what are external and internal security audits

Leveraging Security Metrics To Protect Your Network

Maybe we should just give up trying to maintain secure enterprise networks; its just too hard.

When we surveyed practitioners, 71% of respondents admitted that their networks are exposed to external threats due to misconfiguration issues in their security device infrastructure. Verizon reports that 79% of organizations fail to maintain PCI compliance from their prior years assessment. More than 50 percent told us they had no idea how many of their organizations internal hosts were exposed to the Internet.

We know that even in this era of constrained budgets, enterprises are spending more on network securityand yet 75% of network and security pros agree that the advantage is still on the side of the attacker. Verizon reposts that security erosion over the course of the year between PCI audits is the norm with most enterprises, despite the fact that we know theres a correlation between slippage and data breaches.

Maybe its time to re-evaluate our priorities. As our CTO Dr. Mike points out, theres a general consensus to focus on the core controls. If youre already covering 90% of the basics, security pros agree its more wise to push for 100% versus expand the number of controls.

But if youre focused on the core controls, how do you know what percentage level youre at, and where the areas of exposure are? Thats where security metrics come in.

what weather you need to fly kites

Exploring 4 Fun Activities For Kids Using 'Create Your Own' Kites

Kids' love of kites can be put to good purpose in many ways, at any time of year for children activities. While most adults consider them to simply be a summertime toy for breezy afternoons, kites can also serve as a winter reminder than summer will, eventually, return.

There are create-your-own kits that allow children of all ages to color and decorate theirs however they choose, long before the sunny, breezy days of summer arrive. You can certainly buy kites ready-made, but decorating your own adds a more profound touch to the experience of setting sail on an open sky.

will crape myrtle grow in zone 5?

KC has more choices of plants

It's that almost-February time of year, when Kansas City gardeners begin plotting.

Hmmmmm. What to plant?

As of this week, they're getting new advice from the federal government: A wider variety of species can safely grow here because the winters aren't as harsh as they used to be.

Kansas City is now officially in the warmer planting Zone 6 instead of the cooler Zone 5.

That's not news for the butterfly bush in your yard that used to die back almost to the ground every winter but now is hardly fazed.

Or the nandina that never used to flower in these parts but now produces gorgeous red berries like clusters of grapes.

Gardeners have understood for years that plants thriving south of here, say in balmy Oklahoma, are now comfortable at this latitude.

"You didn't use to see much crepe myrtle around here and it was not offered much in garden centers," said Dennis Patton, Johnson County Extension horticulture agent. "Now it's a staple up here in Kansas City."

The new color-coded map of plant hardiness zones is the first revision of the official guide since 1990. The zones are based on the coldest extremes in a given location — and those averages are not as cold as they used to be.

Kansas City's old zone meant the coldest temperatures ranged from minus 10 to minus 20 degrees. Its new zone means the coldest it gets is between zero and minus 10.

how to show wireless signal strength

zBoost your iPhone and iPad at Home and on the Go – A Macworld?s First Looks Product Provides Miles with No More Slow Data or Dropped Calls

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) January 26, 2012

Wi-Ex ( a leading provider of consumer and commercial cell phone signal boosters, showcased its zBoost line of cell phone signal boosters at Macworld/iWorld in Booth #347 including its new zBoost zForce and zBoost SOHO Xtreme. The award-winning zBoost home and office solutions help today's connected consumers including iPhone, iPad, DROID, Blackberry and smartphone users take full advantage of data, voice and Internet services on their smartphones and connected devices.

The zBoost zForce is one of the Macworld/iWorld First Look honorees and will also be on display in the First Looks kiosk during the show. zBoost will also offer special show pricing for Macworld/iWorld attendees interested in purchasing during the show.

"Today's consumers want technology that lets them enjoy their favorite shows, work and personal calendars, games, social networks and emails on the go and the extreme data requirements this requires make consumers even more aware of the of the reliability and strength of their cell phone signal," said Sharon Cuppett, vice president of marketing for Wi-Ex. "Even with carriers continued focus on improving networks and indoor cell phone signal, more than 60 percent of consumers experience problems with their indoor cell phone signal. Macworld provides us the opportunity to connect with iPhone and iPad users who can utilize the zBoost line of products to improve their indoor cell phone coverage and maximize their device."

how has the pc industry changed within the last 20

How to make the most of uncertainty « First Friday Book Synopsis

 

Here is an excerpt from another "classic" article featured online by The McKinsey Quarterly, published by McKinsey & Company, and written by Hugh Courtney. To read the complete article, check out the abundance of other free resources, obtain information about the firm, and sign up for email alerts, please click here.

*     *     *

In extremely uncertain environments, shaping strategies may deliver higher returns, with lower risk, than they do in less uncertain times.

Shape or adapt? For years, executives have regarded the question as perhaps their most fundamental strategic choice. Is it better for a company's competitive position to try to influence, or even determine, the outcome of crucial and currently uncertain elements of an industry's structure and conduct? Or is the wiser course to scope out defensible positions within an industry's existing structure and then to move with speed and agility to recognize and capture new opportunities when the market changes?

As globalization, digitization, and unfettered capital markets raise levels of uncertainty and rewrite definitions of opportunities and risks, this basic strategic choice has morphed into a more complex and high-stakes dilemma. The right strategic bets can return far higher payoffs, far more quickly; the wrong ones carry a much higher risk of systemic failure. Betting big today may fundamentally reshape a market on a global scale to the advantage of a company or quickly produce losses that can throw it into bankruptcy. A company may avoid foolhardy mistakes by waiting for uncertainty to diminish, or it may squander the chance to lay claim to first-mover advantages.

what is seizure

What is Epilepsy: What Causes Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is the term for a group of disorders that have a primary symptom of seizures. A seizure is an irregular behavior or movement that is directly related to atypical electrical activity within the brain. A term that doctors frequently use when describing how seizures affect the brain is called sporadic electrical storms. Just because someone has a seizure does not mean that person is epileptic. Affecting nearly one percent of the population, epilepsy is a common medical illness. Almost nine percent of Americans will experience one or more seizures in the course of their lives, and approximately 2.5 million people in the United States have epilepsy.

The Different Types of Epilepsy:

how to make colloid

A Natural Antibiotic – How to Make Homemade Colloidal Silver

A Natural Antibiotic – How to Make Homemade Colloidal Silver: "The article "The Altoids Tin and it's Many Uses" by Patton got me to thinking. I've had everything I needed to make my own Colloidal Silver generator for some time now, except for a little box to keep it in."

'via Blog this'

better homes and garden how to

Queen Bee Coupons & Savings

Next time you're out shopping look for these specially marked one-pound boxes of Arm & Hammer Pure Baking Soda – they qualify for a FREE one-year subscription to Better Homes & Garden (a $22 value!) when you buy two.

where can find furniture

Where you get Fantastic Unclaimed Freight Furniture along with a Believe in Deserving Seller

Before you get purchasing a retailer or manufacturer of rustic log furniture is there are several sellers these days today, particularly with the age of the the web. For the reason that birth of the internet all of us where there brother appear to have made an effort to start making and selling all types of rural pieces of furniture online, but things I believe that many of us realized tends to be that producing log furniture the correct way is a difficult job to achieve. Now inactive me the wrong way there are several great building contractors of this style of furniture and you will notice these are the craftsmen that have been around for quite a while. So knowing this let me tell you steps to make the correct decision on picking your old-fashioned furniture.

how long will fescue grass seed last after the bag

The best seed and turf for your baseball field

Choices and Decisions Do you seed or sod? This section covers seeding new areas or overseeding existing turf. Check local agriculture experts for type of grass most suited for your climate. But here's the basics for baseball field seed: 90/10 blue fescue mix. This is 90% fescue and 10% bluegrass. This is a nice mix for outfield grass and common at most fields maintained by a park district. After mowing, this usually is 2 inches or longer. 80/20 blue rye mix. This is 80% perennial rye and 20% bluegrass. It is sometimes called sports turf mix. This mix is good for infields if not the entire field. This can be mowed as short as an inch long. bermuda grass seed. In the hot climates this works for the entire field and can be mowed to 3/4 inch long.   Sources and Suppliers

why teach programming

« Inspired by Kanye | Main | Oh here we go »

Teaching is actually kind of hard

Have you ever seen something that you wanted to be really good, but realized, no, it wasn't? Like, you were thinking this could be awesome, but then when you get into it, you realize it's just kind of...bad. Yes John, we know, Star Wars Episodes 1-3, let it GO.

HAH! Stupid voices inside my head, that wasn't what I was talking about.

No, but you were thinking it.

Shut up, go back to building the harp trap.

W00t! I'm outta here!

Okay, now that's done. So here's the thing: there are a lot of people a lot who have an interest in learning how to program, and would like to teach themselves. The problem is, pretty much every self-paced course makes the same mistake: it leads you through a bunch of rote lessons, that you fundamentally don't care about, and you lose interest because you can't stay interested enough to remember what you did ten minutes ago.

Those are the good ones. The bad ones leave out info that a n00b would care about, are inconsistent in their presentation, etc. Which brings me to the subject of this post...CodeYear. When I first heard about this, I did enough research to realize that it was a cool idea, and was in a language I've wanted to get better at for years: Javascript. I don't do real well with dot languages, but JS actually has some value in my personal and professional life, so I've some motivation. I'm also not new to programming, I've done it in a few different environments over the years, including some visual 4GLs, and of course, my latest fun toy, AppleScriptObjC.

So I'm new to JS, but not programming in general. Hell, almost finished that CompSci degree once.

But I get into CodeYear, and well...damnit. The first day, the day when you want to hook people...and it's just rote monkeywork, boring exercises, and inconsistent presentation. For example, semicolons. Now, some languages require them. Some don't. In JS, they're optional. However, if you're going to use semicolons, then explain why they matter, why you're using them in the lesson, and enforce their use. Even if it's just for "if you ever want to learn a different language, this is a good habit to get into". But be consistent. Don't say "you should use a semicolon after each statement", then, when I leave one off accidentally, not even mention it.

Really, here are my thoughts on it as I'm going through day one:

it's monkeywork. For example, i messed up because I forgot a semicolon. Instead of taking that as a chance to teach me why that's a bug, it just tells me I screwed up and moves on. In another example, I deliberately left off the semicolon, and now I don't get an error. So do I need that or not? If I'm new, I don't know.

Why isn't there a semicolon in the substring() lesson