Tag: smart devices

U.S. Tech Hubs

On February 10, 2022

A vibrant tech ecosystem provides numerous benefits to both consumers and the industry. Millions of Americans and billions of dollars worth of investment capital flow into technology hubs. One such hub is Silicon Valley, which boasts a dense network of venture capital firms, large corporations, startups, and established businesses.

Silicon Valley Statistics

The yearly amount of VC funds in Silicon Valley has risen steadily since the early 2000s. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of companies accepting venture capital increased by an average of 20%. According to the National Venture Capital Association, California has become the leading startup capital of America. In 2008 alone, over 60 billion dollars were invested in new startups.

Silicon Valley has successfully replaced New York City as the most important technological innovation and commercialization center for the past few years. 2014 was a particularly fruitful year for Silicon Valley.

The Advent of Major Tech Companies

In 2014, technology giant Apple opened its first research facility in Beijing, China. In April, Google announced it was establishing a new campus in Singapore. Later in the year, the internet technology company Yahoo announced a new campus in New York City.

Apart from this, San Francisco city is home to several networking groups such as Startup Grind and Founder’s Forum, which provide opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs.

Benefits of Tech Hubs

Being a hub is beneficial for the government, consumers, and businesses. For instance, a high density of venture capital firms makes it easier to access investments. A non-exhaustive list of the benefits to consumers includes technological innovation and commercialization, improved products, and faster response to demand.

However, the benefits to businesses are highly variable. Some benefits include increased revenues, increased profits, and improved products. It is easy for a firm to get more customers through access to larger markets. A high market value is a definite advantage to businesses because it allows companies to access more extensive funding.

Silicon Valley has long been an innovator in technology and has made many breakthroughs. However, the presence of competition from China has reduced the prices and quality of products in Silicon Valley. The low-cost shipping of Chinese goods via companies such as E-bay, Alibaba, and Amazon has threatened to wipe out Silicon Valley’s position as an innovator.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Silicon Valley is a leading center for technological innovation, commercialization, and global trade. The presence of high-paying jobs has attracted entrepreneurs, and the entrepreneurial environment has led to increased venture capital firms.

The Risks of Login Codes Sent via Text Message

By Chika Wonah

On April 19, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

Two-factor authentication can seem very useful for securing your essential accounts from intruders. However, more and more hackers have been getting into accounts that use text messages for two-factor authentication. Look into these reasons why you should switch over the type of two-factor authentication you operate away from text messaging.

Routing Messages

When you’re holding your phone close to you, you might be thinking that an intruder will have to get into your phone by getting you to install malware. For the past couple of years, though, intruders have been more clever into how they get into mobile phones. They can do this by going directly to your mobile phone carrier.

The way they do this is by first finding some personal details about you. These can be as complicated as your social security number or as simple as the address you live on. From there, they call up your phone carrier.

Depending on the phone carrier, they can be easily convinced that you’re locked out of your mobile device, and you need your number transferred to a separate phone. Intruders can accomplish this by giving up their details and paying a small fee. If it goes successfully, an intruder will have full access to any phone calls or text messages coming your way, with no way to stop them until you’re able to call your phone carrier again. This all is why you shouldn’t ever use text messaging for your two-factor authentication.

Notifications

Sometimes, an intruder might not even be far away to the point where they can be looking at your phone screen in public. Depending on your mobile device settings, you might have notifications popping up with security codes on any screen of your device. Intruders can come up with a plan to get a security code this way.

For example, you might be live-streaming a game on your phone to the internet. Intruders will use this to their advantage by logging into your account online and checking your stream for when the phone notification appears. After that, they can log in to your account and do enough damage before you even have the chance to change the passwords on your accounts. Notifications are just another reason why you shouldn’t be using text messaging linked to your two-factor authentication.

Understanding if Your Device Has Been Hacked

By Chika Wonah

On February 15, 2021

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Digital, Internet of Things, Technology, Uncategorized

From social sites to banking, smart devices are increasingly becoming part of most people’s daily lives. Unfortunately, they are also exposing them to data snatchers, popularly known as hackers. The hackers may gain access to a device in many ways, but we will discuss how to know when that happens.

Receiving Random Pop-ups

Random pop-ups are not annoying, but they are among the most popular signs that a device got hacked. If one is getting random pop-ups from their browser, something has compromised their device with adware. Adware is popular with hackers when trying to force someone to view certain websites to drive revenues through viewership.

Draining Battery without Any Reason

If one notices that a device battery is quickly losing power for no reason, that is a sign that it has malware. This sudden loss of battery power is due to malware or spy-app that is operating from the background. The spy-app uses a lot of battery power to scan the device and transmit it to the hacker.

Poor Performance

One may notice that their device is suddenly crashing all the time or loading web pages much slower. When such happens, first try shutting down the machine, and take notice of what happens. If the device has gotten hacked, it may fail to shut down correctly or not shut down at all.

One can also notice slowed functionality of some operations, such as making calls or receiving text messages. Such things shouldn’t take long unless the device has a spy-app.

Increased Data Usage

Another indication of a compromised device is the exceptionally high data usage. The usage may be a result of a background running app communicating to a third-party.

Contact List Gets Call and Tests That the Owner Didn’t Make

When a device gets hacked, the hacker leaves the malware in the gadget and may use the contact list to spread it. One’s email list, text messages, or instant messages may transmit the malware to his contact through messages with links or attached files. Check out for complaints from the contact list about notifications that they supposedly received.

The Device’s Settings Change

If the hacker physically accesses a device, they may manually change its settings. For instance, one may notice that their device Bluetooth is on, despite them not switching it on. Such settings change maybe a sign of malware interfering with the device settings to spread it to other devices.

There are many ways to know when a device has gotten hacked. To prevent losing data or money, always take preventive measures. For example, one can run a malware scanner on their device.

Pro Tips for Keeping Your Crypto Safe

By Chika Wonah

On April 2, 2018

In Blockchain, Chika Wonah, Technology

Staying safe online is harder than ever, and the stakes are even higher when there’s money involved. Someone can easily make a fake Twitter account using your profile image and copied bio, and in the time it takes you to report the account, another person might have mistaken it as you and already transferred money to them. It’s an easy mistake to make if you’re not being vigilant, and unfortunately, as soon as you report one account, another can pop up in its place. To keep your cryptocurrency safely in your possession, these suggestions will help you do that:

Know the attack vectors.

You can’t protect yourself if you don’t know what you’re up against. Fake sites have gotten very good at mimicking their targets – so good that if you don’t double check the URL, you might not even know the difference.

Use strong passwords.

This might seem like a no-brainer for digital natives, but it’s worth repeating. Don’t use words like street names, birthdays, or song lyrics. But don’t randomly keyboard smash, either, because a) you’re not as random as a computer generator and b) you want to be able to keep track of your keystrokes, or else risk not being able to sign into your account anymore.

Use cold storage.

All “cold storage” means is offline and unattached or “air gapped,” which is to say, unconnected to your home network in any capacity. You can do this by removing the network card from your computer, or by buying a hardware wallet. If you’re feeling really cautious, you can cover your computer’s camera and microphone, and even remove all electronic devices from that room.

Test everything.

Make small transactions beforehand to make sure everything works. Never manually type in a url – it’s too easy to make a mistake that way, and could cost you a lot of money in errors. Copy/paste and QR codes are your best friends, though make sure your scanning app is reliable! Test your seed phrase on your hardware wallet; test the MD5 checksum before and after you load the SD card on your air gapped computer. Check everything. You can never been too careful.

Store your seed phrases in multiple places.

Your seed phrase is the string of 24 words that you can derive a private key from. You want to make sure your seed phrase stays secure at all times. For some, this means writing the seed phrase down on paper, in which case, it is recommended you make two copies and store them in separate places. SD cards are also an option, though they don’t tend to last more than five years and can be wiped by an EMP bomb. A combination of analog and digital methods is the best option. For the most cautious, they will split the seed phrase in parts and store those parts separately. If you do this, be sure to remember the order they go in, or else lose access to seed phrase altogether.

Plausible deniability.

Most simply, this means be able to keep some of the data hidden. Like in the physical world, you don’t want to advertise how much money is in your bank account, so don’t do it in the digital world, either. Also look into using multiple wallets rather than storing all of your currency in the same place.

Keep your environment safe.

Require two-factor authentication, and educate others on how to stay safe. Help the community at large by reporting fake sites and teaching the less tech-literate about why strong passwords are important. Not only are you keeping yourself protected, but you are also protecting others and paying that forward.

The Internet of Things Can’t Fail

By Chika Wonah

On January 3, 2018

In Internet of Things

You’ve probably used a connected device before- in fact, you may have used one while reading this. All of the connected devices you use in your daily life comprise something known as the “Internet of Things”. The Internet of Things, or IoT, is an interconnected web of all of the technological gadgets you use in order to make your life more efficient. One unfortunate reality of these devices is that they will fail sometime during their lifespan. Their failure may come unexpected, undesired, and may even cause you a bit of trouble. These failures, however, have the potential to come with far greater consequences.

Industries around the world have begun to adopt and integrate the usage of technologies within the Internet of Things into their everyday business operations. The potential for increases in efficiency and productivity provides great intrigue for corporations that are looking to take their enterprise to the next level. The pros do not come without potential cons, however. Depending on the nature of the industry adopting these technologies, the consequences of a software failure can be catastrophic. Forbes states that “industrial giants” such as GE, Siemens, and Bosch have begun to invest billions into the integration of technology within their daily operations. It is easy to imagine the repercussions that could occur as a result of a technological hiccup within a company as crucial to sensitive operations as Siemens or Bosch. Envision a scenario where a software-operated, industrial grade Bosch power tool blue screens, posing a serious danger to other machines and potentially other people as a result of an intermittent failure.

Despite this obvious potential for failure, the allure for more efficient means of production have thus far outweighed the fear of technological slip-ups, resulting in more and more companies investing resources into the Internet of Things. New platforms for jumping into the world of the IoT have begun to spring up within the industrial environment, making it easier than ever for companies to partner up and begin to utilize what this new technology has to offer. Some companies have even kick-started their own platforms, providing the opportunity to expand from within their own operations. However companies elect to delve into the IoT, it has become apparent that this is more than just a temporary trend- it has become equally as apparent, however, that the capacity for consequence means that these industrial technologies can not afford to fail.

Source utilized: https://www.forbes.com/sites/baininsights/2017/11/27/blue-screens-are-not-an-option-in-the-industrial-internet-of-things/#19c2d26ff5cf

Best Smart Devices for your Home

By Chika Wonah

On July 24, 2017

In Internet of Things

Whether your home is already hooked into the Internet of Things, or whether you’re shopping for your first smart device, there are lots of great products on the market for you to try. Here are some places to start:

Amazon Echo: This smart speaker can access Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, and has great 360 degree sound quality. Its voice-activated AI, Alexa, can make phone calls, check the weather, report traffic, and more. If you’ve never owned a smart device before, the Echo is a fun and accessible place to start. And it connects to many other smart devices, including Hue lights and Nest systems, so you can really start building your smart home.

Logitech Harmony Elite: Great if you like the idea of Alexa but feel silly barking orders at your radio, or if you’ve fantasized about the idea of a truly universal remote. This looks like a regular TV remote, but can access all sorts of smart devices, including your TV, your speakers, and even smart lights. Users also get access to the Harmony App, which allows you to use your phone like a remote as well.

Nest Protect Smoke Detector: The Internet of Things can be fun and convenient, but it can also be used to make your home safer. The Nest Protect senses smoke and carbon monoxide, and can be controlled from your phone.

Kuna Toucan: This outdoor security camera works with Alexa or a smartphone app. It alerts you when a car pulls into your driveway or a visitor arrives at your door, and takes both video and audio, which it stores online for easy access. You can even have it make a siren sound to scare away unwanted visitors.

Nest Learning Thermostat: Not only is this thermostat easy to control through a phone, tablet, laptop, or Alexa, it quickly learns your temperature preferences, and is capable of turning itself down when the house is empty. Plus, by monitoring outdoor temperatures and your preferences, it can help guide you to the most energy efficient temperature settings, and save you lots of money on your heating bill.

June Intelligent Oven: Tell this oven what you’re baking and how you want it, and it does all the work to make that happen. The June Intelligent Oven works great for everything from casseroles to Eggo waffles, but it’s at its most impressive cooking hard-to-perfect meats. At just under $1500, it’s the priciest item on this list by far, but it’s also a great demonstration of how smart smart tech can be.

QardioBase Smart Scale: If you’re watching your health, this scale can give you all the relevant information–not just your weight. This scale can check your BMI, muscle mass, and bone mass, help you set and track fitness goals, and even tell if you’re pregnant. And it’s compatable with iOS, Android, and Kindle.