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Awesome Experience at Mavrovo Maximum Adventure

It’s amazing how organizing a team-building activity can boost productivity. Our company recognizes the added value of these activities, so we decided to take part in the Mavrovo Maximum Adventure (MMA) in Mavrovo, Macedonia. The event took place on 5-7 June and combines exciting sports and recreational competitions for all levels of participants. We experienced everything Mavrovo had to offer by having fun, challenging ourselves, enjoying the action, discovering the outdoors, and most importantly, creating lasting memories.

We were greeted by the event organizers when we arrived at 6:30 P.M. on Friday evening. After freshening up, we made our way to the club, Ratrak. The band had a great set and we danced the night away. The next morning, the adventure games began. Our guys were divided into mixed teams with a maximum of six. The event's competitive character made it possible for our employees to match their skills in the following activities: mountain running and mountain biking, archery and shooting, spear throwing, playing darts, kayak racing on calm water, and cross bike and jeep races.

It was great seeing our guys cheering passionately for each of the teams as their adrenalin rushed. Our kayak racers, Ilija and Vlatko, put everything they had into the race and finished with the second best time, winning a silver medal. Our guys and gals were fast in the mountain running race while their teammates were cheering them on. Our bicyclists were impressive, riding through the picturesque terrain; but the ultimate congrats go to Dijana, who cross the finished line second and won Silver medal. Afterwards, when the contests in archery and shooting, spear throwing and darts took place, the excitement reached its peak. More medals were earned as Ilija took the Gold in archery, Aleksandar took the Silver in darts, and the Bronze in shooting. Miki finished third winning the Bronze medal for darts, and Blagoja won the Bronze for displaying his natural talent in spear throwing. We celebrated our successes late into the night at Ratrak with a Royale Casino-themed party.

Sunday morning was reserved for the actual adventure games. The team’s compatibility, strengths, and tactics were measured throughout the various games. This thrilling experience came to an end with the announcement of the winners and presentation of the medals. All in all, this was such an incredible experience for all of us. We increased and improved our team spirit and compatibility, and discovered a little more about each other. We took some great photos so check them out to see how we partied.

Author:
Marija Karkalasheva,
Content Creator

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IT Labs Table Football Tournament

We are continuously elevating our team spirit, and what could be more inspiring than organizing one more tournament? This time, our employees had the chance to measure their skills in Table Football (Foosball)!

We take tournaments seriously in our offices; they bring out our competitive nature and improve our attention spans. It was great seeing our guys and girls committed to the matches and we can honestly say that we’ve got a lot of talent around here. After all of the exciting matches and epic final, Veronika & Aleksander won the title and were presented with a trophy!

We’re looking forward to the next tournament! Until then, have a look around our gallery.

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IT Labs’ CEO Branislav Gjorcevski’s Interview for Codengo

CodeNgo is a self-publishing service that helps Android app developers and publishers get their apps in more app stores. Our CEO, Branislav “Banne” Gjorcevski, recently had the opportunity to share IT Labs’ experiences with outsourcing mobile app development on Codengo’s blog.

Banne explained our experiences and outlined the best practices for successful outsourcing processes, and what both parties (the outsourcing company and the client) need to invest in and nurture to ensure the collaboration delivers what is required. Codengo explicitly asked whether software outsourcing is a synonym for cheap software development services. See Banne’s response to this question and feel free to comment if you agree or disagree with his reply.

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IT Labs QA Team Members Earn ISTQB Certifications

We depend on our employees to create great experiences for our clients, and that is the reason employee development is one of our core values. IT Labs is committed to creating a supportive work environment based on excellence, integrity, and exceptional service.  We encourage our staff to obtain and maintain their professional certifications, increasing their knowledge and expertise in specialized areas.

Two of our employees were recently certified by the ISTQB® (International Software Testing Qualifications Board) and hold certificates of qualification by ISTQB®’s Certified Tester scheme.  The ISTQB® is known as the worldwide leader in the certification of competencies in software testing based on the volunteer work of international testing experts. Our colleagues Aleksandra Angelovska and Olgica Koceva took a step forward in their careers by showing their commitment to software testing. Their professional growth contributes to the overall productivity and efficiency of our workforce and inspires all of us to put forth maximum effort into our future projects.

This ISTQB® certificate is an international recognition of their expert testing experience and knowledge and cannot be paid for – it can only be earned by demonstrating their competencies. We would like to congratulate Aleksandra and Olgica on their successful certification achievements.  We are thankful for their hard work and for representing us so well!

Author:
Marija Karkalasheva,
Content Creator

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The Importance of Web Application Security Testing

Today, millions of web applications exist to make our lives easier and much more interesting. We can shop online, pay bills, chat with friends and relatives, or communicate with people all over the world who have the same hobbies and interests as ours… Web applications make us feel as if we can make everything we imagine happen on the web.

But not all of us have the same perception of those applications.  The reality is that there are always “malicious” attackers trying to destroy the web “paradise” by attacking web applications and stealing data. That means that John and Jane Doe, who communicate and share information, are almost never alone. The “malicious” Eve is always lurking, waiting for the perfect moment to attack.

SECURITY TESTING

In order to develop secure applications, it is necessary to use a security development lifecycle. Security should be considered and tested throughout the application project lifecycle, especially when the application deals with crucial information and data that is of great importance. Web application security testing is a process that verifies that the information system protects the data and maintains its intended functionality. It involves an active analysis of the application for any weaknesses, technical flaws, or vulnerabilities.  The primary purpose is to identify the vulnerabilities, and subsequently repairs them. The six basic security concepts are:

• Confidentiality – Information should be accessible to only those with authorized access
• Integrity – A measure intended to allow the receiver to determine that the information which it is providing is correct
• Authentication – Establishes the identity of the user
• Authorization – User should receive a service or perform an action for which he has permission
• Availability – Information and communication services should be ready any time, as needed
• Non-repudiation – Prevent later denial that an action happened

WHAT IS SO DIFFERENT ABOUT SECURITY

Security testing is a critical challenge for test engineers. They face the problem of insecure software, which is perhaps one of the most crucial technical problems of our time.  It’s difficult to make software behave correctly in the presence of malicious attacks.

The test engineers who perform security testing need to understand the specifications and logic implemented in the application, and must examine all possible scenarios under which the application can be cracked. This is extremely difficult.
They’re required to have excellent knowledge, but also be able to play the role of creative hacker in order to predict their steps and protect the application.

Author:
Natasha Urdovska,
Quality Assurance Engineer

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