This Week In Emerging Technology - July 24th

Here are the emerging technologies stories for the week of July 21st.

Put the CPU in the Fridge - An interesting project at Purdue University where researchers are working on a terchnique to use micro components to refrigerate PC processors.

Highly Predictive Security - The folks over at SANS and SRI will be presenting a service that uses detailed analysis methodologies and DShield to improve network blacklisting techniques.

Your Next Gadget CPU - Intel is talking about their next line of system on a chip processors which are destined for the next generation of gadgets.

The Future Rosie the Robot - A French company is offering a humanoid robot at a comparatively low price. Though still very high for essentially a toy.

DMCA Takedown Shakedown

As a company IT manager your job is plenty hectic enough as it is, and the last thing you need to deal with are threats and legal notices from movie studios and record companies. So you've put in place strict usage policies that all employees must follow, policies that forbid the use of file-sharing applications and the illegal downloading of copyrighted materials.

For a while this seems to work, but then one day it arrives: a dreaded DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) takedown notice claiming that an IP address in your company network was caught downloading the latest Indiana Jones movie. That's it, you decide; this person is going to pay for breaking company policy and, worse, putting you through all this hassle.

So you track down the IP address and find the culprit. It's your networked HP printer. Guess you didn't know it was such a big Harrison Ford fan.

Video: Discussing the Challenges of the Internet

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At the Berkman@10 conference at Harvard, I had a chance to speak to some of the many attendees and speakers at the conference about the challenges facing the internet today and in the near future.

Phillip Hallam-Baker, author of the dotCrime Manifesto, says stability is the missing ingredient in the Internet in the fight against Internet crime; Kathy Higgins, Educational Technologies, Dept. of Education, N.H., sees a shift to more use of social networking and community voices gaining traction; and Dr. Jim Morris if Carnegie Mellon University comments on the battlegrounds forming for the soul of the Internet.

Click here to see the video of these interviews at Berman@10 about the fate of the Internet.

Protecting Your Site from Google Hacks

Most people understand that if there is information visible on the Web, then Google knows about it. But what about the information that many people think is invisible? Chances are, Google knows about that too.

That's because many Web sites, including big corporate sites, expose much more information than they realize. Everything from customer credit information to administrator passwords has turned up in Google searches.

In corporate Web security, this is clearly a serious problem. But many companies pay little attention to it because they don't know how to perform the Google hacks that can find this sensitive information. Until now of course.

GoolagScanner is a free open-source tool from the Cult of the Dead Cow that makes it possible for Web site administrators and security personnel to quickly perform tests to see if their sites are exposing sensitive information to complex Google searches. The tool is mainly based on Johnny Long's Google Hacking Database, which lists all of the potential Google hacks (or googledorks, as he calls them) that can be used to find sensitive information on Web sites.

Don't Waste Good Security Practices

Stop using anti-virus and patch management systems! They don't work and they are a waste of time and, worse, a waste of money. OK, I'm kidding. I would never say that.

But John Stewart, Cisco's chief security officer, would. At the AusCERT (Australian Computer Emergency Response Team) conference in Australia May 19 to 23, Stewart essentially said money spent on anti-virus and patch management is completely wasted.

Now, it's true that using anti-virus and patching systems is really just the most basic first step to security and shouldn't by any means be seen as a complete security solution. But saying that it's a waste to even use anti-virus and patch management is sort of like saying it's a waste to have locks on the door of your car because any serious crook can get by them.

Just as leaving your car door open with the keys in the ignition is an invitation to any passing thief, unpatched and unprotected PCs are an open invitation to any viruses or malware passing by, even ones that are old and would be easily stopped by patching and anti-virus. Just because your company could still fall prey to more advanced malware and bad guys doesn't mean you also want to have all your systems polluted by things that could have been easily prevented.

Fighting Botnets with Botnets

When it comes to defending technology assets against malicious hackers and other bad guys, I've always been a firm believer in understanding and even using the tools and tactics of the enemy.

In most cases, this means having familiarity and even a working knowledge of the tools and methods that are used to scan and compromise networks and systems. But I've also been in favor of more proactive means of protection, from the use of tarpits and honey pots to the use of good worms to seek out and patch systems with holes that could be exploited by attackers and worms.

So it should be understandable that I was very, very interested in a paper that was presented at the recent USENIX Symposium. This paper, by several researchers at the University of Washington, advocates the creation and use of friendly botnets in order to slow down and even stop the evil botnets that are used to attack and bring down Web sites and servers.

That Hacker Could Be You

To most people in the technology community "hacker" is a dirty word. Say hacker and most people instantly think of bad guys spreading viruses or breaking into corporate systems and stealing data.

Of course this is completely wrong. In fact, hacker should be a term of respect. But even more importantly, you should be careful about badmouthing hackers. That's because there is a very good chance that you yourself are a hacker.

I know what you're going to say, "Jim, I can't code to save my life. And anytime I take equipment apart I end up breaking it. There is no way that I'm a hacker."

To which I would reply, guess again, hacking skills can extend well beyond the world of technology.

What got me thinking about this was the recent release of a book that I contributed an essay to. "Jack Bauer for President: Terrorism and Politics in 24" is a collection of essays that looks at the television show "24" through a real-world prism. And the essay I contributed was essentially an argument that the character of Jack Bauer is a classic hacker even though his computer technology skills are relatively modest.

And the more I've thought about this topic, the more I've realized that it applies to lots of people and not just fictional characters on TV shows.

Emerging Technologies Bring Promise and Danger

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When you cover and analyze emerging technologies, it's easy to get caught up in the excitement and the promise of these new technologies. And it's even easier to look at these technologies only from a positive angle.

And what's not to like? After all, most emerging technologies were designed from the ground up to bring about positive ends. Their creators want to improve people's lives, boost productivity, cure disease, provide security and bring about new waves of technology where anything is possible.

But almost any new technology that has a positive side also has a negative and more dangerous side. Technologies that can cure disease can also cause disease. Products that provide convenience imperil safety and privacy. Tools that ensure security also help secure criminals from law enforcement.

Such is the nature of innovation. But some new technologies are more dangerous than others. With that in mind, here is my list of the 10 most dangerous new technologies either available today or being worked on for the near future. Please comment below and let me know what technologies would make your list.

And, oh yeah, I decided to limit this list specifically to computing technologies, so that's why there aren't any biotech or genetics entries.

Bad Guys Have It Too Easy

Ohhh Nooooo! Spammers, phishers and malware purveyors will become trickier and more sophisticated in how they attempt to get people to fall victim to their scams. What are we going to do?

According to a new report by Google's Postini team, the levels of spams and phishing attacks have increased in recent years and we should expect to see new avenues for launching attacks, especially levering new Web 2.0 technologies such as social networks. The report also suggests that the bad guys will specifically target high-level victims, such as executives at certain firms.

So if this report is right, then it sounds like the bad guys are going to be working extra hard to make sure they get victims to fall for their scams and install their malware.

But the one question I have is, why bother?

I mean, to me this is a little bit like hearing that the Harlem Globetrotters are working on new and advanced tactics in order to beat the Washington Generals.

My advice to the scammers is don't go to all of this trouble. There are still plenty of clueless anti-securityites out there who will continue to fall for even the most obvious and basic spams, phishing sites and infected email attachments.

The Most Overhyped Technologies of the Century

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In the world of technology, hype is like the sun. A little bit of hype can be a good thing, especially for emerging technologies, by bringing attention and light to unknown technologies and products and helping them grow. But like the sun too much hype can be a bad thing, crushing bad products unworthy of hype and even making good technologies seem less worthy or even appear to be failures.

When this happens technologies become overhyped, and this new century has seen more than its fair share of products, technologies, and technology trends that received way more adulation and praise then they deserved. And many of these technologies aren't failures or flops, but instead received so much hype that it was impossible for them to ever live up to early expectations.

With that in mind I present you with this list of the ten most overhyped products, technologies and technology trends of the century. And don't forget to comment here and let me know what would make your list of overhyped technologies.