1. The IRS is enabling taxpayers to download their tax transcripts over the internet from the Internal Revenue Service. The official secure URL for the transcripts download followed immediately after The White House fact sheet confirmed the decision. According to the Tech Crunch You Can Now Download Your Tax Returns From The IRS  article, there are some minor bug issues when registering. Given that security has long been problematic with the IRS, the best course of action for the public is to take some precautions when downloading personal information on mobile devices, pc’s and laptops. Installing disk encryption software on all your devices will protect your files reduce risk
2. Have an awesome Start-Up with products in ‘stealth or private beta” that you want like to pitch for a chance to get a table at Disrupt NY? TechCrunch is heading to Atlanta and New Orleans February 18^th and 20^th 2014 and will host a beer fest night in exchange for your thoughts and pitches. Tickets are $5, and all entrepreneurs, investors, dreamers or tech enthusiast are welcome.
3. Cloutex, a cloud computing future enabler has just secured their first round of seed funding.  Cloutex is an Estonian tech startup, which connects and syncs various web applications such as e-marketing, CRM and accounting tools under one convenient hub. The United Partners, SmartCap and EstBan business angels seeded the start-up with $6000, 000.
4. Could you get everything important that you need to know about living successfully from a computer program? Ryan Dube seems to think so. In his 6 Life Habits That Programming Could Teach You Today  he speaks in flow charts, loops and program modules, in the same breath as paying off debt or buying a house.  How can your programming skills help in life skills by modeling some of the same principles?
5. 10 Incredibly Simple Things You Can Do To Protect Your PrivacyPassword protect your devices.  Put alerts on your name in Google; simple tasks that can be significant in protecting your privacy.
6. Adobe Brings 3D Printing Support to PhotoshopAmong the latest updates in Adobe, Photoshop users have the ability to design 3D models from scratch as well as being able to toy around with color, shape and angles.

Computers. They’re a part of our everyday lives. Most of us couldn’t imagine living a day without them. We use them for school, work, and fun and use them to stay connected to those we love and care about. Since the invention of the web cam, millions of us use webcams to communicate with loved-ones and business contacts far away.

Web camera use has leveled the playing field for business entrepreneurs and given teenagers a fun way to chat with friends. However, solid citizens aren’t the only ones who make use of this popular modern technology. Recently, there have been reports of criminals using a type of webcam spy hack to insert themselves unseen into the living rooms and bedrooms of millions of unsuspecting users.

The Webcam Spy Hack

The most popular way criminals gain access to your webcam is through innocent-looking emails. You may receive an e-card from someone in your contacts list. When you click on it, you’re directed to another website to view the e-card. While you’re listening to music and watching animated puppies scroll across the screen, a Trojan horse is silently installed into your computer’s hard drive.

When eCommerce companies want to optimize information security, password management tools enable users to create strong passwords for every login.

Better than a Master Pass
A two-factor authentication, a security process in which the user provides two means of identification, one of which is typically a physical token, such as a card, and the other of which is typically something memorized, such as a security code can drastically reduce online fraud such as identity theft . A common example of two-factor authenticationis a bank card: the card itself is the physical item and the personal identification number (PIN) is the data that goes with it.

LastPass 3.0 Premium and RoboForm, security downloads offer fingerprint-based authentication features that can be configured to any computer PC or mobile application.  Both are supported by the Google Authenticator mobile app for smart phone and device integration.

LastPass 3.0 is most powerful on-demand password manager on the market. LastPass 3.0 Premium includes mobile support and more features. Dashlane 2.0 is is not as robust, but includes a user-friendly interface. F-Secure Key is a free, one-device version of these top competitors. F-Secure Key is for exclusive use on an installed device, so password safe retention is dependent on proprietary use of the device itself. The application can be upgraded for a small annual fee.

Password Manager App Cross-Portability
F-Secure Key syncs with Mac, PC Android, and iOS devices simultaneously. A transient code is generated on mobile devices, in addition to the two-factor authentication default of the F-Secure Key master password security product.

Password capture and replay in case of lost credentials is made possible with a password manager. Integration of a password manager app with a browser allows a user to capture login credentials, and replay on revisit to a site. Dashlane, LastPass, Norton Identity Safe, Password Genie 4.0 offer continuous detection and management of password change events, automatically capturing credentials each time a new Web-based, service registration sign up is completed.

Other applications like F-Secure Key, KeePass, and My1login replay passwords via a bookmarklet, supported by any Java-equipped browser. KeePass ups the ante for would be keyloggers, with a unique replay technology.

Personal Data and Auto-Fill Forms
Most password managers fill username and password credentials into login forms automatically. Password managers also retain personal data for form fill interfaces with applications, and other HTML forms online. The RoboForm app is one of the most popular for its flexibility in multi-form password and personal data management, but the others also capture and reuse at least a portion of what has been entered in a form manually.

The 1Password app for Windows stores the most types of personal data for use to fill out forms. Dashlane, LastPass, and Password Genie store the various types of ID data used for form fill-in, like passport and driver's license numbers and other key details to HTML acknowledgement of discretionary password and personal information.

The Cost of Protection
LastPass Premium and Password Box are the lowest monthly password manager plans on the market, going for $1 a month. Annual plans offered by other password manager sources vary according to internal plan: Dashlane $20, F-Secure Key $16, and Password Genie, $15.
All password manager companies and their products may not be alike in the end.

Security checks on security products like password managers have become more sophisticated in response to product cross-portability and open source app interface volatility. Norton, RoboForm, KeePass, generate strong, random passwords on-demand. Some security procedures now require three-factor authentication, which involves possession of a physical token and a password, used in conjunction with biometricdata, such as finger-scanningor a voiceprint.

What are the best languages for getting into functional programming?

Computer Programming as a Career?

How Can Managers Work More Efficiently with IT?

Would you rather work under someone who is an excellent developer but lacks people skills or leadership capabilities - or for someone that has excellent people skills, communicates well, and is a great leader but has limited understanding of productive coding practices? That’s not to say that the choice is one or the other but in many professional situations it does.

Managing an IT staff comes with numerous challenges, especially if the manager has no previous experience with the coding necessary for completing the project. Managing a business and IT's execution of tasks vary greatly in required skill sets, but it's important to find a cohesive and cooperative middle ground in order to see a project to its end. To fully grasp the intricacies of IT's involvement in the project at hand, managers can do the following to help further their efforts.

Get a basic understanding of coding and technical practices necessary for the project at hand by taking the time to research and practice enough to get a grip on the concept. This will allow managers insight on what their IT folks are really working on daily. Expertise in a programming language is not required, only an overview of the stuff that matters, i.e. understanding the concept of OOP (Object Oriented Programming.) Having this knowledge cannot be overlooked and will gain respect among multiple spectrums in the organization.