Author: ttcsadmin

  • 11th Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) from August 26-28 2015 in Trinidad and Tobago

    ctu-11-caribbean-igf-2015

    The 11th annual Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) organized by the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) will be held in Trinidad and Tobago from August 26-28 2015 at the Courtyard by Marriott Hotel, Invaders Bay, Audrey Jeffers Highway, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.

    The Caribbean Internet Governance Forum (CIGF) is a regional, multi-stakeholder forum initiated by the CTU and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat in 2005 to coordinate a regional approach to Internet Governance. The forum has since met annually and the primary products of its work have been the formulation of a Caribbean Internet Governance Policy Framework (currently at v2), the proliferation of Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and capacity building in Internet Governance Principles across the Caribbean.

    The 11th CIGF will focus on realising the new thrust, as announced at the 10th CIGF last year, to enhance Internet governance expertise and capacity at the national level in the Caribbean through the development of local multi-stakeholder structures, groups, fora or teams as appropriate. The 11th CIGF will also address areas of high priority for further policy development and continue the work of identifying appropriate amendments for incorporation into the next revision of the policy framework (Issue 3.0).

    You can review the provisional agenda and register for free to attend the CIGF at the CTU’s CIGF event page at
    http://www.ctu.int/event/11th-caribbean-governance-forum

    You can also contact Ms. Brenda Julien at the CTU at (868) 628-0281 or (868)-622-5871 ext 243.

  • version 1.53 of the TTCS OSSWIN DVD, a collection of Free and Open Source Software for Windows, available for download

    ttcs-osswin-dvd

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is pleased to announce the release of the TTCS OSSWIN DVD v1.53, a collection of the latest version of Free and Open Source Software for Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista/7/8) and available for download.

    Our collection features a web based interface for browsing programs organised into several categories:  Desktop Applications, Educational, Games, Graphics, Internet, Server, Sound and Video and Utilities.

    For TTCS OSSWIN DVD v1.53, many software updates were done, and this version includes LibreOffice 5.0.0, Mozilla Firefox 40 and Virtualbox 5.0

    See the changelog for more details.

    Visit the TTCS OSSWIN DVD page at http://www.ttcsweb.org/osswin-dvd/ for more details and to download the DVD as an ISO file for burning onto a DVD or extracting to your harddrive or USB storage device.

  • Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, MacOS X & Linux (August 11 2015) ; update ASAP or remove if not needed

    Adobe Flash Player logo
    Adobe Flash Player logo

     

    Patch Tuesday is here and Adobe Flash has a security update. According to the Adobe security bulletin dated August 11, 2015:

    “Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player.  These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

    Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin. So if you have Adobe Flash installed, UPDATE ASAP!

    However, consider uninstalling Flash if you’re not using it. If you were only using Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

    The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 18.0.0.232.

    To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

    To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

    Opera and Chromium browser users, you’ll have to download the flash player installer from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash.

    Windows users should take note that

    • the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
    • the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.
    • the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera.

    are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for all three browser variations if you have all three installed.

    For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

    Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version.
    See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.

  • TTCS comments on “Towards the Treatment of Over The Top (OTT) services” policy document submitted to Telecom Authority of Trinidad and Tobago

    tatt-pdf-image-of-towards-the-treatment-of-ott-services

     

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS ; https://www.ttcs.tt/) has submitted its comments on the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago (TATT) document “Towards the treatment of Over The Top Services”

    The TTCS comments can be viewed at TTCS-comments-on-TATT-Towards-the-treatment-of-OTT-services-public-July20-2015 (PDF ; 369K)

    A general comment:

    “For the past two decades, TATT has presided over a telecommunications sector which has experienced significant and ongoing growth for all commercial actors. The TATT “light touch” approach is one of the main factors contributing to the success of the sector. The status quo, as facilitated by TATT, should be maintained as the market can and will continue to innovate in the provision of value added services as it has already done for the benefit of clients, consumers, service providers and the country as a whole.

    The TTCS fears that any change in the status quo *at the present time* will lead to a stifling of innovation and lead to significantly reduced domestic competition overall.

    The treatment of Over The Top (OTT) services is *fundamentally* a Network Neutrality (NN) issue. Once the Telecommunications Authority makes a final decision on where it stands
    regarding NN/zero rating of services, its way forward on topics such as OTT becomes much less complex and simple to execute. Over the top services (OTT) can be broad enough to
    apply to any service provided over the Internet as a whole, or any future network. If TATT is to consider competition described by providers as “unfair,” then Zero Rated services should also be considered by the Authority in greater detail.

    Attempting to make a final decision on OTT without any final decision on NN issues may needlessly complicate the country’s future regulatory landscape, and create precedents
    which may limit future regulatory agility and sector innovation and growth. One of the realities of a competitive marketplace is that service providers must innovate constantly or else perish.

    The TTCS believes that any regulator should have no vested interest in stifling future sources of innovation in order to preserve revenue streams for service providers. More significantly, any request by service providers that TATT *must* intervene in the regulatory environment in order  to mitigate any loss or potential loss of revenue as a result of technological changes in the sector misunderstands the responsibility of a regulator for the entire sector, and not just one part of it. Increased and differentiated competition and innovation in the telecoms space is to be encouraged, not stifled.

  • Draft comments on Telecom Authority of #Trinidad & #Tobago document “Towards the Treatment of Over-The-Top (OTT) Services”

    tatt-pdf-image-of-towards-the-treatment-of-ott-services
    Several members of the Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society have put together some draft comments on the Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago document “Towards the Treatment of Over-The-Top (OTT) Services” (PDF ; 2MB) which we are posting for review.

    The TTCS draft comments can be viewed at draft-TTCS-statement-on-VoIP (PDF ; 71K).

    Comments and suggestions are appreciated as soon as possible via email to [email protected] as the final deadline for formal submission to TATT is July 20 2015.

  • Security updates available for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, MacOS X & Linux (July 14 2015) ; update ASAP or remove if not needed

    security-265130_640

     

    Another week, another update for Adobe Flash it seems. According to the Adobe security bulletin dated July 14, 2015:

    “Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.  Adobe is aware of reports that exploits targeting these vulnerabilities have been published publicly.”

    Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin. So if you have Adobe Flash installed, UPDATE ASAP!

    However, consider uninstalling Flash if you’re not using it. If you were only using Adobe Flash to watch YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

    The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 18.0.0.209.

    To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

    To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

    Opera and Chromium browser users, you’ll have to download the flash player installer from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash.

    Windows users should take note that

    • the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
    • the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari.
    • the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera.

    are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for all three browser variations if you have all three installed.

    For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

    Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version.
    See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.

  • Adobe releases critical security update for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, MacOS X & Linux (July 8 2015) ; update ASAP!

    Adobe Flash Player logo
    Adobe Flash Player logo

    According to the Adobe security bulletin dated July 8, 2015:

    “Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. These updates address critical vulnerabilities that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system. Adobe is aware of a report that an exploit targeting CVE-2015-5119 has been publicly published.”

    You can read more about how the exploit was “publicly published” on Ars Technica, but update ASAP!
    Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin.

    However, if you only use Adobe Flash for watching YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Adobe Flash up to date).

    The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 18.0.0.203.

    To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

    To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

    Opera and Chromium browser users, you’ll have to download the flash player installer from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash.

    Windows users should take note that

    • the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
    • the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari
    • the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera

    are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for all three browser variations if you have all three installed.

    For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

    Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version. See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.

     

  • Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society lime on July 8 2015 from 7 to 9pm ; please RSVP!

    burger

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society (TTCS ; http://cs.tt) will be having a lime on Wednesday July 8 2015 from 7pm to 9pm at Wendy’s Cafe located upstairs at Wendy’s Restaurant at the corner of Ana Street & Ariapita Avenue, Woodbrook, Port of Spain.

    Come join as we eat and chat about various ICT topics including:

    Anyone interested in computing and ICT are welcome to attend, however please RSVP to [email protected] as space is limited.

    Please note that for this meeting, you will be able to purchase food directly from Wendy’s at your own expense. The minimum contribution to TTCS for this meeting is $20.

  • version 1.52 of the TTCS OSSWIN DVD, a collection of Free and Open Source Software for Windows, available for download

    ttcs-osswin-dvd

     

    The Trinidad and Tobago Computer Society is pleased to announce the release of the TTCS OSSWIN DVD v1.52, a collection of the latest version of Free and Open Source Software for Microsoft Windows (XP/Vista/7/8) and available for download. The collection features a web based interface for browsing programs organised into several categories:  Desktop Applications, Educational, Games, Graphics, Internet, Server, Sound and Video and Utilities.

    For v1.52, many software updates including LibreOffice 4.4.4, Mozilla Firefox 38.0.5, Audacious 3.62 and Mozilla Thunderbird 38.0.1.

    See the changelog for more details.

    Visit the TTCS OSSWIN DVD page at http://www.ttcsweb.org/osswin-dvd/ for more details and to download the DVD as an ISO file for burning onto a DVD or extracting to your harddrive or USB storage device.

  • Adobe releases critical security update for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, MacOS X & Linux (June 23 2015)

    Adobe Flash Player logo
    Adobe Flash Player logo

    According to the Adobe security bulletin dated June 23, 2015:

    “Adobe has released security updates for Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Macintosh and Linux. These updates address a critical vulnerability (CVE-2015-3113) that could potentially allow an attacker to take control of the affected system.

    Adobe is aware of reports that CVE-2015-3113 is being actively exploited in the wild via limited, targeted attacks. Systems running Internet Explorer for Windows 7 and below, as well as Firefox on Windows XP, are known targets.”

    So update asap! Many conferencing solutions (like Adobe Connect) and Flash games use the Flash plugin.

    However, if you only use Adobe Flash for watching YouTube videos, YouTube now defaults to HTML5 instead of Adobe Flash for playing videos in Google Chrome, IE 11, Apple Safari 8 and in Mozilla Firefox. So you can uninstall Adobe Flash if you are using these browsers (and not worry about keeping Flash up to date)

    The latest update bumps the latest version of Flash Player for Windows and Mac OS X to version 18.0.0.194.

    To determine what version of the Adobe Flash player you have on your Windows, Macintosh or Linux system, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/software/flash/about/

    To download an offline version of Adobe Flash Player for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux without any adware or bundled third-party offers, visit
    http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/distribution3.html

    Opera and Chromium browser users, you’ll have to download the flash player installer from http://www.adobe.com/go/getflash.

    Windows users should take note that

    • the Flash Player in Microsoft Internet Explorer v9 and earlier versions of Internet Explorer,
    • the Flash player in web browsers like Mozilla Firefox and Safari
    • the Flash player in web browsers in Chromium and Opera

    are separate installs. You should install and update versions of Adobe Flash for all three browser variations if you have all three installed.

    For Internet Explorer v10 and Internet Explorer v11 (for users for Windows 7 Service Pack 1 and Windows 8), these browsers have Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update their Internet Explorer browser versions.

    Google Chrome browser users has Adobe Flash Player built-in and users should update the Google Chrome browser to the latest version. See https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95414 on how to do so.