brownfoot

If you wish to secure your messages in your emails, SMS and other text documents, we provided an online tool for free, with the help of my friend and colleague: JMCastaneda.

You may check the link here…

We also provided a downloadable Android App we named: MessageEncrypt if you wish to use our tool on an Android device.

Download link is here…

For the benefit of all readers, Terry Childs is the San Francisco, California’s FiberWAN Network Engineer/Administrator who is charged and accused of withholding administrative access to the city’s network and is now behind bars with a $5Million bail (too steep).

Based on the information I gathered online, Terry Childs has his own personal reasons why he did those security procedures.

“Mr. Childs had good reason to be protective of the password,” Crane said. “His co-workers and supervisors had in the past maliciously damaged the system themselves, hindered his ability to maintain it … and shown complete indifference to maintaining it themselves.”

from SFGate

It’s a good thing Childs cooperated by giving the codes/script/s only to the mayor (Gavin Newsom) himself when mayor Newsom visited him in jail.

“Even though the rest of the system’s administrators feared that Child’s actions might lead to very troublesome situation, the system seems to be working fine and there are just a few more glitches to fix in order for everything to return to normal.”

from efluxmedia.com

The case of Terry Childs just prove that Systems Administrators have a big responsibility and powerful on any system or network infrastructure, but can be controlled by implementing policies.

Top managements should also be aware of the existing system and network implementations and should assign to at least a minimum of two (2) technical personnels for all administrative accesses.

Documentations of access codes and regular drills can also minimize these kinds of problems.

So it is up for you to decide if Terry Childs is either good or bad.

Google is allocating $10 Million US Dollars for the Android Developer Challenge which is now on its second and final round. This is a big opportunity for software applications developers to show their talents and skills, and provide high-tech mobile apps which we hope will be freely available.

Back in my programming days, funding is really an issue when we develop certain applications. We normally end up in purchasing surplus/used computers and other technical equipments in order for us to operate and complete such projects. But with Google, you have the opportunity to be funded.

Android by the way, is an operating system/software platform for mobile handsets based on Linux which is an open platform. It was initially started by Android Inc. and was acquired by Google in 2005 with the Open Handset Alliance.

There are now three (3) different brands of (shall-we-say) the first generations of Ultra Mobile PCs (UMPC) available in the Philippine market.

The first to release was the Asus Eee PC which has at least eight (8) different variants depending on their storage capacities, on-board memory and screen sizes. All of these models have solid-state disk as hard drives in order for the form-factor to become very thin. Most of the Asus Eee PC available in the market have pre-installed Linux OS’s but can be easily installed with WinXP OS’s. All of the models have built-in Wifi, LAN port, external VGA port and some of the high-end models have web cameras. The only downside on the Asus Eee PC is the limited storage capacity which only has 2GB up to 8GB, or you can opt for the top of line model which has 12GB (Windows-based) or 20GB (Linux-based).

The next to reach the Philippine market was the Neo Explore X1 (aka Intel Classmate PC) which was initially intended for the USA’s one-child-one-laptop policy. These have the same LCD screen size from the Asus Eee PC but its hard disk has larger capacity with up to 30GB. You may notice that the form factor itself is sturdy and probably designed to absorb shock and has a built-in carrying holder. It can also be mislead as a laptop toy.

The latest is the Blue H1 ultra-mobile-PC. This is the product i prefer to purchase if based on specifications and price. It already has 1GB on-board memory with 40GB of hard drive, built-in Wifi, LAN port and most of all with a built-in web camera at a reasonable introductory price.