Step by Step: How To Crack A Master Lock Padlock Combo

In this video, we are shown step by step how to figure out a forgotten Master Lock padlock combination. All you need is a piece of paper, something to write with and a combination lock. The process takes about ten minutes.

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How cloud computing differs from virtualization

When you are dealing with IT infrastructure and computer networks of your business, you may have heard the term- cloud computing. However, virtualization is also another common term that may be known to you.

Most of the entrepreneurs confuse cloud computing with this virtualization process. Though these two modern technologies have similarity, there are several differences.  Thus, you have to make every decision, only after knowing the details of these two major options.  The tech experts, skilled at managing Virtual Servers New Jersey, may also give you clear information on the latest technologies.

Virtualization- Get a concept of this technology

To say simply, virtualization software differentiates physical structure for creating lots of dedicated assets. This effective technology also makes cloud computing more powerful. With the help of virtualization, you may run more than one OS and apps on one server simultaneously. This helps you in decreasing IT system costs. However, you will still be able to increase the flexibility, efficiency and usage of the present computer system.

Virtualization technology can make the compute settings different from a conventional infrastructure.  Due to this technology, your workstations, servers and storage systems will never depend on any physical tool.

Cloud computing- How it differs from virtualization?

Cloud computing always differs from virtualization as the latter one is a type of software system, which controls hardware parts. However, we consider cloud computing as the solution that can be obtained from the manipulation. Moreover, its major element is virtualization, which increases the value in the computing world. With cloud computing, you have to deal with shared data and resources.

Cloud platform may comprise virtualized products for computing solutions, and the best Cloud service for Small Business Computer Support in NJ can offer scalability, better management and elasticity.

Virtual Servers, created with virtualization process, help you in various ways

• Increases the amount of resources- As virtualization has the ability to decrease the use of various physical items, you may get better value from the servers. Thus, virtualization will assist you with the optimized hardware application.
• Integration with IT resources- While you are using virtualization systems, infrastructure management needs are the only cost for operating IT.
• More than one system- By applying virtualization technology, you will be able to operate several applications on your systems. You may also deal with various OS for all those apps on the hardware.

Cloud computing is also good in different ways

• Fastest and easiest setup- You can start with Cloud-based technology very easily. Moreover, there is no need to face any hassle with appliances or servers, while you are using Cloud solutions.
• Scalable- With the use of Cloud solutions, you may be able to enhance the IT capabilities temporarily by simply divesting computing requirements. You will have to pay only for the things that you really need.
• Information Technology outsourced— Everyday maintenance and observation can be accomplished with external team. This will enable you in using the Information Technology resources in the best way and you will also have better value from it. The IT team, ready to offer you Small Business Computer Support in NJ, has the best knowledge on Cloud solutions.

So, these are the major differences of virtualization and Cloud solutionsFind Article, and you have to consider them for better output from your business.

By Vikram Kumar

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Is Google Affecting the Attention Span of Young People?

Ever pondered on the above title question? Is it something to speculate about? Does any action need to be taken? Is the young generation seriously in trouble? Read on to find out.

As I would reflect, the young generation's attention span is more on their cell phones or GPS whether they are driving or are on a ride in a bus, taxi or train.

Nowadays more and more young people are relying on Google maps for street directions. Gone are the days when people would look for street signs, block numbers and building numbers to locate a new or unknown address.

While in the good old days, people's outlook was more on the environment here and there getting the grasp of a broader scope, with the invention of cell phones, GPS & Google maps, the young people's outlooks are confined to these little screens instead of grasping a broader outlook of the environment.

So I would say yes, Google is constricting the attention span of young people. Does any measure need to be taken to broaden the outlook of the young generation?

Well, when they know the directions already, they can be free, look around, enjoy mother nature and environment, breathe and take in fresh air. So they don't always have to look up Google maps on their cell phones. They can actually experience a broader spectrum while driving or on a ride.

So if they need to look up Google only during a little of their time, it is still okay. Because majority of their times young people with cell phones will be going to schools and that is something they are habituated and would definitely have the option of looking around, driving and taking in the outdoor scenes and sceneries.

As a result, it is really not something alarming. After all, this is the millennium era and lots of inventions are being made. Young people do need to stay updated with all the modern applications and gadgets. So do all the older people. Everyone needs to be knowledgeable and up-to-date with the modern day and fall in pace of today's world.

Therefore, if the young generation is whiling some of their time away on Google maps on confined screens to locate new addresses, be it. They deserve that liberty and that privilege. They aren't doing anything wrong but doing something with more accuracy and precision. And that's something the modern millennium is about. Don't you think so?

By Rosina S Khan

About The Author: Rosina S Khan has authored this article. For a wealth of free resources based on an Academic Guide on Databases, quality scholar papers, valuable blogs, commendable articles, amazing self-help eBooks and stunning fiction stories, all authored by her, and much more, visit: http://rosinaskhan.weebly.com. You will be glad that you did.

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#Monero (XMR) Explained - Infographic

One of my favorite cryptocurrencies is Monero. Think of it like bitcoin, but way more secure. People used to think that bitcoin was anonymous, but over the years researchers and law enforcement have found ways to analyze bitcoin's blockchain, and figure out who is sending money to who. They can't do that with Monero!

Why you ask? Check out this Infographic from Monero.how that explains Monero!

Because of it's encryption, Monero has become the cryptcoin of choice for criminals, but also those of us that just want to keep Big Brother out of our daily lives!

If you are unfamiliar with it, it's definitely worth looking into, and certainly worth investing in.

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Google is literally tracking your every move

Not long after we posted about what kind of dirt Google has on you, Fox News released the above report showing that Google tracks your every move, even in airplane mode. Google doesn't have a camera in every home, but it does have a phone - and tracking mechanism - in millions of pockets.

If you want to know how to clear all of Google's data on you, be sure to read our post about it.

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The Complete Guide To Maximum Security Online and Becoming Anonymous

Video tutorial showing how to become anonymous, hide you internet traffic and identity, and browse the web freely without any fear of privacy invasion or any security concerns from your Government, school, or organization (NSA, CIA, FBI). Going off the grid and becoming fully anonymous (hiding your online identity) is not 100% possible, because of how the internet works, but we can do everything we possibly can to get as close as possible to anonymous. In this video guide, I will show you how to secure all of your devices--such as computers, phones (iPhone vs Android), tablets, and anything else, by securing your passwords, using two factor authentication, securing your web browsers (Mozilla Firefox & Tor), using a VPN (NordVPN or AirVPN), securing social media (Facebook, Snapchat), your communication like texting and email (Signal and Protonmail encrypted messengers), your operating system (Linux), and much much more! I will also cover deleting a majority of your online identity/fingerprint to hide as much information about you as possible, in addition to give you tips on how to prevent social engineering attacks.

Now, some of you may ask why? Well, at a basic level, your privacy is constantly invaded by the websites you visit, your ISP, your government, your school/employer, and even services you use like Google or Facebook. Everything you do is being tracked and we aren't quite sure what consequences may result out of all of this data being created out of us. Some people also fear certain things like doxing, and other forms of leaks of your personal information. It is also common for corporations to sell your data for a profit, which is a complete violation of your privacy.

Via Techlore

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Has the NSA broken Tor, I2P and VPN's?

Many folks, including myself, use privacy tools to protect our anonymyity online. For me, I like to use a VPN service, while others use Tor or I2P.

Now, we've recently written about how the FBI has troubles breaking encryption, but apparently the NSA has had some success. Back in 2013, we reported that the NSA hadn't broken Tor yet... That may have changed. In fact, not only may have broken Tor, it looks like they've had success breaking I2P and private VPN's as well!

Via Bitcoin News:

A photograph posted on imageboard 4chan appears to show a leaked 21 August 2017 memorandum from the US Army Cyber Protection Brigade. The document alludes to the US Army teaming with the National Security Administration (NSA) in ongoing successful investigations against “Tor, I2P, and VPN,” with a request for additional funding for further projects against cryptocurrencies. 

“The success we have had with Tor, I2P, and VPN,” begins a reportedly leaked picture of a memorandum on imageboard 4chan, complete with Department of Defense letterhead, appearing to be from the United States Army’s Cyber Protection Brigade “cannot be replicated with those currencies that do not rely on nodes. There is a growing trend in the employment of Stealth address and ring signatures that will require additional R&D.” 

It has been long assumed government military and law enforcement infiltrated and compromised aspects of The Onion Router (Tor), Invisible Internet Project (I2P), Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), and other ways of masking online activity, but confirmations were hard to come by.

As you can see above, they apparently have been able to crack privacy services, and they are now actively trying to crack privacy cryptocurrencies like Monero as well. Here is a screenshot of the memo:

The authenticity of the note has not been confirmed or necessarily denied at this point. If it is true, one thing this memo does not discuss is how exactly the NSA has had success breaking Tor, I2P and VPN. Have they actually been able to break the cryptography, or somehow circumvent it using some other exploits? I mean, in 2013 Tor learned that the NSA was using an exploit in Firefox to snoop on Tor traffic, but they hadn't actually broken the encryption.

Has that changed? The answer to this question may never be truly known.

What do you think about this? Does it make you worried a little? Do you think the document is legit? Let us know what you think in the comments!

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Free Open Source EHR/EMR System That Runs on Ubuntu Linux

My smoking hot girlfriend, whom I mention every once in a while, is the IT Director at two medical practices near my house. Since we are both in IT, we often talk shop and something that she complains about is the Electronic Health Records (EHR) system that both practices she manages use. Another name for this type of system is Electronic Medical Records (EMR) system.

Her two big complaints are the outrageous cost, and their shitty service. If you haven't guessed the company by that description, I'll just be up front with you and tell you she uses Allscripts.

Another thing to note about Allscripts is they recently had a huge security breach!

Via CSO:

Allscripts, the billion-dollar electronic health record (EHR) company headquartered in Chicago, IL said they were still working to recover from a ransomware attack that left several applications offline after data centers in Raleigh and Charlotte, NC were infected on Thursday. 

In a conference call for customers on Saturday, which Salted Hash listened-in on, Allscripts’ Jeremy Maxwell, director of information security, said their PRO EHR and Electronic Prescriptions for Controlled Substances (EPCS) services were the hardest hit by the ransomware attack. 

Other services had availability issues as well, but those have since been restored, such as direct messaging and some CCDA functionality.

During one of our conversations, I asked her if she had thought about standing up an open source alternative to Allscripts, to which she didn't think any really existed. Well, I found one!

Introducing OpenEMR!

From their page:

OpenEMR is the most popular open source electronic health records and medical practice management solution. ONC certified with international usage, OpenEMR's goal is a superior alternative to its proprietary counterparts. With passionate volunteers and contributors dedicated to guarding OpenEMR's status as a free, open source software solution for medical practices with a commitment to openness, kindness and cooperation.

Here are some features:

• Free
• ONC Certified
• Track Patient Demographics
• Patient Scheduling
• Electronic Medical Records
• Prescriptions
• Medical Billing
• Clinical Decision Rules
• Reports
• Multilanguage Support
• Security
• Community

An even larger list of their features can be found on their Wiki here.

Here are some screenshots:

It's like I always say, if there is a really good open source option available, forget paying outrageous licensing fees, and spend that money on hardware instead.

If you are running a medical practice, you might consider using OpenEMR instead of something that is over priced that provides really shitty service like Allscripts... Just an idea anyway, it's your money.

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Simplify your travel expenses with Expensify

Let me start out by saying this is definitely not a paid endorsement. My company recently made available a tool to make expense reporting more simple, and also make it easier for managers to approve expenses.

You see, I work remotely from my home in Colorado, but my company is headquartered in San Diego. It's a pretty sweet gig, and has proven to be very flexible. Occasionally though, I have to fly back for one reason or another. Most of the time it's pretty nice, but the thing I dread about it is keeping track of all of my expenses!

Up until recently, every expensable purchase I made (Meals, gas, plane tickets, rental car, hotel, etc) I had to keep the receipt with me until I got back home. I would then spend about an hour separating the receipts by date, scanning them to PDF on my scanner, then filling out an Excel spreadsheet to submit as my report. What a pain in the ass!

Enter Expensify! From their page:

Whether you're a road warrior with pockets full of receipts or a busy accountant buried in paperwork, Expensify automates the entire receipt and expense management process.

Here are their features:

• One-Click Receipt Scanning - Expense reports are finished with one click. Take a picture of your receipt and Expensify automatically fills out and submits an expense report for you!
• Next-Day Reimbursement - As soon as reports are approved, rapid reimbursement delivers the money right into the employee's bank account within 24 hours via ACH direct deposit.
• Automatic Approval Workflows - Admins can customize expense policy rules for their organization and configure Expensify to flag any expenses that actually need a manager’s review. The rest — like that $3 coffee receipt — are automatically approved.
• Automatic Accounting Sync - Any changes made in your accounting system are automatically synced with Expensify in realtime for constant visibility into your organization’s finances, making audits and tax season a breeze.

To see it in action, check out this video:



It was so easy. Every time I purchased something that I could expense, I would snap a picture of the receipt using my Android app, and boom! Done! When I flew back, my report was pretty much ready to go already. I just had to submit it for approval. My company already had the workflow setup so my boss could approve it. So easy!

If you are going to use it as an individual, it's free! You get 10 free SmartScans per month (You can also manually enter information for anything over 10), you get the free mobile app, unlimited receipt storage and email and chat support!

If you are going to use it for your team, you get additional features for only $5 per user per month, and corporate users can get even more features for only $9 per user per month. With the time it saves though, it will easily pay for itself when your employees don't have to take an hour out of their day to fill out their reports!

Do you use Expensify? Do you use something else to manage travel expenses? Let us know in the comments!

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This major central bank signed a deal with #Ripple

Saudi Arabia’s central bank has signed a deal with U.S.-based Ripple to help banks in the kingdom settle payments using blockchain software, as Gulf regulators begin to explore new forms of financial technology.

The pilot program is the first of its kind to be launched by a central bank, allowing banks in Saudi Arabia to use Ripple’s software to instantly settle payments sent into and out of the country, the company said late on Wednesday.

This will allow Saudi banks to make faster, cheaper and more transparent cross-border transactions, Ripple said, adding that the central bank would provide training to Saudi banks interested in the program.

Continue Reading

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A Preview of Ubuntu 18.04 "Bionic Beaver"

In this video, Ronald Wallpapersfree gives us a simple preview of original stable version of Ubuntu 18.04, aka Bionic Beaver that is coming on 26th April. This will be a long term support (LTS) version of the popular Linux operating system.

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How Secure is Your #Bitcoin Exchange's SSL/TLS Implementation?

One thing I have a habit of doing since I work in the IT Security industry myself, is check not only a website's SSL certificate, but I also like to see how well they implemented it. The tool I often use to test this sort of thing is SSL Labs.

You see, not all implementations of SSL are secure. There are obsolete ciphers available. Plus, older implementations of SSL have been found to be vulnerable to various attacks. It's one of the reasons why PCI-DSS is forcing all companies that handle credit card transactions to disable everything except TLS 1.1 and TLS 1.2 in June this year.

I was curious on how well the cryptocurrency exchanges I use for various reasons stacked up. So I decided to test their websites using SSL Labs. Here are the results:

Coinbase:

You can view the full report here, but as you can see above, Coinbase did exceptionally well. I also noticed that their SSL Certificate has a 4096 bit public key, the largest of the group I tested.

Binance:

Binance did a great job as well scoring an A+. You can see the full report here. They did not implement all of the security options that Coinbase did like HTTP Public Key Pinning (HPKP), or implementing a DNS Certification Authority Authorization (CAA) Policy though. Still, their implementation is better than most. Their public key is 2048 bits.

Changelly:

I can't really complain about Changelly either with their A+ rating. You can see their full report here. They too use a 2048 RSA public key.

HitBTC:

While still pretty good, it's not perfect. HitBTC only scored an A. You can see the full report here. One thing I noticed was that they use Cloudflare's CDN service, as well as Cloudflare's multi-client SSL certificate. That certificate has a 256 bit ECC key. If you are not familiar with the difference between ECC and RSA, Globalsign says the following:

ECC is able to provide the same cryptographic strength as an RSA-based system with much smaller key sizes. For example, a 256 bit ECC key is equivalent to RSA 3072 bit keys (which are 50% longer than the 2048 bit keys commonly used today). The latest, most secure symmetric algorithms used by TLS (eg. AES) use at least 128 bit keys, so it makes sense that the asymmetric keys provide at least this level of security.

After reviewing all of these, I feel pretty comfortable continuing to do business with these exchanges. Over all, their SSL implementation is pretty damned good compared to some sites out there. All of them still support TLS 1.0 though, so it may be interesting to test them again after PCI-DSS's June 30th deadline to disable it.

What do you think about this? Was there another exchange you wanted me to test? If so, let me know in the comments!

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Chart that shows the Linux file system hierarchy

I ran across an interesting chart that broke down the Linux file system hierarchy in a way that makes it a little easier to understand. This chart is very helpful for those that are new to Linux and is also helpful to anyone who needs to refresher.

The chart was created by the guys at BlackMoreOps.

From their page:

What is a file in Linux? What is file system in Linux? Where are all the configuration files? Where do I keep my downloaded applications? Is there really a filesystem standard structure in Linux? Well, the above image explains Linux file system hierarchy in a very simple and non-complex way. It’s very useful when you’re looking for a configuration file or a binary file. I’ve added some explanation and examples below, but that’s TL;DR. 

Another issue is when you got configuration and binary files all over the system that creates inconsistency and if you’re a large organization or even an end user, it can compromise your system (binary talking with old lib files etc.) and when you do security audit of your Linux system, you find it is vulnerable to different exploits. So keeping a clean operating system (no matter Windows or Linux) is important.

Below is the chart

Click the image to view it better

The article where the chart was originally posted goes way more into depth on the Linux file system, what it is, what each directory is used for, types of files, etc.

If you were ever confused about how the Linux files system works, hopefully this helps to clear things up a bit.

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I met a professional cryptocurrency miner in Cedaredge Colorado!

I recently inherited a new desktop computer with 32GB of RAM and quad-core 3.3 GHz processor. It's pretty sweet, and I've turned it into my new Emby media server! Since I had this new toy, I didn't need my old workhorse, custom desktop that I built years ago.

So I wiped out all of my data, put Ubuntu and Steam on it and sold it on Craigslist as a custom Steam gaming computer!

One of the potential buyers of my rig contacted me because he was eyeing the case, and was thinking about turning my machine into a cryptocurrency mining machine. The thing that threw me off about it, after talking with this guy for a while, was that he was a professional miner and lived in my little one horse town of Cedaredge Colorado of all places!

For those of you not in the know, Cedaredge is located in Delta County Colorado which is basically a technological blackhole. Nobody knows how to use computers or technology around here. It's kind of scary actually. So imagine my shock when I found out that a guy in town had his own mining farm.

Well, he wanted to see if his high end GPU video cards that he uses for mining would fit in the case, and I was interested in his mining rigs, so he invited me over to his humble abode to check them out while he tested his video cards in my Ubuntu computer.

Being in the tech industry, and working in data centers all the time, I sort of imagined a standard data closet kind of setup, or even a colocation like place... Nope, this miner lived a very non-descript rundown place right in the middle of town.

He invited me in with my desktop computer, and the placed smelled strongly of marijuana. It turns out that although he is a professional crypto miner, he was also running a small pot venture.. and clearly smoking it too!

While he fiddled with my machine, he allowed me to take a few pictures of his three mining rigs:

ASICS Mining setup. Open air, no case... Just boards.

Open air case with one video card

Open case with two ASUS cards, and several PCI-E to USB extension cables

MSI cards attached to a 2x4 connected to USB PCI-E expansion cables

Mining script running

Another mining script running

When I asked him if he used a specific mining pool, he said he actually used several depending on the currency he was mining, or the change in the market. He said he used:

• Nicehash
• Zpool
• Mining Pool Hub
• Multipool
• Miner Gate

You might be wondering what kind of money he's pulling in with these functional, yet ugly mining rigs. Well, he said he averages about $3,000 per month take home on his venture, and only pays roughly $500 per month in electrical bills. That's an easy $2,500 profit! On top of that, since it's winter here in Colorado he said he isn't paying anything for heating his place with all of his rigs running!

Of course, the day I visited was on January 16th, when the streets were red with blood because the crypto market tanked pretty hard, so he said he was feeling the pain that day. Of course, he and I were very optimistic that things would bounce back!

So long story short, he didn't buy my Ubuntu rig because his video cards were way too big to fit in my case. That's cool though, I had a guy come by later that afternoon that wanted to use it for games and bought it from me anyway. Still though, I thought seeing a professional mining operation was definitely worth the time it took to let him test his cards out.

What do you think about his mining setup? Let me know in the comments.

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Alessio Rastani: The Weird #Bitcoin Pattern Everyone Needs to See

Rastani almost did not see this odd bitcoin pattern, which he calls a hammer candlestick pattern. According to Wikipedia a hammer candlestick pattern is:

...a type of bullish reversal candlestick pattern, made up of just one candle, found in price charts of financial assets. The candle looks like a hammer, as it has a long lower wick and a short body at the top of the candlestick with little or no upper wick. In order for a candle to be a valid hammer most traders say the lower wick must be two times greater than the size of the body portion of the candle, and the body of the candle must be at the upper end of the trading range. 

When you see the hammer form in a downtrend this is a sign of a potential reversal in the market as the long lower wick represents a period of trading where the sellers were initially in control but the buyers were able to reverse that control and drive prices back up to close near the high for the day, thus the short body at the top of the candle. 

After seeing this chart pattern form in the market most traders will wait for the next period to open higher than the close of the previous period to confirm that the buyers are actually in control.

Does this mean that we're going to start seeing a consistent upward trend going forward? Rastani says we need to see further buying strength before we will have confirmation that we're heading back into a bullish trend.

What do you think about this? Are you optimistic about it? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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Show your support for your favorite cryptocurrency with these t-shirts

Some people love football so they sport a Bronco's jersey. Others like basketball, so they may wear an LA Lakers shirt. What about nerds like us that are invested in cryptocurrency? Well, I found four t-shirts that you crypto-geeks might like! Check them out!

Bitcoin:

Litecoin:

Ethereum:

Bitcoin Cash:

These four cryptocurrencies represent the biggest names in the cryptocoin market at the moment, and all are being traded on Coinbase right now.

On more that isn't currently being traded on Coinbase, but is also super popular is Ripple!

If you are heavily invested in one or more of the above, show some support for your favorite "team"!

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#Bitcoin Bounces From Key Level... But is it in the Clear?

Alessio Rastani explains how bitcoin has bounced off of the 200 MA (Moving Average) which is a key level. He is saying that right now, that is a good sign, but we should not get cocky or over confident. Remember, although we hope to see prices go higher, hope is not a strategy.

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Did my son and I capture evidence of UFO's?

A couple of weeks ago my son and I were filming one of his videos for The Adventures of Brizzle Fo' Shizzle, and I noticed something very strange during editing. From the footage on his Indigi camera, I kept seeing one or two small black dots in the sun.

Now, I do enjoy watching documentaries about UFO's and listening to tails of crop circles, and people being abducted as much as the next guy, but I never thought I might actually capture something on camera. Check it out!

Seriously, what are those dots anyway? Could they be....

I'm not sure, but there are others that claim to have captured images of aliens near the sun. Via HuffPo:

Whenever a story comes out claiming to show real pictures or video of UFOs, hope springs eternal that maybe, just maybe, this might be that elusive smoking-gun evidence of alien technology. 

Not a day goes by, either, without something in the news questioning the honesty of certain Americans or Russians. Now it seems that UFOs have been added to that media storm. 

Here is a video mentioned in the article:

So was what we captured aliens or just some kind of optical illusion with that camera? I guess you'll have to watch that episode of The Adventures of Brizzle Fo' Shizzle  and decide for yourself!

What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments!

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The Complete Linux Course: Beginner to Power User

If you want to get started using Linux, you will LOVE this course! This 7+ hour Ubuntu Linux tutorial will take you from beginner to power user. We will cover installation, command line, administrative privileges, app development, server hosting, GitHub, and much more!

Once you become an Ubuntu guru yourself, you will want to get some free Powered By Ubuntu stickers for your Ubuntu computer!

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#Bitcoin prices headed even lower?

RJO Futures senior market strategist Phillip Streible discusses the outlook for bitcoin. Streible likens bitcoin to soybeans and corn though... does he really know what he's talking about? There will only ever be 21 million bitcoins created, where as there is no limit on corn and soybeans. Can you really compare these things? Let us know what you think in the comments.

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