Monday, May 16, 2011

Skype Scribbled

The moment, I saw Skype was acquired by Microsoft, just couldn't believe it. I was wondering why would they even do it.
The more i read about it, I was eager to write out an article and send it here
As usual, my usual laziness, sleep and lame reasons like work load helped towards procrastinating the wrap up of the article. [In spite of having the hints, notes all dusted up]
Even was wondering, is my itouch jinxed? [Few other articles for which i made notes for on that itouch never saw the print!]
Finally reading this amplified my guilt. This comment really did inspire me to finish up the article.
This page is due to the above mentioned folks :) Thanks a ton :)

Thursday, May 12, 2011

Serial Started

Finally at last My serial, A biography on Steve Jobs have started in Tamilpaper

To read the first chapter

Check this out every wednesday, Feed Subscription

p.s
Story behind this on story once this gets over :)

Saturday, May 07, 2011

Security or Stupidity

I do know the online world is not safe. Accounts do get hacked, information and money gets stolen. Day in day out the people try to make their system more secure and several layers of protection. In no way we are gonna have something fool proof and secure. Every system will have shortcomings and flaws. period.

I do not advocate that we should not embark on the journey of improvements and enhancements stating that however it will be broken, so why enhance it in the first place. Still, what irks me is the way how people do it.

It is given that any good security system should have more than one form of authentication, in terms of combinations or what ever it takes.

In terms of banking, it happens to be login pass word, transaction password, along with your card info.

Off late for any online computer based transactions, they have brought in the mobile factor, which i would say pure madness.

In ICICI, after giving your user ID and password, it would prompt for a OTP or one time password. A six digit number would have been messaged to your mobile number and you should use that to login.

What if i don't have a mobile?
What if there is no battery in my mobile?
What if, I am in a place where there is no service?
What if i hadn't paid my bills and all sort of my outgoing and incoming is blocked and I am trying the Internet banking to pay my bills?
Above all, do they know that messaging is no reliable form of communication. At least to the best of my knowledge there is no guarantee that if i send a message to some one, it will reach with out fail. There by there is no guarantee that I could access the services that i am entitled to!
P.S
once with SBI had a tough time, in transferring some money back to hometown and was irritated to board the bus to hand deliver the money. Even there the some problem, while transferring apart from transaction password, a 6 digit number will be sent to your mobile. which cant be typed from keyboard but clicked from the virtual key pad on screen. By the time the message comes the session would have gone expired as i was inactive. Those security consultants should be sued.