Archive for April, 2010

Microsoft Windows 7 security features

April 30th, 2010

Seven years after kicking off its Trustworthy Computing initiative, Microsoft launched Windows 7 last October. The software giant touts the operating system, which builds on the security features of Vista, as key to its “End to End Trust” vision for a more secure Internet. With Windows 7, Microsoft also aims to make security easier to use; Vista, which debuted three years ago, caught criticism for security functionality users and administrators alike found clunky and obtrusive.

Let’s take a look at several of the security features of Windows 7, including a more flexible BitLocker for data protection, auditing enhancements to help meet compliance requirements, an improved User Access Control with fewer prompts, and new functionality to ensure system integrity.

DATA PROTECTION

In today’s fast-paced, mobile environment there is more opportunity than ever before for data to fall into unauthorized hands. Hundreds of thousands of laptops containing sensitiv…

Source:http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/magazineFeature/0,296894,sid14_gci1510776,00.html

EU`s Satellite Navigation Coordinator Visits Taiwan

April 30th, 2010

Michel Bosco, the European Commission`s Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) Coordinator for Applications, recently arrived in Taiwan to take part in the 2010 Galileo Executive Forum.

He said that the Galileo satellite system can be compatible with the global positioning system (GPS) of the United States and GLONASS (Global Navigation Satellite System) of Russia. In 2020, the production value of the GNSS is expected to reach 3.6 billion euro.

Bosco called upon Taiwan high-technology companies including MediaTek Inc., SkyTraq Technology Inc., Garmin Corp., and Quanta Computer Inc. to discuss possible cooperation opportunities.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) estimated that Taiwanese companies are expected to win US$20 billion in business opportunities in the Galileo satellite system in the initial stage if all goes as planned.

Industry insiders said that currently there are two major global satellite positioning systems, including the GPS of the U.S. and GLONASS of Russia, but the latter is only adopted by Russia and nations in Eastern Europe, so the EU hopes to develops its own satellite navigation system.

According to MOEA officials, both the GPS and GNSS have respective pros and cons, so Taiwanese companies would be wise to develop dual-module chip systems to enhance their global competitiveness.

Taiwan has over the last five years been a leader in supplying satellite-navigation hardware, MOEA officials said, hence motivating the EU to visit local companies on the island.

Source:http://news.cens.com/cens/html/en/news/news_inner_32208.html

The banking malware scourge

April 30th, 2010

At first, it was hard to tell what was causing the “phantom” money transfers from the online bank account of a small North Carolina company. Investigators didn’t know if the fraudulent wire and Automated Clearing House transfers were caused by an insider or malware, recalls Don Jackson, director of threat intelligence with the Counter Threat Unit at SecureWorks, an Atlanta-based security services provider.

But the cause became quite clear when Jackson and his team examined the bookkeeper’s computer: an infection by the Zeus Trojan. “In the past, Zeus was just spyware and wanted user names and passwords,” he says. “This was the first banking version of Zeus. It got into the browser and changed things on the fly.”

The malware caused the business to lose nearly $98,000, Jackson says. That was in late 2007. Today, criminals are using the Zeus crimeware kit with astonishing success, pulling off six-figure heists from the online bank accounts of scores of small businesses,…

Source:http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/magazineFeature/0,296894,sid14_gci1510773,00.html

Microsoft stoppt Tablet-Computer “Courier”.

April 30th, 2010

Microsoft wird die Herausforderung durch Apples iPad nicht annehmen und vorerst keinen eigenen Tablet-Computer gegen die Erfolgsstory aus Cupertino setzen. Der Software-Riese stoppt die Arbeit an dem Touchscreen-Computer “Courier”, der mit einem Doppel-Display zum Aufklappen als möglicher Konkurrent des iPad galt. Im vergangenen Herbst waren erste Produktbilder an die Öffentlichkeit gelangt und hatten deren Interesse geweckt. Der große Markterfolg des iPad dürfte nun aber dafür gesorgt haben, dass Redmont der Mut zur iPad-Alternative verlassen hat, vermutet das US-Blog Gizmodo.com. Zumal das Gerät erst für Ende des Jahres erwartet wurde und bis dahin eine Reihe von iPad-Konkurrenten – auch mit dem Betriebssystem Windows – auf dem Markt sein dürften. Die Erfahrungen mit dem iPod-Konkurrenten Zune sprechen ohnehin dagegen, dass Microsoft Apple bei der Hardware ernsthaft Konkurrenz machen kann. Die Erkenntnisse aus dem Projekt würden nun in andere Produktentwicklungen einfließen, teilt Microsoft mit. Nach Informationen von Techcrunch soll Hewlett-Packard die Arbeit an seinem Tablet-Rechner mit Windows 7 gestoppt haben.

Source:http://www.turi2.de/2010/04/30/heute2-microsoft-stoppt-tablet-computer-courier-8483725/

Mozy introduces online PC backup service for consumers

April 30th, 2010

ONLINE BACKUP firm Mozy has launched an online PC backup service for consumers and small businesses in Ireland.

Mozy, which has more than one million customers, is introducing its service throughout Europe this year.

The company provides software that allows people to save important files over the internet to a data centre, instead of having to store them on a CD-Rom or USB stick.

The company offers two versions of its backup service. Mozy Home costs €4.99 a month for an unlimited amount of data, whether it is for a handful of files or an entire photo library. A version aimed at small businesses called Mozy Pro costs €3.99 a month per desktop PC and €6.99 a month for a server, each with an additional cost of 50c per gigabyte of data.

Mozy chief marketing officer Russ Stockdale said online backup was useful for protecting users from hardware failure or if they lose their computer. It can also make transferring data easy when upgrading from one computer to another.

Customers can download the backup software from www.mozy.ie. “Once it has been set up it is automated. This is something the average computer user can do,” said Mr Stockdale.

The first backup can often take several hours depending on the amount of data to be saved and the speed of the user’s internet connection. Further backups save only the incremental additions made in the meantime.

Mr Stockdale said users’ data would be safe at all times. “We encrypt data locally on your machine, we will send it over an encrypted link and store it in an encrypted format. The data is not accessible to a search engine crawler,” he said.

The data will be held in a secure data centre in Cork operated by Mozy’s parent company, EMC. If a business computer has a hard-disk crash or is stolen, users can pay a fee and have their data posted back to them on a storage medium such as a CD-Rom or external hard drive, Mr Stockdale said.

Eoin Blacklock, managing director of business backup firm KeepITsafe, welcomed Mozy’s arrival, saying it would help raise the profile of online backup.

He said the online backup market in Ireland was growing strongly because it was still not widely adopted.

Mr Blacklock said Mozy operated primarily at the “DIY” end of the backup market.

“Backup is important, but it’s the restore that counts,” he said.

Source:http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2010/0430/1224269358638.html

Mobile epiphany begins certification process for getac rugged computers

April 30th, 2010

Mobile Epiphany is currently working with rugged computer manufacturer Getac to certify them as an Authorized Hardware Supplier for Mobile Epiphany’s Touch Inspect software. The testing is being conducted by a team of engineers at iBeta, a Colorado-based quality assurance company. The Getac computers will undergo rigorous testing to ensure that the features on the hardware such as the camera, barcode scanner, touch screen, and GPS are fully compatible with Touch Inspect’s geospatial, multi-media, and data-collection technology.

“We’re very impressed with the design of Getac’s fully rugged computers. Their unique functionality, combined with the versatility and usability of our Touch Inspect software, will offer not only an extremely powerful solution, but an amazing user experience,” said Mobile Epiphany CEO Glenn Kletzky. “We expect the testing process to be completed in a matter of weeks and are currently focusing on the PS236 handheld, E100 tablet, and V-100 convertible notebook—3 models which cover a very broad range of data-gathering needs.”

“Getac’s rugged and powerful mobile computers, combined with Mobile Epiphany’s Touch Inspect, will provide field-based workers with reliable and easy-to-use solutions for locating and inspecting outdoor geospatially distributed assets,” states Jim Rimay, President of Getac North America. “We are excited by the innovative new technology created by Mobile Epiphany and the potential of our partnership.”

Touch Inspect is geospatially-intelligent asset inspection and data collection software for Windows PCs and Windows Mobile devices. Using a video-game inspired interface combined with a touch-based system, information collected in the field is automatically transmitted to a database server via the Internet without any additional data entry or uploads.

The software allows users to locate assets geospatially — by properties, by barcode, or by RFID — and call up past inspections before beginning a new one for enhanced field-decision support. Data is entered in a uniquely presented question-and-answer format and users can add highly detailed visual information about assets with the application’s multimedia tools. With a suite of configuration tools on the back end, Touch Inspect is designed to be user-customized to replicate the workflow of a specific company or industry in a matter of hours without technical knowledge or programming. According to Kletzky, “This makes Touch Inspect faster and easier to configure to a company’s unique work flows and data collection needs than any other software today.”

Source:http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=384499&Itemid=34

Microsoft drops the courier project

April 29th, 2010

Microsoft’s project to create a dual-screen tablet computer has been officially canceled. The company gave no reasons for this but, according to a recent unconfirmed report, the project had run into problems with battery life and focus.

Microsoft Corporate VP of Communications Frank Shaw told Gizmodo:

It’s in our DNA to develop new form factors and natural user interfaces to foster productivity and creativity. The Courier project is an example of this type of effort. It will be evaluated for use in future offerings, but we have no plans to build such a device at this time.

A Dual-Screen Design
The basic design of the Courier tablet was for a device with two screens capable of folding like a book. It would have had the same operating system core as Windows Phone 7 and the Zune HD, but with a different user interface.

Although details and videos that leaked out set some potential customers drooling, Microsoft supposedly was having trouble deciding who the target market for the Courier would be. The original plan from last year had been to make a digital organizer for creative work, but more recently engineers were planning to re-write the software to make it a general-purpose computer and ebook reader.

In addition, the hardware designers were allegedly having problems giving a device that mostly screen a reasonable battery life.

A New Competitive Climate
When first unofficial word of the Microsoft Courier surfaced last fall, the market for tablet computers was basically flat. Half a year later, it seems virtually every computer company is working on one.

This may have played a factor in Microsoft’s decision to not enter a market that is quickly becoming very crowded.

Source:http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=1399&news=Microsoft+Courier+Tablet+E-Book+eReader+Dual+Screen

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