IT in Canada January/February 2016

ANTHONY BARTOLO

How to: Enabling Apps to Auto-Trigger VPNs in Windows 10 P.18

ERIC JACKSCH

Is privacy really worth less than ten bucks? P.10

January/ February 2016 VOLUME 7 NUMBER 1

INSIGHT FOR TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

SOCIAL MEDIA

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GETTING MORE SOCIAL AT WORK

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Contents

Vol 7 No 1 January/February 2016

www.itincanadaonline.ca

DEPARTMENTS

4 Editorial 6 News

Our roundup of news stories

10 Security Shelf 18 How to

FEATURES

8 Getting more social at work - From millennial pastime to working overtime 14 3 tech solutions to keep your business competitive in 2016 15 Scan on the go with the P-215II 16 Hot consumers trends for 2016 and beyond 19 The latest episodes of WRLWND Radio 20

A majority of organizations are not confident about their security stance

8 COVER STORY: Getting more social at work

21 Shifting viewing habits, new rules imperil Canadian TV 22 What’s the Big Deal with Data?

Online Extras: www.itincanadaonline.ca Missed an issue? Misplaced an article? Visit www.itincanadaonline.ca for a full archive of past IT in Canada Online issues, as well as online extras from our many contributors.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 3

EDITORIAL INSIGHT FOR TECHNOLOGY PROFESSIONALS

EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: J. RICHARD JONES

905-727-4091x227 publisher@iticonline.ca

VP CONTENT STRATEGY: MARCELLO SUKHDEO

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ASSOCIATE EDITOR: NESTOR ARELLANO

905-727-4091 x228 nestor.arellano@iticonline.ca

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: ERIC JACKSCH, ANTHONY BARTOLO, MELODY YAN, EVA SCHOENLEITNER SALES DIRECTOR, CONTENT MARKETING & DEMAND GEN.: LASKEY HART

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Well, here we are fresh into a brand new year. And in this edition, we have some great articles on social media, app triggers, security and more!

May 2016, brings a lot of opportunity, wealth and innovation to all. And oh yes, security.

We are also celebrating our 25th episode of Wrlwnd radio. Hard to believe, we’ve got twenty-five episodes under our belt, but we do. And we’d like to thank you, our readers, or should I say “listeners too,” for your support.

Currently, it’s my perception that we are unique in being the first Canadian IT trade media company to offer this combined format to readers. Although, I may stand corrected and certainly don’t mind the feedback.

As I’ve always said, “nobody has the monopoly on good ideas.” Drop me a line if you come across a way for us to further enhance your listening experience.

A word or two about Wrlwnd radio. This is really a prime example of where old meets new and the results of the partnership offers new and innovative ways to serve our readers.

And the effort has paid off, your engagement and our base of followers is steadily growing.

There’s certainly something magnetic about being able to read a little bit of content and then press “click” to hear engaging audio.

January 28th is officially Data Privacy Day. I encourage you to take a few minutes to read Marcello Sukhdeo’s update on new regulations being put into place to protect our families from cybercriminals and other online threats.

All too often we seldom think twice about the information we are knowingly or unknowingly sharing online when we visit a Web site or sign up for an online offer.

In this “connected world” where devices and sensors “communicate” and share data with each other every second, the opportunity for data theft has grown incredibly.

Thankfully, there are some great tools out that can help us. And you can find out about some of them in this issue. I believe it is worth the time to consider your family’s cyber security.

Enjoy this issue.

J. Richard Jones Editor-in-Chief

Ericsson is a trade-mark of Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson, Ericsson Canada Inc. is a licensed user.

We Turn Great Ideas into Global Realities In the Networked Society, everything that can be shared will be.

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IN THE NEWS

By Marcello Sukhdeo

House Rules for online privacy

Canada joined 48 countries around the world in celebrating Data Privacy Day on January 28. This day was first recognized in 2007 and has since been observed with the aim of raising awareness in promoting privacy and data protection best practices.

To mark this occasion here locally, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada has launched “House Rules” which is a new interactive tool to assist parents in setting rules that can help mitigate the online risks facing their children.

6 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

“We want families to consider their online behaviour and how personal information may be collected, used and disclosed so that children will learn to think twice before sharing any sensitive details,” Commissioner Daniel Therrien said in a statement. “Having a privacy plan setting out the family dos and don’ts can help everyone work together to protect privacy.”

With this new tool, creating a family privacy plan has never been easier. Parents can select from a list of things that their family

would like to do online like playing games, social media, using a mobile device, downloading apps, sharing videos and photos, emailing or texting, and online shopping. After making the necessary selection users are then given a list of rules. For those rules that they would like to add to their family privacy plan, a simple click or check mark in the box will add that to their customized privacy plan.

Furthermore, there is the option to add your own house rules as well.

After all the rules are checked, the next step is to create your complete list of rules.

With a click on create you are then taken to a new page with your specific rules that can then be printed and placed next to your desk or common area that will serve as a reminder on the dos and don’ts to follow in protecting your privacy online.

To provide a sense of the rules in this interactive tool, here is a sample: • If we don’t know someone in person, we won’t communicate with him or her online without asking our parents, or an adult we trust, first.

• We will make our passwords hard to guess and we will not share our passwords. It is important to know that some people do go into other people’s accounts and try to cause trouble.

• We’ll take the time to review who our online “friends” really are and delete people we don’t actually know. A friend of a friend is really just a stranger.

• We will not leave our device(s) in a place where someone could easily steal it.

• We will always ask our parent or an adult we trust before making purchases online.

In addition to the new interactive tool, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada is also introducing a new tip sheet for individuals to help us be better suited with the basics of privacy protection.

“I would encourage all Canadians to take a moment this Data Privacy Day to think about what they can do to better protect their privacy,” said Commissioner Therrien.

To view the interactive tool, go here.

IN THE NEWS

By Nestor Arellano

US cloud firm dinCloud partners with Equinix, Ingram Micro California-based cloud services provider dinCloud is poised to offer the firm’s managed IT services to Canadian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with its recent negotiations with data centre company Equinix Inc. and technology distributor Ingram Micro. dinCloud is widely known for helping organizations migrate their IT infrastructure to the cloud via hosted virtual servers and desktops.

“Today our services are hosted out of the U.S. but with Equinix we will be offering colo services in Canada and allow Canadian businesses to house their data within the country,” said David Graffia, vice-president of sales for dinCloud.

He also told IT in Canada that dinCloud is working with Ingram Micro to reach out to Canadian value added resellers.

“Ingram Micro is now reselling our service to their VAR community, with their help we will be able to reach out to Canadian customers,” said Graffia.

The collaboration with Equinix is part of din-

Cloud’s plan to expand into several countries this year. The California-based carrier-neutral data centre firm has two data centres in Toronto.

Ingram Micro has an extensive distribution network across Canada. Graffia said Ingram Micro will begin offering dinCloud services to its VARs by the third quarter of 2016.

“Anyone that wants to get into the managed services space can take advantage of our cloud infrastructure and technology and sell it as a managed IT service,” said Graffia. “Our technology is ideal for Canadian SMBs looking

to cut down cost and complexity.”

For instance, dinCloud’s virtual desktop services allows organizations to rapidly provision and configure virtual computers and scale up from one to 1,000 machines in a matter of minutes instead of days.

“Our technology enabled organizations to customize solutions, computing power as well as role-based access and security in an automated manner,” said Graffia. “Cases studies show our customers can save as much as 50 per cent across the board in expenses compared to traditional computing.”

FireEye bets big on cyber intel firm iSight

Two of the world’s most prominent cyber security firms came together in January with the announcement that security company, FireEye Inc. had purchased cyber intelligence firm iSight Partners for US$200 million in cash.

The deal, which includes FireEye paying another $75 million in cash and stock to iSight shareholders if the business meets

certain sales targets by mid-2018, actually closed January 14.

The acquisition comes at a time when many public and private cyber security companies are experiencing declining valuations following a series of highly publicized cyber-attacks on companies like Target, Ashley Madison, and Sony.

“This acquisition extends FireEye’s intelligence lead with an offering no one else in the industry can match,” said David DeWalt, FireEye chief executive officer and chairman of the board. “The biggest mistake most people make is thinking threat intelligence is a collection of virus definitions in a shared database.”

He said governments and businesses are aware that threat intelligence critical in building a robust security posture.

Both iiSight and FireEye have significant government customers although FireEye is stronger in the corporate space.

“As the cyber operations become integrated with physical, geopolitical and competitive conflict, an intelligence-led approach to security will be key in detecting the most sophisticated threats and responding to them quickly and effective,” according to DeWalt.

FireEye provides “higher fidelity” alerts and threat prioritization to customers. The company’s Mandiant forensic unit is considered a leader in helping organizations investigate and gain strategic insights from cyber-attacks. iSight has an intelligence network that monitors and mines global cyber threat developments from some 16,000 threat actors. The company’s staff of 350 includes more than 250 cyber threat intelligence experts in 17 countries. iSight invested nearly $10 million over eight years to build its cyber intelligence capability which enabled it to uncover major cyber campaigns from Russia, Iran, and other countries.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 7

COVER STORY

By Nestor Arellano

GETTING MORE SOCIAL

AT WORK

F

rom a favourite millennial past time, social media in 2016, will be working overtime in the mainstream business space.

Facebook and Twitter still enjoy a lead in the social media sphere but other networks such as Vine, Pinterest, Instagram, Periscope and Snapchat are catching up and with them comes a new focus on visual-based social media that is poised to take the Internet by storm.

There are now more than two billion active users of social media and the business world has noticed. Nearly nine in 10 North American companies use social media for marketing purposes in 2015, according to eMarketer.

If companies doubled down on their use of social media last year, this year things will really heat up but businesses are poised to alter the way they use social media.

HERE ARE SOME OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS LIKELY TO SURFACE IN 2016 AND INTO THE NEXT FEW YEARS:

1. SOCIAL BUYING

8 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

From DIY projects, to fashion tips, recipes and the latest hacks, Pinterest has been the go-to social network. However, with the introduction of buyable pins, user no longer just “discover and save� good ideas, the can now also purchase some of the stuff they see on Pinterest.

YouTube has a different take on social buying with its YouTube Shopping Ads and in Canada VarageSale is redefining the way to buy and sell previously-loved items online.

Selling goods and service on social media network will continue to grow through 2016 and the next couple of years but organizations need to be careful how they use this emerging market space. People often flock to social networks because they want to escape from the ad-saturated, spammed-out, vanilla-coloured landscape of the mainstream online world.

COVER STORY

2. REAL-TIME MARKETING

Instead of adhering to a strict long-term marketing strategy, more and more companies will resort to developing and promoting content that is tied to or relevant to a current or ongoing event. This is called real-time marketing.

Check out how marketers behind the Snickers bar jumped on the new that Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson had been sacked after a row with one of the show’s producers. It was the perfect moment for Snicker’s “you’re not you when you’re angry” tagline.

3. SOCIAL ADVERTISING

While eMarketer estimates that advertisers around the world spent about $23.68 billion to reach out to consumers in social networks (a growth of 33.5 per cent from 2014 figures), this represents only 14 per cent of all digital ad spending.

Industry watchers believe social advertising expenditure will take off in 2017. The figure eMarketer is predicting is $35.98 billion.

Why the sudden gush of money? Simple, advertisers finally realized that consumers are tired of viewing paid Google ads and search results and have started downloading ad blockers.

4. SOCIAL APPS PUNCH IN FOR WORK

The death of email has been predicted for years. This year will likely not be the year email keels over, but apps like Slack are adding another nail in the coffin. The messaging app designed for office teams now has more than 1.25 million business users.

Slack has many challengers from around the world. There’s ChatWork, which was established back in 2011 and commands 70 per cent of the market in Japan, there’s also HipChat and the newer Ryver.

5. ANALYTICS TO LIGHT THE WAY

While there may be some 4 billion users globally of social messaging apps, much of what happens in social sites are pretty much a mystery for companies. Businesses are still struggling to known what content is being shared and how they impact traffic and conversion.

Some industry watchers believe 2016 will be the year when more powerful ad targeted analytics tools lift the lid of the “dark social” and help companies develop full-blown strategies around social messaging.

6. EMPLOYEES RECRUITED TO BUILD SOCIAL BRAND

Your company is probably doing this with you already, the practice of employees being asked to amplify the corporate brand over social media increasingly will become formalized, and 80 per cent of business will have social teams, according to the Altimeter Group.

Fast Company reports that employee social advocacy programs have grown by 191 per cent since 2013 and will continue to take off in 2016.

I guess the question now is: will social media improve the way we work and make it more fun or will work suck out the fun from social media?

I’m worried that much of social media will end up being mangled by corporations to serve their purposes. Eventually people will leave sites when they find there really is nothing there for them.

However, I’m also hopeful that many organizations will become smart enough to find that healthy balance of commerce and community.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 9

SECURITY SHELF

By Eric Jacksch

IS PRIVACY REALLY WORTH LESS THAN

TEN BUCKS? P

rivacy discussions often revolve around the use and abuse of personal information by governments and corporations. While global surveillance is a serious concern, and some corporations abuse the information entrusted to them, the fact remains that most Internet users happily hand over their private information and allow companies to use it in exchange for “free” services.

Free email services are a prime example.

Microsoft’s Outlook.com boasts 400 million active users, while Google’s free Gmail service reports 900 million active users.

These services are incredibly expensive to operate, making even the largest corporate email systems seem tiny by comparison.

Some users complain bitterly about the ads and use software to block them. They also express concern, or even outrage, that supposedly private email content may be used to target them.

Social media companies perhaps provide the best insight into just how willing users are to trade privacy for services. Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter have established themselves as the leading social networks by dominating different segments of the market.

Facebook, with more than 1.5 billion monthly active users, is primarily focused on networking with family and friends. In 10 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

the company’s words, “Founded in 2004, Facebook’s mission is to give people the power to share and make the world more open and connected. People use Facebook to stay connected with friends and family, to discover what’s going on in the world, and to share and express what matters to them.”

Facebook reported US $12.5 billion of revenue in 2014, 92 per cent of which was from advertising. The company is of particular interest to advertisers because ads can be targeted based on information shared by users such as age, gender, location, education, work history or specific interests. Advertisers can create Facebook Pages to engage with customers and highlight a user’s connection with a brand or business through the ‘like’ feature.

LInkedIn is designed for business networking. The culture of the site encourages interaction on business and profession-related discussions. Unlike Facebook, the company offers both free and paid accounts, the key differentiator being that users who pay are granted wider access to the online community. For example, a Premium LinkedIn user can directly contact users outside of their network, while a standard (free) account holder would have to request an introduction via another user.

LinkedIn’s revenue model is more diversified. According to the company, LinkedIn has over 400 million registered users, but only 25% use the service monthly, suggesting an active user base of about 100 million.

The company reported US $2.2 billion of revenue in 2014; 20 per cent from premium subscriptions, 20 per cent from marketing solutions, and 60 per cent from talent solutions (employee recruitment).

Twitter, despite enhancements such as URL shortening and photo sharing, essentially remains a 140-character micro-

blogging tool. Users opt-in to receive and send very brief content (tweets) with others.

This functionality is very limited compared to Facebook and LinkedIn, but those limits serve to differentiate the platform. The use of Twitter spans a wide gamut of activities ranging from personal blogging to real-time reporting and online customer service.

According to the company, Twitter has 320 million active monthly users. The company reported 2014 revenues of US $1.4 billion, of which 90% was from advertising and the remainder from “data licensing and other.”

Twitter allows advertisers to target ads based on followers, keywords, email addresses, geography and demographic characteristics.

Examples on Twitter’s site include, “a speaker targets users who follow conference handles with ads linking to their blog,” an “outdoor equipment and travel company targets users who are Tweeting about vacation plans with ads featuring a Twitter-exclusive discount code,” and “a fashion company sets up conversion tracking and targets users who place items in their cart with ads reminding them they’re just one step away.”

These “free” services may not have a cost in dollars and cents, but to remain financially viable the companies must continuously improve how they monetize the information users share with them. They walk a fine line between not alienating users and generating value for shareholders. These firms have a clear economic imperative to provide only the minimum privacy controls required to meet legislative and contractual obligations, and they are free to change their contract with users at any time.

In 2014, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter earned a combined US $16.1 billion in revenues with an aggregate of 1.9 billion active monthly accounts. This equates to an average revenue of about US $8.47 per active account. Is privacy really worth less than ten bucks?

As Andrew Lewis (@andlewis) tweeted: If you are not paying for it, you’re not the customer; you’re the product being sold.

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SECURITY SHELF

By Eric Jacksch

Amazon Web Services Security Controls

Cloud services like Amazon Web Services (AWS) have forever changed the Internet landscape, but many security professionals struggle to implement appropriate security architectures for AWS deployments.

12 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

I

n traditional IT environments, servers are grouped by function and placed on separate VLANs. It is common to place VPN termination, administrator access, web servers, application servers, and database servers on separate subnets and use firewalls or advanced routers to provide isolation and access control.

Many security practitioners view this approach as a reference architecture for all IT deployments, but this subnet-level approach has never been ideal. For example,

it does not prevent lateral attack movement.

Firewalls with multiple network interfaces are available, but it is not feasible to place each server on its own interface. A better approach would be to control communication between each individual server. AWS provides this functionality for free.

For those less familiar with AWS, a brief overview is in order. AWS customers create a Virtual Private Cloud (VPC). Within each VPC the customer creates subnets. EC2 Instances (virtual machines) connect to one

SECURITY SHELF

or more subnets. Three isolation layers exist within the VPC: First, each VPC has a configurable routing table. To reach the Internet, instances must have a public IP attached and be located on a subnet with an Internet gateway specified in the routing table. VPN-only subnets can be created by routing traffic to a virtual private gateway. It is therefore possible at the routing level to enable or prevent Internet communications.

The second isolation layer is the network Access Control List (ACL). By default, all subnets within the VPC are able to communicate with each other. ACLs can be customized. ACLs are stateless, and therefore not as sophisticated as modern Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewalls. However, they are a good additional layer to help mitigate accidental or unapproved changes to instancelevel Security Groups.

The third, and most powerful layer, is the AWS Security Group (SG). Each SG can contain one or more inbound or outbound rule. Similar to other firewall rules, SG rules include source or destination, protocol, and port. Up to five SGs can be assigned to each network interface on an instance. In practice this provides per-instance (virtual machine) security at the network layer that is easier to manage. For example, one security group may define rules for administrator access via SSH or RDP. A second security group might contain rules to facilitate communication with a backup server, and a third security group may contain rules specific to the server’s role.

For small AWS deployments, it may be acceptable to place all instances on the same subnet and rely solely upon SGs to provide isolation between each instance. From a practical perspective, this provides stronger controls than those traditionally achieved with a firewall.

Larger AWS deployments, or those with higher security requirements, should combine a logical zoning approach with routing

table customization, network ACLs, and SGs. The following should be considered: • Create an Internet connectivity subnet with an Internet route. All instances that require direct Internet connectivity should be located on this subnet. (If higher availability is required, two Internet connectivity subnets in different AWS Availability Zones may be required.)

• Place an outbound HTTP/HTTPS/FTP proxy in the Internet Connectivity subnet that uses whitelisting to control egress traffic. A micro or small instance with the open source Squid proxy works well. The proxy is used to allow instances to retrieve operating system and application updates as required. The AWS NAT gateway is not recommended due to the lack of egress controls.

• Create an administration subnet for jump servers or other remote access solutions used by administrators. With the potential exception of very small deployments, or organizations with existing secure admin networks, administrators should not be permitted to connect directly to instances using RDP or SSH from outside AWS. • Create a separate subnet for shared services such as domain controllers, log aggregation, and backup servers.

• Create additional subnets as required, grouping instances by function and sensitivity. For example, multiple databases with similar types of data can be placed on the same subnet, but it may be appropriate to use separate subnets for data to which PCI or similar regulations apply.

• Configure VPC routing tables to allow proper routing across subnets, but ensure that an Internet gateway is only present on the Internet connectivity subnet.

• Employ network ACLs to limit communication to approved protocols between subnets.

• Use SGs to limit network connectivity to each instance, specifying the source of the network traffic and protocol. For

LARGER AWS DEPLOYMENTS, OR THOSE WITH HIGHER SECURITY REQUIREMENTS, SHOULD COMBINE A LOGICAL ZONING APPROACH WITH ROUTING TABLE CUSTOMIZATION, NETWORK ACLS, AND SGS.

example, connectivity to a database service should be restricted to the individual instances that require access. RDP or SSH access should be restricted to authorized instances in the Administration subnet.

• Use AWS Identity and Access Management (IAM) groups to enforce a separation of duties where applicable. For example, system administrators or developers may be allowed to configure SGs, but not routing tables or ACLs. • AWS can be configured to write audit and SG logs to S3. This functionality should be enabled and logs sent to a log aggregation system.

• The AWS API can be used to automate tasks such as SG administration and review.

It occasionally makes sense to deploy a virtual firewall appliance in AWS as an edge device. However, deploying firewall products to mediate traffic between AWS subnets generally adds very little security value and is not cost justifiable. It also introduces single points of failure. If additional security controls are required, primary consideration should be given to deploying endpoint protection with host-based intrusion detection functionally instead of duplicating AWS security controls.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 13

SOLUTIONS

By Eva Schoenleitner

3 TECH SOLUTIONS TO KEEP YOUR BUSINESS COMPETITIVE IN 2016

D

espite recent news about the economy and the price of the Canadian dollar, Canada’s tech scene – and North America’s – continues to grow and bristle with possibilities. Look no further than the 91 Canadian companies that exhibited at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES 2016).

Sure, some of the technology and ideas that appear at CES may be a long ways away from making an impact on businesses today, but there are many technologies readily available now that allow you to help your company stay competitive in 2016. How you embrace and prepare your office to leverage technology will determine your business’s level of success. No pressure.

BUSINESS AGILITY IS KEY In 2016, adoption of cloud-based technologies will accelerate more rapidly than ever before, particularly for small businesses.

While that may not sound like a bold prediction - let’s be honest, the term “cloud computing” has become part of business vernacular - you may think you’re already taking full advantage of what cloud-based services have to offer, be they public, private or a hybrid of the two. Chances are you’re not.

Many small businesses are still hesitant to adopt cloud computing services. For 14 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

instance, the most recent Sage Accountancy Index survey found that just 5 per cent of Canadian accountants are leveraging online or cloud solutions and only 37 per cent of Canadian firms have adopted online technology, compared to 55 per cent of their U.S. counterparts. This is interesting to note as historically Canadians have adopted technology faster than the U.S. (for example online banking or chip & pin), so why is this different? Some business owners may be hesitant to transition to the cloud as there are concerns about data ownership and a lack of control and desktop storage may feel safer and more permanent. However, hybrid cloud provides businesses with the best of both worlds and allows organizations to maintain that same level of ownership that desktop storage brings but with the benefits and flexibility associated with cloud.

To make the most out of technology that is available, investigate what applications and services you can leverage to take as many inventory management, accounting, sales and other back office tasks off the plates of your fellow colleagues. Technology that eliminates redundant admin work or grants you flexibility should be at the top of your wish list – eliminating redundancies and finding flexibility frees your business to focus on strategic programs.

TAKE THESE THREE SOLUTIONS: E-commerce: With the Canadian dollar currently sitting below 70 cents, take advantage of international consumers looking to save money by buying Canadian. Moneris Solutions has e-commerce platforms that allow businesses to grow their online presence and stores with relative ease.

Accounting: Sage 50c accounting software, a cloud-enabled solution, simplifies everything from customer billing to real-time collaboration with your accountant. Do you fear having to get your papers in order to file your taxes soon? Sage 50c provides assurance that you are compliant with government regulations and standards.

Marketing: Social media is one of the best ways to reach your customer base, and HootSuite’s app and desktop platforms allow you to manage, connect and engage with customers effortlessly.

Most small business owners and executive leaders are wearing so many different hats; help them focus on the most important goals by using these and other new technologies to free up more time for customer interactions and face time. It’s all about working smarter, not harder.

Eva Schoenleitner is vice president of product marketing at Sage North America

By Marcello Sukhdeo

Scan on the go with the

S

SOLUTIONS

P-215II

ince the invention of the first image scanner almost 6 decades ago, scanners have evolved from being big and heavy to being small and light. Today, a high quality scanner can be your travel companion that can easily fit into your bag or briefcase while at the same time be your main go to scanner for business use.

If you are a frequent traveller with the need of a scanner to convert business documents, images and even receipts into digital files to send back to the office, or just wanted a scanner for school or the office, then the Canon ImageFORMULA P-215II might be the ideal scanner to consider.

Retailing at $324 CDN from local retailers the P-215II is a fairly light, portable scanner weighing 2.2 pounds and can be held with one hand with the width equivalent to that of the BlackBerry Passport. When compared to other brands in this category the P-215II might feel a little on the heavier side, but it offers additional features that are worthy to take note of. One such feature is the automatic document feeder (ADF) which can take up to 20 pages and scans one page at a time. Another feature is the duplexer for two-sided scanning. In testing this scanner I was amazed at how fast in one feed both sides were captured on my computer.

The P-215II comes equipped with a built-in card reader which can easily scan plastic ID cards and embossed cards. During testing I was able to scan my driver’s licence and have a pop up of both the front and back images on my computer screen in less than 6 seconds. For business or personal use this is a great feature to capture credit cards for accounting, personal ID cards for human resources needs or even keeping digital copies of your personal cards on file for emergency situations or if stolen.

Setting up was fairly easy and took less than a minute to be up and running and getting my first scan done thanks to the plug and scan capability. A USB cable serves both to connect and power the P-215II. This scanner works right out of the box with both Windows and Mac operating systems—no need to install drivers or software.

It also has the capability of scanning directly to cloud accounts like Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive, SharePoint and OneDrive.

The main file types, like PDF, PDF/A, JPEG, BMP, PNG TIFF and PPTX, are supported by selecting the respective output file type when scanning. Overall the P-215II scanner is a light, portable scanner that fits both the office and travel environments bringing high quality imaging capture to fulfill daily scanning requirements.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 15

CONSUMER

By Marcello Sukhdeo

HOT CONSUMERS TRENDS FOR

2016 AND BEYOND

W

hat’s on horizon for technology in 2016 and beyond? More video streaming, Artificial Intelligence interaction without a screen, and the growth of virtual reality to grow have all been suggested by the fifth consecutive annual report from Ericsson on the 10 Hot Consumer Trends for the year.

This latest report for 2016 provides insights gathered from several studies conducted by Ericsson ConsumerLab in 2015, covering a range of 46 million urban smartphone users in 10 major cities worldwide to its broadest reach of a representative of 1.1 billion people across 24 countries.

But just before we delve into the 10 Hot Trends for 2016, let’s take a moment and look at the three important shifts that this report highlighted so we can have a better understanding on how these trends should be interpreted.

First, all these consumer trends involve the Internet. This shift is plain to see as many aspects of our physical lives are now intertwined with our cyber lives. This is due to the rapid expansion of Wi-Fi and broadband over cable. In other words our activities are not restricted by our surroundings anymore.

Next, early adopters are less important.

Four years ago it was said that women drove the smartphone market by defining mass16 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

market use, today with the increased speed of technology adoption, mass-market use becomes the norm much faster. As such, many successful products and services reach the mass-market in a shorter time today with the aid of the Internet.

And thirdly, a reverse in consumer influence. It was only a few years ago that the focus was on how the Internet is influencing consumers, today, consumers are using the Internet to influence what goes on around them through reviews, petitions and instant crowd activities.

With that background, let’s take a look at Ericsson ConsumerLab’s Hot Trends for 2016.

The Lifestyle Network Effect With the growth in Internet usage, users are becoming increasingly interconnected with one another. According to one Ericsson’s survey done in 24 countries, 4 out of 5 people experience a lifestyle network effect, whereby a person benefits as the range of online services increases due to the heavy use by others. So in effect, the faster everyone else starts using the latest service, the better the service becomes for those who already use it.

The lifestyle network effects are vividly reflected in the attitudes and behaviours of

online users from being on social networks to participating in the sharing economy, from Internet sharing to user reviews. Today 30 per cent of those using the Internet consider user reviews to be better than expert reviews and this effect increases as more write reviews and share their views.

Streaming Natives One of the more significant changes in the Internet age is the growth of video content.

In 2011, about 30 hours of video was uploaded to YouTube every minute, today, it is estimated to be more than 300 hours every minute. This drastic increase in the availability of video content online results in a greater volume of consumption. This is reflected in the statistic that 20 per cent of the second generation Internet users (16-19 year olds) watch more than 3 hours of YouTube videos daily as compared to 7 per cent in 2011. The first generation (30-34 year olds) does not fully follow this pattern with only 9 per cent watching about 3 hours of videos per day.

Clearly teens are the leading streaming natives with about 46 per cent of them spending an hour or more on YouTube daily while 16 per cent also stream music for more than 3 hours every day.

CONSUMER AI ends the Screen Age With the advent of the screen age in the 1950s television became the mainstream popular culture.

Screens continued to multiply with the arrival of PCs and more recently with smartphones and tablets; with the later surpassing PC sales in 2011. After 6 decades in the screen age, half of smartphones users believe that smartphones will be a thing of the past in 5 years with 4 out of 5 citing battery capacity as their main worry.

This forecast highlights a need for better solutions such as the use of intelligent assistants to reduce the need to always touch a screen. This is cemented by the fact that 85 per cent of smartphone users think wearable technologies will be common in 5 years’ time, while 50 per cent believe they will be able to talk to their household appliances. This type of interacting with objects and surroundings would only be possible with an AI interface.

Virtual gets real Virtual reality is gaining in popularity among smartphone users with many envisioning VR maps and movies that play around the viewer, virtual tech support, VR headsets for sports and even VR dating services.

Half of smartphone users are also interested in virtual shopping by using a 3D selfie to try on clothes online. Others are looking for 3D printers to print household objects such as spoons, toys and spare parts for appliances. Devices will also have to evolve with the growing demands as half of consumers think holographic screens will be mainstream within 5 years.

Sensing Homes Believe it or not, bricks may be the new building blocks of the Internet. With the increase presence of the Internet of Things, sensors could be integrated into the building materials of your house, literally connecting your home from the ground up.

Over half of smartphone users believe that within the next 5 years homes with sensors will be able to detect construction errors, molds, water leaks and electricity problems while 66 per cent think homes connected to the Internet will be able to regulate air quality and ventilation.

Internables

Smart Commuters On a weekly basis, commuters worldwide spend 20 per cent more time in commuting than on leisure activities. Many perceive their commuting time as unproductive, dull and even frustrating. In order to be productive, to socialise and even enjoy their commute many are demanding connectivity while commuting. Unfortunately, over 50 per cent are still not satisfied that their demands are not met.

Commuters also want real-time crowd information to aid in managing their commute with payment options and services. If all of this could be personalised to individual needs, then 88 per cent say they would use this service.

As wearables continue to grow, many are under the common perception that they are unattractive and sometimes impractical, even getting in the way of performing daily tasks. With this negative outlook the next generation of bodymonitoring technology may not be worn, but may instead be found within the body.

These “internables” are internal sensors that will give updates on health and wellbeing and half of smartphones users believe that this will become a reality in three years.

Everything gets hacked With the Internet being the hub of over 3.2 billion users, the majority of smartphone users today believe that it is easier for organisations, products and services to be hacked or infected by a virus in the near future.

Over half indicated that hacks and virus attacks will become commonplace within three years.

As the attacks intensify many consumers see new security measures to appear. For instance, 43 per cent think we will be required to identify ourselves whenever we use the Internet within the next three years.

Emergency Chat

Netizen Journalists

With text being the top means of mobile communications, many are using texting as well as social networks to share photos, videos and other information. What is interesting is that people are increasingly using social media in natural disasters rather than calling 911. Due to this, 65 per cent of smartphone users are interested in an emergency app that would provide alerts in times of crisis or disasters with rumor-free information.

Additionally, 50 per cent of respondents believe that social networks will be used to contact emergency centers in 3 years time rather routing calls through 911. Many also foresee that sharing pictures and their location would be the norm during a disaster on social networks. The challenge here is what happens if a user’s data runs out? Of those interviewed, 62 per cent recognised this issue and would like to have an emergency chat app free of data charges.

By sharing our thoughts, suggestions, ideas and observations online we are increasingly acting like journalists. Smartphone users have been involved in such activity before but the level is rising as more users participate online as netizens. To attest to this fact, two thirds of users say they share more information online now than ever before.

Today, a bad experience with a company or exposing corrupt and illicit behaviour are commonly shared as people believe they can make a big impact on society and have their contributions heard.

As we conclude the outlook for 2016 and beyond it’s clear that some trends in this report are more futuristic than others, but as the report pointed out, “…[because] mass markets are appearing quicker than ever…it is necessary to ask consumers about new technologies in order to conceptualize the future.”

The question I would like to leave you with is, are you ready for this future?

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 17

HOW TO

HOW TO:

H

By Anthony Bartolo

Enabling Apps to Auto-Trigger VPNs in Windows 10

ave you ever experienced that one app that always requires a VPN connection to operate? It becomes a bigger problem when that app is not frequently used and so the people using said application are not overly familiar as to how to initiate a VPN connection. Thankfully Windows 10 has a solution to address this in the form of applications auto-triggering the VPN connection when required.

In this day and age of mobility connectivity, automating this cumbersome step for some is most welcome. The following are the steps to enable this functionality: Adding VPN Auto-Triggering 1. Click the Start Menu button and type PowerShell 2. Right-clickWindows PowerShell Desktop App and selectRun as

Administrator in the provided sub menu.

3. In PowerShell type the following: Add-VpnConnectionTriggerApplication-Name CANITPRO –ApplicationID C:\Windows\Notepad.exe NOTE: Be sure to replace CANITPRO with your desired VPN 18 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

connection and provide the path to your application in the ApplicationID call out 4. Enter Y when prompted to enable auto-triggering of the VPN

5. Next Split tunneling needs to be enabled via typing the following command: Set-VpnConnection -Name CANITPRO -SplitTunneling $True NOTE: Split tunneling is enabled to stop Windows from forcing all network traffic to be routed through the auto-triggered VPN. Only data for the application autotriggering the VPN will have its data pass through 6. It is also advised to set an idle disconnection time which can be done via typing the following command: Set-VpnConnection –Name CANITPRO –IdleDisconnectSeconds 10 NOTE: The VPN will automatically disconnect after 10 seconds after the application has closed. The time value can be changed as required.

7. Once completed, type the following command to confirm autotriggering is enabled: Get-VpnConnection -Name CANITPRO

Removing VPN Auto-Triggering 8. Simply type the following command to remove VPN Autotriggering from the initially setup application: 9. Remove-VpnConnectionTriggerApplication -Name CANITPRO –ApplicationID C:\Windows\Notepad.exe 10. Be sure to enter Y when prompted to confirm the removal.

NOTE: Be sure to replace CANITPRO with your desired VPN connection and provide the path to your application in the ApplicationID call out. See more at CANITPRO

PODCAST

By Marcello Sukhdeo

The latest episodes of

WRLWND RADIO Security weaknesses, Li-Fi on iPhone, backdoor to BlackBerry In today’s show we look at some weaknesses in organizations that are contributing to security risks. Also, is your next iPhone going to work with Li-Fi? And lastly how secure is your BlackBerry smartphone? We look at the news of El Chapo and how his BB messages got into the hands of the authorities.

Listen here: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/ mobility/1490-ep-22-security-weaknesses-li-fi-oniphone-backdoor-to-blackberry

TurboTax, Data improving life & wireless charging In this episode Marcello touches on the free offering from TurboTax. As tax season approaches this is timely subject to discuss. Also, he covers how data is helping to improve life as we know it and concludes with a self-charging technology that is being developed to charge smartphones wirelessly and the potential risks from using it.

Listen here: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/clevel-insight/collaboration/1478-ep-21-turbotax-dataimproving-life-wireless-charging

Top new tech from CES, Data Breach and BlackBerry 10 Rules for Data Privacy, Tablets sales down and an Interview with a Cyber Security Expert In this episode Marcello covers a new interactive tool that can help you set the house rules for data privacy, also he takes a look at the future of tablets and interviews Ajay Sood an expert from the international cyber security company FireEye on what Canadian organizations can implement to boost confidence in cyber security.

Listen here. http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/ security/1501-rules-for-data-privacy-tablets-salesdown-interview-with-cyber-security-expert

This week Marcello focuses on the latest technologies coming out of CES 2016. Also, with data breach becoming more prevalent today, what are some ways that can be implemented to reduce the risk of such breaches. He concludes with BlackBerry 10 and the recent news about how BlackBerry is focusing on its Android phones for 2016 and no longer on its native OS. Listen here: http://itincanadaonline.ca/index.php/ c-level-insight/collaboration/1466-ep-20-top-newtech-from-ces-data-breach-and-blackberry-10 WRLWND Radio is now available on iTunes and Stitcher. Subscribe today.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 19

SECURITY

By Marcello Sukhdeo

A majority of organizations are not confident about their

SECURITY STANCE

Cisco 2016 Annual Security Report

20 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

M

ore than half of all organizations around the world don’t have an assertive security posture when it comes cyber-attacks, says the 2016 Annual Security Report from Cisco that was released yesterday.

This report which examines threat intelligence and cybersecurity trends reveals that only 45 per cent of organizations globally are confident in their security stance to guard against today’s attackers. While business leaders are increasing measures to secure their organizations many are still uncertain about their security strength.

The report went on to talk about the challenges that businesses face due to the rapid advancement of attacks. As attacks continue to evolve, the ability to detect, mitigate and recover from cyber-attacks continues to spiral out of control. Adding to these challenges, an aging infrastructure and out-dated

organizational structure are posing even greater risk on these organizations.

The study trumpets a worldwide call-toarms for a greater collaboration and investment in processes, technologies and people to protect against adversaries.

The 2016 report reveals findings that pose a number of challenges. In the area of aging infrastructure, between 2014 and 2015 there was a drop of 10 per cent of organizations that said that their security infrastructure was up-to-date. The survey discovered that 92 per cent of Internet devices are running on known vulnerabilities while 31 per cent of all devices examined are no longer supported by the vendor.

Another finding points to the fact that SMBs are now being seen as a potential weak link. As enterprises examine closely their supply chain, they are finding that these small businesses use fewer defense tools and processes.

The report also reveals that there is a shift in server activity. Cyber criminals have shifted to compromised servers, such as WordPress to support their attacks. From February to October 2015, the number of WordPress domains used by online criminals grew by a staggering 221 per cent.

On a positive note the estimated time for detection of cybercrime has significantly reduced since 2015 from 46 to 17.5 hours.

By shrinking this detection time many organisations have minimize cyberattack damage, lower risks and improve service to customers.

For a complete copy of this report and to learn about Cisco’s recommendations as to what businesses can do to mitigate against risk, click here.

BUSINESS

By Nestor Arellano

SHIFTING VIEWING HABITS,

D

new rules imperil Canadian TV

eclining TV revenues caused by a growing shift in viewing habits as well as new broadcast rules could result in a massive job for broadcasting stations by 2020, a report submitted to Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) warned.

According to the 100-page report, some 7,000 jobs in the industry and about $400 million in funding for Canadian programs could be lost.

“In our view, the most likely scenario over the short to midterm is a material, but not fatal, erosion of traditional television,” the report prepared by consulting firm Nordicity and communications lawyer Peter Miller, said. “It is driven primarily by millennials, infrequent TV viewers, and non-sports/TV news watchers.”

But the report also laid blame on new CRTC regulations.

The report was commissioned by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), Canadian Media Guild Directors of Canada, Friends of Canadian Broadcasting and Union for Canada (Unifor).

The report said these viewers are the “most motivated to abandon what it called broadcast distributed undertakings (BDU) and instead adopt a combination of BDU, over-the-air (OTA) TV broadcast and video content over the Internet which is also called over-the-top (OTT) content.

The report was given to the CRTC ahead of its public hearings on the viability of local TV which starts today. According to the authors, it is intended as a third party assessment of the

challenges facing Canadian television in the light of CRTC decisions made following the Let’s Talk TV (LTTV) hearings in 2014.

Recent changes to CRTC regulations could cause a further decline in TV revenues. For instance, the report said, the unbundling of TV packages ad putting a cap on basic services could bode ill for the industry.

Starting March 1, the government is requiring cable and satellite TV service providers to offer their customers basic service capped at $25/month as well as pick-and-pay programming choices. This unbundling may result in savings for consumers but will also reduce revenues for providers and cut contributions to Canadian programming as well.

“Without broadcast regulation and Canadian ownership requirements, spending on Canadian programming could be less than a third of what it is today,” the report said.

The report also said “undue preference” to and the introduction of hybrid OTT exemption orders has “encouraged, if not required” new Canadian OTT services to be offered to Canadians.

“Shomi and Crave TV will, under the LTTV framework, be transformed from ‘complimentary’ to ‘competitive’ OTT offerings and are thereby expected to materially increase cord cutting and cord shaving and the take-up of OTT in Canada from the baseline outlook,” the report said.

The LTTV decision will likely result in a $970 million decrease in revenues at Canadian specialty and pay services, or 23 per cent of their forecast baseline revenue in 2020, the report said.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 21

BIG DATA

By Melody Yan

WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL

WITH DATA?

E

ver since its creation, technology has been transforming lives for the better and the worse in every way possible; and BSA’s ‘What’s the Big Deal with Data?’ global report illustrates just how much of an impact the data revolution has had on our world.

‘What’s the Big Deal with Data’ was released late last year by BSA | The Software Alliance, a leading advocate for the global software industry before the government and the international marketplace. The paper’s main focuses are software, data, and the crucial answers people want to know.

It outlines concrete examples of how people are improving their lives each day with data answers which range from helpful everyday advice and better urban planning, to earlier predictions of weather crises and life-saving healthcare breakthroughs. Furthermore, it emphasizes the implications for policy makers around the globe, including the 22 / IT in Canada Online January/February 2016

BIG DATA

need to establish clear rules for data flow as well as invest in the IT workforce.

The report possesses an in depth explanation of data as an innovative, transformative tool, and of the dramatic improvements in data analytics which are helping others find surprising solutions. Without imposing on an individual’s privacy, it also smooths out the misunderstandings about how data is gathered and used most often.

“People’s ground-breaking use of data is causing extraordinary change and progress across the globe. Their data-related efforts are empowering other people and communities, and helping businesses use resources more effectively,” said BSA President and CEO Victoria Espinel. “As the data-driven economy grows, new software will continue to help us all better understand and transform this data into even more real, actionable solutions.”

BSA’s paper brings attention to how the emerging data-driven economy is affecting numerous districts such as manufacturing, transportation, energy, agriculture, education, and healthcare. Consequently, $15 trillion is expected to be added to the global GDP by 2030. Espinel noted how it will represent a significant boost to the global economy.

In fact, more than 90 percent of the world’s data has been created in just the past two years and the data producing rate is doubling every two years.

“The biggest challenge now is knowing how to harness this data and put it to work,” Espinel said. “Data must be best gathered, stored, analyzed, and translated to achieve meaningful results, and decision makers around the world must understand the importance of policies that best enable this to happen.”

Espinel observed the ample opportunity presented to lawmakers and regulators for establishing clear rules which will promote the free flow of data across borders, and invest in the much-needed IT workforce to open marketplaces and let companies innovate.

From the ‘What’s the Big Deal with Data?’ report, we present several of the ways that answers from data and software are being converted into life-improving answers: Earlier predictions of weather crises: By using data analytics and marine sensors that monitor waves, currents, and other data, researchers are effectively using them to better predict tsunamis and other natural disasters.

Their studies usher in the potential to save thousands of people living in coastal areas that are threatened by tsunamis.

Saving more “preemies”: By tracking more than 1,000 data points a second, researchers shocked doctors by showing how prematurely born infants with unusually stable vital signs were associated with serious fevers the next day –allowing doctors to take preventive action and save lives.

Reducing Commute Times: In Stockholm, Sweden, there were 1,600 GPS systems installed within taxi cabs. Their purpose was to collect data on traffic flows. Afterwards, software was used to analyze traffic data to inform the city’s plans to reduce congestion.

As a result, traffic was reduced by 20 percent, travel times were cut in half, and auto emissions were down 10 percent.

Increasing farming yields: Farmers from Iowa to India are using data from seeds, satellites, sensors, and tractors to make better decisions about what to grow, when to plant, how to track food freshness from farm to fork, and how to adapt to changing climates.

Designing energy-efficient buildings: In the United Arab Emirates, new data tools are being used to design the world’s first positive-energy building, a building that actually produces more energy than it consumes. If successful, this model could be implemented worldwide and have a dramatic effect on our global carbon footprint.

Improving aviation: Data is being used to improve flight performance, cut turbulence, improve safety, and identify engine defects 2,000 times faster than before. Aviation data is also helping improve flight path planning, and letting crews know that a part needs replacing before it fails.

What’s the Big Deal With Data?

TO READ MORE DATA BREAKTHROUGHS AND VIEW A VIDEO SUMMARY OF BSA’S ‘WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL WITH DATA?’, VISIT WWW.BSA.ORG/DATA. Building smart cities: Barcelona is harnessing data to build a smarter city, giving city officials the ability to examine traffic patterns, analyze where to put public bike stations, and identify which corners of the city need more ATMs. “The wide range of problems that data is solving shows how much impact the data revolution already is having on the world economy,” Espinel said. “Of course there are significant issues, such as user privacy, that need to be thoughtfully addressed. But with boundless information, the possibilities are limitless for everything from classrooms and hospitals to highways and robotics. Effectively gathering, storing, analyzing and transforming invaluable data will let people continue to improve their lives, and grow our innovation economy as a whole.

To read more data breakthroughs and view a video summary of BSA’s ‘What’s the Big Deal with Data?’, visit www.bsa.org/ data.

January/February 2016 IT in Canada Online / 23

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