Gawkwire: Web Hosting and Internet News Resource

Enterprises overpay for antivirus software

2008-09-29T09:28:00-04:00

Enterprises continue to pay too much for security software -- while the software vendors aren't doing enough research to keep up with fast-changing threats on the Internet, a Gartner analyst said Monday.

Security vendors are maintaining high profit margins on firewalls and antivirus software, products which are commodities these days, said Neil MacDonald, a research vice president at Gartner, during a presentation at the company's IT Security Summit in London. ... Go to source

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Hackers resurrect notorious attack tool kit

2008-09-27T06:00:00-04:00

Neosploit, the notorious hacker exploit kit that some thought had been retired months ago, has not only returned from the dead, but is responsible for a dramatic increase in attacks, a security researcher claimed today.

"Neosploit's back," said Ian Amit, director of security research at Aladdin Knowledge Systems Inc.

The accounts of its demise last summer had been a ruse, he argued. "When you're feeling that kind of heat," Amit said, referring to the attention Neosploit had received from both researchers and authorities, "you want to shake those guys off your back. [The talk about quitting] only helped them go under the radar." ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/hackers_resurrect_notorious_attack_tool_kit.html

Monitoring Your Brand and Reputation Online

2008-09-24T10:17:00-04:00

There's no question that the Internet serves as a great megaphone for organizations that want to conduct business around the globe. The web can communicate your message to more people and more locations than any previous communications channel ever could. However, with the ever-growing number and influence of online social networks, blogs, and forums, an increasing number of voices can be heard, and word certainly travels fast.

Unfortunately, that word isn't always complimentary. Yet many companies do not know what information about them is floating around cyberspace. They have no idea that negative and potentially damaging information is being circulated and possibly eating away at their businesses and the reputations they have worked so hard to build. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/monitoring_your_brand_and_reputation_online.html

Mozilla patches 11 bugs in Firefox

2008-09-24T12:00:00-04:00

Mozilla Corp. late Tuesday patched 11 vulnerabilities in Firefox 3.0, more than half of them labeled "critical," and fixed 14 flaws in the older Firefox 2.0.

Firefox 3.0.2 quashes six critical bugs, four marked "high" and one pegged as "low" in Mozilla's four-step threat ranking system. Among the most serious were four stability bugs in the browser's graphics rendering, layout and JavaScript engines that can crash the program and might be exploitable with malicious code. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/mozilla_patches_11_bugs_in_firefox.html

IT Managers Fear They Aren't Prepared for VM Environments

2008-09-23T00:54:00-04:00

Virtualization may be taking IT organizations by storm, but it's by no means a perfect storm, according to a new survey of IT managers, many of whom say they aren't prepared to operate environments that include both physical and virtual elements.

Conducted by Enterprise Strategy Group (ESG), which polled 150 business professionals, the survey found that just 24% of the respondents felt "very confident" their existing management tools are sufficient for their current IT service levels. The confidence factor percentage doubled, however, when IT managers used specialized management tools for VMware environments. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/it_managers_fear_they_aren_t_prepared_to_operate_vm_environments.html

20 Cloud Computing Startups You Should Know

2008-09-22T09:41:00-04:00

As more IT pros investigate their companies' cloud computing options, they run into a crowd of new, relatively unknown vendors. Appirio, Coghead, Kaavo, Mosso, ParaScale, and dozens of other startups are taking their places alongside Amazon.com, Google, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems in delivering IT resources as services rather than packaged products.

Why consider a startup when established players offer cloud services at seemingly lower risk? The cloud computing market is so broad--comprising software, server capacity, storage, middleware, virtualization, security, and management tools delivered as services--that even the biggest vendors can't excel at everything. Startups drive innovation and fill niches, often while pushing costs down and performance up. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/20_cloud_computing_startups_you_should_know.html

Storage That Really Lasts

2008-09-22T09:39:00-04:00

While we may never find out how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, thanks to Norsam Technologies, we now know how many pages of text can fit on the face of a nickel-plated silicon disk (up to 200,000).

And unlike other storage mediums (such as tape and plastic-based CDs and DVDs), these small, thin metal disks can withstand exposure to electromagnetic radiation, extreme temperatures and saltwater, keeping the data stored (technically, etched) on them safe and legible for, according to some estimates, thousands of years. Talk about long-term storage. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/storage_that_really_lasts.html

Some ISPs Move To End Their 'All-You-Can-Eat' Plans

2008-09-19T22:00:00-04:00

When Richard Tallent moved to a new home in Beaumont, Texas, he had one worry on his mind: signing up for Internet service as soon as possible. Time Warner Cable, the local provider, had imposed a 5-gigabyte usage limit for its new customers.

Tallent, a programmer and photographer who frequently uploads large photographs, slipped in under the deadline with two days to spare. If he had not, he would have had to pay $1 for every extra gigabyte he used each month. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/some_isps_move_to_end_their_all-you-can-eat_plans.html

Interop: What Are Your Datacenter Metrics?

2008-09-19T15:50:00-04:00

Datacenters. Every big enterprise has them, but how many actually have solid metrics to determine the value of their datacenter?

In a session at Interop, Andreas Antonopoulos, senior vice president and founding partner at Nemertes Research, asked participants how they measure their datacenters metrics. He noted that the metrics people use tell you a lot about their role or how they think of the datacenter. It can be thought of in terms of servers, square footage, CPUs and the number of CPU cores. Yet there is another key metric that must always be put into the equation and measured against all the others -- power.

"97 percent of people we surveyed had no clue about how much power they used in terms of cost," he said. "The problem is power was almost free until five years ago, but that's not the case anymore. Now power costs." ... Go to source

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Zend: PHP set for enterprise growth

2008-09-18T09:30:00-04:00

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is moving beyond hobbyist and academic realms and into the enterprise, the CEO of Zend Technologies stressed Tuesday during a keynote presentation at the 2008 Zend/PHP Conference (ZendCon) in Santa Clara, Calif.

Citing a list of enterprise users of the server-side scripting platform, including Kargo Mobile Technology and Shaklee, Zend CEO Harold Goldberg emphasized PHP growth. PHP has "grown up to be a mainstay enterprise language," he said. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_design/zend_php_set_for_enterprise_growth.html

Hackers infect BusinessWeek website via SQL Injection attack

2008-09-17T09:37:00-04:00

Sophos experts have discovered that the website of BusinessWeek, the world famous weekly magazine, has been attacked by hackers in an attempt to infect the readership with malware.

Hundreds of pages on a part of BusinessWeeks website which offers information about where MBA students might find future employers have been struck by the SQL Injection attack - where a security vulnerability is exploited in order to insert malicious code into the sites underlying database.

Its worrying when any site suffers from a malicious SQL Injection attack, but when its also one of the 1000 busiest websites on the internet the stakes are even higher. The potentially large number of people visiting the site and accessing information to assist their careers may be putting their finances or personal data in jeopardy if they are not properly protected. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/hackers_infect_businessweek_website_via_sql_injection_attack.html

Can the U.S. prosecute suspected IP thieves?

2008-09-10T21:39:00-04:00

As the US Senate prepares to debate a bill introduced last July that would enable federal law enforcement agencies to seek, arrest, and prosecute suspected traffickers of intellectual property -- including unauthorized file-sharers -- a cavalcade of trade, industry, and advocacy groups, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, American Library Association, and Consumers Union, began a joint counter-offensive against the legislation.

The Enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights Act of 2008 (PDF available here), S.3325, would create a new appointed federal office called the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), who would report directly to the President. That person would chair what the bill describes as an "interagency advisory committee" on IP law enforcement, as well as serve as the principal coordinator of policy with regard to anti-counterfeiting and anti-piracy activities. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/opposition_mounts_to_bill_enabling_us_to_prosecute_suspected_ip.html

Yahoo makes the case for Google search ads

2008-09-12T09:38:00-04:00

Yahoo is on a campaign trail of its own, taking an opportunity Thursday to plug a search-ad partnership with rival Google that could bring new profits to the company but that also faces possible antitrust hurdles.

The partnership, which is expected to go into effect in early October, is "good news for consumers and for advertisers," said Hilary Schneider, executive vice president of Yahoo U.S., speaking here to reporters at an event to discuss Yahoo's strategy to open its technology foundation. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/yahoo_makes_the_case_for_google_search_ads.html

Justice Signals Challenge to Google-Yahoo Deal

2008-09-11T09:42:00-04:00

In a possible blow to Yahoo Inc.'s hopes for an advertising partnership with Google Inc., the Justice Department has hired an antitrust litigator to review evidence for what could become a legal challenge to the deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the attorney is Sanford Litvack, a former vice chairman at Walt Disney Co. and chief of the Justice Department's antitrust division during the Carter administration. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/justice_signals_challenge_to_google-yahoo_deal.html

Dell Unveils Blade Servers Designed For Virtualization

2008-09-11T12:00:00-04:00

Dell (Dell) on Wednesday introduced two blade servers designed for hosting virtual machines and said it would offer Microsoft's Hyper-V software as a factory-installed option on PowerEdge servers.

The PowerEdge M905 and M805 are four-socket and two-socket blades, respectively. The M905 is capable of supporting 66 virtual machines, according to Dell. Both are available with a choice of Citrix XenServer, VMware, and Microsoft's Hyper-V.

The new blades are available as of Wednesday. Prices start at $4,999 for the M905 and $1,699 for the M805. ... Go to source

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Chrome snatches share from IE

2008-09-10T12:00:00-04:00

Internet Explorer users abandoned the browser last week to try out Google Inc.'s new Chrome, a Web metrics vendor said today.

While Chrome accounted for 0.7% of all browsers used last week on average, Microsoft Corp.'s IE lost 1.4 percentage points in market share during the same period, said U.S.-based tracking company Net Applications. Microsoft's browser ended the week with a 71% share.

Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox, Apple Inc.'s Safari and Opera Software ASA's Opera also posted gains at IE's expense. Firefox's share climbed by 0.3 points, from 19.5% to 19.8% last week. Apple's Safari boosted its market share even more, from 6.3% to 6.7%, while Opera bumped up its share by 0.01 points, ending the week at 0.75%. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/chrome_snatches_share_from_ie.html

Flawed Trend Micro antivirus update cripples PCs

2008-09-10T09:44:00-04:00

Antivirus updates issued by Trend Micro Inc. on Friday crippled Windows XP and Vista PCs when they mistook several critical system files for malware, and blocked access to those files.

Some users have yet to regain control of their PCs, according to e-mail sent to Computerworld.

Two signature updates that Trend Micro released Friday for its most popular consumer security software incorrectly identified up to eight different Windows files as Trojans, then quarantined those files, thinking they were dangerous. The updates were issued to users running Trend Micro's AntiVirus plus AntiSpyware 2008, Internet Security 2008 and Internet Security Pro 2008. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/flawed_trend_micro_antivirus_update_cripples_pcs.html

Frankly Speaking: Google Chrome's SaaS model should worry IT

2008-09-09T12:00:00-04:00

First, let's say your organization has confidential data -- Social Security numbers, credit card transactions, customer sales information, anything like that. Would you rather keep it in your data center or have it sitting on a user's laptop?

That's easy: You want it safe in the data center. But that makes the data much less convenient to an employee who might have used it to analyze a trend, identify fraud or close a sale. It's a trade-off; to put that data to its best use, you might have to give up some control and entrust that user with the data. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/frankly_speaking_google_chrome_s_saas_model_should_worry_it.html

Sun Upgrades Desktop Virtual Machine, Gains Traction On Macs

2008-09-08T10:47:00-04:00

Sun has released the second version of its xVM VirtualBox open source desktop virtualization software and claims it is finding traction for its use among Apple Macintosh users.

VirtualBox enables a developer to develop code on a Mac, a Windows, Linux or Solaris machine and then run it in a virtual machine that mimics its target environment. Sun acquired VirtualBox as open source code when it bought Innotek GmbH, a German desktop virtualization firm, in February. ... Go to source

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/sun_upgrades_desktop_virtual_machine_gains_traction_on_macs.html

Red Hat Acquires Virtualization Company

2008-09-05T23:28:00-04:00

In what some consider to be a response to Microsofts Hyper-V efforts, Red Hat acquires Qumranet Inc., a virtualization provider. Qumranent produces KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) and SolidICE (a virtual desktop infrastructure) solutions. The combination will give Red Hat Linux a comprehensive virtualization platform for enterprise customers.

In addition to acquiring the technologies, Red Hat will be picking up the employees who will give support, testing, and continued development to Red Hats virtualization efforts.

The acquisition will give Red Hat Enterprise Linux an embedded hypervisor that will support all major operating systems. Red Hat is also looking into using the software to gain a foothold in the emerging cloud and grid management space.

"Red Hat customers enjoy highly responsive, flexible and cost-effective IT infrastructures," said Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO at Red Hat. "This acquisition furthers our capability to widen the gap between open source and proprietary infrastructure software. Put simply, Qumranet's KVM and VDI technologies are at the forefront of the next generation of virtualization. They represent an opportunity to raise the bar and meet the market's demand for virtualization solutions."

The key component involved with using SolidICE is to allow Red Hat to manage Windows desktops. The software uses Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environments (SPICE) protocol, allowing it to overcome obstacles in the virtualization space.

Red Hat paid $107 million in cash to acquire Qumranet.
http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/520.html

App-V 4.5 to be released with MDOP 2008 R2 Release

2008-09-04T17:35:00-04:00

Formerly known as Softgrid Application Virtualization, Microsoft’s App-V 4.5 will be included in the upcoming Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack (MDOP) 2008 R2. App-V 4.5 will include a new Service Providers License Agreement (SPLA), which will allow service providers to deliver third party applications to customers through a Software-as-a-Service model.

In other words, HTTP streaming virtual applications, hosted on an IIS enabled server, can be interfaced directly to the customer desktop. Microsoft believes the improvements to the App-V software along with the new SPLA will enable small to midsized businesses (SMBs) to outsource core IT functions to service providers. By doing so, SMBs will be able to spend less time and money on maintaining IT infrastructure, making them more competitive in the marketplace.

Microsoft touted the new release’s management capabilities as well. On their MDOP blog a representative wrote:

“This is why the release of System Center Configuration Manager (ConfigMgr) 2007 R2 and the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Management Pack for App-V 4.5 servers, and the App-V Group Policy Administrative template are so important. With these tools in hand, customers can natively integrate App-V 4.5 distribution and streaming technology into their Configuration Manager infrastructure, eliminating the need for separate tools to deploy, manage and track licenses for App-V 4.5 applications, and giving their IT departments the ability to more effectively control IT resources from a single location.”

Future plans for App-V 4.5 include expanding on Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop to support a variety of IT department to user scenarios with different pricing structures.

http://www.gawkwire.com/technology/517.html

Brazilian Hosting Company EW3 Selects Singlehop

2008-09-04T16:55:00-04:00

Brazilian hosting company EW3, a provider of dedicated server management and hosting for Brazlilian and Portuguese marketplaces, has selected SingleHop to provide servers, infrastructure and managed services for their client base.

"We selected SingleHop because they are the only company we could find globally that will provide us with the reliable support, advanced services and attractive deal to successfully conduct our expansion plan. We are honored to be their primary Brazilian reseller," says Luiz Fabio Targino de P. Cavalcanti, President and CEO of EW3.com.br.

With the recent business deal with TMZHosting.com, SingleHop, a Chicago based provider of full service managed dedicated hosting, has managed to grow considerably in the emerging global hosting markets. EW3 will be using Singlehop’s a la Carte managed services complimented by local language customer service and support.

"This is an incredible deal to have put together; it’s not only an honor, It will help expand our market presence into an underserviced market while maintaining the same level of high quality service that our US and European customers enjoy," says Zak Boca, president and CEO of SingleHop, Inc.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/516.html

Google Launches Business YouTube

2008-09-02T16:55:00-04:00

In an effort to tap into the business video market, Google is releasing Google Video for business as a new tab in the Google Apps Premier Edition control panel. Video hosting will include 3 GB of storage per user and will give users tools to organize their videos.

Google Apps Premier Edition has a price tag of $50 per year. Not counting the other tools provided with that membership, that price tag is far less than the video hosting service.

Tools included with Google Video include the ability to search videos, restrict access, rate video, comment on video, and download them for offline viewing. David Dunlap, Editor in Chief of WebHostMagazine.com says, “Basically what we are seeing here is YouTube for business. Google already has the necessary tools and infrastructure in place for all of this with very little need for extra programming. I think it is a very good move on their part by adding this to their paid services.”

Dave Girouard, president of Google's enterprise division, believes business video to be a "zero-billion dollar market." In other words, the potential is there to make money, but no one has capitalized on it yet. According to Girouard, the main roadblock is that video services are too complex and too expensive for a company as a whole to adopt their use.

Google believes that companies will be using Google Video for announcements, training, recording customer visits, and for “evangelist” opportunities.

Google will be releasing an education edition of on September 2008 for Google Apps Education Edition. The education version will be free to try until March 9, 2009. At that point, it will cost each user $10 a year.

http://www.gawkwire.com/web_hosting/511.html

Russian News Head and Critic of the Kremlin Killed

2008-09-02T13:28:00-04:00

Magomed Yevloyev, owner of the Russian Internet news site Ingushetiya.ru, was shot to death on Sunday after police detained him. According to colleagues, Yevloyev was detained after landing in Ingushetia’s airport and not long after was shot. He died in the hospital of the wounds.

Ingusheti is located in Russia’s North Caucasus area and shares borders with Chechnya. Ingushetia’s leader Murat Zyazikov has been an out spoken opponent to Yevloyev. Zyazikov has been trying to silence Yevloyev’s news site since the beginning of this year. Ingushet’s Kremlin backed leader has been under fire by critics for his persecution of opposition activists and reporters. An allegation Zyakikov has firmly denied.

Law enforcement in the region say that Yevloyev was shot by accident while attempt to transfer him to the interior ministry office.

Vladimir Markin, spokesman for the investigations unit of the Prosecutor General’s Office in Moscow was quoted as saying, “A preliminary investigation has been launched into the death of M. Yevloyev.”

http://www.gawkwire.com/business/510.html

Spam: The Redirection Infection

2008-09-02T13:20:00-04:00

In order to avoid anti-spam and anti-malware programs, more and more spam is providing URL links to legitimate but compromised content sites. These compromised sites then redirect the user to a malicious site where malware can be installed unto the unsuspecting user’s computer.

Mal/Budcr-A (naming convention from SophosLabs) is an example of such an attack. An email is sent in bulk, containing a link to a blog hosted by a popular free blogging site that contains the information talked about in the email. The blog however has been compromised to redirect the user to a new page. This page can either be a rehash of the legitimate page or be a simple landing page. Either way the malicious payload is delivered to the computer and yet another consumer falls prey to malware.

The redirection infection is not focused merely on blogging sites. Other spam emails have sent users to image hosting sites where a hosted Flash file drops off the virus, redirections from Facebook messages, and sites that sell anti-virus programs.

These techniques are not unique. In fact, they have seen widespread adoption across the board with new avenues being explored every day. Security venues stress the need to click on URLs from known and trusted sources.

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