/year less thanks to secure data backup. The actual savings is much greater since you won't lose your work and time spent.

Potentially many thousands of dollars are saved by using secure means to access and store data online.

$800/year less on average in entertainment costs.

In total, a very conservative estimated savings of $4914/year is possible. This doesn't include potential savings by using the right Web Conferencing software instead of always travelling to client meetings. Put an end to paying huge monthly bills for technology, and put technology that pays for itself to work for you.

Contact me and I'll help you make the right choices for you, and your business.

647-391-4357 or doug@ihelpinnovate.com

Follow me on Twitter @dougkrug

Keeping files secure in "The Cloud"

2013-05-20T12:34:00.000-04:00

Whether you're traveling to see the Terracotta Soldiers, or just to sit down with a Black Cat Espresso at Intelligentsia, having your files safe and secure online can keep you calm and in control when disaster strikes. Checkout my latest post on Solo Traveler for tips on storing your irreplaceable documents on a cloud storage server and seamlessly keeping them locked for your eyes only.

If you want to know more about how to keep important documents, files and photos safe and secure from fire, theft or other disaster, please leave me a comment or send me a tweet @dougkrug