Yonas Tibebu

Data Transfer Project (DTP) is an open source initiative to facilitate customer-controlled data transfers between two online services. The project is a collaborative effort run by Facebook, Twitter, Apple, Google and Microsoft. DTP was developed to respect users’ rights to choose, privacy and security while easing the data transfer process and reducing requirements that might make it difficult for users to migrate data between providers. Today, if a business or individual wants to move content from one online platform to another, they have to download and save content from the first platform and then upload it to the second platform. Once an online provider belongs to the Data Transfer Project, however, the end user can authenticate data transfers for cloud service migration with one click. It's expected that in most cases, transfer approvals will be branded and managed by the receiving provider. DTP transfers content between servi...

A microcontroller is a compact integrated circuit designed to govern a specific operation in an embedded system. A typical microcontroller includes a processor, memory and input/output (I/O) peripherals on a single chip. Sometimes referred to as an embedded controller or microcontroller unit (MCU), microcontrollers are found in vehicles, robots, office machines, medical devices, mobile radio transceivers, vending machines and home appliances, among other devices. They are essentially simple miniature personal computers (PCs) designed to control small features of a larger component, without a complex front-end operating system (OS). How do microcontrollers work? A microcontroller is embedded inside of a system to control a singular function in a device. It does this by interpreting data it receives from its I/O peripherals using its central processor. The temporary information that the microcontroller receives is stored in its data memory, where the processor accesse...

Application modernization is the  refactoring, re-purposing or consolidation of legacy software programming to align it more closely with current business needs. The goal of an application modernization project is to create new business value from existing  applications. An application is a program designed to perform a specific function directly for the user or, in some cases, for another application program. Keeping legacy applications running smoothly can be a time-consuming, resource-intensive process, especially when the software becomes so outdated that it becomes incompatible with newer versions of the underlying operating system (OS) or system hardware. Traditional methods for modernizing applications include rewriting existing application code written in  COBOL to a more modern, Web-friendly programming language or placing a Web interface in front of an outdated application to salvage parts of the application that might still have value. The ch...

Behavior-based security is a proactive approach to security in which all relevant activity is monitored so that deviations from normal behavior patterns can be identified and dealt with quickly. As  machine learning continues to improve, this approach to security management is expected to play an important role in securing computing at the edge of the network. Traditional security software is signature-oriented: the software monitors data streams and compares data in transit to signatures in an anti-virus vendor's library of known threats. Behavior-based security programs work a little differently -- they monitor data streams too, but then they compare data stream activity to a baseline of normal behavior and look for anomalies. Behavior-based security products use applied mathematics and machine learning to flag events that are statistically significant. While there may still be instances where an organization needs to choose between signature-based and anomaly-based...

The four eyes principle is a requirement that two individuals approve some action before it can be taken. The four eyes principle is sometimes called the two-man rule or the two-person rule. In a business context, the four eyes required for approval are often those of the CEO (Chief Executive Officer) and the CFO (Chief Financial Officer), who must both sign off on any significant business decision. In editing, proofreading and translation, documents typically have a second reader to detect errors and typos that a single pair of eyes might miss. Although neither individual might detect all errors, two readers are likely to miss different things so that, collaboratively, they will catch more mistakes. Here are a few other examples of the four eyes principle at work: Many legal and financial documents require the signatures of two individuals. Banks, casinos and sensitive military areas often include no-lone zones: areas in which two people must be present and with...

A third-party cookie is one that is placed on a user’s  hard disk by a Web site from a domain other than the one a user is visiting. As with standard cookies, third-party cookies are placed so that a site can remember something about you at a later time. Both are typically used to store surfing and personalization preferences and tracking information. Third-party cookies, however, are often set by advertising networks that a site may subscribe to in the hopes of driving up sales or page hits. Third-party cookies are often blocked and deleted through browser settings and security settings such as same origin policy; by default, Firefox blocks all third-party cookies. Blocking third-party cookies does not create login issues on websites (which can be an issue after blocking first-party cookies) and may result in seeing fewer ads on the Internet. Blocking third-party cookies increases user privacy and security but has created a problem for consumer tra...