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Notes from the 2016 AT&T Developer Summit

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The 2016 AT&T Developer Conference took place on January 2-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The 2016 AT&T Developer Conference took place on January 2-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

For nearly 10 years, AT&T has been bringing an annual developer conference to their partners and collaborators. This year, they creatively chose to combine their conference with a hackathon in order to encourage the participation of budding developers and to support young talent in achieving career-related goals.

This year’s conference and hackathon, which took place on January 2-5 in Las Vegas, Nevada, was packed with an array of topics split into six main sessions: devices and wearables, IoT, real-time communications, video, network advances and the connected home.

I’ve put together several of the sessions that stood out to me as especially relevant to the evolution of today’s technology.

Your world, protected and connected // Stephen Vincent

Abstract: Interactive security and home automation systems are evolving to become effortless for end users. Devices like smart thermostats learn the routines and patterns of users to ensure the consumer is returning home to their optimal temperature, thus increasing comfort and lowering home energy costs. Voice command and response systems allow users to speak naturally to their home security and automation system without learning complicated rules or programs. Lawn sprinklers and window blinds can be controlled by weather data indicating rain or shine. A day’s worth of user-generated surveillance video can be reviewed for significant events quickly and at the user’s convenience. Securing the home is a great benefit, but what about securing the personal IoT for the end user when not at home? In this session, we’ll discuss how Digital Life is a key contributor in the latest industry trends. We invite the developer community to join us on our quest to put the connected home to work for the end user.

View the slides from this session here.

Smartphones and beyond :Technologies for devices and IoT // Ginger Chien

Abstract: Smartphones, which will still be dominant in people’s lives for some time to come, have reached a state of maturity. This year’s phones will see mostly incremental advances offering improved capability and performance. Yet the smartphone will play an essential role through its familiar power and presence that will support the rising category of connected IoT devices, whether those be personal, wearable, distributed, or other forms yet to be seen. Join this session to learn about advances in the areas of smartphone and IoT device technology as well as get an idea of what the future of devices may hold.

View the slides from this session here.

Monetizing behavioral data analytics // Carole Le Goff and Dr. Brian Eriksson

Abstract: What can your home discover about your habits? When does a change in behavior at home demand intervention? How does this differ when considering yourself, or your teenager, or your mother across the country? This information can all be learned from home IoT sensor data combined with intelligent analytics, which can help you make a decision about how to act. Unfortunately, there is a wide gap between raw sensor data and actionable information. In this session, we will discuss gleaning behavioral context from this data and initial use cases to monetize this information. We’ll describe the science and challenges behind learning from IoT sensor data from the point of view of marketers and product managers explaining new revenue generating services as well as software engineers and data scientists.

View the slides from this session here.

Best Practices for the Unknown: Wearables, Devices & Things // Bill Weir and Pete Rembiszewski

Abstract: There are exciting new areas to explore in the bold new world of IoT and wearables, but there are also big land mines waiting for developers. Not only will we cover issues such as standards, security, network issues, data overload, and privacy, but also actionable tips, strategies, and techniques that developers can use to mitigate the risks.

View the slides from this session here.

As announced at the AT&T conference, a new tool called AT&T ARO helps users analyze their apps’ performance. Users can utilize the free diagnostic tool to improve their battery life, data usage, and responsiveness.

In addition to these valuable sessions led by highly talented speakers, Kevin Spacey was in attendance as the conference’s celebrity speaker. Spacey delivered a quality talk that emphasized the importance of companies making an effort to support and motivate young developers and IT professionals in their career paths.

This year’s AT&T conference and hackathon was a unique and educational experience. At Avast, we’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

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Avast SecureMe app protects iOS users from Wi-Fi hacking

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Avast SecureMe is the world’s first application that gives iPhone users a tool to protect their devices and personal data when they connect to Wi-Fi networks. The free app scans Wi-Fi networks and tells users which of them are safe. Since many users use Wi-Fi networks without knowing whether or not they are safe, Avast SecureMe will create a secure connection in order to keep them safe.

The app notifies you upon the discovery of security issues

Avast SecureMe includes a feature called Wi-Fi Security. People who use open Wi-Fi in public areas such as airports, hotels, or cafes will find this helpful. This feature’s job is to scan Wi-Fi connections and notify you if any security issues are found, such as routers with weak passwords, unsecured wireless networks, and routers with vulnerabilities that could be exploited by hackers. Users have the option to label Wi-Fi networks that they frequently use as trusted — this way, the app won’t need to check the networks every time.

What’s the risk that my personal data will be stolen?

If you use unsecured Wi-Fi when you log in to a banking site, for example, cybercrooks can capture your login credentials which can lead to identity theft. On unprotected Wi-Fi networks, crooks can also easily view your emails, browsing history, and personal data if you don’t use a secure or encrypted connection like a virtual private network (VPN). For more details on this point, see our recent Wi-Fi hotspot experiment to see how widespread the threat really is.

Avast SecureMe is a simple way to find and choose safe networks.

The Avast SecureMe app includes a VPN to protect your privacy

Avast SecureMe features a VPN to secure your connections while you conduct online tasks that you’d like to remain private. This could include checking emails, doing your online banking, and even visiting your favorite social network sites. Avast SecureMe connects to the secure VPN when it detects that you have connected to a public Wi-Fi network, making all transferred data invisible to prying eyes. For convenience, you can disable the protection for Wi-Fi connections you trust, such as your home network.

Try it for yourself! You can download Avast SecureMe free of charge on iTunes.

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