Steganography Technology For Covered Writing

Steganography technology has added a sense of paranoia to people in recent years. For those unfamiliar with this term, steganography is derived from two Greek words, Steganos meaning "covered", and Graptos meaning "writing." Around 500 BC the first Greek historian, Herodotus, produced a writing entitled, The Histories. Herodotus tells a story of a young rebel trying to revolt against the Persian King. 

The rebel shaved the head of one of his messengers, wrote a message on the messenger's scalp, and then waited for his hair to grow back in order to conceal the message. Since the messenger did not show he was concealing anything when approaching their rivals he was able to move about freely. When the messenger arrived at his destination and located the intended recipient of the message he shaved his head and showed the secret writing.

Steganography has been around for quite some time; however it has increased in popularity due to the expansion of the Internet and multimedia devices. Currently, individuals most interested in using this technique are child pornographers, terrorists and those who are involved in fraudulent activities, espionage, and other illegal acts. Individuals, businesses, and governments around the world are faced with the threat of this current form of corruption and stealth.

Steganography involves hiding information so it actually appears there is no information being hidden. For instance, the most common use is to hide a file inside another file; an image, audio, video, or document file. The recipient of the concealed information will have to use a password to decipher the hidden message. Currently, on the Internet there are over 100 free Steganography programs with over 1 million downloads of the software. Unfortunately, there are far more methods to use this technology to hide unlawful, useless, or unauthorized information than there is for detecting whether you have received some. The only sure way of detection is to look for it in specific files. Law enforcement personnel are somewhat challenged in auto-detecting these hidden infringements because there is no single tool to detect it, especially on video files.

Throughout history, stenography has been used as an effective way to hide data. Nonetheless, according to forensic professionals the hidden data found in files is very small. It is much easier to copy data on a disk and take it. Experts are aware of its usage but are focusing more of their attention on bigger, more threatening ways of detecting and fighting cyber crime and espionage. Nevertheless, it is easy to use and hard to detect. Our awareness and knowledge of this possible threat is most beneficial in many aspects of our ways of communicating on the World Wide Web (www). We should maintain caution when receiving emails from people we do not know, downloads from sites that are not established, and software programs that do not have a proven record of success.

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Windows Phone Catch-Up Continues with Front-Facing Camera, Hotspot

As the launch of Microsoft's Windows Phone "Mango" update approaches, the number of missing features keeps dwindling, with support for front-facing cameras and Wi-Fi hotspots now confirmed.

We've suspected that the next version of Windows Phones would support front-facing cameras, given that some upcoming Windows Phone handsets are rumored to have them, but the official word didn't come until this week at Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in New Zealand. There, a Microsoft staffer told Neowin and confirmed on Twitter that front-facing camera support was on the way.

The question now is what Microsoft will do with it. You'll recall that the company plans to acquire Skype, and a Skype app is on the way to Windows Phones. But Microsoft will probably want some kind of deep Skype integration, in the same way that Facebook messages and photos are blended into the Windows Phone software. If that's not ready by the time Mango launches, users might have to live without a native video chat function for a while. At least you'll be able to take photos of yourself.

As for Wi-Fi hotspots, WPCentral reports that a feature called "Internet Sharing" has already appeared in official versions of Windows Phone Mango, allowing users to connect laptops, tablets or other devices to the Internet over Wi-Fi. The hotspot feature supports up to five connections at a time and will shut off automatically if no one's using it. But it's a battery waster--most mobile phone hotspot functions are--and the final decision to support the feature will probably be up to wireless carriers. You can be sure they'll want to charge extra for the privilege.

I'm glad to see Microsoft's mobile platform make such huge leaps from the incomplete product that launched in 2010, adding features like multitasking, copy-and-paste, voice-to-text and HTML5 support. There are still some things that bother me about the OS, such as the inability to use Google search by default instead of Bing, but I'm definitely intrigued. Now all we need is some new hardware.

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Facebook Adding Vintage Photo Filters Similar to Instagram's

When Google Plus was first unveiled, lots of photo geeks applauded the social network for its big 2,048 pixel resolution and ease of use. One of the more damning complaints leveled at Facebook was the way it compressed photos, at least until late last year. It was a long overdue upgrade, but along the way, Facebook earned a poor reputation as a space for photographers to share their work.

That frankly makes this next move seem like a step backwards: The New York Times reports that Facebook will soon be letting users add their own Instagram-like filters to their photos.

If you're not familiar with Instagram, it's an iPhone based photo-sharing service that now boasts over seven million users and recently crossed the 150 million photo threshold. Part of the allure is the ability to add vintage-looking filters to your pictures, which can compensate for less than ideal capture settings. The filters themselves add a kitschy charm that makes up for the iPhone camera's shortcomings (though it's actually quite good, all things considered).

But on Facebook that won't be the case.  Instagram's audience tends to be photo savvy; there's an element of competition to take better photos than your friends, and you're not just uploading photos from the bar (although people do).

On the other hand, Facebook, a massive enterprise with over 750 million users, may be unwieldy or simply too big for this sort of image fiddling. There's no more irritating place to superfluously alter photos than this kind of mundane s*** pit. Artificial grain, over-saturation, and Lomo-blotchiness will do nothing to enhance eight kids drinking shots in a dorm room, or a sweet sixteen, or a bad trip to Fort Lauderdale.

Mind you, people have been adding filters to their photos for awhile, Photobooth is one of the first applications people trend towards whenever they purchase a new Mac.

But when you contrast Facebook's photo system with Google Plus's, for example, the former's interface and gallery mode seems lousy. For starters, the funnel to actually upload pictures requires a confusing array of clicks and unclear navigation. With Google Plus you can upload entire sets straight from your phone.

Perhaps it's that we've been using Facebook for too long, and the updates haven't come fast enough. Or maybe it's because new entrants to the photo space are naturally more nimble, able to adapt faster to exactly what it is their users want.

To me, though, adding photo filters to Facebook is like stringing Christmas lights on a house that badly needs repainting. Facebook's system isn't broken, it just needs to be refreshed and made more user-friendly.

But it warrants mention that adding filters is probably just a setup for the dedicated photo sharing app they're working on to compete in the mobile photo arena.

And even if that's the case, I'm still not looking forward to the day.

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Facebook Adds New Google Plus-like Privacy Features

In a blog post that went up earlier today, Facebook announced that they were adding several new privacy features, many of which are eerily reminiscent of Google Plus.

Their goal is to make who you share your content with more straightforward, thus saving you the embarrassment of having to explain why you're wearing a [BLANK] while [BLANKing].

Inline Profile Controls

Previously, in order to change your privacy settings you had to go through the actual settings tab. Now — in a clear nod to G+'s Circles feature — you'll be able to control each individual piece of content with a drop down menu. Want to share a photo album from Friday night with a few choice friends? You'll be able to control who can see it in, oh, two, three clicks? You'll still be able to make things public if you'd like, but now you have the added benefit of being selective.

Content Tag Review

Before, anyone who could view your photos (or posts) could add tags to them. Now? The posts will be left in "pending" for you to review, meaning you'll never have to second guess your sorority squat/duck face ever again.

View Profile As

This is pretty major. Worried that creepy ol' Chris Gayomali from high school is lurking your profile, weeping softly into his keyboard at what could have been? Simply click on the "View Profile As" button in the upper right corner to see what your profile would look like to Chris Gayomali and block whatever content you choose. Maybe then he'll stop "liking" every little thing you post. Maybe.

Adjust Privacy Settings After a Post is Published

Exactly what it sounds like. Google+ has been letting people edit their posts and who sees what after the fact since its inception. It's a welcome feature, and any time Facebook gets more forgiving is A-OK with me.

Head over to the Facebook blog to read more. And, as whenever Facebook unveils new features, expect considerate and thoughtful analysis from users after they're given adequate time to digest the changes. Just, you know, the complete opposite.

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