I admit it, I love technology. Does it love me back? Not so much. Sometimes. LOL I found this information on Quantum Computers fascinating and a little scary — Thought you might too.
Ever wonder why the prevalence China and Russia hacking every system they can get into, including banking, health care, military and intelligence? Why are they downloading huge amounts of indecipherable data? One possible reason could be the ultra-powerful and still-experimental technology called quantum computing, which leverages the quantum properties of atoms to quickly compute problems that no regular computer could crack. The race is on and the stakes are high. Whichever country/company successfully creates a quantum computer could have at its fingertips the ability to revolutionize tasks from researching new material, to the best route for delivery drivers. Not to mention making information currently indecipherable actually intelligible with quantum computers. Scary huh?
Hackers in the future could intercept and decrypt new data as it is produced. If the US doesn’t act quickly, it’s possible a foreign power with sufficiently powerful quantum computer could hack the internet and start decoding a lot of what we currently consider secure. Such as passwords, financial transactions, emails, test 
messages, intellectual property, secret communiques within and between the CIA, NSA, FBI, well you get the picture.
While researchers and security agencies are frantically trying to beat foreign governments in this race, they face technical stumbling blocks, such as coming up with standards for researchers to use and then presenting new measures in time. Quantum computers are completely different from conventional computers. Instead of circuits and processors, they use complex physics to force large amounts of information into a subatomic particle. Amazing.
The good news, brilliant mathematicians and cyber security experts in the world employed by many high tech firms in the US and the federal government are aware of the problem and have been working on solutions for years. Referred to as quantum-safe encryption, this type of encoding can be achieved by today’s computers, in almost the same time that current encryption require, but can’t be cracked by conventional or quantum computers. Of the many proposed algorithms for quantum-safe encryptions, Lattice encryption is the most popular approach and works by encoding information in a multidimensional “lattice” of data. Yep, fodder for my next paranormal romance.
However, before this quantum-safe encryption becomes available, it must first become an agreed-upon standard. Then developers, companies and government entities must translate it into code and insert it into numerous services and systems. Optimism is on the horizon, with a National Institute of Standards and Technology project which began approximately in 2016. Let’s hope the powers that be can reach an agreement before we are cyber-sunk.
So the answer to my question Quantum computers friend or foe? It depends on who wins the race. Scary thought isn’t it?
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged CiIA, Encryption, FBI, National Institute of Standards and Technology, NSA, Quantum Computers by Tena Stetler with .
Final call! Reading Review Wars begins 7/15 and we have 5 author spots left!
Participating readers get offered free titles throughout the month in exchange for honest reviews on Amazon, GoodReads, and BookBub (must post on all 3)…but
The difference with this event is that every title they read and review gains them an entry into the $200 Grand Prize, plus the smaller giveaways. So there’s a big incentive to read as many as possible and leave those reviews! We have 45 authors and 100 readers signed up to participate, with over a month to go still to get readers signed up. The coordinator organizes this month-long event, so authors don’t need to worry about extra work. This event is capped at 50 authors, but we have room for unlimited readers!
More reviews = more visibility on Amazon, higher chance of acceptance for a BookBub feature, higher likelihood of getting features at other sites, etc.! Plus, you’re getting your title in front of a large number of readers who love to read, especially romance!
So what are you waiting for? Don’t be left out, join Summer Review Wars today!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged authors readers, Moonlight and Mystery, Summer Review Wars by Tena Stetler with .
Here we go Favorite Book Covers and Why!
At the risk of appearing self-promoting (okay I admit it), I’ve picked a few of my own books as my Favorite Book Covers. My cover artist is Kristian Norris. She does a fantastic job. Kris gets me, if you know what I mean.
Let’s start at the beginning with A Demon’s Witch. This is the first book in A Demon’s Witch Series and also my debut novel, best seller and award winning book and series!
Why I love the cover: I explained to Kris that this was my first novel, the first in my series and I needed a logo to tie them all together. I picked out the models and explained the background. Kris turned my words into a beautiful cover and created A Demon’s Witch logo which appears at the bottom of each of the five books. Tell me what you think and do you have favorite book covers?
Next would have to be A Warlock’s Secrets. The male model on the cover is exactly how I imagined Tristian and his blue eyes stare right into you from the cover. The female model was perfect for Hannah. While I picked out the models, Kris performed the magic to make the cover pop.
A Witch’s Journey cover embodied the tale of Pepper and Lathen. Their wildlife rescue center in Lobster Cove, Maine. Kris even added Kaylee, the osprey, in the upper left corner.
A Magic Redemption cover was absolutely beautiful. The mystic image of the couple, imposed over the background of an Irish castle, cliffs and sea in a green hue fits the feeling of the Irish tale perfectly.
Finally a book that isn’t mine. The Cauldron Stirred by Judith Sterling. I bought the book because of the cover. The heroine imposed over the background castle hinted of magic and Ireland. I was right and enjoyed this book.
Well there you have it. My Favorite Book Covers and Why. Now this isn’t to say these are the only ones. But, I need to get back to my WIP, so let’s see what the other authors in this blog challenge claim as their favorite book covers and why: L&SR
Pssst… While you’re here, don’t forget to check out my paranormal romance/mysteries click here.
See you next week when I set out my Favorite Things To Do in The Summer. See you then!
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged A Cauldron Stirred, A Demon's Witch, A Magic Redemption, A Warlock's Secrets, A Witch's Journey, Book Covers, Favorite Book Covers &Why #L&SR #Wednesday Blog Challenge 6.12.19 by Tena Stetler with .
In an effort to provide better privacy, recently I received a notice upon sign in from one of the scheduling apps I use that you would no longer be able to sign in using Facebook or Twitter. Hummm… I wondered why, but complied by setting up an individual sign in and password.
The reason became clear this morning as I read the local newspaper and made note of Apple’s new tagline. “If privacy matters in your life, it should matter to the phone your life is on.” Apple has a mobile update planned for fall 2019 that would offer users the option to remain anonymous when signing into certain apps in the App Store. What difference will this make you ask? Well, it will better protect users’ privacy and threatens to choke off data to companies including Facebook and Google that use the information to track users and sell ads based on their habits.
Relationships between app developers and third parties have thrived for years on the convenience of letting users sign in through their respective social-media accounts. Yep, I’m guilty of this, all though, less recently than ever before. App developers receive either names and email address from direct sign-ups or related info such as gender from Google, Facebook, 
Linkedin, or other accounts.Now you know how all those unsolicited emails wind up in your inbox. As we all know, certain tech companies have had highly publicized scandals with millions of user’s personal data exposed. Not good.
Just this week, Apple, who has pioneered authentication factors like FaceID and touted file encryption and other safety devices on its iOS devices, added yet another safeguard. As Apple users we can already opt out of continuous location tracking. But now we can use the new feature to share our location with an app only once to perform a specific task, in addition makes it easy to see which apps are still tracking your location when the apps are not in use. Cyber stalking. Creepy.
The bottom line these companies are going to need to find and collect data more directly from us consumers rather than using third-party services like Google and Facebook to do the work for them. As always when signing up new apps, think about just how much info you want these apps to have.
Next week, we’ll dive into whether ultra-powerful and still experimental technology entitled quantum computers will be friend of foe?
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Posted in My Say What Blog and tagged Apple, Apps, Email, Facebook, google, iOS by Tena Stetler with .
