US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review the Google Chrome Release blog entry and update to Chrome 19.

US-CERT encourages users and administrators to review Apple Support Article HT5261 and apply any necessary updates to help mitigate the risk.

Fairfax County is hosting the annual Vendor Forum, a small business conference, at the Fairfax County Government Center on Thursday, May 24, 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Small business owners are invited to register to attend this conference, which includes workshops and panel discussions on important topics geared specifically to the small business community. The event is sponsored by the Small Business Commission and the Department of Purchasing and Supply Management.

A highlight of the Vendor Forum is a reverse trade show, enabling participants to network with public procurement professionals and small business experts representing Fairfax County and other local jurisdictions and organizations, including:

• City of Fairfax  
• Arlington County  
• Loudoun County 
• Fairfax County Economic Development Authority
• Virginia Department of Business Assistance 
• Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council  
• Virginia Department of Minority Business Enterprise 
• Virginia Department of General Services, eVA Bureau 

Braddock District Supervisor John C. Cook will kickoff the event with keynote speaker Gerald L. Gordon, president and CEO, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority. Gordon has consulted with numerous city and state governments throughout the United States and around the world, as well as various government agencies, the United States Navy, businesses, nonprofit organizations, associations, colleges and universities, and the United Nations.  Gordon is the author of 12 books and numerous articles on strategic planning, economic development, leadership styles and other management topics.

Fairfax County is the only local government in the region that has a Supplier Diversity Program; working with the Small Business Commission to promote and encourage small business opportunities and development. In Fiscal Year 2011, the county government procured 48.5 percent of goods and services from small, minority-owned and women-owned businesses.

More information on the Vendor Forum, including schedule of workshops.

More than 400 books were donated to the two organizations that work to provide books to families in need throughout the growing area. “While this is the fastest growing county in America and the wealthiest community in the country, most people would never know that we also have a critical need to support many children who, without our aid, would not have access to reading materials throughout their childhood,” explained Tanya Bittenbender, Executive Director of the Loudoun Literacy Council. “BeanTree’s annual ‘Love of Literacy’ Campaign makes a significant difference in the types of books we can provide the children in our area. The books BeanTree families contribute are consistently excellent and current day reading materials – our children are always thrilled to get a new book from BeanTree!” said Bittenbender.

Jennifer Bower, owner of BeanTree Learning, said the “Love of Literacy” Campaign is critical to the school’s mission to promote early literacy in children. “Reading is the core fundamental of learning and we want to support the efforts of both the Loudoun Literacy Council and the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia in their efforts to foster the potential to read in every child in our area. Our families and children are always so generous in their contributions and we are thrilled to make a difference,” explained Bower.

Members of the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia accepted book donations from the school’s children. Family Learning Program Specialist Carisa Pineda said the donations will brighten the faces of children receiving the books this year. “Thanks to the goodwill of the BeanTree families, we will provide something for children of all ages throughout Loudoun County. With books by Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, Jan Brett, and even Sandra Boynton’s board books for our toddlers, these donations will make a significant difference in many children’s lives,” said Pineda.

Since launching “Love of Literacy,” BeanTree Learning families have provided nearly 2,500 children’s books to worthwhile organizations throughout Northern Virginia, including Fairfax County Child Find, Loudoun County Child Find, the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia, and the Loudoun Literacy Council.

“The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development and members of the planning, zoning, and building and development teams have worked very hard to bring this investment to Loudoun County,” said Loudoun County Department of Economic Development Assistant Director Buddy Rizer.

The new facility is designed to meet the technical requirements of companies seeking best-in-class data center solutions. The building has the capacity to accommodate up to ten 1.125 megawatt data center PODs, featuring airside economization that will enable customers to achieve among the lowest PUEs in the industry.

“This project presents an exciting opportunity for us to offer customers in the Northern Virginia market our full suite of data center solutions in a state of the art facility designed for flexibility, reliability and efficiency,” said Dave Caron, Senior Vice President, Portfolio Management at Digital Realty. “From a highly customized build-to-suit data center to our move-in ready suites with dedicated, redundant power and cooling infrastructure, and Powered Base Building solutions, we believe that this facility will be able to accommodate a large majority of the data center requirements from customers seeking space in this highly strategic market.”

The building shell and core is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2012 followed by the first three 1.125 megawatt, purpose-built data centers, available in the second quarter of 2013.

“Our strategy is to have inventory readily available for customers in our top data center markets,” said Michael F. Foust, Chief Executive Officer for Digital Realty. “With our existing facilities nearly fully leased within the Ashburn campus, we expect the timely delivery of this new space a year from now to satisfy customers’ data center requirements for the foreseeable future.”

“While the Index remains historically weak, there was good news in the details of April’s report. Job creation plans, job openings and capital spending plans all increased. Hopefully, this performance will hold in the coming months,” said NFIB Chief Economist Bill Dunkelberg. “However, GDP and employment growth news has not been good; the Euro debt crisis continues to make news and Congress leaves us on an identical path: huge deficits, a terrifying amount of liquidity at the Fed, and no indication that anything positive will be done. Most likely, there will be only small improvements on Main Street in optimism or hiring and spending this year. With the election six months away, the Index will signal how small firm owners see the economy’s future unfolding—and their outlook will be telling.”

Among the owners surveyed, most remain very satisfied with current inventory holdings. However, owners indicated that they do not plan on adding, consistent with a small deterioration in their expectations for real sales gains in the coming months. The percent of owners reporting positive sales trends quarter on quarter reached the highest level seen since April 2006. This was a major contributing factor to the huge improvement in reported profit trends, an 11 point gain and equal to half the improvement of the Index.
Some other highlights of April’s Optimism Index include:

• Earnings and Wages: Overall, April was a great report for profits and sales, hopefully the beginning of a solid trend. Reports of positive earnings trends improved by 11 points, settling at a negative 12 percent in April—the best reading since April 2007. The improvement was driven by sales reports, also the highest since April 2007. Not seasonally adjusted, 19 percent of small firm owners reported higher profits (up 5 points), and 37 percent reported profits falling (down 6 points). Profits are the major source of capital for financing hiring and expansion for small firms, making this a very significant and welcome development. Three percent of owners reported reduced worker compensation and 18 percent reported raising compensation, yielding a seasonally adjusted net 14 percent reporting higher worker compensation, the highest reading in 39 months and unchanged from March. A net seasonally adjusted 9 percent plan to raise compensation in the coming months also unchanged from March.
• Sales: Also a highlight of the April report, the net percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted) reporting higher nominal sales over the past three months gained another 3 points to 4 percent. This comes after a surprising 8 point gain in March, one of the only positive trends for that month. Nineteen (19) percent of owners still cite weak sales as their top business problem, a high reading, but far below the record 33 percent reading from December 2010. Sales are improving broadly in the small business sector, albeit not dramatically. Seasonally unadjusted, 25 percent of all owners reported higher sales, and 30 percent of owners reported lower sales (down 1 point). The net percent of owners expecting higher real sales in the months to come lost 2 points, falling to a net 6 percent of all owners (seasonally adjusted). Forty-one (41) percent of owners (no seasonally adjusted) expect improvement over the next three months (down1 point) and 19 percent expect declines (up 3 points). The improvement in sales trends is not indicative of a strong recovery but is a positive sign for small-business owners.
• Job Creation: The net change in employment per firm (seasonally adjusted) came in at 0.1; this is down from March but still positive. Seasonally adjusted, 12 percent of owners surveyed added an average of 3.3 workers per firm over the past few months, and 14 percent reduced employment an average of 2.9 workers per firm. The remaining 74 percent of owners made no net change in employment. Forty-seven (47) percent of owners hired or tried to hire in the last three months. Thirty-four (34) percent of owners (or 72 percent of those trying to hire or hiring) reported few or no qualified applicants for positions. While firms have eased lay-offs, they haven’t resumed strong hiring. Unemployment claims remain high and seasonal adjustments are off track as hiring, normally done in March and April, may have occurred earlier in the year. The percent of owners reporting hard to fill job openings rose 2 points to 17 percent, one point below the January 2012 reading which is the highest we’ve reported since June 2008. Hard-to-fill job openings are a strong predictor of the unemployment rate, making the gain in openings a welcome development. The net percent of owners planning to create new jobs is 5 percent, a 5 point increase after taking a plunge in March. Not seasonally adjusted, 18 percent plan to increase employment at their firm (up 3 points), and 5 percent plan reductions (unchanged from March).
• Inflation: Inflation may become a problem for the small-business community in the months to come. Twenty-six (26) percent of the NFIB owners reported raising their average selling prices in the past three months (up 1 point), and 16 percent reported price reductions (down 1 point). Seasonally adjusted, the net percent raising selling prices was 8 percent, up 2 points from March and 9 points from January. Overall, price hikes were quite pervasive as owners respond to rising input costs (labor and materials) and try to pass those costs on to customers. Twenty-five (25) percent of owners plan on raising average prices in the next few months, while 2 percent plan reductions. Seasonally adjusted, a net 23 percent plan price hikes, up 2 points from March and 9 points higher from December. Price-cutting appears to be fading and this will put upward pressure on the inflation measures.

Today’s report is based on the responses of 1,817 randomly sampled small businesses in NFIB’s membership, surveyed throughout the month of April. Download the complete study at http://www.nfib.com/sbetindex.

Hideaway’s airbrush tans give an instant glow that lasts about a week and take only 5 minutes to apply. The growing clientele includes women, men, teens, beauty professionals, bridal parties and more. The safety and realism of spray tans have made them the preferred alternative to sun exposure or tanning beds. Now local residents can enjoy the comfort and affordability of regular air brush tans while protecting their health. Allison continues, “We want to create an oasis for rejuvenation and health. Our clients can look as great as they feel!”
Hideaway Massage is currently located at 210 South King Street in Leesburg but is moving to 50 Catoctin Circle, Suite 203 by June 20. Please visit http://www.hideawaymassage.com/  or call 703-894-8481

“As BPA regulation becomes more strict and commonplace in state and federal legislation, Rubbermaid Commercial Products has invested considerable time and research into providing cost-effective, foodservice product solutions made of durable, BPA-Free plastic material,” said Mark Jackmore, Vice President of Marketing, Rubbermaid Commercial Products. “The result is a completely BPA-Free product line that upholds RCP’s highest durability and quality standards, while also providing our customers with sustainable, wellness-oriented solutions. The new products meet industry standards and commercial kitchens’ needs for preparing, serving, storing and transporting food safely.”

The new line of BPA-Free products will offer RCP’s distinctive durability and design features. In extensive product testing, the products withstood washing in commercial dishwashers without cracking, were resistant to heat and harsh detergents and demonstrated less breaking, chipping and cracking from dropping or extended use. The innovative design offers glasslike clarity that will maintain its high-quality look throughout use.

Eastman Tritan™ copolyester has an inherent toughness that can help increase product life as well as reduce waste, allowing food service industry professionals to work more easily toward sustainability goals and initiatives. Tritan is GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality Certified®.

Operators, chefs and national account purchasing directors can purchase more than 174 RCP BPA-Free foodservice products made with Eastman Tritan copolyester in four foodservice categories:

Ingredient management

Food pans, boxes and square containers

ProServe™ line of products

ProSave® line of products

RCP’s BPA-Free foodservice product line will launch at the National Restaurant Association show, May 5-8. Industry professionals, customers and media are invited to test and review the product, as well as see the durability of the product put to the test in an extreme performance product demonstration. Matt Accarrino, James Beard Award Nominated Executive Chef and early-adopter of RCP’s full BPA-Free product line, will also be on hand to speak with media and discuss the benefits of the products from a chef’s point of view.

RCP is committed to the success of its foodservice partners and customers, as the first and only brand to bring 100 percent BPA-Free foodservice contact products to the commercial market. RCP continues to demonstrate that it is not only focused on being a partner for the smartest solutions, but also on ensuring its customers and end-users can switch to the new BPA-Free foodservice products easily.

To learn more about this collaboration and available products, visit RCP and Eastman at Booth 4260 during the National Restaurant Association Show May 5-8 in Chicago.

via Rubbermaid Commercial Products Launches Foodservice Industry’s First Full Line of BPA-Free Food Contact Products for Commercial Kitchens – PR Newswire – The Sacramento Bee.

Attacks that use such indirect sources of information are called side-channel attacks, and the increasing popularity of cloud computing makes them an even greater threat. An attacker would have to be pretty motivated to install a device in your wall to measure your computer’s power consumption. But it’s comparatively easy to load a bit of code on a server in the cloud and eavesdrop on other applications it’s running.

Fortunately, even as they’ve been researching side-channel attacks, cryptographers have also been investigating ways of stopping them. Shafi Goldwasser, the RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at MIT, and her former student Guy Rothblum, who’s now a researcher at Microsoft Research, recently posted a long report on the website of the Electronic Colloquium on Computational Complexity, describing a general approach to mitigating side-channel attacks. At the Association for Computing Machinery’s Symposium on Theory of Computing (STOC) in May, Goldwasser and colleagues will present a paper demonstrating how the technique she developed with Rothblum can be adapted to protect information processed on web servers.

In addition to preventing attacks on private information, Goldwasser says, the technique could also protect devices that use proprietary algorithms so that they can’t be reverse-engineered by pirates or market competitors — an application that she, Rothblum and others described at last year’s AsiaCrypt conference.

Today, when a personal computer is in use, it’s usually running multiple programs — say, a word processor, a browser, a PDF viewer, maybe an email program or a spreadsheet program. All the programs are storing data in memory, but the laptop’s operating system won’t let any program look at the data stored by any other. The operating systems running on servers in the cloud are no different, but a malicious program could launch a side-channel attack simply by sending its own data to memory over and over again. From the time the data storage and retrieval takes, it can infer what the other programs are doing with remarkable accuracy.

Goldwasser and Rothblum’s technique obscures the computational details of a program, whether it’s running on a laptop or a server. Their system converts a given computation into a sequence of smaller computational modules. Data fed into the first module is encrypted, and at no point during the module’s execution is it decrypted. The still-encrypted output of the first module is fed into the second module, which encrypts it in yet a different way, and so on.

The encryption schemes and the modules are devised so that the output of the final module is exactly the output of the original computation. But the operations performed by the individual modules are entirely different. A side-channel attacker could extract information about how the data in any given module is encrypted, but that won’t let him deduce what the sequence of modules do as a whole. “The adversary can take measurements of each module,” Goldwasser says, “but they can’t learn anything more than they could from a black box.”

The report by Goldwasser and Rothblum describes a type of compiler, a program that takes code written in a form intelligible to humans and converts it into the low-level instruction intelligible to a computer. There, the computational modules are an abstraction: The instruction that inaugurates a new module looks no different from the instruction that concluded the last one. But in the STOC paper, the modules are executed on different servers on a network.