Our Official Blog


Date	2012-05-12 12:26:47
Title	What is what
Author	Abel Gancsos
Post	It has been brought to my attention that there is a need for a clarification of the differences between viruses, scams and spams. I do believe that there is another post on this topic, but I feel perfectly fine with clarifying again. Is your computer running slower than normal? Is your computer making funny sounds? Are you getting strange popups even when you are not online? These are the major signs of a computer virus. Are you getting emails concerning money? Are you getting sympathetic emails from people you don't know about a financial issue? These are the signs of scammers Are you getting emails from your favorite stores about new products? This is spam. These are all important for both Windows users and Apple users. Maybe not so much the viruses on the Macs as of this moment, but in the future some might be coming out so just be aware of the symptoms. When you feel that you have a virus, you can either do a full scan if you know how or just turn the computer off and call someone who is very good with computers. When the tests come back positive that you do have a virus, then some scanners will actually clear them out at the same time, but if they don't then it's best to turn the computer off and call someone. As for the two emails: For spam: normally gmail and yahoo already filter them to the spam location, but if they do get through, simply look for the text [Unsubscribe] and click it. This normally will bring you to a page that says Successfully unsubscribed or you have to put in your email address and click [Submit]. For scams, this is the most dangerous of all. Even I got involved in one, so be very careful. The key signs are that : 1-Email has horrible grammar 2-Horrible spelling 3-EVEN TEXT LANGUAGE Overall, if it doesn't seem professional, it's a scam. Now there are other scams known as phishing scams where they try to get your credit card information. They usually send you an email from a known company, but the truth is that they made a bogus email and set the name to display the legitimate company's email name. You can check this by going into details and trying to right click on the email address. Thank you for reading!
Date	2012-04-30 00:15:01
Title	Computerfox Design Forum
Author	Abel Gancsos
Post	Just to let everyone know, we now have an official forum, which should help with the communication. As some of you might be aware of, we have some databases out there, which require some manual submission, which sometimes makes it difficult to fill up because we might not be aware of the topics you might be interested in. Therefore, we have a request section on this forum to help the submissions go smoother. You can find the forum by using the link in the list on the left side of our web pages. Let us know what you think and we will try to make things better and better. Thank you for reading!
Date	2012-04-28 00:00:00
Title	iMemer
Author	Abel Gancsos
Post	I finally completed a brand new iPhone application called iMemer. The purpose of the app is to allow the iPhone user a convenient way to make popular images with text called memes. The following is the code and is owned by Computerfox Design. Reuse of the code is not allowed, so do not steal it. // // ViewController.m // iMemer // // Created by Abel Gancsos on 4/19/12. // Copyright (c) 2012 __MyCompanyName__. All rights reserved. // #import "ViewController.h" @interface ViewController () @end @implementation ViewController @synthesize pickedImage,picker2,imageView,picker,m1,m2,top,bottom; //Initialize global variables - (void)viewDidLoad { toolbar.hidden=TRUE; pLabel.hidden=TRUE; cLabel.hidden=TRUE; cButton.hidden=TRUE; copyright.hidden=TRUE; imageView.hidden=TRUE; memeit.hidden=TRUE; bottom.hidden=TRUE; top.hidden=TRUE; pickImage.hidden=TRUE; m1=@""; m2=@""; [copyright setBackgroundColor:[UIColor grayColor]]; [copyright setTextAlignment:UITextAlignmentRight]; [welcome setBackgroundColor:[UIColor grayColor]]; [self.view setBackgroundColor:[UIColor grayColor]]; welcome.text=@"Welcome to iMemer brought to you by Computerfox Design. \n\n\nTap the info button to get started\n"; //Set welcome text copyright.text=@"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n ©2012 Computerfox Design, Inc.\n\nReuse of this code is prohibited\n";//Set copyright text welcome.hidden=FALSE; [super viewDidLoad]; // Do any additional setup after loading the view, typically from a nib. } - (void)viewDidUnload { [super viewDidUnload]; // Release any retained subviews of the main view. } - (BOOL)shouldAutorotateToInterfaceOrientation:(UIInterfaceOrientation)interfaceOrientation { return (interfaceOrientation == UIInterfaceOrientationPortrait); } //Show main stuff - (IBAction)done:(id)sender{ toolbar.hidden=TRUE; pLabel.hidden=TRUE; cLabel.hidden=TRUE; cButton.hidden=TRUE; copyright.hidden=TRUE; bottom.hidden=TRUE; top.hidden=TRUE; pickImage.hidden=TRUE; if(pickedImage==NULL){ welcome.hidden=FALSE; imageView.hidden=FALSE; memeit.hidden=FALSE; [self viewDidLoad]; } else{ welcome.hidden=TRUE; imageView.hidden=FALSE; memeit.hidden=FALSE; } [self.view setBackgroundColor:[UIColor grayColor]]; } //Show extra stuff - (IBAction)showInfo:(id)sender{ toolbar.hidden=FALSE; pLabel.hidden=FALSE; cLabel.hidden=FALSE; cButton.hidden=FALSE; welcome.hidden=TRUE; imageView.hidden=TRUE; memeit.hidden=TRUE; bottom.hidden=FALSE; top.hidden=FALSE; copyright.hidden=FALSE; pickImage.hidden=FALSE; } //Clear image - (IBAction)clear:(id)sender{ picker2=NULL; pickedImage=NULL; imageView.image=NULL; [self.view setBackgroundColor:[UIColor grayColor]]; } //Meme it/save it - (IBAction)save:(id)sender{ UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum(pickedImage, nil, nil, nil); } //Refresh - (void) refresh{ pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:@"Made by iMemer" x:0 y:10 size:12]; pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:m1 x:15 y:200 size:15]; pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:m2 x:15 y:80 size:15]; imageView.image=pickedImage; } //Image picked - (void)imagePickerController:(UIImagePickerController )picker didFinishPickingMediaWithInfo:(NSDictionary )info{ pickedImage = [info objectForKey:UIImagePickerControllerOriginalImage]; if (picker.sourceType == UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypeCamera) { UIImageWriteToSavedPhotosAlbum(pickedImage, self, @selector(image:didFinishSavingWithError:contextInfo:), nil); } pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:@"Made by iMemer" x:0 y:10 size:12]; pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:m1 x:15 y:200 size:15]; pickedImage=[self addText:pickedImage text:m2 x:15 y:80 size:15]; imageView.image=pickedImage; [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES]; } //Canceled - (void)imagePickerControllerDidCancel:(UIImagePickerController )picker{ [self dismissModalViewControllerAnimated:YES]; } //Pick image - (IBAction)library: (id) sender { picker = [[UIImagePickerController alloc] init]; picker.sourceType = UIImagePickerControllerSourceTypePhotoLibrary; picker.allowsEditing = YES; [picker setDelegate:self]; [self presentModalViewController:picker animated:YES]; } //Add watermarks - (UIImage )addText:(UIImage )img text:(NSString )text1 x:(int) x y:(int) y size:(int) size{ int w = img.size.width; int h = img.size.height; CGColorSpaceRef colorSpace = CGColorSpaceCreateDeviceRGB(); CGContextRef context = CGBitmapContextCreate(NULL, w, h, 8, 4 * w, colorSpace, kCGImageAlphaPremultipliedFirst); CGContextDrawImage(context, CGRectMake(0, 0, w, h), img.CGImage); CGContextSetRGBFillColor(context, 0.0, 0.0, 1.0, 1); char* text = (char )[text1 cStringUsingEncoding:NSASCIIStringEncoding]; CGContextSelectFont(context, "Arial", size, kCGEncodingMacRoman); CGContextSetTextDrawingMode(context, kCGTextFill); CGContextSetRGBFillColor(context, 255, 255, 255, 1); //rotate text Comment out if you don\'t want to rotate //CGContextSetTextMatrix(context, CGAffineTransformMakeRotation( - M_PI/4 )); //***************************************************************************** CGContextShowTextAtPoint(context, x, y, text, strlen(text)); CGImageRef imageMasked = CGBitmapContextCreateImage(context); CGContextRelease(context); CGColorSpaceRelease(colorSpace); return [UIImage imageWithCGImage:imageMasked]; } //Set top meme - (IBAction)topMemer:(id)sender{ m1=top.text; imageView.image=pickedImage; [self refresh]; } //Set bottom meme - (IBAction)bottomMemer:(id)sender{ m2=bottom.text; imageView.image=pickedImage; [self refresh]; } @end
Date	2012-04-24 00:09:52
Title	Gideon Sundback
Author	Abel Gancsos
Post	With the new feature put onto the Google homepage and the fact that I haven't posted in a while, I decided to write a post explaining some of it. As everyone can tell, it's a zipper. The zipper is known to be the child of Gideon Sundback. Who is Gideon Sundback? He was a Swedish-American electrical engineer. Gideon Sundback is most commonly associated with his work in the development of the zipper. Background-Otto Fredrik Gideon Sundback was born on Sonarp farm in Ödestugu Parish, in Jönköping County, Småland, Sweden. He was the son of Jonas Otto Magnusson Sundbäck, a prosperous farmer, and his wife Kristina Karolina Klasdotter. After his studies in Sweden, Sundback moved to Germany, where he studied at the polytechnic school in Bingen am Rhein. In 1903, Sundback took his engineer exam. In 1905, he emigrated to the United States Career-In 1905, Gideon Sundback started to work at Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1906, Sundback was hired to work for the Universal Fastener Company in Hoboken, New Jersey. In 1909, Sundback married Elvira Aronson, who was daughter of the Swedish born plant manager, Peter Aronsson. Subsequently Sundback was promoted to the position of head designer at Universal Fastener. Sundback made several advances in the development of the zipper between 1906 and 1914, while working for companies that later evolved into Talon, Inc. He built upon the previous work of other engineers such as Elias Howe, Max Wolff, and Whitcomb Judson. He was responsible for improving the "Judson C-curity Fastener". At that time the company's product was still based on hooks and eyes. Sundback developed an improved version of the C-curity, called the "Plako", but it too had a strong tendency to pull apart, and wasn't any more successful than the previous versions. Sundback finally solved the pulling-apart problem in 1913, with his invention of the first version not based on the hook-and-eye principle, the "Hookless Fastener No. 1". He increased the number of fastening elements from four per inch to ten or eleven. His invention had two facing rows of teeth that pulled into a single piece by the slider, and increased the opening for the teeth guided by the slider.[3] drawing of 1914 patent filling In 1914 Sundback developed a version based on interlocking teeth, the "Hookless No. 2", which was the modern metal zipper in all its essentials. In this fastener each tooth is punched to have a dimple on its bottom and a nib or conical projection on its top. The nib atop one tooth engages in the matching dimple in the bottom of the tooth that follows it on the other side as the two strips of teeth are brought together through the two Y channels of the slider. The teeth are crimped tightly to a strong fabric cord that is the selvage edge of the cloth tape that attaches the zipper to the garment, with the teeth on one side offset by half a tooth's height from those on the other side's tape. They are held so tightly to the cord and tape that once meshed there is not enough play to let them pull apart. A tooth cannot rise up off the nib below it enough to break free, and its nib on top cannot drop out of the dimple in the tooth above it. United States patent no. 1219881 for the "Separable Fastener" was issued in 1917.[4] The name zipper was created in 1923 by B.F. Goodrich, who used the device on their new boots. Initially, boots and tobacco pouches were the primary use for zippers; it took another twenty years before they caught on in the fashion industry. About the time of World War II the zipper achieved wide acceptance for the flies of trousers and the plackets of skirts and dresses Citizenship and death-Sundback also created the manufacturing machine for the new zipper. Lightning Fastener Company, one early manufacturer of the zipper, was based in St. Catharines, Ontario. Although Sundback frequently visited the Canadian factory as president of the company, he resided in Meadville, Pennsylvania and remained an American citizen. Sundback was awarded the Gold Medal of the Royal Swedish Academy of Engineering Sciences in 1951. Sundback died of a heart condition in 1954 and was interred at Greendale cemetery in Meadville, Pennsylvania. In 2006, Gideon Sundback was honored by inclusion in the National Inventors Hall of Fame for his work on the development of the zipper. Closing remarks-Even though it seems like a simple idea, the zipper changed the world. Like any great inventor knows, it's all about 1)being the first with b) a great idea c) that can change the whole world for the better. Gideon Sundback's story and history is a tail of great inspiration. "Dream big or go home" Thank you for reading!
Date	2012-03-21 17:47:01
Title	Hacker VS Cracker
Author	Abel Gancsos
Post	I knew the difference for a while, but recently, I've been watching a lot of hacker-themed movies, as well as researching, and I realized that the distinction between both has diminished. When you hear either of them, most of the time you think of the annoying person behind the computer who writes viruses or the person who wants to crash the Pentagon (cyberterrorist). Though these outlooks might be valid, it shows the level of ignorance we have as a society in the technology field. In brief, a hacker is the highly computer literate person behind the keyboard who searches and studies a system to further their knowledge and to help technology move forward. A cracker on the other hand is a highly computer literate peson behind the keyboard who studies a system to gather information about a system for malicious purposes. In general, the term hacking meant changing a programs code to change the functionality. This does leave room to combine both terms, but when hacking started, it was to further technology. It wasn't until crackers wanted to do bad things with that knowledge that we needed to clear up the two terms. For example, jailbreaking or hacking an iPhone is hacking because you're taking a great tool and wanting to further it's purpose, since it's locked, you open the system up. Now if you use this knowledge to start crashing iPhones, then it's at that point you are acting as a cracker. Just from the definition, it's really due to the alumni hackers that we have the technology we have today. Yes, there are certain hackers (more like crackers) who write those annoying viruses, but that's just a stereotype and does not apply to all hackers. Why do hackers write those viruses in the first place? The answer varies from hacker/cracker to hacker/cracker. Sometimes it's because of boredom, street credit, or revenge. While others it's for educational purposes. So the distinction all comes down to what they want to profit from that exploit-knowledge or material gain/power. Some examples. Here are some notorious hackers/crackers: Comex(Nicholas Allegra)-Created JailBreakMe.com Florian Rohrweck-Leaked G+ code GeoHot(George Hotz)-Started the whole iPhone jailbreak scene Cyanogen(Steve Kondik)-Worked with hacked Anroid devices Peter Hajas-Created MobileNotifier for the iPhone Dark Tangent(Jeff Moss)-Classical hacker/Ran underground boards Chris Putnam-Created an XSS to mod Facebook to look like MySpace Mudge(Peiter Zatko)-Classical hacker/Member of CDC and L0pht Sven Jaschan-NetSky Kevin Mitnick-Classical hacker/Proprietary software Fred Cohen-Classical hacker/first virus Robert Morris-Classical hacker/first worm Kevin Poulsen-Classical hacker/Caller 102 Napster(Shawn Fanning)/Sean Parker-Napster Most of these characters wanted to further the field of computer science, even the people who wrote the viruses and worms because back then they wanted to know if they could make those things. While others were a little close to the edge and personally, I think leaking a company's code is pretty lame, but that's just me. Most of these people you probably never heard of, but some of them you can never forget. I mean how can you forget Napster. It's very hard to say which ones are hackers, so I understand why the terms are so easily clashed together. First off, the people working with jailbroken mobile devices are trying to advance the mobile technology, despite the fact that they are letting the consumer pay less for the services than they should. Also, as mentioned earlier, the classical hackers helped make the field what it is, either by creating the exploits so that we could learn in so many ways or even to know how to create safer systems. Napster is a great example actually since the main issue that's going around is copyright infringement. Though it was pretty sketchy, it certainly changed both the technology field AND the entertainment field. Regardless of what they did in the past and if they served time or got sued, they are highly respected people because of how they furthered the field of technology. And for that I can't say thanks enough. So before you call someone a terrorist, first you should get your facts straight and understand the 3 terms. For a reminder: Hacker-> wants to further technology and their own knowledge Cracker-wants to create an exploit for malicious purposes Cyberterrorist-wants to cause damage or harm to another for personal gain Thank you for reading!