Ben Tech news

This is a technology that has come a long way. Over the years there has been inventions, upgrades, tests and deployment in the real environment. Before we go further (and some of you get lost) let’s see the Wikipedia definition of wearables These are smart electronic devices (electronic device with micro controllers) that can be worn on the body as implant or accessories. The designs often incorporate practical functions and features. Wearable devices such as   activity trackers   are a good example of the   Internet of Things , since "things" such as   electronics,   software ,   sensors   and connectivity are effectors that enable objects to exchange data through internet with a manufacturer, operator and/or other connected devices, without requiring human intervention. The world of wearable is big and even getting bigger. Lots of people when they hear wearables their minds think of watches. This is very true smart watches are one ...

(Ululating)…... Who thought this would ever happen? Alas introducing the brand new Kaspersky OS. This is the new thing in town and trust me i had to jump through hoops to first certify that all of this is true, otherwise it would seem like am just pulling ideas out of the sky Trust me we have been waiting for something new to talk and argue with each other and finally what a relief. The birth of this baby got us wetting our lips. The Big news Late last year on November Kaspersky finally realized an OS named Kaspersky O.S. It was refereed by the code name 11-11 (launched on November 11). Kaspersky OS is a specialized operating system designed for embedded systems with strict cyber security requirements. By design, Kaspersky OS significantly reduces the chances of undocumented functionality and thus mitigates the risk of cyberattacks.  In a modern connected world where rich IoT devices are being used by consumers, utilized in critical infrastructure, control ma...

This is a very prone malware and probably everyone has experienced it at least once, from cyber cafes, the movie Guy or from that friend who has always infected USBs dongles. USB-borne malware is extremely common, and most malware that propagates via USB and other removable drives traditionally has taken advantage of the Windows Autorun or Autoplay feature. This strain of malware leveraged a vulnerability in the method Windows uses for handling shortcut files. Normally this are links to the mother file and for them to execute a user has to click but for the malicious files the shortcut executes automatically. Basically you just have to open an infected USB and pap the malicious code infects your machine. Types of shortcuts  There are of two types: FILE AND FOLDER SHORTCUT VIRUS FLASH DRIVE SHORTCUT VIRUS FILE AND FOLDER SHORTCUT VIRUS This affects files in your computer. It replicates all files and folders in your computer and creates a shortcut to all th...

Every day we send all kinds of emails to clients and internally as an organisation. For local users the process is very simple fire up outlook type in your email and click send. When the same email sits in the outbox for a few minutes they start losing their minds and hunt for their IT guy to fix the problem. For today I will not teach you how to fix the outlook problems am sure by now you all know how to handle that.(in case you still have no idea inbox me I will teach you for a few dollars.)We will look in depth on how email is sent and the security challenges it faces. First things first let’s handle the definitions: Electronic mail (E-mail) is a computer based method of sending messages from one computer user to another. Computer engineer, Ray Tomlinson invented internet based email in late 1971. How emails works: Step 1 : mail is created in the Mail User Agent (MUA) and the send button is clicked. This may be done on outlook or any other agent. Step 2 : the ma...

As I was minding my on business going through group conversations on whatsup comes this link to an article on how the government of Kenya is planning to tap on our voice call conversation.  At that point I felt like throwing my phone off the windows and go old school by sending people letters because we also not safe on mail however we encrypt them. Guess what I found out they were opening and reading letters back in the day dame we are fucked all the nine ways. What’s going on? The government of Kenya though the Communication authority (CA) is seeking permission to install a tapping device (not sure if its hardware or software) on the service provider so as they can listen in on call and sms.  This does not get better as all the work will be done by a third party. We do not know the integrity level of this so called third party. Worries of data integrity comes in to question.  How sure are we that they will give the correct info without altering (unless ...

Virtual reality (VR) typically refers to computer technologies that use software to generate the realistic images, sounds and other sensations that replicate a real environment (or create an imaginary setting), and simulate a user's physical presence in this environment. Instead of viewing a screen in front of them, users are immersed and able to interact with 3D worlds. By simulating as many senses as possible, such as vision, hearing, touch, even smell, the computer is transformed into a gatekeeper to this artificial world. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality? Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality are two sides of the same coin. You could think of Augmented Reality as VR with one foot in the real world: Augmented Reality simulates artificial objects in the real environment; Virtual Reality creates an artificial environment to inhabit. In Augmented Reality, the computer uses sensors and algorithms to determine the position and orientation of a camera. AR technology then...

Over the years safaricom has been the leading service provider for a couple of products, including and not limited to mpesa, mshwari, voice and sms services. They have a big market share at home and speeding to all over the world. This has led to mass profits which they calculate in billions  Spark venture  Officially launched in November 2014 this was a project that aimed to help local startups get up on their feet and hit the ground running. The project specifically was aimed to assist tech start up that use mobile technology as an enabler. It support the successful development and growth of high potential mobile tech start-ups in Kenya through a combination of investment, business development support and technical assistance leveraging on Safaricom’s unique capabilities, assets and market positioning. $1 Million was set aside to assist the growth of this startups and could be used as minority equity or convertible dept with each innovator banking be...

Cancer is one of the deadly diseases that one can suffer from. The cost of treatment, availability of doctors, and drugs is do high that not all can afford. The government is making progress by trying to improve accessibility and availability of these services, we are even started running marathons to raise funds and awareness. Artificial intelligence This is a field in IT that is continuously growing  and developments are made on a day to day basis. As i was dong my usual research i stumped along an article on standford university and i was amassed that an AI algorithm that can identify skin cancer as well as a professional doctor. The program was trained on nearly 130,000 images of moles, rashes, and lesions using a technique known as deep learning. It was then tested head-to-head against 21 human dermatologists, where its creators say it performed with an accuracy on par with humans (“at least” 91 percent as good). This is not yet deployed but when it does it will b...

Cashless payment has been here for along time now and we have grown to use and trust this service. Apart from the mostly used mobile money platform for the local mwananchi the prepaid cards have also grown in terms of market share. At the moment we have a lot of these cards floating around and tied to specific vendors. This one of the most annoying bit with them due to the fact that you have to carry a million of them, one for the supermarket, bank, Gas station and god knows what. As time goes by this cards are slowly integrating with each other and one card can work on different platforms Huduma card For once will give the G.O.K(Government of Kenya) a thumps up for embracing technology and rolling out systems that the wanjiku back in remote Kenya can use to access government facilities and reduce the long ques on government offices (trust me this was not fun). On there latest move was  incorporateing the certificate of good conduct on E-citizen., (we have been waiting f...

Long-Term Evolution ( LTE) is a standard for high-speed wireless communication for mobile phones and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS / HSPA technologies. It increases the capacity and speed using a different radio interface In simple terms:  This is wireless mobile technology an upgrade from the 3G network to 4G(fourth Generation ). This in return comes with high internet speeds. Speeds? Apparently it ranges from 5-15mbps but in perfect conditions (theoretically) you may hit 50mbps. This is so cool considering the fact with 3G it would hit a max of 7.2mbps Now with this technology it does not just happen automatically some factors have to be considered ; first is your mobile provider offering it? If so go swap you data line and have an upgrade.  As you head to swap the sim card also check whether you phone is 4G enable because if its not you still screwed.   The bad side: This technology is still fairly new so its not available everywhere. ...

A solid-state drive ( SSD , also known as a solid-state disk is a solid-state storage device that uses integrated circuit assemblies as memory to store data persistently . SSD technology primarily uses electronic interfaces compatible with traditional block input/output (I/O) hard disk drives (HDDs), which permit simple replacements in common applications.   @Intel Additionally, new I/O interfaces, like SATA Express and M.2 have been designed to address specific requirements of the SSD technology. SSDs have no moving mechanical components. This distinguishes them from traditional electromechanical magnetic disks such as hard disk drives (HDDs) or floppy disks, which contain spinning disks and movable read/write heads . Compared with electromechanical disks, SSDs are typically more resistant to physical shock, run silently, have lower access time , and lower latency . However, while the price of SSDs has continued to decline over time As of 2015, most SSDs use MLC NAND-base...

The Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) is a specification that defines a software interface between an operating system and platform firmware. UEFI replaces the Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) firmware interface originally present in all IBM PC-compatible personal computers. UEFI can support remote diagnostics and repair of computers, even with no operating system installed. Intel developed the original Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) specification. The Unified EFI Forum is the industry body that manages the UEFI specification. Many computers with UEFI firmware will allow you to enable a legacy BIOS compatibility mode. The interface defined by the EFI specification includes data tables that contain platform information, and boot and runtime services that are available to the OS loader and OS. UEFI firmware provides several technical advantages over a traditional BIOS system which include: Ability to boot from large disks (over 2 TB) with a GUID Partition Tabl...

Twitter's got it. Apple's got it, too. Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Amazon have had it for a while. But why's two-factor authentication important, and will it keep you safe? Two-factor authentication, or 2FA as it's commonly abbreviated, adds an extra step to your basic log-in procedure. Without 2FA, you enter in your username and password, and then you're done. The password is your single factor of authentication. The second factor makes your account more secure Two-factor authentication adds a second level of authentication to an account log-in. authentication. It’s also a type of multi factor authentication There are three types of authentication:           Knowledge factors -- something the user knows, such as a password, PIN or shared secret.          Possession factors -- something the user has, such as an ID card, security token or a smartphone.           Inherence factors, more commo...