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Archives For selling security assessments

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After All The Work That Goes Into Security Assessments,  This One Thing, If Missed, Will Make The Entire Process a Waste of Time…

When the Truth is Clear…Cancer, Heart Attack,…Breach…People Act.  With Security Your Message Must Connect and Your Audience Must Feel The Pain.

You might think it’s callous of me to compare your own life (risk of cancer) to a data breach, but the truth is, data is what many companies see as their most precious asset.

Right or wrong, given a choice, companies will part with a few employees before facing business failure. And data loss often begins the downward spiral that can’t be stopped.

However, getting the company leadership to see these business-crushing threats, before they happen, is not easy.  Following is the strategy I’ve used to turn week-long assessments into annual contracts, and more.

(Download my Free Assessment Report Template – We’re converting over 73% into MSP/MSSP contracts)

Rule One: Don’t Present Without The Asset Owners!

Asset owners are those with liability. Have you ever presented a cost-saving solution to IT directors or middle managers? Tell them you can save them money, reduce FTE (Full Time Employees) by 50%, and improve quality of service, and they’ll quietly dismiss you as unqualified to do business at their firm. They’d rather build an empire than save money.

Take it one step further and show these cost-center agents how their personal role in the company (along with associated costs) is no longer needed with your new proposed automation process, and you might find an anonymous death threat in your mailbox.

Bring in the asset owners and something different begins to happen.

When it comes to security, technical staff rarely understand the value of corporate data, or the relationship between uptime and profit, according the several CISOs I’ve interviewed this year. And, they’re interest (probably driven by the need to make money) tends to be self serving (See Jack Eckerd’s book, Why America Doesn’t Work).

Tell executives their systems are likely infected with software, giving hackers the ability to listen in on private meetings, watch them in their office or bedroom, read their email (including personal mail), and track their whereabouts, and you’ll get a response similar to that of a home owner waking up to their fire alarm. That same bot detection among IT folks will call for some patching next week, and perhaps an AV product review.

The Underestimated Power of Free

But what happens when you show up and the asset owner is suddenly not available?

If you’ve charged $100K for this assessment, you’re in good shape. Meet, sell hard, and find a way back to the asset owners…you owe them the deliverable.

However, if you’ve conducted your assessment pro bono, you’re also in good shape!

As a free service, you control the deal.  You don’t owe them anything. And since you’re liable for what you deliver, you have the right to delay the meeting until your asset owner contacts are free. Just let them know there are urgent things they need to hear, so the sooner the better.

(Get more on why Free Assessments Are More Powerful in my book, The House & The Cloud 2nd Edition).

Your Meeting Agenda Re-Engineered to Convert

Sure, you could email executives your findings, but digital findings don’t convert. Face to face is the only way to deliver the devastating news that an attack or data loss is eminent if action is not taken.

Here’s Your Agenda:

Start with their words. You’ve interviewed them (hopefully). More importantly, you’ve spoken with both executives and the people driving the daily business (end-users). So you know how important their data is, how long they can be down, and what can’t be seen but the competition.

You also know what’s not urgent in their minds. So avoid spending time on the non-urgent, even if you think it’s urgent. (e.g. Policy).

Next, list the top priorities. Did you discover evidence of compromise? Any malware activity, or symptoms on the same, is urgent.  Note, patches, outdated systems, and EOL software are not urgent. A Failing backup solution (on the other hand) is urgent.  You’ll need to now why, and how to prove it.  Consider things you would want fixed this afternoon if you were the asset owner, and draw out the urgency.

Next, it’s time to create some vision. You know how they work and where they’re headed as a company (from the interview process). So, using their current set up, begin to pose a number of WHAT IF scenarios. This is how you create a vision – allowing the buyer to picture something they really do want.

“What if your end-users could work without ever having to guess whether or not an email was infected with malware?”

“What if, whenever someone tried to connect remotely, your network would verify who the user, check the system for malware and updated patches, etc. and only after approved, grant access?”

“What if we could take your restore time down from the estimated 5 days to the required 4 hours?”

In doing this, you’re watching for the nodding heads. Not those nodding off, but people in agreement. You want physical response / emotional response. This is your trial close. The power of trial closes is important. If you can get your audience nodding and saying yes along the way, you know, when you’re all done, they’ll keep nodding.

Finally, sell the vision – “We can get this done by the start of next month, etc.” The obvious question is, how much ($$$). Check out chapter 11 of my book, From Vendor to Advisor to see how to price this, and when to share the price.

© 2017, David Stelzl

magHow Would Your Assessment-to-Business Conversion Rate Grow If You Had Access to This One Extremely Powerful Assessment Tool?

90% of the Assessments I Review Leave Out Asset-Owner Interviews – Leaving You (The Seller) With a Weak Deliverable and Little Justification to Remediate

In this article I’ll point you to the people you should be talking.  In addition,  I’m going to give you the exact questions and sequence to use if you plan on up-selling them on remediation steps and ongoing annuity services.

(And Download my Free Assessment Report Template – We’re converting over 73% into MSP/MSSP contracts)

The Number One question I get when the topic of assessments comes up is, “What tools do you recommend?”  It’s a great question…however, I know what’s really being asked, and its the wrong question.

The Wrong Question to Be Asking On the Front End

“What scanner or analysis tool do your recommend?” That’s the question behind the “Tool” question. But its the wrong question.

The tool question stems from a misconception that assessments are technical iInitiatives that should be lead and delivered by technical people.

In most cases, the assessment is sold (or offered pro bono) by the seller, and then tossed over the fence to a technical team. The team may be well skilled in security concepts, network architecture, and more. But in most cases they lack business savvy.

Yet, the assessment, according to it’s first name – Risk, is by definition a measure of business risk. And it’s the asset owners (those who have true business liability) that need that measurement.

Note: Get the details on Asset Owners, gaining access and delivering value, in my book, The House & the Cloud – Almost FREE using this link.

The Question Framework

So what’s the right question? Well, it’s really an approach more than a question. The goal of the assessment (addressed in more detail here) is to move troubled customers to a remediation plan.  It’s like a cancer patient recently diagnosed. The Oncologist who fails to move most of his patients to treatment should be seen as a failure.

Is he just not communicating? Do they just not understand they are dying? Something’s wrong if the prognosis would be positive with treatment, yet the doctor is not able to move his patients to action.

In my book, The House & the Cloud (Chapter 13), I provide three key questions as a guideline.

  1. What are you trying to protect
  2. What are you relevant threats
  3. How likely are you to be able to detect and respond to an incident of pending disaster before damage is done or data lost?

These three questions provide the basis for a longer, freeform discussion with Asset Owners.

Remember, Asset Owners are those with business liability. That means these special people are responsible for business functions critical to the profitability of the business, and live primarily on the profit-center side.  Think, C-Level, VPs, Directors, and key people in key divisions of the company.

…Doctors, lawyers, CPAs, Sales Managers, R&D Management, Investment Banker, Stock Broker…people who make (or significantly contribute to) profits.  When an asset owner’s data is compromised, deleted, or corrupted, that person is in trouble.

Customers will file lawsuits, stock prices go down, brand and reputation are tarnished, and heads roll.  You won’t see the director of IT, or their one-person IT support guy in the paper tomorrow – but chances are, an Asset Owner will be front page.  A few weeks later, you’ll read they have moved on to something new, by mutual agreement…code for, FIRED!

Questions Designed to Get Answers That Matter

Using the Framework, you can then divide your interviews among  three groups. (I provide more detail in The House & The Cloud, Pg. 195ff).

  1. Executives
  2. Power-Users
  3. IT

The assessment process starts with executives (whenever possible). My friends on the Disaster Recovery side of the business pointed me in this direction years ago…business risk starts with understanding business leader’s care-abouts.

Start your analysis with questions (using the 3-part framework above) to determine what matters and how much…Your first question is, “What are you trying to protect?” It might look something like this:

  • What applications / data are most important to this business – profit, stability, growth, customer satisfaction, etc.?
  • After identifying them: How long can this system be down? (hit the important ones)…drill down…the first answer is usually wrong – No Downtime! You and I know, zero downtime is nearly impossible and exponentially expensive!  Find out where the balance of cost and availability sit. – Think, Maximum Tolerable Downtime.
  • How about data loss? “Can you afford to lose any data – if so, how much?” This is a Restore Point Objective question, but stick with business language. Explain how data is lost (Ransomware, disk crash, corruption, etc.)
  • What are you most concerned about protecting against? There are three pillars of security to consider. Confidentiality, Integrity, and Availability. It might be one of these, or all three might be important. Make sure you know how the executive sees it.

Next, Move to question 2: What are your most relevant threats?” Again, you’re talking to an executive, so keep it at a business leader level. One bad question (technical in nature) could land you a demotion back to IT!

  • Who is allowed to see this data? Who can’t see it?
  • Who would want this data?
  • What happens if this data gets out (in the hands of other governments, competitors, the public, etc.?) – Speaking of impact here.
  • What concerns you most? Examples might be, data theft, downtime (from what?), loss of access (for instance, ransomware), etc.  What about soft costs such as loss of customer trust?

Finally, a simple question, “How would you know if your data were under attack, or on the verge of any disaster we’ve mentioned above? Would you know in time to stop it from happening?”

Expect executives to say, “I hope so, but don’t really know.”

A similar line of questioning would be used with this group, with the addition of questions that reveal the lifecycle of their data.

More than one interview is desirable here.  You’ll want to talk to key department managers as well as those who create and use data to conduct business.

In a small business, this may involve 2 or 3. In a larger firm, make sure you build in adequate funding to visit 5 to 10, or more, depending on the size and complexity of the organization.

Discover their data flow.

Workflow means, understanding who is creating data, using data, and how it travels, is stored, archived, and finally deleted.  You’ll want to know who interacts with data inside and outside (customers / suppliers), and what kinds of access different groups should have.

Discover business climate.

In addition to workflow, you’ll want to know about any upcoming M&A activities, pending layoffs, volatile terminations, R&D announcements, etc. These all affect a company’s security posture.

WITHOUT this level of insight into the organization, moving forward to evaluate risk is nearly IMPOSSIBLE. True risk has everything to do with how workers create and treat data.

At this point I would recommend using a quiz – formal questions with scoring, to see how well-informed these users are when it comes to securing their most precious assets.

Completing the Process

The rest of this assessment deserves it’s own article…In short, your next step is to evaluate the data coming from your interviews, with security practices in mind.

Hold and internal meeting to ask your team – “What would need to be true in this company to keep their data secure at the levels identified by asset owners?”

With a list like this in hand, it is then easy to go into the IT areas and investigate. You now know exactly what you are looking for…

You can find out more on the consultative discovery process in my book, From Vendor to Adviser….

© David Stelzl, 2017

group-predator-fishes-hierarchy-fish-dominate-eat_121-73335Who Will Dominate the Future of Assessments? Security Experts or Business Risk Advisors?

Scope (what’s covered) has everything to do with differentiating the Security Assessment Sale.

In case you missed Part I , Read it Here:

The One Thing That Set My Client’s Assessment Apart From 13 Competitive Quotes

I’ve been writing a series of articles on risk assessments over the past couple of months. If you’re in the security business (or trying to break in on this growing cash cow) it’s time to get on board with how assessments work; how they’re sold, what they’re for, how to get them read, and how to make them work for you inside the accounts you sell to.

In Part I, I covered Differentiating Yourself in the Sales Call. (Note: if you’re looking for a technical read, this is not it…

So, next, let’s turn to the scope, and how what you cover in your engagement has a lot to do with who buys it and who reads it.

If you want to grow your business, keep reading – the assessment is the best way  (and one of the only ways) to get engaged with decision makers (the people writing the checks).

Your Client Is Wrong About Scope 97% Of The Time

I hear it all the time, “The client is always right.” No they’re not!!! Especially when it comes to security.

Remember (See my book, The House & The Cloud) your IT contacts are not liable. And your asset-owner contacts (who are liable) have very little understanding when it comes to security.

So don’t let the client dictate the scope.

In short, you can’t simply respond to an RFP and come up with a meaningful assessment project (I discuss RFP responses in detail in my book, From Vendor to Adviser).

Getting The Scope Right

When I bring up, Assessment. The first question I get is, which tools (scanners) do you recommend? I’ll cover the actual assessment process in a future article. But for now, set tools/scanners, etc. aside. There’s something far more important here to consider…

The typical approach to assessing risk is, Inside/Outside. But looking inside (trusted), and then out, is wrong thinking…

The truth is, your client doesn’t have and inside or outside anymore. Sure, your dream client has a perimeter, but half the office is on the road or working at home. They’re all outside on their mobile devices. Chances are these knowledge workers are going back and forth between personal (Facebook and shopping) and business, and on  breaks their kids are playing Counter Strike or World of Warcraft (or surfing porn and gambling sites).

(And then there’s the 75% of employees who admit they steal from their employers – all inside…WSJ)

Wrong Thinking

Every paid assessment should cover perimeter devices, end nodes, and network architecture/segmentation & configuration. The obvious, so I won’t elaborate.

Yet, when I read a scope document, and it breaks the assessment down into: Internal, External, Network, Perimeter, and Servers/Storage…I get concerned.

This infrastructure-centric approach is for the super-techies, not business leaders.

I can already imagine the deliverable with it’s endless tables and network diagrams. The Red, Yellow, Green light ratings that appear on every assessment. If you’re looking to differentiate yourself, this won’t do it.

Price will be the deciding factor!!!

Rethinking Your Scope – Make It Attractive to Business Leaders

The business people (Asset Owners) are the ones who will be writing this check. So, what is it they need? In my book, The House & The Cloud I spell out exactly what the board is looking for (see page 195). It’s restated in Selling Assessments Part I.

This type of deliverable requires a different approach. The final outcome is a measure of risk (illustrated in the Impact vs. Likelihood Chart). impact-v-likeihood

START HERE – DIGITAL ASSETS: Think like a Disaster Recovery Specialist…

Where is the data? Which of these assets are most important, and what can’t they do without?

It’s a fact that most companies have no idea where their data actually is, or who has access to it. When people travel, work from home, or use cloud apps, knowing gets even harder. Ad-hoc data is everywhere.

Tools such as those provided by RiskIQ are designed to find data. In some cases that data is sitting on someone else’s server (such as a competitor or in a darknet chat room, for sale).

Digital assets, not hardware infrastructure, is what assessing risk is all about. So Consider the following:

ACCESS CONTROL – ACCESS TO DIGITAL ASSETS: People(and now robots) access data. Behind every data breach is a person. Some people have access, so they’re authorized. But not all authorized people are doing things they’re authorized to do.

Does your assessment include the people inside the organization? It should. Remember, “75% of internal workers admit they steel from their employer (as referenced earlier)”.

PEOPLE: Given all that’s just been said, be sure to include interviews (more details on this in my book, The House & The Cloud pg. 196).

DATA ASSET TRANSMISSION & STORAGE: Once you know where the data is, you want to know who accesses it, from where, when, and why. Data transmission and storage is part of a company’s workflow. So include in your scope, an analysis of assets as follows:

  • Creation: Understanding who is creating assets, when, and where is important. Most end-users don’t see their data as valuable or desirable outside their department or work function (this is true even when it comes to medical data). More importantly, they fail to realize how much data they are actually creating, and how data aggregation and deep machine learning can extrapolate and derive all kinds of intelligence from their daily activities.
  • Application: Data is then used by various applications, requiring transmission between applications, people, cloud services, etc. Are these application secure? Who has access, and who controls that data when applications are hosted in another country?
  • Transmission: This includes all network, wireless (including bluetooth, etc.). Looking at transmission has to do with traffic and protocols. So include traffic analysis – what protocols are found? (e.g. Does IRC Chat traffic belong on this network? Probably not. Did you look for it?).
  • Storage: All data gets stored at some point – even if it’s just in memory. Did you know copy machines store images of everything (and then those leased machines get placed in new businesses as your client upgrades)? And then there’s personal devices, personal email accounts, and the list goes on…are these considered part of the scope?
  • Archival: Data retention policies are key here. Is this data encrypted and does it get deleted at some point (according to policy)? A subpoena at the wrong time, right after an unscheduled deletion, could raise some eyebrows. Are cloud service providers storing this data locally, or is it international – under some other country’s privacy laws? Who owns that data? What if the cloud provider goes out of business or is acquired?
  • Destruction: Then there’s data disposal. Do the end-users understand the difference between hitting the delete key and deleting a file? In most cases, no!

TRUE SECURITY (ALL THREE ASPECTS): Security can be looked at several ways. The CISSP ISC2.ORG common body of knowledge looks at 7 (and this varies over time) major disciplines. Most security professionals recognized three pillars:

  1. Confidentiality
  2. Integrity
  3. Availability

All three should be considered in the scope. I’ll provide more detail on approach in a future writing…but be sure to cover all three.

SOCIAL ENGINEERING: Social engineering is part of just about every cybercrime incident (probably all of them). However, it’s rarely part of the assessment. Again, go back to the purpose – identifying risk. The amount of risk a company has, has a lot to do with how susceptible it’s end-users are to a ruse.

Testing them is one way to uncover weaknesses – such as an email phishing test. In any case, some thought should be given to their current security awareness program, policy (covered below), and security culture.

POLICY: I’ve heard security experts say, all security breaches are the result of some policy not being followed, or not existing. I don’t know if that’s always true, but it does carry some weight.

Most policies are written to satisfy some compliance officer, not guide the daily activities of end-users, who create, use, and store digital assets all day long. Include a review, not only of the written policy, but how it’s used and enforced.

WHAT ABOUT AUDITS: This is not an audit, so don’t treat it like one. Audits are about being compliant (get your compliance offering going with HIPAA here) against some standard or law. They don’t measure risk.

So take time to educate your buyer on the difference. The goal should be to comply with the law, and then make sure things are secure. One does not satisfy the other.

Reference an Approach (NIST)

Finally, security can be differently by different people, so just what does it mean to be secure? Or to assess risk?

Having certifications such as the CISSP (ISC2.ORG) or GIAC (SANS.ORG) can go a long way in proving to your buyer that you understand security.

Security engineers are not required to have their PE or Engineering Certificate, or be authorized by a board in the way doctors or lawyers are.  While I am not in favor of more big government oversight (like what we’re seeing in the ever-frustrating world of healthcare), pointing to a standard or framework (such as NIST) is powerful when selling.

Most sales people (your competition) are not going to be able to articulate what standards/frameworks (such as NIST) mean. So take some time and educate yourself on what I call, The Wall Street Journal Version of NIST (or whatever standard your firm will follow.) You can check out my recent article on Understanding NIST here. (CLICK).

And the Winner Is…

Do you want to win your next sales opportunity????

Assessments open doors and allow you to prove your value…however,…

Assessing Risk is a business function. Like Disaster Recovery/ Business Impact Analysis (which are really just one of the security disciplines) it is the executive team that needs an understanding of their exposure and impact/likelihood…the odds they’ll suffer a loss.

And this explains why high-end consulting firms like PwC and KPMG have long been welcomed in the board room, while resellers and most hardware manufactures continue to hit the down button when getting on the elevator.

© 2017, David Stelzl

P.S. Get the entire security sales approach here (The House & The Cloud) – the only book out there with a clear methodology for selling high-margin security business.

2017-03-03_13-54-13NIST Framework: You’ve Heard It, Lot’s of People Refer to It, But Do You Know What the NIST Security Framework is…

If forced to… (sales person to client) could you explain what the NIST Security Framework is?

NIST is important to the Assessment process as it gives you an easy reference point from which to assess and define risk. In a sales situation, the customer (if they have any knowledge at all) should be asking you how you approach assessments.

How will you answer?

If you’ve read my book, The House & The Cloud, You already know most of the NIST Security Framework…

(I wrote version one of The House & The Cloud in 2007, so you know I wasn’t just copying NIST – it’s a 2014 publication – of course I’m not claiming to be the author of NIST either).

Either way, it’s important to know NIST if you’re going to talk security.  So here’s the simple “sales person level” overview…

Notice the outline below. There are 5 major components. You’ll remember from The House & The Cloud, PDR – Protection, Detection, Response (Chapter 13)…NIST simply adds IDENTIFY (on the front end) and RECOVER (on the back end).

In my 2007 book (updated in 2015), I develop The IDENTIFY aspect in more detail (just under a different heading – the Three Important Questions You Should Be Asking Asset Owners). – See Chapter 13, The Three Questions.

  • What are you trying to protect?
  • What are your relevant threats?
  • How likely are you to be able to detect and respond before damage is done?

These three questions provide a clear understanding of just how asset owners (and IT) view their data, their threats, and their current approach to security. In most cases they have no idea that certain digital assets even exist, and chances are, IT cannot define their firm’s most pressing threats.

PDR – The Core of NIST, But Selling It Requires Strategy

Understanding PDR.

The House & The Cloud is a sales training book, not an SE’s Handbook. So use NIST as the foundation for your security approach to provide credibility in the sales process.  Your client/prospect won’t know my name, but they can Google NIST.

It’s not necessary for you, the sales person) to be fluent in security architecture and the various approaches to remediate risk.

But getting buyers to part with money for NIST is a hard hill to climb.  Chapter 13 of The House & Cloud provides the science behind the marketing approach. In my presentation (the one outlined in chapter 13) I first must break the preconception that my prospect has security “Covered”.

The conversion happens when the client sees their investment tied to column ONE – the NIST protection column (as is explained in The House & Cloud). Protection alone (keeping people out) won’t stop hackers…but until the client sees the truth (and admits their mistake) they won’t move forward.

If you want to be the Trusted Advisor, you must be TRUSTED, and ABLE TO ADVISE…and that means you client must first admit they need advice!

The House & the Cloud solves the problem of how to explain what security should look like, while getting the prospect to admit they have it wrong (Assuming they do).

Finally -Recovery…As in Disaster Recovery

My response calls for Realtime Response…I make the point (in The House & Cloud book) that faster response is needed – even realtime response to stop the threat before harm is done.

In other words, if I could somehow stop the ransomware before my data gets encrypted – I would be a lot better off.

However, stopping disasters is not always possible…and so the Disaster Recovery Plan is essential…developed, documented, and tested regularly. This last component needs work, especially in the small/medium business markets…

Disaster Recovery offers another great opportunity for resellers in the IT Management / MSP business! (And I’m talking about a lot more than just Backup and Recovery Services).

Check out this short NIST video from Rapid 7 for the overview…(Thanks Rapid 7, this clears up a lot of confusion).

© 2017, David Stelzl


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• Director of Facilities

    Job Locations US-FL-Sarasota (Corporate Office)
    Job ID
    # of Openings
    Construction / Real Estate / Facilities
  • Overview

    Dental Care Alliance, one of the Top 50 growth companies on Florida's Gulf Coast, continues to add to its Finance Department at its Lakewood Ranch, Florida location. DCA now operates 280 dental offices across 16 states from its corporate headquarters.

    The Director of Facilities is responsible for overseeing the daily operations of physical property, managing staff, budgets, and subcontractors Manage multiple types of technical services associated with facilities management; assess and successfully resolve any issues that may arise with minimal disruption to business operations.

    Responsible for the planning, operation, and supervision of the physical plant, and have knowledge of government regulations and compliance requirements. Management duties include waste management, grounds, infrastructure, and housekeeping. Develop and monitor budgets for the organization's facilities-related functions. May meet with clients and vendors on weekends and after typical work hours. Required to respond to emergencies requiring immediate attention.

    • Oversee the coordination of building space allocation and layout, communication services.
    • Oversee physical maintenance and operations of buildings, facilities and building systems.
    • Supervise maintenance and housekeeping departments.
    • Manage, contractors and budgets related to buildings and facilities.
    • Plans budgets and schedules facility modifications, including cost estimates.
    • Develops and administers the annual budget.

    • BS or associate degree with technical training in plant engineering or factory/plant maintenance.
    • Minimum of three (3) to five (5) years of progressive experience and responsibility in a maintenance field, two (2) of which were holding a supervisory position directing a multifunctional maintenance staff.

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Knight Models – Batman & Robin!

My plan for the Knight Models range was to get and paint up the Bat family and what better place to start than the dynamic duo themselves; Batman & Robin…

Batman-1 Batman-2 Robin-1 Robin-2

I loved painting these up, absolutely loved it 😀

The detail on the models is clean and crisp, something I’ve always loved about metal models. As I’ve said before the scale is glorious, especially considering the little detail of Batman being taller than Robin, something you often don’t see with model ranges. My only complaint was Batmans ears, which seemed a little shorter than they should be, and one looking a little malformed. Only a small problem though 🙂

Next up, Batgirl or Nightwing?

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Join over 3,043 others on the path to a Debt Free Life!

How Mistakes Can Make You Financially Successful

  November 17, 2014  |    #Eliminate Debt

On Sunday, October 26th, USA Today reported findings from a recent Bank of America Merrill Edge survey of 1,046 people considered “emerging affluent”. Emerging affluent means respondents, contingent on age, had investable assets between $20,000 and $250,000. The survey highlighted that one-third of respondents felt guilty for not investing money more in 2014, considering the stock market’s high flying performance. What interests us more, is the following data:

• 51 percent of respondents did not save for retirement at all in 2014
• 59 percent plan to save for retirement in 2015
• 51 percent plant to pay down debt in 2015
• 41 percent plan to lose weight in 2015

Come the end of every year, Americans look back on their successes and mistakes and are motivated to make improvements for the future. Past mistakes of paying off debt, saving for retirement and losing weight are such common New Year’s resolutions they’ve become cliché.

With Halloween behind us, we’ve essentially entered the 2014 holiday season. This inevitably brings holiday meals and gift giving, all of which increases financial mistakes such as money outflow and increases our caloric inflow. This leads to proverbial resolutions on January 2nd.

• How much debt do you plan to pay off in 2015?
• How much money do you plan to save in 2015?
• How much weight do you plan to lose in 2015?
• What can you do differently in 2015 to better succeed at your goals than you did in 2014?

Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results. If you consider your previous New Year’s resolutions, if you’ve written them down even better, do you see common themes? Does some version of better managing your finances show up each year? Is some version of getting into better physical shape on your previous New Year’s resolutions?

If they do, don’t consider them mistakes or failures. Failures only exist if you don’t learn anything from your experience. If you have consistent themes with your New Year’s resolutions, consider why this is so.

• What were you previous resolutions?
• What were you previous plans to achieve them?
• Why did you not succeed with them?
• Where did the breakdown occur?

If you perform an honest and thorough analysis of your past resolutions, you can better plan for better future resolutions. If you’re able to pinpoint where the mistakes with previous resolutions were, you can make the appropriate changes to your 2015 resolutions and position yourself for success.

This kind of analysis is performed in business all of the time. Businesses are typically running several projects at once. All projects or all aspects of a project aren’t always 100 percent successful. Consider Coca Cola’s New Coke, Netflix’s Qwikster and Coors Rocky Mountain Spring Water. These were public mistakes that didn’t define these companies. These companies learned from the mistakes of these failures and created better future products and services.

The same methodology can help you with your personal goals, such as paying off debt, saving for retirement and losing weight. That way, when Bank of America Merrill Edge asks you how successful you were in 2015, you can respond with a decisive “very successful”.

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text:
more from decider

Apple Looking to Get Into Big-Budget Original TV Shows — and Possibly Movies

Where to Stream:

Stranger Things

Apple is actively shopping Hollywood studios for exclusive TV series projects to stream on its Apple Music service before the end of 2017, according to a report this morning from the Wall Street Journal, and is said to be looking for high-concept, high-profile shows like HBO’s Westworld and Netflix’s Stranger Things.

“The technology giant has been in talks with veteran producers in recent months about buying rights to scripted television programs,” the WSJ reported, adding that feature films may also be in the mix. “It also has approached experienced marketing executives at studios and networks to discuss hiring them to promote its content, said people with knowledge of the discussions.”

Apple has taken a few big swings into longform video to fortify its $10-a-month Apple Music service, launching the two-hour Taylor Swift concert film The 1989 World Tour (Live) in late 2015 and the original 90-minute documentary 808: The Movie about the iconic TR-808 drum machine in late 2016. Apple has also greenlit video projects that are expected to premiere this year, the Carpool Karaoke spinoff, including a Carpool Karaoke spinoff, a scripted series with Dr. Dre called Vital Signs and a docuseries about software developers called Planet of the Apps.

All of Apple’s major video projects to date have been related to music or apps — a natural fit for Apple Music — but the kinds of shows that Apple is shopping to premiere on the service, the WSJ said, would be closer to the big-budget, star-driven originals on streaming services like HBO NOW and Netflix. Apple Music, which has 20 million global subscribers, has been closing the gap on rival Spotify (40 million subscribers) with high-profile album exclusives, music-video premieres and live-streamed performances, and a handful of TV shows would take that up another notch.

Scott Porch writes about the streaming-media industry for Decider and is also a contributing writer for Playboy. You can follow him on Twitter @ScottPorch.

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WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Science Quiz for NDA, CDS and CAPF Exam:18 August

Dear Aspirants, Science is an important subject in various exams like NDA, CDS, AFCAT, CAPF and other Police Exams. Here at Defence Adda we provide you with the quizzes based on the syllabus and pattern of these exams. The questions asked are of 10+2 level and preparing with a wide variety of questions will only help you ace in these exams. Here is a quiz based on the latest syllabus of these exams and covering various topics like Quantum Mechanics, Light, Thermodynamics, Magnetism etc to help you prepare with a wide variety of questions.
Q1. Why does ice covered in sawdust not melt quickly?
(a) Sawdust does not allow the air to touch the ice
(b) The water is absorbed by sawdust
(c) Sawdust is a bad conductor of heat
(d) Sawdust is good conductor of heat

Q2. The washing machine works on the principle of ____________
(a) Dialysis
(b) Diffusion
(c) Reverse osmosis
(d) Centrifugation

Q3. An air bubble in water will act like a:
(a) Convex mirror
(b) Convex lens
(c) Concave mirror
(d) Concave lens

Q4. The frequency of direct current is ____________
(a) Zero
(b) 50 HZ
(c) 60 HZ
(d) 100 HZ

Q5. If a body is moving on a circular path, what is its average velocity if it completes one cycle in one second?
(a) Average velocity depends upon time taken to complete one cycle
(b) One
(c) Average velocity is same as average speed
(d) Zero

Q6. Carnotite is an ore/mineral of _________.
(a) Beryllium
(b) Chromium
(c) Uranium
(d) Copper

Q7. There is a protocol signed to reduce production of CFC, known as -
(a) CFC Protocol
(b) IR Protocol
(c) Montreal Protocol
(d) UV Protocol

Q8. Malachite is an ore/mineral of -
(a) Lead
(b) Manganese
(c) Mercury
(d) Copper

Q9. Which among the following will be a negative ion?
(a) If it has more electrons than protons
(b) If it has more electrons than neutrons
(c) If it has more protons than electrons
(d) If it has more protons than neutrons

Q10. Why metals conduct electricity?
(a) Because of low melting point
(b) Because of high tensile strength
(c) Because of free electrons
(d) Because of high atomic density

S1. Ans.(c)
Sol. Saw dust is used to cover ice because it is poor conductor of heat. It did not let the ice melt quickly, as it does not transfer the heat of the surrounding to the ice.

S2. Ans.(d)
Sol. The washing machine works on the principle of Centrifugation.

S3. Ans.(d)
Sol. Air is optically rarer than water, the ray of light bends away from the normal at the point of incidence when moving from water to air while it bends towards the normal while moving from air to water. It is clearly visible that the air bubble acts as a DIVERGING LENS (concave lens) in water.

S4. Ans.(a)
Sol. DC implies no changes in value. Frequencies of signals are defined by how many changes per time, e.g. 60 cycles per second. In case of DC with there are 0 changes per second. Hence the frequency of DC is zero.

S5. Ans.(d)
Sol. When a body is moving in a circular path, its average velocity when it complete one cycle in one second is zero.

S6. Ans.(c)
Sol. Carnotite an important uranium ore.

S7. Ans.(c)
Sol.The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement with universal ratification to protect the earth’s ozone layer by eliminating use of ozone depleting substances (ODS) like CFC, which would otherwise allow increased UV radiation to reach the earth.

S8. Ans.(d)
Sol. Malachite is an ore/mineral of copper.

S9. Ans.(a)
Sol. Negative ion which is created by an electron gain and it has more electrons than protons.

S10. Ans.(c)
Sol. Metals conduct electricity because of free electrons.

No comments


text:
Part 1: Behind the Cliche of the Chadian Desert Warriors and Idris Debys Global Political Capital.

The military success and efficiency of the chadian military should not overshadow brutal practices and human rights violations. Western supporters of the chadian military including France and the United States should not turn a blind eye to the impunity and injustice and their long-term consequences. The global and political capital being offered to Idris debbie in exchange for Chads military interventionism is neither effective nor just.

The longer term consequences of the militarization of both regional and domestic politics in chad must be considered. In 2010 when Chad and Sudan signed the peace agreement that brought an end to the five-year war. few people expected this landlocked country would soon become an emerging regional power.

In less than a decade however Chad has radically changed its status on the regional and global scene. Chad is now a key ally of France and the United States within the framework of the war on terror.

John has a long history in meddling in regional politics but has recently appeared eager to assert itself as original military power with the blessing of its western allies. In 2013 the charging military played a decisive role during the french led action in mali.

Recharging army also participates in the military operations against boko haram as part of the multinational joint task force which it provides 1/3 of its troops about 3000 soldiers out of 8,700 soldiers.

The aim of this writing is twofold first I provide background information on the charging army while this army is now considered one of the best in the region little is known about its composition and the way it is governed in this respect I argue that the successful of offensive operations lead by the charging army should not overshadow it’s all too common brutal practices and the lack of accountability.

Secondly I argue that the key question is not only who is the best to do the job in the sahel and sahara but also what are the impact of the militarization of international interventions in the region. Charles all eyes turn to ignore the human rights violations and the on democratic practices there such as the recent election of idris derby in a disputed election the support given by france and the us to the military’s of child and other partner countries, to turn a blind eye to the wiltern way that impunity and injustice of late could have serious long-term consequences for nigeria.

The blind spots of Chads military interventionism

In Mali as in the lake Chad Basin the Chadian army has been praised for its effective offensive operations. The way the supposed qualities of this army are described reactivate the old cliche of the Chadian desert warrior who, already in the colonial period was a source of fascination for the French military.

Behind this picture however then lies a less glorious realities chadian forces also enjoy a reputation in chad and in the central african republic for the brutality and human rights violations.

In april 2014 Chadian forces had to withdraw from the United Nations multidimensional integrated stabilization mission in the Central African Republic because of accusations that they had killed 30 unarmed civilians, moreover Chad has a long history of interference in the Central African Republic and there are reports of financial and military support being given to the seleka rebels.

In Mali, allegations of rape and sexual violence has been levelled against Chadian soldiers. In 2016 Chadian soldiers from the MUMISMSA were accused of killing a civilian herder. Little is known on the fighting against Boko Haram. The chadian army has recently realised that public relations matters and journalist who reported on fighting in nigeria where embedded.

however those who witnessed the operations of the charging army took of serious human rights violations human rights violations are all too common during military operations whether the troops come from african or european countries. Such abuses are unfortunately not mere accidents. As far as gender based violence sexual violence and sexual exploitation are concerned, the root causes include the promotion of a militarized masculinity and the small number of women involved in the military. The Nigerian military, one of the most professional in Africa have thousands of female service members fighting alongside their male counterparts. The same cannot be said of others. MINUSMA is composed of 8578 male soldiers and only 125 female soldiers. Of the Chadian contingent of 1074 soldiers, only 13 are female.

The Chadian army has a poor human rights record abroad and at home. While it is true that this army is composed of former rebels, the rebel past of the soldiers does not explain their practices after their integration into the regular forces. More important is the fact that abuses committed by the military leaders are not punished. Impunity has become a fully-fledged mode of government.

A two class army

Despite 25 years of announcements and unfulfilled projects, the chadian armed forces have never been seriously reformed. In 2011, a major census was organised and 14,000 soldiers were dismissed. However, the armed forces continue to recruit far in excess of what is required by a response to regional threats.

The chadian army is de facto composed of two armies the ordinary army known as the ANT, and the presidential guard, which was renamed the general directorate of security services for national institutions (DGSSIE). In 10 years the number of DGSSIE troops have almost doubled a report by the sweet national assembly is a case study in sandy g s s i e put have about $14,000 soldiers in them.

The DGSSIE is the elite force of the army and constitute the core of the chadian forces deployed abroad. There is a gap between the treatment of the DGSSIE guard and that reserved for other bodies. The DGSSIE receives disproportionate funding in comparison with the rest of the army. It is much better equiped and its troops are trained. Members of the DGSSIE are also nuch better paid than those of the ANT. The DGSSIE depends on the presidency and is not under the command of the army’s General chief of Staff.

Idriss Deby retains a clear personal control over the DGSSIE. The elements of the DGSSIE are recruited from the Zaghawa andthe Bideyat and to a leser measurw frim the Girans and the Arabs. Key positions are held by officers close to Deby. One of Debys sons, General Idris Deby was appointed head of the DGSSIE in April 2014.

A militarized armt

The Chadian army (both the DGSSIE and the ANT) has been militarized. The hierarchy has not disappeared but there is a considerable vagueness about the missions and responsibilities of the officers. Those who make the decisions are not always those wgo according to official tects, should be taking by them. For example, Chad was not able to provide a chart of registered battalion commanders even though this was necessary if the country was to benefit from an assistance program from the us government.

Oil money and defence spending

Why past and recent reform programs have had limited impact oil money has transformed the armed forces defence spending per capita and as a percentage of gross domestic product has grown fast for the past 10 years.

The first oil related income was a bonus paid by the oil consortium in 2000 at least $4.5 billion of this signature bonus paid by chevron was spent on weapons. In the following years Chad radically defied the world bank which had agreed to back the Chad-Cameroon oil project on condition that the profit went towards development and long-term poverty alleviation of the people. The Bank invested massively financially and politically in the project. It had however underestimated the regimes capacity to skirt external pressures. The original mechanisms for monitoring oil revenues that was imposed in 1999 was already dismantled in 2006. Idris Deby argued that security was an important condition for development. Arms import were five times higher in 2004-2008 than in 1999 -2003.

between 2006 and 2010 child became the third largest importer of arms in sub-saharan africa appearing for the first time among the top ten defence spenders the army acquired war planes attack helicopters tanks and missiles and became one of the best equipped on the continent. Since 2008 the military parade of 11 august (Chadian independence) are an opportunity to to put on display Chads military power.

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text:
Meet the Jean Makers Daughter : Denimsmith’s Hanh

When did you come to the realization you wanted to follow your father’s footsteps into the rag trade? In our Vietnamese culture on the day of your first birthday you pick an item off the table. [...]

Meet The Jean Maker : Denimsmith’s Vinh

  In today’s Denimsmith blog, we want to help you make an essential connection: that connection between the sweet Denimsmith threads you wear and the maker who carefully [...]


text:
To maintain your site's performance, security, and PCI compliance, upgrade to the latest version of Magento.

Install, configure, verify memcached on CentOS

PHP memcache and memcached extensions

Because PHP has no native support for memcache, you must install an extension for PHP to use it. There are two PHP extensions available and it’s important to decode which to use:

  • memcache (no d), an older but very popular extension that is not maintained regularly. The memcache extension currently does not work with PHP 7.

    PHP documentation for memcache

    The exact name is php5-memcache for Ubuntu and php-pecl-memcache for CentOS

  • memcached (with a d), a newer and maintained extension that should be compatible with PHP 7.

    PHP documentation for memcached

    The exact name is php5-memcached for Ubuntu and php-pecl-memcached for CentOS

For simplicity, we use the PHP memcache extension in this guide although we provide examples for both when configuring Magento to use memcache.

Install and configure memcached on CentOS

This section provides instructions to install memcached on CentOS and Ubuntu. For additional information, consult the memcached wiki.

We recommend using the latest stable memcache or memcached version (currently, 3.0.8 for memcache and 2.2.0 for memcached).

To install memcached on CentOS, perform the following tasks as a user with root privileges:

  1. Install memcached and its dependencies:

    yum -y update
    yum install -y libevent libevent-devel
    yum install -y memcached
    yum install -y php-pecl-memcache

    The syntax of the preceding commands might depend on what package repositories you use. For example, if you use webtatic and PHP 5.6, enter yum install -y php56w-pecl-memcache. Use yum search memcache|grep php to find the appropriate package name.

  2. Change the memcached configuration setting for CACHESIZE and OPTIONS:

    1. Open /etc/sysconfig/memcached in a text editor.
    2. Locate the value for CACHESIZE and change it to at least 1GB.

      For example,

    3. Locate the value for OPTIONS and change it to localhost or

    For more information about configuring memcached, see the memcached wiki.

  3. Save your changes to memcached and exit the text editor.
  4. Restart memcached.

    service memcached restart
  5. Restart your web server.

    For Apache, service httpd restart

  6. Continue with the next section.

Verify memcached works before installing Magento

We recommend testing memcached to make sure it works before you install Magento. Doing so takes only a few minutes and can simplify troubleshooting later.

Verify memcached is recognized by the web server

To verify memcached is recognized by the web server:

  1. Create a phpinfo.php file in the web server’s docroot:

    // Show all information, defaults to INFO_ALL
  2. Go to that page in your web browser.

    For example,

  3. Make sure memcache displays as follows:

    Confirm memcache is recognized by the web server

    Verify you’re using memcached version 3.0.5 or later.

    If memcache does not display, restart the web server and refresh the browser page. If it still does not display, verify you installed the php-pecl-memcache extension.

Create a memcache test consisting of a MySQL database and PHP script

The test uses a MySQL database, table, and data to verify you can retrieve the database data and store it in memcache. A PHP script first searches the cache . If the result does not exist, the script queries database. After the query has been fulfilled by the original database, the script stores the result in memcache, using the set command.

More details about this test

Create the MySQL database:

mysql -u root -p

At the mysql prompt, enter the following commands:

create database memcache_test;
GRANT ALL ON memcache_test.* TO memcache_test@localhost IDENTIFIED BY 'memcache_test';
use memcache_test;
create table example (id int, name varchar(30));
insert into example values (1, "new_data");

Create cache-test.php in your web server’s docroot:

if (class_exists('Memcache')) {
    $meminstance = new Memcache();
} else {
    $meminstance = new Memcached();

$meminstance->addServer('<memcache hostname or ip>', <memcache port>);

$query = "select id from example where name = 'new_data'";
$querykey = "KEY" . md5($query);

$result = $meminstance->get($querykey);

if (!$result) {
   try {
        $dbh = new PDO('mysql:host=localhost;dbname=memcache_test','memcache_test','memcache_test');
        $dbh->setAttribute(PDO::ATTR_ERRMODE, PDO::ERRMODE_EXCEPTION);
        $result = $dbh->query("select id from example where name = 'new_data'")->fetch();
        $meminstance->set($querykey, $result, 0, 600);
        print "got result from mysql\n";
        return 0;
    } catch (PDOException $e) {
print "got result from memcached\n";
return 0;

where <memcache hostname or ip> is either localhost,, or the memcache hostname or IP address. <memcache port> is its listen port; by default, 11211.

Run the script from the command line.

cd <web server docroot>
php cache-test.php

The first result is got result from mysql. This means that the key didn’t exist in memcache but it was retrieved from MySQL.

The second result is got result from memcached, which verifies that the value is stored successfully in memcache.

Finally, you can view the memcache keys using Telnet:

telnet localhost <memcache port>

At the prompt, enter

stats items

The result is similar to the following:

STAT items:3:number 1
STAT items:3:age 1075
STAT items:3:evicted 0
STAT items:3:evicted_nonzero 0
STAT items:3:evicted_time 0
STAT items:3:outofmemory 0
STAT items:3:tailrepairs 0

Flush the memcache storage and quit Telnet:

Additional information about the Telnet test

Next step

Configure Magento to use memcached


text:
To maintain your site's performance, security, and PCI compliance, upgrade to the latest version of Magento.

Install optional sample data modules

Introduction to Magento sample data

Magento sample data provides a storefront based on the Luma theme outfitted with products, categories, customer registration, and so on. It functions just like a Magento storefront and you can manipulate prices, inventory, and promotional pricing rules using the Magento Admin.

You can install sample data either before or after installing the Magento software. When you’re done with the sample data, you can either remove it or you can install it fresh as discussed in Remove sample data modules or update sample data.

There is currently no way to uninstall sample data. We recommend you use sample data only to learn about how Magento works. Avoid doing any development in a system in which you installed sample data.

You can install optional sample data in any of the following ways:

Installation method Description Required skill level
Using Composer Run magento sampledata:deploy to modify Magento’s root composer.json to enable sample data modules. Requires Composer knowledge and access to the Magento file system.
Cloning repositories Clone the Magento 2 repository and the sample data repository, then link them together. For contributing developers only. Everyone else should use one of the preceding methods.

For more information, see:


text:
1 Reply Latest reply on Mar 19, 2010 4:57 PM by Mark Little

    JBossTS 4.10/JBoss6/Orbix/Oracle XA Question

    joe zendle Newbie

      We are playing with the nightly build of JBossTS 4.10 integrated into JBoss 6.M2. We are taking advantage of a recent fix for JIRA JBTM-670 (thanks JTS folks!) We are looking to replace weblogic w/ JBoss but we've run into a show stopper.

      We have a particularly troublsome use case involving XA as follows:

      1) We have a stateless EJB running on server A.

      2) when invoked the bean starts a transaction using OTS (TransactionCurrent) then makes a 'client' call to an Iona CORBA server running

      on server B.

      3) The method we are calling on B is defined as REQUIRES (via standard transactional POA policy symantics)

      4) the remote corba method inserts a record into a table using oracle XA driver and returns the id of the newly inserted record to A

      5) A receives the id and attempts to, within the same global transaction, read the newly inserted record to do further work.

      6) the transaction is then committed

      What we are seeing is that before the OTS transaction is committed the new record is *not* visible to A. After the transaction is comitted it is visible.

      What I would expect to see is:

      1) A would be able to read the record since it is within the same global transaction.

      2) If the Bean on A is marked as transaction required, I would think that I would not need to explicitly create an OTS transaction. The transaction created by the container would implicitly propagate to the corba call to server B (although I'm not sure if this is in the spec - but this is the behavior we see w/ weblogic)

      I've attached the bean code, server log, datasource definition.

      Our environment is:

      1) Hand built nightly of JBossTS 4.10. We build the JTS and run it on windows xp.

      2) we copied the jbossjts.jar and jbossjts-integration.jar from the jbossts build into the ./client and ./common/lib directories of jboss6.M2

      3) in docs/examples/transactions we run ant to install the jts into the 'all' configuration

      4) the IONA orbix641.jar client file is placed into the ./all/lib directory to be accessible to our .ear.

      Any help and recommendations is greatly appreciated.

      Note: before fix for JBTM-670 we were not even able to call the iona orb. We would get corba TRANSACTION_REQUIRED exceptions - so this is good progress.

      Thanks in advance.

        • 1. Re: JBossTS 4.10/JBoss6/Orbix/Oracle XA Question
          Mark Little Master

          It's been about 8 years since TS ran on Orbix and these days it's not an ORB we support in product, or have in house. So you're definitely going to have to do most of the legwork on this yourself unfortunately.

          I'd start by making sure that you've built the ORB portability layer with Orbix support, which will include the necessary interceptors. If you're lucky you may find historical versions of the Orbix classes in svn. If not you'll have to write them yourself. Without interceptors you won't get implicit context propagation in a distributed environment. Of course OTS allows for explicit propagation, but that's not exposed by JEE.

          If you go down this path you should try to run TS stand-alone, i.e., outside of the application server entirely. That will remove one variable from the equation. If you get the various implicit context propagation tests that ship with TS running in this way then you can put AS back into the picture.


text:
Trulioo Developer Portal

Welcome to the Trulioo's developer hub. You'll find comprehensive guides and documentation to help you start working with Trulioo as quickly as possible, as well as support if you get stuck. Let's jump right in!

Get Started

Integration Guide/Best Practices

This guide will walk you through the best process for building an HTML form that allows your users to submit data which is then verified through Trulioo's GlobalGateway - GlobalGateway - Trulioo provides a collection of API methods to help you build business processes powered by the GlobalGateway Normalized API. API. However, the concepts and best practices are relevant for all kinds of applications, including mobile apps, pre-existing web forms, and in-house data-management software. So long as you've collected the right information, the call to Trulioo can be inserted at any point in your code.

What's Next

Country Codes


text:
One of the distinguishing elements of Frontiers of Innovation’s IDEAS Impact FrameworkTM is the development and refinement of three specific components. These components add specificity and interconnectedness to an intervention’s theory, development, implementation, evaluation, and refinement.

TSM ComponentsThese three components of the framework include:

Each component is developed with a focus on precision and clarity. In accordance with the framework’s guiding principles, the process is also informed by fast-cycle iteration, which allows for the flexible testing and adaptation of an intervention over time, as well as an emphasis on what can be learned to address the questions that are critical to improving outcomes for children and families.

Theory of Change

Learn more about theory of change and why it is a critical component of the IDEAS Impact Framework.

A theory of change (TOC) is a detailed set of beliefs about specific observable changes that are expected to result from an intervention. A clear and concise TOC supports fast-cycle iteration by helping to pinpoint why, how, and for whom an intervention works or doesn’t work. It also facilitates shared learning and guides decisions related to program development and materials as well as evaluation. Within FOI, all project teams work from a common TOC template.

Program and Materials Development

Hear more about the importance of intervention materials for program development and implementation.

High-quality, comprehensive materials are a program’s blueprints and include all of the information needed for teams to implement the program effectively, including guidance on strategies, targets, population, setting, duration, etc. These materials are closely aligned with the intervention’s TOC, facilitate ongoing development and adaptation, and increase program feasibility and scalability. Each program’s materials will be unique, but may include items such as training materials for interventionists, handouts for participants, implementation checklists, and fidelity scales.

Evaluation Plan

Learn more about the role of an evaluation plan and what makes the IDEAS Impact Framework’s approach unique.

An evaluation plan details the exact measures and processes that will be used to evaluate a program’s impact, and is closely tied to the TOC. In addition to the measures used for each intervention, IDEAS Impact Framework-engaged projects use a common set of core measures, which allows for data aggregation and data sharing across intervention sites. Data is shared and synthesized within a centralized data repository.

RELATED: Learn about the guiding principles of the approach.

  Print this page   Subscribe to our mailing list


text:
Home Hacking Locky Ransomware Now Supports “S**T” Extension

Locky Ransomware Now Supports “S**T” Extension

4 min read

Locky Ransomware Now Supports “S**T” Extension

Security researcher MalwareHunterTeam told that the infamous Locky ransomware has returned today with a new spam campaign that’s spreading a new version of the ransomware.

Last week, Microsoft’s Malware Protection Center had revealed that the group behind Locky had reduced its spam efforts and was testing a new distribution method that relied on small spam campaigns spreading booby-trapped LNK (shortcut) files.

Over the weekend, Locky’s creators have returned to their old tricks, and are in the midst of a massive spam campaign that spread zipped HTA, WSF, and JS files, which are Locky’s classic infection methods. An analysis of the email lures used for this spam campaign is available via My Online Security.

The most visible change in this version of Locky is the extension it appends at the end of encrypted files.

The new extension is SHIT, and this is not the only thing salacious detail observed by researchers, who say the ransomware calls back home, to a server file named “linuxsucks.php.”

For example, a file named photo.png would become [random_characters].shit. Previously Locky had used extensions such as LOCKY, ZEPTO, and ODIN.

As for the random file names, MalwareHunterTeam said the format is “8-4-4-4-12.shit, where the first 8-4-4 characters are unique for infection, and the last 4-12 is unique for the file.”

According to MalwareHunterTeam, infections came in quick and fast. The researcher detected these infections via ID-Ransomware, a free website his team had created, which helps victims of ransomware infections.

People that had their computer locked by ransomware, can access this website, upload a copy of the ransom note and one of the encrypted files, and find out the name of the ransomware that locked his PC, and if there’s a free decrypter available to recover their files.

In a matter of six hours, MalwareHunterTeam tells Softpedia, that the new Locky S**T version has made victims in Germany, France, Serbia, the UK, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Finland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Denmark, Turkey, Romania, Spain, the US, Gabon,Dominican Republic, Czech Republic, Canada, Argentina, South Africa, Honduras, and Venezuela. (in this order).

To better understand the rate at which new countries showed up in ID-Ransomware’s backend, as your reporter was talking to MalwareHunterTeam, one new country with S**T ransomware infections popped up every five minutes.

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New Cold Boot Attacks Can Evade Current Mitigations Many people tend to put laptops to ‘Sl…


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Discover Your Dream Home

Diana Gloria Kay
License #: CalBRE #00861829

Diana Gloria Kay

REALTOR Since 1984, Award-Winning Realtor
Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage

Serving Berkeley, Oakland, Albany, Kensington, El Cerrito, Alameda, Pinole, Piedmont, Emeryville & Surrounding Communities

AWARD-WINNING REALTOR since 1984 with experience in all aspects of buying and selling homes in the San Francisco East Bay with emphasis on her clients' best interests. Diana's expertise in negotiation and contract management along with strong marketing skills have earned her the recommendation from past clients who appreciate her focused advocacy on their behalf.

An East Bay resident since 1979, Diana shares her enthusiasm for the cultural richness of the SF Bay Area and has represented a wide range of buyers and sellers who are attracted to this very special place. She brings years of project management experience in corporate & government settings to the real estate transaction with attention to detail and an understanding of what needs to happen.

Her education includes a Bachelor of Arts in Musicology and Masters Program from New York University, Television Production at the New School for Social Research, The New York Institute of Finance, Registered Representative for The New York Stock Exchange as well as ongoing real estate workshops & seminars on legal issues, marketing and technology.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS: National Association of Realtors, California Association of Realtors, Berkeley/Oakland Board of Realtors, International Presidents Club, Previews Property Specialist

Communities Served

Bay East ©2018. CCAR ©2018. EBRD ©2018.

Based on information from the Bay East Association of REALTORS® All data, including all measurements and calculations of area, is obtained from various sources and has not been, and will not be, verified by broker or MLS. All information should be independently reviewed and verified for accuracy. Properties may or may not be listed by the office/agent presenting the information.


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Naruto fucks drunk Tsunade Sex

Another Meet and Fuck hentai game starring Naruto and Tsunade. The narrative occurs in Konoha. As usual, Tsunade is so stern that her dear Godaime must be carried by Naruto at home. However, this time, Naruto Uzumaki has the opportunity to abuse and fuck the Hokage. Do you know how to playwith a sleeping woman? It is possible to touch herbut she must not wake up. So take your time and put your hands off if you visit her eyes opening. Tsunade's boobs are the initial targets, suck and so touch her tits! If you are a fantastic shinobi, then you can put her clothes off and fuck her doggystyle while she is sleeping.

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text: Reach Your Customers and Prospects through Google Search The latest advancement for Advertisers that work with Google is a new product called “Customer Match.” Facebook advertisers would recognize this as a “Custom Audience.”  Essentially, advertisers can now upload a list of email addresses in to AdWords to build a custom audience. When those individuals are signed-in to a Google product, advertisers can show them targeted ads about their brand, product, or services as well as upcoming promotions.


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Docket Number

Document Type

Brief of Appellee

Publication Date

Untimely/Improper Appeal From Judgments or Decrees of the Fourth District Court In and For Utah County, State of Utah, Honorable Steven L. Hansen, Presiding

Original Brief Submitted to the Utah Court of Appeals; digitized by the Howard W. Hunter Law Library, J. Reuben Clark Law School, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah; machine-generated OCR, may contain errors.
Thomas W. Seiler; Jamis M. Gardner; Robinson, Seiler &Anderson, LC; Attorney for Leavitts; Felicia B. Canfield; Fabian & Clendenin; Attorney for Bank of American Fork.
Thomas J. Scribner; Scribner & McCandless, P.C.; David P Rose; Jason R. Hull; Durham Jones & Pinegar; Attorney for Noorda Architectural Metals, Inc.; Daniel R. Widdison; Tesch Law Offices, P.C.; Randy B. Birch; Attorneys for Plaintiff/Appelant GDE Construction, Inc..

Public record document (some rights may be reserved).

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ACI Journal Articles

USMA Research Unit Affiliation

Army Cyber Institute

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

In the current state of global affairs, a market exists for zero-day exploits where researchers, nation states, industry, academia, and criminal elements develop, buy, and sell these commodities. Whether they develop zero-days or purchase them, nation states commonly stockpile them for the future. They may then use them for purposes such as: espionage, offensive cyber operations, or deterrent effect. The immediate effect of this stockpiling though is that the exploit is not divulged to the public and is therefore not remediated. In our increasingly networked and code dependent world, this creates the potential for a cyber disaster with yet unimaginable impacts on global stability. It is therefore imperative that nation states responsibly divulge zero-day exploits through an international framework for the global good. Moving from the current state of affairs to one where responsible release of zero-day exploits is the norm will not be easy. There are many stake holders who argue that keeping stockpiles is beneficial or that this is an area that is not feasible to regulate. However, as we have seen with weapons such as nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, it is possible to develop international regimes that prohibit the use of such weapons due to their extraordinary capabilities and impact. Alternatively, should these exploits be seen as equally pernicious as contagious diseases, nations may join together to form organizations similar to the WHO that can address international cyber issues. If a taboo against the use of zero-day exploits can be established, i.e., we make their use morally illegitimate, the security of all users will be improved.

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Sep 162018

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Category: Female Domination, Femdom, Jerk Off Encouragement, Jerk Off Instruction, Masturbation Encouragement, Masturbation Instruction, Solo Masturbation, Virgin Fantasy, Virgin Humiliation, Virgins


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Aniplex of America Announces U.S. Theatrical Release of -KIZUMONOGATARI- PART 3: REIKETSU

Aniplex of America announced at their industry panel at Anime Milwaukee (Milwaukee,WI), their plans to premiere -KIZUMONOGATARI- PART 3: REIKETSU in the U.S. on April 7. This is the highly anticipated third and final installment of the-KIZUMONOGATARI- film series. Aniplex of America also confirmed that theater patrons will receive an […]


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Can't Update PHPBB (Manually)

I’ve tried to update my PHPBB forum from 3.0.2 to 3.0.7 and no matter what package I try (Auto Update - Changed Files - Full) I get some error with the install scripts.

If I just go to the install folder I get:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_DOUBLE_ARROW, expecting ‘)’ in /home///language/en/install.php on line 288

If I try the update_database.php I get:
Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_OBJECT_OPERATOR in /home/*//install/database_update.php on line 1365

I’ve asked on the PHPBB forum, but they seem to not know. I have to think that there is something up with the PHP on Dreamhost. I’ve tried several packages, so I doubt it’s a case of file corruption. I’ve had similar problems with WP in the past.

What could be the deal? Is this something I can send in a support ticket for?


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Chieftain Chicken Skewer @ Bengal Barbecue

Price: $4.19

When: April 2, 2016, 2:15 PM

Reservations: n/a

Verdict? Not recommended

It’s mid-afternoon, and I find myself in Adventureland. I’m getting the rumblies. It’s snack time.

Bengal Barbecue is (conveniently) nearby, but my earlier experience at the restaurant wasn’t spectacular: the Banyan Beef Skewer and the Safari Skewer both landed on the “not recommended” list.

But hey, that was back in 2015. That was last year, man! New year, new start. Let’s see what they’ve got.

I queue, select the “Chieftain Chicken Skewer,” and retreat to the small collection of nearby outdoor tables.

First: I forgot how small these skewers are. They’re more than four bucks, but barely more than two bites of food.

Second: presentation. It’s four or five small chunks of chicken, impaled on the skewer and drenched in a slightly-goopy sweet and sour sauce (the menu calls it a “Polynesian Sauce” but it tasted more like something you’d get at a Panda Express, if you know what I mean).

Third: flavor. Meh. The Polynesian sauce is certainly better than the sauce on the Banyan Beef Skewer, but that’s not high praise. The chicken is cooked adequately (not over-grilled), but you don’t really taste the meat: this dish is all about the sauce, and, sadly, the sauce just isn’t that good. You’ll forget you ate this skewer four seconds after swallowing.

Skip this. Not recommended.


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Who Will Achieve Quantum Computing Supremacy?

Backed by leading tech companies, 2018 could be the year of quantum leaps

Last year, Google announced that it expected to achieve ‘quantum supremacy’ within a matter of months. You’d be forgiven for thinking they were tinkering away at a fully functional quantum computer, but this is far from the case. Quantum supremacy is a grand term for the tiny incremental increases that are needed to demonstrate quantum capabilities beyond conventional computers. Google’s current system supports nine qubits – a long way off from the omnipotent machines first discussed in the 1980s. However, the company has been very open about its ambitions to create the most capable quantum system to date. How will this be achieved? Which other companies are they up against? And what does this mean for the development of quantum computing?

Quantum computing. . . It’s complicated

While a conventional computer uses bits (basic units of information), a quantum computer or system uses qubits (quantum units of information). Unfortunately, qubits are notoriously tricky to work with. Over time, they can degrade and become less accurate. Ironically, the more qubits in a system, the more likely it is to make mistakes. Supplying the computing power needed to support any number of qubits is also no easy task.

“If you take a complicated quantum system and you want to simulate it on an ordinary computer, then there is exponential effort needed,” explains Professor Tim Spiller, director of the York Technology Hub for Quantum Communications. “If you can get to about 50 quantum bits interacting with each other, you will be able to go in new directions.”

Incidentally, this is exactly what Google plans to do. The aim is to gradually add qubits, testing accuracy as they go. If their expectations are fulfilled, the system will be revealed early this year. The quantum race, though, is crowded. Last October, Intel released a superconducting chip for quantum computers. IBM claims that it has already achieved a 49 qubit system, and Canadian startup D-Wave is reportedly working on a 4,000 qubit model. Microsoft has taken an entirely different approach which involves subatomic particles. Another quantum solution under development at Canada’s National Institute of Scientific Research is the ‘qudit’, an even more powerful unit of information.

What are the implications of successful quantum systems?

Quantum systems are so useful because they can simulate scenarios that can’t be created in the real world. Take, for example, the study of pathogens. A quantum system could simulate the development of a pathogen in order to create more effective treatments. Think of quantum systems as the ultimate laboratory, exploring any reaction imaginable and applying the findings to real world applications.

Another field of study is quantum communication, a key aim of which is securing networks against malicious hackers. The most immediate use of the quantum systems under development today will be to solve complex mathematical problems. This increased numerical capacity could supercharge the expansion of Artificial Intelligence and machine learning techniques; help in finding solutions for sustainability; enable a better understanding of our own biology; enhance materials science. . . the list is endless. The problem is that before any of this can happen, existing systems need to become reliably accurate. The general consensus seems to be that it will take 10 years. The challenge for major players will be to retain investors even as their funding is gradually eaten up, and convince enthusiasts that the technology is worth their continued support. Another key consideration is deciding how to check the power of the corporations who develop quantum systems. Reassuringly, both Microsoft and Google have created open source quantum platforms which demonstrate a collaborative attitude.

True quantum computers may remain out of reach, but quantum supremacy does not. Google is no doubt a strong contender, flanked by a number of equally influential corporations. Over time, these companies will explore and expand the capabilities of the quantum technology available today. Existing quantum simulators, for example, can already solve complex mathematical problems. What practical, industrial problems could this help to solve? At the same time it’s important to be aware that these systems are yet to overtake conventional supercomputers, even if they do represent a step towards fully functional quantum computers. Regardless of the claims of competitive corporations, we’ll have to wait quite a (qu)bit longer for those.

Could 2018 be the year of error free quantum systems? Which company will be the first to achieve quantum supremacy? Will the benefits of quantum computing carry it through the next period of development? Share your thoughts and opinions.


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Installing IKEA Toe Kicks

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Yesterday evening Michael finished installing our cabinet toe kicks, wahoo! Because we opted to go with Semihandmade cabinet doors rather than the IKEA system, we custom fit our own toe kicks. We did this for two reasons, 1) we didn’t want to pay to have boards shipped with our door order, 2) the toe kicks needed their own coat of paint and cut to size anyways.

The IKEA system is typically extremely easy to use; here is how the process usually works:

Since our toe kicks do not have this groove to slide into, Michael had to be creative to install them.

  1. To create a “toe kick base,” M attached the standard IKEA clips to a scrap piece of wood using a nail gun and 5/8″ nail.
  2. After attaching the clips he was able to quickly snap the base onto the cabinet legs.
  3. After measuring (twice), M cut the painted toe kick and attached it to the base with a 1″ 18 gauge nail.
  4. Ta-da!

Our island is already attached it to a wood base so Michael was able to skip all of these steps and just nail on the painted toe kicks.

Here is his finished product! You can also see how we carried the island cover panels all the way to the floor. As much as I love the new trendy waterfall counter tops, we just couldn’t afford that splurge. This was a nice compromise!

I also wanted to share the tools that Michael used for this project:

The best time to buy power tools is during Black Friday. We did not pay full price for any of these. Check out this beast…

Miter Saw

Next up are the remaining cover panels and crown molding. TBD on when we will finish those :). If you have any questions let us know!

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What are the possible reasons for failing the OBD check?

  1. The vehicle’s OBD system connector has been removed or is otherwise not working properly. The OBD check cannot be completed if the connector is missing or is not working properly.
  2. The Malfunction Indicator Light does not illuminate at all when the ignition key is turned to the “on” position. When the vehicle’s OBD system detects a problem, it turns on the warning light to alert the driver to a problem. However, if the light cannot illuminate because the bulb has burned out or is otherwise not working, the driver would not be alerted to the problem.

What if my vehicle failed the OBD check?

If your vehicle failed, it must be repaired in order to receive a new inspection sticker. Your vehicle should be repaired by a qualified, trained automotive service technician equipped with the appropriate diagnostic and repair tools. Depending on your vehicle’s age and mileage, repairs may be covered by the vehicle manufacturer’s warranty. Refer to your vehicle owner’s manual for specific information on warranty coverage.

What does the OBD check involve?

First, the vehicle is checked to see if the Malfunction Indicator Light (commonly called the “check engine” or “service engine soon” light) on the instrument panel illuminates when the ignition key is turned to the “on” position and then when the engine is running. Next, an electronic device known as a scan tool is connected to the vehicle, and used to communicate with the vehicle’s on board computer.

Why is the OBD check needed?

Motor vehicles are the largest source of toxic and ozone-forming air pollutants in Vermont. While modern vehicles are getting much cleaner due to newer engine management technology and emission control components, emissions stay low only when all these systems are working properly. OBD technology helps to ensure that vehicles are operating as designed, and the OBD check ensures that the vehicle’s OBD system is doing its job.

What is OBD and how does it work?

OBD technology was developed in the 1980s by vehicle manufacturers to help technicians diagnose and service the computerized engine management systems of modern vehicles. A new generation of OBD (often referred to as OBD II) is present on 1996 and newer vehicles. OBD II monitors all components of the engine management system and can detect a malfunction or deterioration of these components usually well before the driver becomes aware of any problem.

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Gillian Graver
Hello! My name is Gillian Graver. I love swimming, photography, astrology, space, and mythical creatures! Some people say that I am very gifted because of my creative imagination, and I love that! I adore the subjects choir, science, and journalism! Journalism is so much fun because we get to learn new things about writing and taking pictures, and I’m so excited to get into it more.

Gillian Graver, Staff Reporter

May 09, 2018
PV: Mr. Contreras – A teacher that I appreciate (Story)
Apr 19, 2018
What Auditions Are Like At Steele (Story)
Mar 01, 2018
Editorial: How To Solve School Shootings (Story)
Jan 30, 2018
Personal Review: The Top Trends of 2017 (Story)
Dec 14, 2017
Personal Column: My experience with stress (Story)
Nov 17, 2017
Personal Column: My wonderful Thanksgiving trip (Story)
Nov 01, 2017
Personal Review : My exciting 2017 Halloween (Story)
Oct 24, 2017
Fright Fest at Six Flags; scary but enjoyable (Story)
Aug 29, 2017
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Date of Award

Degree Type

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Engineering Education

First Advisor

Heidi A. Diefes-Dux

Committee Chair

Heidi A. Diefes-Dux

Committee Member 1

Bryan Boudouris

Committee Member 2

Monica E. Cardella

Committee Member 3

Gerhard Klimeck

Committee Member 4

Krishna Madhavan

The development and use of mathematical models and simulations underlies much of the work of engineers. Mathematical models describe a situation or system through mathematics, quantification, and pattern identification. Simulations enable users to interact with models through manipulation of input variables and visualization of model outputs. Although modeling skills are fundamental, they are rarely explicitly taught in engineering. Model-eliciting activities (MEAs) represent a pedagogical approach used in engineering to teach students mathematical modeling skills through the development of a model to solve an authentic problem.

This study is an investigation into the impact of linking a MEA and a simulation-building project on students’ model development. The purpose of this research is to further address the need for developing effective curricula to teach students’ mathematical modeling skills and begin to address the need to teach students about simulations. The data for this study were 122 first-year engineering student teams’ solutions to both a MEA and a subsequent simulation-building project set in the context of a nanotechnology topic, specifically quantum dot solar cells. The teams’ mathematical models submitted at the end of the MEA and the simulation project were analyzed using two frameworks to assess the quality of the mathematical models and the level of simulation completeness. Three teams’ works with the feedback they received were analyzed in a case study.

The analysis of the 122 teams’ mathematical models showed that many teams selected particular aspects of their final MEA models for further development in their simulations. Based on the components of the models that were consistent in the MEA and project submissions, teams either improved, did not change, or weakened aspects of their models. Twenty-six teams improved the functionality of their model. Six teams increased the input variable handling of their models. Two teams improved the efficiency of their models; eight teams made their models less efficient through poor programming decisions. Based on an analysis of the 122 teams’ simulations, 62 percent were complete simulations (i.e. backed by a model and front-ended with user-input and output visualization capabilities). The case study enabled a more detailed analysis of how select teams’ mathematical models changed across their submissions and the evidence of potential deeper learning about their models across their submissions.

The findings of this study suggest that model development continued through simulation development enables student teams an opportunity to either further improve or explore their models. These sequential projects provide teams with low quality models with more time for development and application within a simulation. They provide teams with high quality models an opportunity to explore ideas beyond the original scope of the MEA.