Feral Jundi

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Job Tips: Iron Key Secure Flash Drive

Filed under: Job Tips,Technology — Tags: , , , , , — Matt @ 10:33 PM

      This is not only cool, but it is essential stuff for contracting.  And what I really like about this encrypted flash drive is that it self destructs.  So if you lose it, and someone picks it up and attempts to break into it, it will erase after tampering or ten attempts at a password. Not to mention that it is mil spec.   

     But if you are out there on contract, and your company loses their gig and you’re rolled over to another company or you hop on over to a better deal, having your important stuff stored on a device like this and ready to send is vital.  I would also save your documents on an encrypted email account like Hushmail or some other secure online service where you can store documents.  Have the stuff easy to get to, that is safely stored and secure, and in different places, can make the difference between getting a job or not when you are out on the road. –Matt

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SECURE YOUR FILES AND PROTECT YOUR IDENTITY

IronKey Personal is a revolutionary personal security device designed to protect your data, passwords and online identity on any computer.

Hardware Encryption and Malware Defenses for Bullet-Proof Security

All data stored on an IronKey Personal drive is encrypted with high-speed military-grade hardware encryption. Unlike software-based encryption, this “always-on” protection cannot be disabled and is protected against cold-boot and brute force attacks. No one can access files stored on an IronKey unless they authenticate with the correct password. All encryption and password verification are performed in hardware, and it cannot be disabled by worms, viruses or other malware.

Secure & Private Web Browsing

IronKey drives come pre-configured with a portable version of Mozilla’s popular Firefox Web browser. All data, cookies, and Web history are maintained locally on the drive. The optional IronKey Secure Sessions service protects your privacy on the Web by triple-encrypting all of your Web surfing traffic, and provides secure DNS services to help assure that you are not visiting a spoofed website.

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Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Technology: Facebook Founder to Join ‘General Catalyst’

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 8:55 PM

   Well here you go.  If you are a PMC or PSC and interested in delving into the social networking realm of business, then this is the company to hit up.  Be sure to request the services of Chris Hughes as well, and be the first to start a non-profit, PMC or PSC built around a social networking site. –Matt

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Facebook Founder to Join General Catalyst

Twenty-five-year-old Chris Hughes’s extensive resume includes online fund-raising for Barack Obama.

Boston – March 18, 2009

By Robert Weisman

Globe Staff / March 18, 2009

Chris Hughes, a founder of Facebook Inc. who later deployed the website My.BarackObama.com to build an online network for the presidential campaign, will be joining the Cambridge venture capital firm General Catalyst Partners as an entrepreneur in residence.

The move, set to be disclosed today by General Catalyst, is a part of the firm’s effort to build a new generation of digital media and social-networking start-ups on the East Coast, particularly in Boston and New York.

General Catalyst, a nine-year-old firm with $1.8 billion under management, is currently investing a $715 million fund in early-stage software, new media, and clean energy companies.

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Sunday, March 22, 2009

Technology: The Unmanned Little Bird (ULB)

Filed under: Technology — Tags: , , , — Matt @ 9:03 PM

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Somalia: The Text Messaging Insurgency

Filed under: Africa,Somalia,Technology — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 6:19 PM

    This is interesting, because this is the same method of communication that the Mumbai terrorists used to communicate.  Short concise orders that are instantly transmitted by phone via text messaging.  What I think would be interesting is to somehow break into a network that is using text messaging, and throw some orders in there to mess with that network.  Either that, or figure out a way to just make these guys paranoid about using this communication system, and force them to use something else, like just human couriers. That way, you have a communication system that is built upon the fallible mechanism of the human.  –Matt 

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Somalia’s text message insurgency

By Mohamed Mohamed 

Published: 2009/03/16 

The name of Somalia’s Islamist insurgent group al-Shabab – it means “The Lads” – may conjure images of a lovable band of rogues.

But the radical militia is a fiercely secretive and ruthless organisation with alleged links to al-Qaeda.

The leaders of the group – which has taken over swathes of central and southern Somalia – are unknown to their subordinates.

The middle lieutenants get their orders through text messages, or phone calls from recognised voices, giving them proof the instructions are coming from the right person.

The leaders of al-Shabab are called “emirs” and they do not usually come from the region they administer.

The emirs are said to use text messaging systems daily. The mid-ranking emirs and foot soldiers are given prepaid phone cards to carry out their day-to-day operations.

Text messages are also used to threaten those al-Shabab believes oppose them.

Anyone who ignores these warnings is likely to receive a visit from the gunmen.

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Saturday, March 7, 2009

Building Snowmobiles: Social Networking and War–MySomalia.com and MyPMC.com

Filed under: Building Snowmobiles,Kaizen,Somalia,Technology — Tags: , , , , , , , , , — Matt @ 5:10 PM

   This is a two part article with one focused on using social networking for Somalia state and nation building.  Part 2 is dedicated to using social networking as a tool for business and Kaizen for PMC’s and PSC’s. This was probably my most challenging and thought provocative topic, and it’s hard to say if I really hit on something of value or not.  So to me, this is pure building snowmobiles, and certainly unexplored territory. I also want to warn you, that some of these concepts are kind of out there, but still something to chew on around the water cooler. Let me know what you think. –Matt 

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(Part 1) 

MySomalia.com

     I have been thinking about Somalia for a bit after my discussion with Eeben Barlow and after a little research, I have stumbled upon a concept that I think should be looked at. It is a combination of social networking and private military, all with the goal of building the state and a nation.

     I think the Somalia government, with it’s new President, should create a MySomalia.com and attract the millions of Somalis world wide, that give money to their families in Somalia anyways.  This diaspora of Somalis, could be tapped into as a funding source, and an activist force for the country. The model for such a thing would be MyBO.com (President Obama’s campaign social network site, that made him 200 million dollars in funding, and rallied millions of supporters)

     And to take advantage of the power of tribes in Somalia, you could put an option in the profile building pages of MySomalia.com on what tribe you came from.  That way other Somalis could identify their tribes or groups, but do it all under the mechanism of the main group of MySomalia.com.  That actually would help enforce the idea of nation, but still allow the freedom to express what tribe you came from. The key to success with a site like this is a strong architecture and a strong brand, and letting your supporters do the rest. It would be really interesting to watch how Somalis and friends of Somalis would help that country, if given this kind of social networking tool.    

     I point to Noah Shactman’s comment he made on Wired about Obama’s social networking site, and why it worked so well. I think PMCs and Governments would be wise to look hard at the potential of social networks.  I know NASA, FBI, CIA, and numerous other private firms are all using social networking sites to exchange ideas and rally the people within those organizations.

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