Category: Tech Insight
Tech Time Warp: The Kriz virus was no Kris Kringle
Even cybercriminals get into the holiday spirit. Over the years, network administrators have dealt with the likes of the CHRISTMA EXEC, the Father Christmas worm, and the Santy worm when they would have rather been drinking eggnog. In December 2000,...
Pioneers in Tech: John Backus makes programming accessible with FORTRAN
If you ever feel like the chips are down, consider the story of A.M. Turing Award recipient John Backus, who overcame academic difficulties, expulsion due to poor attendance, and a cranial bone tumor to develop the ground-breaking FORTRAN programming language....
Tech Time Warp: Apple, Quicktime, and the long-forgotten San Francisco Canyon Company
Apple’s business strategy includes software and hardware innovations, intuitive user experiences, and attractive product design that is catnip to the creative set. But another arrow in Apple’s quiver is the hard-fought intellectual property lawsuit. Let’s get into this week’s Tech...
Tech Time Warp: The malware RAT known as Regin
On Nov. 25, 2014, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) issued an alert about Regin, a “sophisticated backdoor Trojan used to conduct intelligence-gathering campaigns.” Journalists reported the entities affected by Regin included airlines, telecom companies, energy companies and private individuals....
Tech Time Warp: Long Before FTX, There Was DigiCash
The headlines about the FTX cryptocurrency scandal likely either having you scratching your head or ruing your investment decisions. But FTX is hardly the first such company to declare bankruptcy. One of the first electronic currency platforms, DigiCash, lasted for...
Pioneers in Tech: George Boole, Mathematician AND Innovator
You’ve heard of Boolean algebra and Boolean logic, and you know the Boolean system forms the basis for the modern digital computer. But you probably don’t know much about George Boole, the man himself, described as “one of the great...
Tech Time Warp: From Odeo to Twttr to Twitter
As you ponder whether you’re willing pay $8 to $20 a month for a blue checkmark, it’s worth taking a minute to learn about the history of Twitter. The social network’s debut at SXSW 2007 is well known, but its...
Tech Time Warp: The biggest lesson from the Equifax data breach
As Cybersecurity Awareness Month winds down, it’s time to take a look at the final component of this year’s “See Yourself in Cyber” campaign: software updates. This year’s theme emphasizes the role of personal responsibility in protecting yourself online. Responding...
Tech Time Warp: FTC Takes First Action Against Phishing
“See Yourself in Cyber” is the theme of the 2022 Cybersecurity Awareness Month, encouraging computer users to recognize their own power to detect and protect themselves from cybercrime. Few of us can say that we’ve never been tripped up by...