BUSINESS

How do cryptocurrencies work?

Sven Krumrey

Valuable investment or unnecessary hype?

You can't escape them. They're in the news, on entertainment programs or show up in Internet ads. Cryptocurrencies are ubiquitous. But how do they work and how can a single individual, that might not even exist, invent a new currency along with the technical foundation? Though there are now quite a number of cryptocurrencies available, I'll focus on the darling of the digital currency movement: Bitcoin.

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TECH

Hackers - the great unknown

Sven Krumrey

Anonymous stars of the hacker community

Seldom does the media paint a more distorted picture than when it comes to hacking. It goes something like this: a man wearing a balaclava sits in a dark room typing away at his computer. Green cryptic characters fill up his screen until he reaches his murky goal! So far, so unrealistic. That there's more to the hacker community that once featured prominent members like Apple founders Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs and that many security issues became public thanks to hacking is a story that is rarely told. And the many positively motivated members are also swept under the rug all too frequently. Reason enough to take a closer look at hackers.

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TECH

Meltdown and Spectre: the great processor disaster

Sven Krumrey

Suddenly the center of attention: processors and how they work

As a computer scientist, I deal with security vulnerabilities on a daily basis since the perfect operating system has just not been found yet - but this time I almost spilled my tea when I read the news. This issue was different and it affected the core of all computer calculations: the processor itself. And it wasn't just any processor that was vulnerable but practically all of them whether they were built into PCs, cellphones or servers all over the world. This time, the remedy wasn't a simple browser patch. Every operating system had become unsafe taking the wind right out of the sails of Apple users who like to point their fingers at the supposedly inferior security of Windows systems. They were all in danger. Even those who owned none of the CPUs listed couldn't just sit back and relax because the servers that host and process all of our data could also be affected. Read on to learn what happened and how manufacturers are dealing with the dire situation.

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LIFE

The Ashampoo blog team wishes you Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 2018!

Sven Krumrey

Merry Christmas!

I just looked at my inbox. There were a few nice comments from you on the most recent blog article, a couple of colleagues who're heading off on vacation and - nothing else. Only a week ago, everyone at Ashampoo was firing on all cylinders to tackle this year's last program releases and the mood was tense. Now, a little peace and quiet has returned. Offices are mostly understaffed and the few who remain casually chat about the schedule for the coming year. As I return to my workplace, a cherished female colleague has lit the candle that has been in my office since the beginning of December, unnoticed - Christmas must be just around the corner.

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LIFE

Offline Christmas shopping - a self-experiment

Sven Krumrey

Many lights - but how's the shopping?

I recently read about the precarious situation retailers across the country are facing today. The articles conjured up the image of gray and lifeless inner cities with only a couple of hairdressers, knick-knack stores and bakeries able to brave the exodus. At the same time, package delivery services are buckling under an ever increasing barrage of packages. What would it take to keep me from ordering my gifts from Amazon and others online and instead make my purchases downtown?

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