Tech Girl from Texas

US Department of Treasury using Two-Factor Authentication

2008-01-29T11:01:00.000-06:00

This is a pretty cool story about how the US Department of Treasury is providing the same kind of two-factor authentication that banks use.

Here's a link to the Treasury's demo as well:

http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/help/TDTutorial/tutorial.htm

Secure Email ... Check it out!

2007-09-27T10:11:00.001-05:00

Entrust offers a secure email solution that doesn't require a PKI... pretty cool stuff!

read more | digg story

PKI 2.0? Anyone catching this trend?

2007-09-26T16:53:00.001-05:00

Seems an old dog found a bunch of new tricks... or maybe it was never old to begin with, just 'maturing'... this post on the Entrust site really opens up pandora's box to how pervasive this technology is, and most people don't even realize it!Check it out!

read more | digg story

Dr. Evil Buys RSA Security?

2007-08-23T12:40:00.001-05:00

Tech giant EMC acquires security company RSA security.

read more | digg story

RSA SecurID Tokens vs. Entrust IdentityGuard calculator

2007-08-23T12:38:00.001-05:00

Check this sh#t out... man, why are those poor souls paying so much for a 50 cent token? Duh!

read more | digg story

Google Says Stephan Colbert Is No Longer The Greatest Living American

2007-08-23T12:36:00.005-05:00

Colbert's victory in being named the greatest living American according to Google's search results was short lived. Less than a month later, he's dropped out of the top listings. Some suspect Google did a manual change to make this happen.

read more | digg story

School District Fires Network Manager For Recommending Linux

2007-08-23T12:36:00.003-05:00

The technology audit and firing come as the district attempts to transition many of its computers from the Windows ME operating system to a Linux operating system.

read more | digg story

No more MySpace or YouTube for soldiers in Iraq.

2007-08-23T12:36:00.001-05:00

The Defense Department will begin blocking access "worldwide" to YouTube, MySpace and 11 other popular Web sites on its computers and networks, according to a memo sent last week.

read more | digg story

Stealing IS a crime, right?

2007-08-23T12:35:00.003-05:00

One of the web's greatest photographers, the Icelandic _rebekka, is having her photos ripped off and sold on ebay and elsewhere by http://www.only-dreemin.com . Companies need to know that posting a photo to the internet DOES NOT make it public domain! Let's shut them down!

read more | digg story

Gonzales proposes new crime: "Attempted" copyright infringement

2007-08-23T12:35:00.001-05:00

Attorney General Alberto Gonzales is pressing the U.S. Congress to enact a sweeping intellectual property bill that would increase criminal penalties for copyright infringement, including "attempts" to commit piracy."To meet the global challenges of IP crime, our criminal laws must be kept updated," Gonzales said during a speech

read more | digg story

Google's 10 Commandments

2007-08-23T12:34:00.001-05:00

Great tips that summarize Google's basic philosophy. I've never seen this list before so some people might not have seen it either. Enjoy.

read more | digg story

Wall Street Journal Called Out On Ridiculous IT Security Article

2007-08-23T12:33:00.003-05:00

The Wall Street Journal recently published an article looking at security on network systems and, more precisely, how to get around it so that the average employee can do the things they want that the network idoesn't allow. Is the tabloid ethos of Murdoch and News Corp. already rubbing off?

read more | digg story

50 Cent promises to quit if Kanye outsells him

2007-08-23T12:33:00.001-05:00

“Let’s raise the stakes,” the 31-year-old rapper told hip-hop Web site SOHH.com in an interview posted Friday. “If Kanye West sells more records than 50 Cent on September 11, I’ll no longer write music. I’ll write music and work with my other artists, but I won’t put out anymore solo albums.”

read more | digg story

One of the worlds most puzzling mysteries: the moving rocks of Death Valley

2007-08-23T12:32:00.003-05:00

These rocks, some as heavy as 700 pounds, are inexplicably transported across a virtually flat desert plain, leaving erratic trails in the hard mud behind them, some hundreds of yards long. They move by some mysterious force, and in the nine decades since we have known about them, no one has ever seen them move.

read more | digg story

Wall Street Journal Called Out On Ridiculous IT Security Article

2007-08-23T12:32:00.001-05:00

Entrust moves into hardware encryption with US$5 token

2007-08-23T12:29:00.005-05:00

Entrust has added a US$5 security token to its arsenal of e-security software and services, creating an instant rivalry with vendors such as Ottawa-based CryptoCard.

read more | digg story

Mozilla Says “Ten Fucking Days”

2007-08-23T12:29:00.003-05:00

At the Blackhat conference in Las Vegas, Mozilla lays down the gauntlet and claims that they can fix any critical vulnerabilities within 10 days. Wow.

read more | digg story

Entrust Beats Voltage to Legal Encryption Deal

2007-08-23T12:29:00.001-05:00

This is a pretty cool story about a Top 50 law firm being able to use email communication now that they have an email security solution in place... check it out!

read more | digg story

Email Security: Entrust Deploys E-mail Encryption for Top-50 U.K. Law Firm

2007-08-23T12:28:00.005-05:00

Pretty cool stuff... .

read more | digg story

Entrust Secures Online Indian Music Retailer, Implements EV SSL Certificate

2007-08-23T12:28:00.003-05:00

EV SSL is really taking off... first one in India!

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If you've every wondered what a PKI is... check this article out!

2007-08-23T12:28:00.001-05:00

Public Key Infrastructure defined on this useful site...

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Entrust moves into hardware encryption with US$5 token

2007-08-21T10:50:00.001-05:00

Entrust has added a US$5 security token to its arsenal of e-security software and services, creating an instant rivalry with vendors such as Ottawa-based CryptoCard.

read more | digg story

End of high price RSA SecurID tokens? $5 token available from Entrust

2007-08-21T10:49:00.001-05:00

Why pay so much for RSA tokens? See this great savings calculator from Entrust...

read more | digg story

Buy Cheaper (and Better) SSL Certificates Here

2007-08-21T10:45:00.001-05:00

Who says you need to pay a premium to get a quality SSL certificate? Check out this momentum SSL certificate vendor...

read more | digg story

Green URL Address Bars Coming... and the world is a safer place

2007-08-21T10:13:00.001-05:00

Have you seen the new EV SSL certificates that turn the URL of your browser's address bar green? They're pretty cool and give a whole lot more info that the traditional yellow lock. That thing was clearly broken when Geotrust (now part of Verisign) issued an SSL certificate to a phishing site. Nice move... for the criminals, that is. Check it out!

read more | digg story

Are Search Ads a Waste of Money?

2007-08-20T09:43:00.000-05:00

"NEW YORK New research by Microsoft suggests a big chunk of search ad spending is wasted because advertisers pay top dollar for high ad placements clicked by consumers who are en route to their sites anyway. Listings tied to such 'branded' keywords, typically a company's name or products, eat up about half of search budgets, Atlas estimates."
Are Search Ads a Waste of Money?

Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Server location, cross-linking, and Web 2.0 technology thoughts

2007-08-10T11:58:00.000-05:00

"In our understanding of web content, Google considers both the IP address and the top-level domain (e.g. .com, .co.uk). Because we attempt to serve geographically relevant content, we factor domains that have a regional significance. For example, '.co.uk ' domains are likely very relevant for user queries originating from the UK. In the absence of a significant top-level domain, we often use the web server's IP address as an added hint in our understanding of content."
Official Google Webmaster Central Blog: Server location, cross-linking, and Web 2.0 technology thoughts:

Are telcos dropping the calling name ball?

2007-07-17T10:30:00.000-05:00

Are telcos dropping the calling name ball?: "Accudata Technologies, one of the companies that provides Calling Name delivery service, is once again publicly accusing telephone companies of deliberately not delivering some calling name information to their Caller ID customers in order to save money. This time around, the company says it has research data to back up its claims, and it is sharing that research with the Federal Communications Commission."

EDS wins GSA HSPD-12 managed services work

2007-04-26T12:09:00.000-05:00

EDS wins GSA HSPD-12 managed services work

By Jason Miller

Electronic Data Systems Corp. has won a $66.3 million contract from the General Services Administration to run its Homeland Security Presidential Directive-12 managed-service office.
EDS will replace BearingPoint Inc., which won GSA’s initial HSPD-12 contract in August 2006. The Plano, Texas-based company beat six bidders to secure the deal, industry sources confirmed.
“EDS had to demonstrate their abilities to meet the government’s requirements,” said John Johnson, assistant commissioner for GSA's Integrated Technology Services. “They were successful in testing and that was one factor in our decision.”
GSA’s decision to go with EDS could save the government as much as $40 million. GSA canceled its $104 million contract with BearingPoint in October 2006. But GSA and BearingPoint officials said the two contracts’ requirements are very different.
“We did take this opportunity in the

Datamonitor ComputerWire - Entrust and Actividentity Team on $5 Token

2007-04-26T12:08:00.001-05:00

Datamonitor ComputerWire - Entrust and Actividentity Team on $5 Token: "By Rik Turner
Entrust will today announce a partnership with Actividentity to offer the latter’s one-time token technology with its authentication platform, charging $5 per token rather than the $30 currently prevailing in the market.
Entrust’s business model has traditionally been to offer authentication against any form of identification, a strategy it calls Versatile Authentication Spectrum. It covers “everything from invisibles such as the history of a person’s log-ins through to hardware tokens,” said Eric Skinner, its VP of marketing.
However, at the end of January Entrust unveiled plans for its time-based token technology to with its IdentityGuard authentication platform, with token pricing designed to disrupt the current market pricing."

26 April 2007 - Entrust and Actividentity Team on $5 Token « Identity Project News

2007-04-26T12:08:00.000-05:00

26 April 2007 - Entrust and Actividentity Team on $5 Token « Identity Project News

Entrust will today announce a partnership with Actividentity to offer the latter’s one-time token technology with its authentication platform, charging $5 per token rather than the $30 currently prevailing in the market.
Entrust’s business model has traditionally been to offer authentication against any form of identification, a strategy it calls Versatile Authentication Spectrum. It covers “everything from invisibles such as the history

SSL, SSL Certificates, SSL Certificate, Extended Validation SSL Certificates, UC Certificates, Digital Certificates from Entrust.

2007-04-06T11:42:00.000-05:00

SSL, SSL Certificates, SSL Certificate, Extended Validation SSL Certificates, UC Certificates, Digital Certificates from Entrust.

Extended Validation SSL Certificates, EV SSL Certificates, Green Browser Support, New IE7 Features, CA/Browser Forum, secure online transactions from Entrust.

2007-03-21T08:51:00.000-05:00

Extended Validation SSL Certificates, EV SSL Certificates, Green Browser Support, New IE7 Features, CA/Browser Forum, secure online transactions from Entrust.: "When conducting transactions on the Web, it is important to know for sure the Web site you are on is valid. Now with Extended Validation SSL Certificates and the visual cues supported by the new browsers, it is easier to be sure.
If you see green in your address bar and the name of the organization you expect to see, you know you are on the correct site and your transaction is protected by the highest level of security available.
Microsoft Internet Explorer 7 is the first browser supporting the new features. Some of the features include:
Green address bar on pages with EV Certificates
Gold Padlock
Alternating display of issuer and organization name and country
Rollover with more information on company "

Entrust Applauds Department of State for Efficient Use of Existing PKI Technology

2007-03-20T15:13:00.000-05:00

2007 03 13: Entrust Applauds Department of State for Efficient Use of Existing PKI Technology: "In support of the U.S. Department of State's effective and efficient approach, Entrust, Inc. [NASDAQ: ENTU] praised the agency for successfully meeting a high-profile Presidential. The agency recently used their embedded public key infrastructure (PKI) from Entrust to comply with Homeland Security Presidential Directive 12 (HSPD-12). The Department's strategy clearly supports the intention behind HSPD-12 of standardizing security while making smart use of taxpayer dollars. On Oct. 27, the Department of State successfully issued six Personal Identity Verification (PIV) cards and fully met the HSPD-12 requirements, which mandated a single credential for both full physical and logical access. The directive stated that each government agency must have the ability to issue at least one PIV card by October 27, 2006. The Department issued three PIV cards to State personnel, two to the Peace Corps and one to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Per the directive, each government employee and contractor will be assigned a PIV card no later than October 2008. Since meeting the October 2006 deadline, the Department of State has proceeded with deployment as planned. "

Buy SSL Certificates starting at $199 - Entrust Advantage SSL

2007-03-20T15:12:00.000-05:00

Buy SSL Certificates starting at $199 - Entrust Advantage SSL: "Get the Entrust Advantage SSL Certificate to enable SSL encryption and authentication to secure your web servers and devices.
Secure ecommerce, communications and private information passed from browser to web server and between servers using the Entrust Advantage SSL certificate. The new Entrust Advantage SSL certificate enables:
128-bit or 256-bit SSL encryption
authentication between web browsers and web servers, as well as server-to-server authentication "

SSL, SSL Certificates, SSL Certificate, Extended Validation SSL Certificates, UC Certificates, Digital Certificates from Entrust.

2007-03-20T10:25:00.000-05:00

SSL, SSL Certificates, SSL Certificate, Extended Validation SSL Certificates, UC Certificates, Digital Certificates from Entrust.

Caller ID Unavailable?

2007-03-13T10:04:00.000-05:00

Consumers for Fair Caller ID Service organization launches consumer advocacy blog

DALLAS - March 13, 2007 - If you were paying anywhere from $80 to $100 each year on a service, and you found out that the service provider wasn't supplying you with the service 100 percent of the time, you'd be upset, right? Maybe you should be sitting down. If you subscribe to a Caller ID service, you're probably getting cheated. And that's why Consumers for Fair Caller ID Service, a coalition of consumers and companies tired of paying Caller ID service fees without receiving the service, has started a grassroots effort to educate Caller ID users on the truth behind "Unavailable" and "Out of Area" calls.

The truth is that while we consumers are spending millions of dollars every year on Caller ID services, telephone companies aren't necessarily providing us with every name they are capable of getting. Caller ID works by matching the phone number of the person calling with a name that is stored in a database. When a number is stored outside a telephone company's database, that company has to purchase the information from another company that owns the database where the information is stored. Most every wireline telephone number is stored in one of these databases, but phone companies aren’t accessing every number.

Why not?

Typically, purchasing this information costs less than half a penny. But these big telephone companies don’t want to spend any money on their customers, which results in those "Unavailable" and "Out of Area" calls that show up on Caller ID displays. And because most consumers don't even know that their phone companies are capable of providing a higher level of service, they're letting the phone companies continue to profit off of them by providing sub-standard service. That's the purpose for the Consumers for Fair Caller ID Service blog - it's time for consumers to take a stand against these larger telephone companies.

The blog offers Caller ID consumers information on everything from how Caller ID works to contact information for the attorney general's office in each state. The blog includes broadcast and print news coverage from across the country. In addition, it provides users with a forum where they can come together and share their concerns, opinions and experiences. The blog was created both to educate consumers on what they should expect from their Caller ID service and to arm them with the information and strategies they will need to demand 100 percent service.

The blog can be accessed at http://calleridunavailable.blogspot.com/

About Consumers for Fair Caller ID Service

Consumers for Fair Caller ID Service is a coalition of consumers and companies that feel cheated for paying Caller ID service fees but not receiving calling names. Every year, Americans pay up to $120 each for Caller ID service but only get caller names on 30-70 percent of their calls. The technology to fix this problem is already in place. There’s no good reason that phone companies can’t provide it. We’re paying for Caller ID 100 percent of the time. Isn’t it time we got it?

How to Blag an Interview

2007-02-26T07:45:00.000-06:00

This is one of the funniest PR related stories I've read in a while... very candid about the drivel we PR pros push on press tours... a 'must read' for the novices.

How to Blag an Interview

I realized today that Frank Shaw is one of my favorite bloggers. Unlike the majority of the few hundred blogs I find myself compelled to scan on a daily basis, I’ve found that I enjoy reading what he has to say, and I usually agree with it.
Take his post today, “How to Do a Great Interview“, for example. Spot on. Guy knows what he’s talking about.

Frank gives ten rules that we hacks, in a perfect world, really should aspire to in every interview. And he’s almost 100% bang on the money.
Of course, it’s not a perfect world. With that in mind…

More...

Check Point at the Tipping Point [Fool.com] January 29, 2007

2007-01-30T12:11:00.000-06:00

Check Point at the Tipping Point [Fool.com] January 29, 2007: "Check Point at the Tipping Point
By Tom Taulli
January 29, 2007
As a security software developer, Check Point Software Technologies (Nasdaq: CHKP) must deal with tough competitors, such as IBM (NYSE: IBM), EMC (NYSE: EMC), McAfee (NYSE: MFE), and Symantec (Nasdaq: SYMC). To get an edge, the company is investing heavily -- in internal resources and acquisitions -- to build a comprehensive suite of products.
Management calls this 'unified security architecture,' and it looks like the company is poised to get results from the strategy. In the fiscal fourth quarter, sales increased 3% to $160.1 million but net income fell from $89.2 million, or $0.36 per share, to $79.5 million, or $0.35. Much of the decline came from the company's charges for its stock option plan. "

Digital50: Entrust, Inc. News and more Business News

2007-01-30T12:04:00.000-06:00

Digital50: Entrust, Inc. News and more Business News: "Entrust to Introduce Five Dollar Security Token, Disrupting $500 Million Security Token Market
DALLAS, Jan. 30 PRNewswire-FirstCall — Building on the wide range of options already available with Entrust IdentityGuard, Entrust, Inc. (Nasdaq: ENTU) is launching a five dollar one-time-password (OTP) hardware token. With the introduction of this OTP token, Entrust will officially enter the $500 million security hardware token market. In addition, Expedia will become the first to deploy the new Entrust token."

Entrust IdentityGuard Tokens Provide Savings

2007-01-30T12:03:00.001-06:00

Entrust IdentityGuard Tokens Provide Savings: "Entrust IdentityGuard TokenEntrust is now offering the security of one-time password tokens to provide strong authentication for enterprises, governments, and consumers.
The Entrust IdentityGuard Token is an easy-to-use time synchronous token that can be deployed alone or in combination with other authentication methods and is automatically supported in the Entrust IdentityGuard multifactor authentication platform. This hardware token is designed to deliver all the security and reliability organizations expect from a physical security device, without the high price.
Integration with the Entrust IdentityGuard Platform
The Entrust IdentityGuard platform offers a variety of authentication options ranging from machine and knowledge-based authentication to physical second factors such as Entrust's patented grid based authentication technique and the Entrust IdentityGuard token."

Finextra: Expedia to roll out Entrust's new one-time password token

2007-01-30T12:03:00.000-06:00

Finextra: Expedia to roll out Entrust's new one-time password token: "Expedia to roll out Entrust's new one-time password token
Building on the wide range of options already available with Entrust IdentityGuard, Entrust, (Nasdaq: ENTU) is launching a five dollar one-time-password (OTP) hardware token.
With the introduction of this OTP token, Entrust will officially enter the $500 million security hardware token market. In addition, Expedia will become the first to deploy the new Entrust token.
'Last year, we entered into a strategic relationship with Entrust because they had the best customer value proposition and the full suite of solutions that we needed. We plan to further expand our brand globally this year and required a more flexible and extensible authentication solution. The Entrust IdentityGuard token solution fills that gap at a price that is best in class in the industry. This is another data point to reassure us that we picked the right company. We continue to view our 2006 investment with Entrust as a secure foundation from which to grow our business globally,' said Expedia Chief Information Officer Bill Holtz. 'From digital certificates to grid authentication to hardware tokens, in a single platform Entrust delivers the range of authentication choices we need to address our range of business needs.' "

Bloggers gain access to Libby trial

2007-01-12T16:29:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Internet bloggers will be allowed to cover the criminal trial of former White House staffer Lewis 'Scooter' Libby alongside reporters from traditional media outlets, a court representative said Thursday.
Members of a bloggers' association will share at least two seats during the high-profile trial in which Libby's former boss, Vice President Dick Cheney, is expected to testify, said Sheldon Snook, a spokesman for the U.S. District Court in Washington. "

Network Neutrality Critics Say If Net Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It - News by InformationWeek

2007-01-12T10:09:00.000-06:00

Network Neutrality Critics Say If Net Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It - News by InformationWeek: "Opponents of network neutrality are criticizing a bill introduced this week by Senators Olympia Snowe, (R-Maine) and Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.).
The Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2007 would prevent broadband service providers from prioritizing some Internet content, applications, or services over other content, applications, or services.
Hands Off the Internet co-chairs Mike McCurry and Christopher Wolf issued a joint statement saying the bill would benefit large content companies like Google, eBay, and Amazon, while forcing consumers to bear the burden of the cost of upgrading U.S. communications networks. Verizon and other network providers are also critical of the bill.
'It's disappointing that Senators Snowe and Dorgan would introduce essentially the same bill to regulate the Internet that went down to such decisive defeat in Congress last June,' they said. 'With America lagging many of our economic competitors in broadband deployment, Congress' focus should instead be on spurring affordable high-speed deployment. And, as numerous opponents of neutrality regulations, including the Communications Workers of America, have correctly noted, promoting deployment, not cumbersome new regulation, is the key to economic growth and job creation.' "

A quest for 'more info' on bank fees - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com

2007-01-12T09:47:00.000-06:00

A quest for 'more info' on bank fees - The Red Tape Chronicles - MSNBC.com: "If you saw this line on your online banking statement -- 'Service fee: $3 (more info)' -- What would expect to see when you clicked on the hyperlinked words 'more info”?
More information, I would suspect. But that’s not what you would get.
At Wachovia Bank, clicking on those words doesn't shed any light on the fee. The window that pops up reads merely 'Service Fee. Quantity: 1. Total $3.'
The other day, colleague Andy Gallagher showed me his fee-laden Wachovia checking account statement, his blood boiling from unintelligible fees. But it was the 'more info' thing that really stuck in his craw. You can see why by looking at the graphic below. "

Extended Validation (EV) SSL Server Certificates

2007-01-10T16:17:00.000-06:00

Entrust EV SSL Certificates: "What is an Extended Validation (EV) SSL Certificate?
An Extended Validation (EV) SSL Server Certificate is a new category of SSL certificate created by an industry consortium called the CA/Browser forum. This new category of certificate was conceived in response to the growing threat of phishing attacks with a goal of increasing consumer confidence in online transactions.

EV certificates will be issued to websites only after rigorous validation of their identity. Web browsers will reflect this higher level of identity assurance with prominent and distinct trust indicators, such as the green address bar used by Internet Explorer 7."

For more information on Entrust Extended Validation (EV) SSL Server Certificates please visit www.Entrust.net

NSA offers Vista installation tips

2007-01-10T11:06:00.000-06:00

"Microsoft got input from the National Security Agency for a document with tips on how to use the Windows Vista operating system in larger organizations.
The National Security Agency Information Assurance Directorate reviewed the Windows Vista Security Guide and provided comments that were incorporated in the published version, according to Microsoft. The U.S. Department of Commerce's National Institute of Standards and Technology, NIST, had a similar role, Microsoft said."
NSA offers Vista installation tips CNET News.com

Microsoft leaves Word zero-day holes unpatched

2007-01-10T10:56:00.000-06:00

"Microsoft on Tuesday released fixes for vulnerabilities in its Windows and Office software, but left several known Word zero-day flaws without a patch.
As part of its monthly patch cycle, Microsoft published four security bulletins with fixes for 10 vulnerabilities. Three of the bulletins are deemed 'critical,' the company's most serious rating; the fourth is tagged 'important,' a notch lower. All bulletins, however, address flaws that could allow an attacker to commandeer a PC. "
Microsoft leaves Word zero-day holes unpatched CNET News.com

Digital Resolve Reports Record Online Fraud and Identify Theft Solution Deployments in December 2006

2007-01-10T10:36:00.001-06:00

Digital Resolve Reports Record Online Fraud and Identify Theft Solution Deployments in December 2006: "Digital Resolve, the authority in transparent risk-based authentication, today reported in the month of December 2006 more than 100 new financial institutions are now safeguarding their online banking customers with the strong, yet seamless protection offered by the company’s Fraud Analyst® risk-based authentication solution, which has been protecting online users against fraud and identity theft since 2003.
Driven by a year-end deadline to expedite deployments of risk-based authentication solutions and seeking to work with technology vendors with exceptional customer service as well as easy-to-deploy solutions, banks, credits unions and technology partners are relying on Digital Resolve’s Fraud Analyst solution to reduce online fraud by as much as 90 percent. In addition to the success of its risk-based authentication platform among financial institutions, Digital Resolve is helping as a data provider to Microsoft's Phishing Filter service for Windows Internet Explorer 7 and Windows Live Toolbar to help protect online users from phishing attacks, as announced in September 2006. "

IndustryWeek : RFID Strategy -- RFID Privacy And Security Issues

2007-01-10T10:36:00.000-06:00

IndustryWeek : RFID Strategy -- RFID Privacy And Security Issues: "Jan. 9, 2007 -- RFID tag security and data privacy was a popular topic in 2006, so I am beginning 2007 with a review of the issues and a look ahead at some anticipated developments."

Vista flaw discovered, risk believed low - Security - MSNBC.com

2007-01-10T10:35:00.000-06:00

Vista flaw discovered, risk believed low - Security - MSNBC.com: "NEW YORK - Windows Vista, the new computer operating system that Microsoft Corp. is touting as its most secure ever, contains a programming flaw that might let hackers gain full control of vulnerable computers.
(MSNBC is a joint Microsoft-NBC Universal venture.)
Microsoft and independent security researchers, however, tried to play down the risk from the flaw, which was disclosed on a Russian site recently and is apparently the first affecting the new Vista system released to larger businesses in late November.
Story continues below ↓

advertisement "

Why Attend? - RSA Conference 2007

2007-01-10T10:30:00.000-06:00

Why Attend? - RSA Conference 2007: "Why Attend?
Access. Knowledge. Connections.
In an industry that changes daily and a profession that demands lightning fast response, staying informed, engaged and one step ahead is critical. RSA® Conference delivers knowledge, best practices, insight, perspective and unequalled opportunities to connect and collaborate. It is the most respected, highly attended, and eagerly anticipated information security event in the industry.
Choose from 19 class tracks and more than 220"

Half-baked bloggers...

2007-01-09T09:37:00.000-06:00

Regarding this story on a blog by Scott Ventura, called Half-Factor Authentication ... he's obviously just firing on a couple of cylinders. Tokens are perceived to be the cadillac of authentication mechanisms, but at $30-$40 a pop along with the increase in help desk calls, it's just not realistic for most organizations to implement. Entrust's grid card has been taking off around the world because of its simplicity for end users. I heard that one bank in Asia-Pacific actually saw no uptake in help desk calls after launching Entrust's grid authentication method. Users feel safe... is a grid card going to be the 'end all be all' of authentication... of course not... neither are tokens. That's why organizations need a layered security approach that both has a back end fraud detection tool that end users don't see, as well as something that is obvious to the end user. Since implementing something to interrupt the end-user experience also serves the dual purpose of bolstering their confidence, it doesn't need to be complicated to give that assurance. Since just about any authentication method can be thwarted by clever fraudsters, 'one size fits all' just opens Pandora's box for the bad guys.

Mr. Ventura... obviously, you need a little more insight into how organizations are effectively defending their customers online. It's definitely not just with tokens!

A shifting landscape for e-mail security

2007-01-09T09:20:00.000-06:00

"Cisco Systems' purchase of e-mail security specialist IronPort Systems is another sign that big-name vendors are taking over the spam fight, analysts say.
Upon completion of the $830 million cash and stock deal, networking giant Cisco will join Symantec and Microsoft as a leader in the e-mail security arena. Those other companies entered the market via acquisitions and product development of their own. "
A shifting landscape for e-mail security CNET News.com

Start Your Engines! Extended Validation is now live for Vista | Trust Me!

2007-01-08T16:36:00.000-06:00

Start Your Engines! Extended Validation is now live for Vista Trust Me!

EV is live folks! At least partly live…
The good folks at Microsoft have pushed the button to publish Extended Validation trust list metadata for Vista machines.
The updates for XP machines are expected before the end of the month.
What does that mean? It means Vista users can now see the new trust features in Internet Explorer 7. It probably also means CA/Browser Forum members are high-fiving each other. Nice work!
If you got Vista for Christmas then you’re welcome to click over to our site to see a green address bar live in the comfort of your own browser (as long as it’s Internet Explorer 7…). If not, I’ll treat you to a screen shot here.Just imagine how great your site would look in green! Check us out if you’re in the market for Extended Validation SSL Certificates.

HM Revenue phish surfaces | The Register

2007-01-08T15:38:00.000-06:00

HM Revenue phish surfaces The Register

Death-Defying Acts

2007-01-08T15:28:00.000-06:00

Can a discredited software vendor come back to life? Sure, if its software is unique.
Michael McGrath had planned to stay only a short while when he became chief executive of I2 Technologies in February 2005. He's still there, though the time hasn't been particularly fun. The Dallas software firm was a shambles. It had lost 99% of its market value since the tech peak and two-thirds of its sales volume, in part to software titans SAP and Oracle. The Securities & Exchange Commission filed suit against three of its former executives for falsely booking $360 million in revenue over four years. (Two cases have been settled, and one is ongoing.) Also, $315 million in debt was coming due, with only $285 million in cash on hand.
McGrath, who had been on I2's board since August 2004, said it was "like [when] you go by a burning house and say, 'I gotta do something.' I couldn't stand on the sidelines anymore. The problems were solvable, and I knew how to solve them."
Today I2 is still struggling to grow, but at least it's profitable, with its balance sheet in decent shape and its salesmen back on the streets selling the sophisticated production-planning software that the company's founders developed in the early 1990s. If McGrath can win back the respect of corporate software buyers, he will be one of the few ever to revive a fallen technology brand.
Until I2 came along in 1988, big manufacturers had scheduled their purchasing and production lines using crude spreadsheets backed up by basic inventory software. Sanjiv Sidhu and the late Kanna Sharma left jobs at Texas Instruments to start I2 as a test bed for using artificial intelligence to sort through hundreds of thousands of possible outcomes to solve complex production schemes. Their software could simulate manufacturing operations, incorporating constraints like factory capacity, availability of materials and space for inventory. Companies used I2 to find the optimal number of parts to buy, how long to run an assembly plant and what orders they could fill. Between 1996, the year I2 went public, and 2000, sales went from $100 million to $1.1 billion, with big customers such as Caterpillar and 3M.
Then came the tech crash. Oracle and SAP, previously content to resell I2's products, entered the supply-chain software field. Some big customers began to fume at I2 for overselling product features, especially how easy it was to customize the code. In February 2001 Nike publicly blamed I2 for causing it to miss quarterly earnings by one-third. I2's demand-planning software reportedly told Nike to make too many Air Garnetts and not enough Air Jordans, leading to $100 million in lost sales. Then, in 2003, I2 dropped a bombshell when it announced it would have to rewrite four years of P&L statements to retract false revenues.
"I2 grew so quickly it never had time to establish the management fundamentals," says McGrath, who had spent 28 years at the consulting firm he cofounded, Pittiglio Rabin Todd & McGrath. "We didn't even know where our cash was."
In 2004, I2 issued $100 million in preferred stock, convertible to an 18% stake in the company, to a fund run by Geoffrey Raynor, a distressed-tech investor in Fort Worth, Tex. Raynor helped bring McGrath in to shore things up. McGrath raised $43 million more by selling some businesses, reduced debt by $210 million and cut $100 million in annual costs by firing staff, closing offices and curtailing employee travel and use of cell phones and BlackBerrys. In one year I2's operating margin (in the sense of income before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) went from 13% to 30%. In 2005, I2 earned $43 million on sales of $337 million, its first profit in seven years. The income statement is a lot cleaner, as I2 now recognizes many sales only when each component of a contract is fulfilled, instead of booking all of it the moment a contract is signed.
I2 has to start growing again--not an easy task. Sales still appear to be falling, and the supply-chain software market is stagnant, expected to rise only 2.4% a year through 2010. But McGrath thinks he can wring more dollars from existing customers and attract new ones--at least those who haven't standardized with Oracle or SAP--by selling them new software that will tightly weave together I2's older applications with programs from other vendors, used to plan production, purchasing, sales automation and bid-tendering.
Currently these applications talk to one another only if a programmer sits down and writes the code that tells them how. That can cost millions of dollars. Little changes can ripple through every one of those program-to-program interfaces. So most companies simply don't do it, opting instead to make limited use of I2's programs.
I2's new product line comes with a library of standard software components that data-processing managers can plug in more easily. It allows I2 to build up a client's capability gradually, which pleases frugal buyers burned by massive investments years back.
ON Semiconductor likes I2's new software so far. A chipmaker with plants and suppliers in the U.S., Europe and Asia, on ships 300 million parts a week and has used I2's full suite of products since 2000, improving on-time delivery rates from 65% to 90%. Production simulations used to require weeks of tweaking one variable at a time. Using I2's new scenario planner, ON can spit out what-if results hourly, getting a view of its whole supply chain, says Charlotte Diener, a vice president at ON. The company plans to upgrade to I2's new demand manager this year.
VF Corp., the world's largest apparel company (which claims the title of the I2 customer with the most complex supply chain), is waiting to see how the new software works before committing. The company, which has 800,000 different products (counting sizes and styles) coming from 1,400 factories in Latin America and Asia, already spent the time and money to stitch its planning programs together manually, so it's in no rush to add another layer of software.
Ellen Martin, who runs the VF supply operation, says that if I2's new software cuts the customization needed in half, it will attract business.
"If I was a new customer, I think it would be a big selling point," she says.
At a recent $21, I2's shares are up 100% since McGrath took over, versus 18% for the S&P 500. But that's still only 12.5 times trailing earnings. Outside investor Geoffrey Raynor has sold 3.2 million common shares, but he still owns all the preferreds, convertible to common shares at $23. Raynor made a name for himself buying shares of Continental Airlines and XO Communications near their lows. Raynor is likely to make his third big killing here.

Phishing tactics exposed by Google blacklist

2007-01-08T15:25:00.001-06:00

Nearly two-thirds of active phishing sites target users of eBay, PayPal and Bank of America websites, according to research by a security expert.
Work carried out by Michael Sutton, found that in Google's blacklist of phishing sites, used by the company in its anti-phishing toolbar for Firefox, 63 per cent of sites targeted these three websites. Online auction website eBay was the most targeted with 23.46 per cent of fake sites, followed by online payments site PayPal with 23.17 per cent. Third was Bank of America with 16.42 per cent.
Sutton said on his blog that he was surprised to find that these three targets accounted for nearly two-thirds of phishing sites.
"I was somewhat surprised to find virtually all sites using straight social engineering attacks," said Sutton. "One amusing finding was that Yahoo! commonly hosts pages that phish, wait for it, Yahoo! credentials."
"My hope was that this exercise would provide some insight into current phishing attacks and it certainly did," he said.
Sutton added that the blacklist was continuously updated and specific versions can be requested by including the required major:minor version in the GET request. The full listing (1:1) contained primarily outdated URLs as 86 per cent of the pages or sites were no longer available.
"While I would like to think that the existence of Google's blacklist had contributed to the demise of these sites, phishing sites tend to emerge and disappear quickly, so I suspect that this is just a natural part of the phishing cycle," he said.

Governors eyeing new Congress' tax measures

2007-01-08T15:25:00.000-06:00

Reuters
Jan 5, 2007 — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. state governors are keeping a close eye on the new Congress, which they expect could tackle tax and spending measures this year that may cut into local revenues, a top official with the National Governors Association said in an interview on Friday.
"We're hopeful that Congress, when it comes to tax issues, will leave state tax dollars in the hands of state-elected officials," said David Quam, federal relations director at the
NGA.
For instance, three U.S. senators introduced a bill on Thursday to make permanent a 1998 Internet access tax moratorium, which is due to expire in November — a move that would deny states income from consumers' Web usage, Quam said.

Venezuelan teen detained in hacking case

2007-01-08T15:24:00.000-06:00

CARACAS, Venezuela - A 17-year-old has been detained by Venezuelan authorities after hacking into multiple government Web sites and posting playful photos of President Hugo Chavez and his close ally, Cuba's Fidel Castro.
The boy modified 23 Web sites — including those of the vice president's office, the National Guard and the investigative police — in late December, said Oswaldo Guevara, the investigative police's head of computer-related crimes.
He appended his hacker name — "J41ber" — and home telephone number on the photo postings and other cosmetic changes made to the home pages, and the modifications included photomontages of Chavez and Castro, Guevara said.

GIFT CARDS: WHY CASH IS STILL BETTER

2007-01-08T14:54:00.000-06:00

Consumers don't lose every battle against sneaky fees. In the case of retail store gift card fees, it's time to claim victory -- just in time for holiday shopping. So-called dormancy fees -- where gift cards leak value over time if they’re not used -- have just about become a thing of the past. You can thank several consumer advocate agencies, along with widespread consumer disgust, and perhaps a pang of corporate consience, for the change. Most retail gift cards will never expire or lose their value now, a welcome change.

Of course, the fight against fees is far from over. Bank gift cards, like the ones available from Visa and MasterCard, are still a terrible deal. Later in this column, I’ll show you how a $50 bank card will cost you $60 and could easily be worth only $40 to the recipient.

More...

Secret volume control in Quicktime

2007-01-04T10:04:00.000-06:00

Ever been in the situation where you've cranked your volume slider up to max in your media player and it's still too soft? Well in Quicktime, there is a secret volume control which can give you an additional significant volume boost.

read more digg story

Five Hackers Who Left a Mark on 2006

2007-01-03T19:29:00.000-06:00

Five hackers who contributed critical work in 2006. From uncovering the Sony rootkit, to pointing out security flaws Apple tried to hide.

read more digg story

Why traditional PR firms have one foot in the grave

2006-05-03T11:01:00.000-05:00

OK... so it's no secret that I used to work at a PR agency. It was great work... the people I worked with had a high regard for getting results for clients, we offered a tremendous value to them for their money, we were honest with our clients... so on and so forth.

A couple of months ago, I got an irresistable offer to go to the dark side of the force and lead the global public relations efforts for a publicly traded technology company. It was painful leaving my agency solace, and the relationships I had made there were as close as family. What I didn't realize at the time was how rare that firm's particular practice of PR is... my eyes have since been opened.

In my new role, I manage our PR agency relationships. What a shock this has been! I now know why PR firms are getting such a bad reputation... it's amazing any of them are still in business. To illustrate why I have this position now, I've created this list of how not to do business if you're a PR agency... hopefully it will illustrate my frustration and utter disgust with the state of our industry.

1. Don't make excuses for why you can't get coverage. Everyone in the industry knows that having a customer who will talk to the media is like a pot of gold. If you are a technology company or a security company, customers usually don't like talking with anyone on the record. This is just a sad fact of our industry. So... if you're going to do media relations for companies in this space, learn how to be creative and position your client as an expert on trends or given topics. DO NOT give them excuses like "well... you guys haven't announced anything new in XX months" or "if we just had a customer, we could do something." I heard these excuses my first week here from our lead PR agency, and we actually had both a new product announcement and a customer announcement in the weeks right before I started. It wasn't even a true excuse! Even so, if you're going to pitch technology companies, you have to be savvy enough to know how to get around the need for customer testimonials... otherwise, you're just not qualified to do this work!

2. Don't cry a river about the amount of your retainer. This issue completely blindsided me! I came from scrappy agencies that appreciated every dollar a company entrusted to us to do work on their behalf. While we did have a set minimum below which we couldn't do effective work, if we committed to work for them at any level, we worked hard - and never brought up the amount of money we were paid as an excuse for not doing great work. This last Monday, I was on a call with one of our firm's principles, and out of the blue he said, "Well, you know our retainer was cut significantly, and it's really been a challenge for us since that time." I wanted to vomit and actually gave him an earful about how that was the wrong thing to say to me. In fact, it wasn't even true... after I'd had a conversation with our account prime there a few weeks ago, his work focused well, and they've started to get some great results and interviews for us... and even at the same "low" retainer we pay them. The work is focused to fit inside the retainer scope, and I am pleased with what they are doing... why the hell would this guy now bring up their cut retainer to me? FYI... it's still nearly $100K a year even at the cut rate, so that adds even more to my ire. The lead firm also cried about how their retainer had been cut, but they're no longer around to irritate me with this poor excuse for doing mediocre work.

3. Know what your client does and the trends upon which they can comment. This seems like a pretty basic tenet, but the lead firm I mentioned (FYI - this also is the same firm that touts how they are number one on client satisfaction surveys... and they are a giant global firm) actually sent me an article in the New York Times about identity fraud and asked me if this was the kind of story we could comment on. I went through the roof! Our marquee product helps banks prevent online identity theft for their customers... it's core to our very business. Why is this idiot asking me if this is the kind of story we want to be part of? Are you kidding me??? When I asked him if he had been properly briefed on our story and product lines, he responded with a very condescending, "What I've been trying to do is get the right pieces together to build a strategy, not just to respond to these one-off stories." (This is pasted directly from his message.) I could not believe my eyes... is it really too much trouble for him to pitch these "one-off stories" for the freakin' NEW YORK TIMES??? So... tenet #3... know what your client does and what trends upon which they can wax eloquently.

4. Have a way to report your activities regularly to your client. Again, this is something that seems so basic, but of the three firms we had on retainer when I started here, only two of them had any kind of regular reporting mechanism in place. Even those mechanisms are only sent out once a month, so during the month, I have very little idea of what they are doing on a day to day basis. The firm I left was completely obsessive about maintaining constant communication with our clients. Weekly status reports were meticulously kept and sent out like clockwork on Thursdays to every client. Daily communication with clients was the rule, and I doubt any client had a day go by when they wondered "What is (old firm's name) doing for me today?" In my current role, there often are weeks that go by when I don't know what the hell my firm is doing for us. I'll get a clip or some communication from them every once in a while, but I honestly couldn't tell you what they are doing for us at a given time. The firm that has the most egregious violation of this has been put on notice, so don't think I'm not addressing the issue.

The bottom line is that marketing dollars, while starting to creep back, are still precious. If a company decides to hire a PR agency, they expect them to act like an extension of the team. If they can't do this with any degree of competence, they they are wasting our money. With PR agencies acting as I've described, it's a wonder any of them stay in business at all. I guess they just have to find a bigger sucker who's willing to fork over several million dollars to them... maybe they'll find the time to learn about that company's business and pitch them with some good results. If not, the pending doom of the traditional PR firm is a fate they will not be able to avoid... lord knows I'll gladly put a nail in that coffin.

Private sector drains FBI talent

2006-05-03T10:55:00.000-05:00

Senator: `Critical jobs at a critical time'By Andrew ZajacWashington BureauPublished May 3, 2006

WASHINGTON -- Two more senior FBI officials announced plans to quit in recent days, continuing a hemorrhage of top talent to the private sector that has complicated the bureau's efforts to refashion itself as a counterterrorism agency.On Friday the FBI announced the departure of Gary Bald, head of the bureau's newly formed National Security Branch, who is taking a job with a cruise line.On Tuesday, Bank of America announced it had hired the bureau's No. 3 official, Chris Swecker, the acting executive assistant director.

Swecker's predecessor, Grant Ashley, left the FBI just three months ago for a security post at a casino.Another senior executive, Louis Reigel, who headed the cyber-crime division, retired to join a food service company earlier this year.The turnover is particularly acute among counterterrorism officials, such as Bald, who had been in his job overseeing the FBI's fledgling domestic intelligence operation for only eight months.

More...

This political season, it's shaping up to be a Snow storm

2006-04-28T13:13:00.000-05:00

OK, so yes, I was a bit surprised at the selection of FOX News' Tony Snow to take the post as President Bush's Press Secretary. For a PR flack like myself, this is the holy grail of jobs... you have to simultaneously know how to charm, fend off and get a bit muddy to avoid saying too much all at the same time. The constant barrage of hate and ire coming at you from all sides - often just because you are the chief gatekeeper of information - is the reason this is one White House job with the shortest shelf life.

But... after you survive this trial by fire, the most cushy PR jobs await you on the other side. The speaking engagement fees can hit five or six figures a pop, and you are now firmly planted in the minds of the PR community as one that has been more than battle tested. This is the promised land... and why the Ari Fleischers, Joe Lockharts and Dede Myers of the world have endured the pain and suffering that is the job of the White House press secretary. The common phrase, "He may be an asshole, but he's our asshole" has to come in handy when a press secretary considers their own plight of moral dilemma. Whether they are defending cigar indiscretions or the fales pretenses of war, the actions are not their own, and they are powerless to do anything but communicate the script they've been given in the most endearing way.

So now the stage has one Tony Snow on it. While Mr. Snow did spend a bit of time on our side of the desk as a speech writer for Bush I, his recent career as a journalist must have him in a very awkward position. How will this play out? All eyes in the PR world are watching... his colleagues will now fire questions at him and expect an honest response. How will he handle his own conflict of reporting accurately yet positioning (or spinning) the White House drivel (or lack thereof)?

The only thing he's got going for him is that his predecessor, Scott McClellan, did not exude any endearing qualities. Frankly, he just looked irritated all the time - kind of like Joe Lockhart did but not quite as obnoxiously. And poor Scott also had the best press secretary of recent years before him... Ari Fleischer.

While the big brew haha has been about Tony coming from what's touted as President Bush's own personal cable news network (FOX News), the more interesting issue for me is that he is about to embark on what has to be one of the most interesting challenges of his career. I wish him the best... lord knows he's going to need it!

Freedom Tower work begins - Apr 27, 2006

2006-04-27T09:20:00.000-05:00

CNN.com - Apr 27, 2006: "Trucks are rolling onto the World Trade Center site Thursday morning as workers gather to start long-delayed construction at 9/11's Ground Zero.
The intention is to build the tallest building in North America to fill the hole in the New York skyline left by the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The move follows an agreement on Wednesday between the owner of the 16-acre site and the real estate developer who leased it six weeks before the towers were destroyed.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the transportation agency that built the 110-story twin towers in the early 1970s and ran them until July 2001, approved the deal with developer Larry Silverstein in a board meeting Wednesday afternoon.
The deal settles financing for the 'Freedom Tower,' the planned 1,776-foot building to be erected on the northern end of the site."

Google promotes Firefox on IE

2006-04-26T15:44:00.000-05:00

News.blog | CNET News.com: "Wednesday morning, an advertisement for the Google Firefox Toolbar appeared on Google's home page when viewed with Internet Explorer.
SpreadFirefox has posted a screenshot of the Web page.
Firefox is an open-source Web browser and a direct competitor of Internet Explorer. Google already partners with Firefox by offering a search-engine option for Firefox users.
'Google occasionally promotes products on its home page and is currently running a promotion for Firefox with Google Toolbar,' Sony Boralv, a Google spokeswoman, told CNET News.com. 'This promotion is an extension of the Firefox referrals through (the) AdSense program we announced last year. Google is promoting Firefox with Google Toolbar because tabbed browsing and safer surfing help provide our users with a great search experience.'
According to Boralv, Firefox is not the first product to be promoted in this way. Google has featured Google Pack and Google Video content from the NBA and CBS."

IDM keeps 'good guys in'

2006-04-26T13:54:00.000-05:00

Article: "IDM keeps �good guys in�
Firms searching for better online customer authentication
By: Vanessa Ho
ComputerWorld Canada (28 Apr 2006)

Identity theft is a crime of the information age that is increasingly affecting Canadians as access to and sharing of information has become easier due to poorly protected electronic information, according to one security expert.
�We leave digital footprints all over the place because we are connected all the time,� said Robert Parker, a retired partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP, to a group of financial industry practitioners during an event held last month in Toronto entitled, Combating Online Identity Fraud.
Financial institutions need to question whether the clients they are dealing with over the Internet are actually who they say they are, Parker said. Banks are often looking for more effective ways to authenticate those individuals online, he said.
�A whole lot of things can and do go wrong when dealing with identity theft. It can present risk to both individuals and businesses,� he added. As individuals, Parker said people readily disclose personal information through activities like joining loyalty programs."

PKI doesn't have to be perfect to be worthwhile

2006-04-24T13:50:00.000-05:00

Experts say a simpler approach could still yield benefits for security: "PKI doesn't have to be perfect to be worthwhile
Experts say a simpler approach could still yield benefits for security
By William Jackson, GCN Staff

Nobody ever said implementing a public-key infrastructure would be easy, but a pair of experts at the 2006 International Conference on Network Security said last week that using PKI is often harder than it needs to be.

"We haven't been as successful as I wish we had been," said Bill Burr of the National Institute of Standards and Technology. "But I think we've been more successful than we get credit for."

PKI promises to be a pretty good way to authenticate users, sign documents electronically and secure data. It uses a pair of mathematically related encryption keys to secure data. One key is kept private while the other is made public, allowing communications between individuals without exchanging secret keys. Using a public key, messages can be sent that can only be read by someone possessing the corresponding private key. "

MySA.com: Business

2006-04-24T13:47:00.000-05:00

MySA.com: Business: "UT Austin investigates computer breach
Web Posted: 04/24/2006 02:32 PM CDT
Associated Press
Nearly 200,000 electronic records belonging to students, staff and alumni at the University of Texas at Austin's business school have been illegally accessed, the school said Sunday.

advertisement

University officials said they notified the state Attorney General's Office of the school's second major breach in three years.
The university has also established a call center and Web site for those whose records may have been breached at the McCombs School of Business. "

USATODAY.com - States rush to remove data on residents from websites

2006-04-24T13:46:00.000-05:00

USATODAY.com - States rush to remove data on residents from websites: "States rush to remove data on residents from websites
Updated 4/23/2006 10:01 PM ETE-mail Save Print Reprints Subscribe to stories like this

By Jon Swartz, USA TODAY
SAN FRANCISCO � States across the USA are furiously removing sensitive data from official websites.
The task highlights challenges facing states with sites full of personal information on residents, from Social Security numbers to bank account numbers.
Such data is available in Florida, Ohio and at least a dozen others, say privacy experts who provided USA TODAY with links to public websites. Many state laws require property records be posted online in the interest of open government. "

Tech: Surveillance Cameras Become Big Business - Business Edge - Newsweek - MSNBC.com

2006-03-19T07:43:00.000-06:00

Tech: Surveillance Cameras Become Big Business - Business Edge - Newsweek - MSNBC.com: "March 15, 2006 - When the Spotsylvania School Board resolved a year and a half ago to install a vast network of high-tech surveillance cameras in and around the county's 28 public schools, a silent sigh of relief swept through this northern Virginia county of 112,000. Civil liberties didn't seem to be this community's major concern. Rather, with memories of the Washington-area sniper shootings still sharp in their minds (two of the victims were shot there), many welcomed the sense of security. 'That [year of the shootings] was the worst fall I have ever spent in my 36-year career as a school teacher and administrator,' said Donald Alvey, secondary education director for the school district, who said parents and school officials were terrified of students' vulnerability during sports functions, recess or simply walking home from school. 'It was a no-brainer after that that we needed to put cameras in the schools to help kids and parents feel safer.' "

Microsoft kowtows to Chinese censors - vnunet.com

2006-01-05T09:48:00.000-06:00

Microsoft kowtows to Chinese censors - vnunet.com: "Microsoft kowtows to Chinese censors
Even Redmond's own staff are horrified
Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 05 Jan 2006

Microsoft has joined Yahoo in the dubious club of companies willing to stifle free speech when the Chinese government tells them to.
The company has taken down a blog written by journalist Zhao Jing, also known as Michael Anti, from its MSN Spaces portal.

Zhoa Jing, a Beijing-based researcher for the New York Times, was critical of a recent management change in China and the government asked Microsoft to remove the blog."

TechGirl's New Year's Resolutions...

2005-12-28T16:17:00.000-06:00

Top 10 time... here are the Top 10 things I want to get done in 2006

10. Watch more sunsets.

9. Learn to play the violin with my eldest daughter. We both got a violin for Christmas, and she is at the ripe age to start learning.

8. Have a date night with my hubbie once a month. It's just too easy to get in the rut of staying home every night and enjoying Keith Olberman wax about the Oddballs of the world.

7. Get even more coverage for the clients I work. We've gotten a lot of good coverage this year for them, but this is a need that will never be satiated.

6. Be a better friend - send thank you notes more often, call people I care about, do more kind gestures for friends in crisis and just care more about others.

5. Give a large anonymous gift to someone who needs it but is too proud to ask for help.

4. Stay relatively healthy. Not saying I want to lose weight or be able to run 100 miles without missing a beat or anything, but it would be nice to get back in the gym and not lose my breath chasing my daughters up the stairs for a tickle fight.

3. Take a trip to see some relatives we don't normally get to see. A couple of them are getting closer to death's doorstep, and I just want to share another moment with a few of them before they cross it.

2. Find a solution to the never ending laundry pile. Starting my own private nudist colony is one thought I had. Throwing away dirty clothes and just buying a new wardrobe every week was another.

1. You probably thought I'd say something cheesy for #1... well... I just can't resist. I just want to live and take each moment and appreciate it for what it is - a gift.

Happy New Years! From the cynical TechGirl.

The No Man's Land Week Doldrums

2005-12-28T15:55:00.000-06:00

OK - this is just a ridiculous week to try and work... it is INSANE! If you are one of the lucky ones who either works at a company that already realizes productivity is a lost cause the week between Christmas and New Year's... or if you have saved up a bunch of meaningless tasks to do during this slow, dry, draught of a week... well... hurray for you. I'm happy for you. No, really I am.

PR people and salesmen (non retail) just might as well kiss any hope of generating leads this week goodbye. It's hopeless. This morning, I sent out a press release this morning (yes, please tell me why a client decided to drop ANYTHING this week... still trying to figure that one out myself), and out of a good 100 contacts - more than half came back with the lovely "Out of Office" reply.

Well... goodie goodie for these people. In the mean time, I need to get coverage for my clients. Why does the whole world just shut down during this horrific week? Are the after Christmas sales just that hard to resist? Are people in a comatose state from eating too much turkey and partaking of too much holiday cheer? I just don't get it...

I'm actually in a mild state of depression today... and it SUCKS! I hate it. Someone, please... give me a bottle of vodka, some olives and a martini glass. It's a desperate situation here for the Tech Girl. Someone gimme a "yeah-haw" It's a bleak, bleak world, and this incredible 75 degree weather is making it that much worse as I stare at it from behind my desk.

Math professor solves decades-old problem

2005-12-28T15:54:00.000-06:00

COLUMBIA, Mo. - A professor at the University of Missouri-Columbia is being recognized for solving a math problem that had stumped his peers for more than 40 years.

The achievement has landed Steven Hofmann an invitation to speak next spring at the 2006 International Congress of Mathematicians in Madrid, Spain."

iPod love affair...

2005-12-22T16:03:00.000-06:00

OK... this year, I volunteered to help my father-in-law get an iPod for my mother-in-law. While you might think this was a very kind act of thoughtfulness, it really wasn't. It was my greedy, selfish way to get my paws on the latest and greatest iPod video and have a chance to play with it.

Confession time... so... it came in earlier this week, and I just HAD to open it, get it charged and start loading it with a bunch of goodies. It was my duty... really. After all, who wants to get a factory sealed iPod on Christmas morning only to realize it will take at least three to five hours to make it remotely useful. Yes, I was compelled to make sure my sweet mother-in-law could enjoy her new toy straight out of the wrapping paper.

Did you believe that line of crap?

Who am I kidding??? Let's go back to my original thought... without any kind of justification, this mother of two isn't going to spend three Benjamins on a frivilous toy like that for myself any time in the near future - espcially not if I even knew I would find it useful.

Now, well, let's just say I'll be packin' my lunch the next couple of months just to have a chance at owning one. It's a love affair that isn't going to leave my mind any time soon... I love that little white box.

Techworld.com - Companies should prepare for 'second' Internet

2005-12-09T09:27:00.000-06:00

"During the next year, companies should become more aware as to how technologies such as blogging and podcasting will affect their businesses. That's according to Gartner who said enterprises should be more inventive with their technology.

Those innovations are driving a second Internet revolution, a time when businesses can't afford to be content that they are simply online, said Mark Raskino, a research fellow at Gartner. Podcasting and blogging are affecting businesses both internally and externally, he said."

Wanna be quoted? Try speaking English

2005-12-01T09:28:00.000-06:00

The old adage “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” rings quite true for us PR pros but in a slightly different way. We can get a client an interview, but we can’t talk for him. Therefore, it is imperative that we teach him or her how to communicate best with reporters.

Let’s face it, it’s not easy for most techies to come down from their high cloud of Mbps, throughput, platforms, solutions and integrated, interoperable patch panels, but if you’re going to talk to a reporter, you have to put it in a language we all understand – English.

The reason a corporate spokesperson or press release writer at a company needs to speak this very basic language is because the audience, while certainly tech-savvy, went to journalism, not engineering school. They are the gatekeepers to the audience you ultimately want to reach – potential customers and partners. But you must get through them first, and if they can’t understand a word you say, they might nod politely, but you will not reap the rewards of their pen.

To illustrate how far the jargon-world has gone, I pulled a few quotes from recent press releases off PR Newswire. Observe.

"Bottom line, these test results exceeded all of our expectations," stated <>. "The performance in terms of throughput and latency met our most stringent network requirements and it is the first Ethernet Wireless Platform to match our QoS requirements for the delivery of voice, video and data services to the end users."

And another poor soul…

"Our FTTP and FTTN solutions provide operators with the flexible platform they need to economically drive additional revenue now while providing a seamless migration path for the future."

Now, while I actually understand what these people are trying to communicate (my nerdish tendencies are showing, I realize), it is clear to me that these people need HELP! Most technology company executives think that their news releases, pitch letters and press statements are going directly to the engineers who might buy their product and actually understand what they are trying to say.

They are sorely mistaken.

The purpose of any public relations piece is to get a reporter to call you for an interview. That’s it. It’s not your opportunity to tell the entire world the innermost workings of your company or product. It is not your opportunity to wax eloquently on all the virtues of how this silicon chip is going to revolutionize the semiconductor industry for decades. Keep your mind focused on the purpose of these communication pieces.

One quick rule of thumb is to let your 80-year-old grandmother read your press release. If she can understand it and grasp why this news is important to the world, then you have succeeded. If her eyes glaze over and she asks you to get her a cocktail, it’s time to go back to the drawing board.

Another tip is to stay away from words that are so overused that they no longer have any real meaning. The top picks for this category include words like “solution,” “revolutionary,” “world-class,” “best-of-breed” and quickly climbing the ranks … “elegant.” Every company thinks it has the best solution and a revolutionary way of approaching a problem. Also, most tech reporters are still nursing snakebites from the last time they wrote about a company that was “revolutionizing” something and closed their doors soon thereafter, so the fact you are touting to do the same scares them a little.

Just remember that the proof is in the proverbial pudding, so make sure you speak in clear terms that do not over-hype the value you bring to the market. Ask yourself what sets you apart. Why is your company or product better – in real terms? Do I have customers or partners that will validate what my company does?

One other really good practice is to come up with juicy sound bites long before you get an interview with a live reporter. These are phrases that sound like an actual person speaks. They clearly communicate the value (not the speeds and feeds) of your company and product. Here are a few examples of quotes to get your brain going.

“When Santa brings little Johnny a new Web-enabled phone this Christmas, we’ll make sure he’ll be safe to surf.”

“When someone dials 911, they need to know someone will be able to find them – even if they’re on an IP phone. Let’s face it, it could be the difference between life or death, literally.”

“When a doctor needs to download an MRI file, he usually doesn’t have time to wait forever. That’s why we make sure hospitals are equipped with cabling that can handle these kind of large file transfers. It’s just the right thing to do.”

After reading those, you probably can figure out what the companies do in general terms and the value each brings to the market.

If you have trouble learning how to translate technology jargon into plain English, there is no need to fear. Just hire a translator who can understand what your company does, how best to communicate your value and one that can help craft messages to guide you as you learn how to use this wonderful new language. It won’t hurt much; we’ll even speak slowly.

Your life secrets, left in a taxi - Security - MSNBC.com

2005-11-21T12:02:00.001-06:00

Security - MSNBC.com: "It was just a tiny thumb drive, but now, it's a pretty big problem for a Hawaii hospital. And what happened there could eventually become a problem for you, too.
Last month, Wilcox Memorial Hospital in Kauai had to inform 120,000 past and present patients that their private information had been misplaced. Their names, addresses, Social Security numbers, even medical record numbers had been placed on one of those tiny USB flash drives - and now, according to the letter, the drive was missing."

Google's share price hits $400

2005-11-17T11:20:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Google's share price got a dose of high octane in the past four weeks, soaring from $300 a share to hitting in excess of $400 on Thursday.
Does zero to 60 come to mind?
And the messages boards that track the sentiment of Google investors have been a buzz, with some predicting a further run up to $500 a share.
But amid the hoopla, here's a factoid to chew on - Google's market cap is a hair away from being twice that of its arch-competitor Yahoo.
Google's market cap is $112.6 billion, based on early morning trading. Yahoo is a mere $57.7 billion. "

'Digg Just Might Bury Slashdot'

2005-11-17T09:38:00.000-06:00

"A news-oriented bookmarking site called Digg is giving Slashdot a run for its money. Indeed, a good "Diggdotting" is melting down servers all over the net."

Link: Wired News

read more | digg story

U.S. Maintains Control of Net

2005-11-17T09:27:00.000-06:00

Wired News: "TUNIS, Tunisia -- Negotiators working late into the night Tuesday shook hands on a deal that creates a new U.N.-sponsored global forum to explore problems like spam and cybercrime, while leaving the United States firmly in control of the internet's domain name system.
The last minute accord settled an issue that threatened to derail the U.N.'s World Summit on the Information Society, which began here Wednesday. The multilateral gathering -- conceived to bridge the 'digital divide' between rich nations and poor -- has drawn thousands of delegates and observers from around the globe to this port city in the North African desert. "

French party exploits Google Adwords

2005-11-16T13:16:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "France's majority party has admitted to leading a marketing campaign using Google's Adwords system of sponsored links.
Keywords evoking the violent situation in the Parisian suburbs and elsewhere across the country point to a petition in support of Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy.
Over the weekend of Nov. 5 and 6, Web surfers who entered terms such as 'violence,' 'riots,' 'suburbs,' 'burned cars' or even 'scum' into the Google search site were presented with an advertisement linking directly to the official UMP ('Union for a Popular Movement') Web site.
More precisely, the link directed Internet users to a petition supporting party President and Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy's 'zero tolerance policy' in response to the confrontations rocking the suburbs of Paris."

Google Base service goes live

2005-11-16T09:44:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Google's mysterious Google Base service went live late on Tuesday, allowing people to post any kind of information they want for free and to provide labels to describe it so others can easily find it.
The new beta service allows people to post 'all types of online and offline information and images' that will be searchable on Google Base and, depending on their relevance, may be searchable on Google Search, Froogle and Google Local, the company said.
'If you have information you want to share with others, but aren't sure how to go about gaining an audience, Google Base is for you,' said the frequently asked questions section of the new service. "

Yahoo inks deal with blog purveyor

2005-11-16T09:37:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Yahoo on Wednesday will add content from the Gawker Media group of blogs to Yahoo News. Yahoo will post dozens of stories a day from five Gawker sites: Manhattan news and gossip blog Gawker, political site Wonkette, gadget site Gizmodo, Hollywood gossip and news site Defamer and Lifehacker, a site with reviews of downloads and Web sites. The agreement will be expanded to include more Gawker Media blogs that will be distributed on other areas of Yahoo. "

Sony accused of leading price-fix cartel to stop cheap deals on web

2005-11-15T16:18:00.000-06:00

Scotsman.com News : "THE electrical giant Sony has been accused of price-fixing in an attempt to curb internet bargains and send online prices soaring, it emerged yesterday.
The firm is among up to five leading manufacturers which demand higher prices from internet retailers than they do from high street stores. "

Amazon shares jump as it joins S&P 500

2005-11-15T09:22:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Standard & Poor's on Monday said Amazon.com will join its flagship 500 stock index after the close of trading on Nov. 18, replacing AT&T.
The news sent the Internet retailer's shares up 6 percent in after-hours trading.
Share prices of companies joining the S&P 500 often rise because many portfolio managers try to track the index, and they are required by charter to buy stocks that enter it.
Seattle-based Amazon, which began as an online bookseller, has grown to become the second most popular Internet commerce site, after eBay. "

Start-up aims to join telephone, wireless calls | CNET News.com

2005-11-14T09:13:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "A secretive start-up backed by two powerful Silicon Valley venture capital firms will on Monday outline its plans for bridging the gulf between mobile telephones and fixed-line phone networks.
Executives of Mountain View, Calif.-based Stoke say they are developing a way to offer so-called 'fixed mobile convergence' inside offices, at home and around town as well--a major stumbling block the communications industry is facing.
Stoke, which has been operating in 'stealth' mode since its founding, joins a dozen start-ups trying to solve the question of how to hook up mobile phone networks to fixed-line phone or cable networks to give phone users a single point of contact. "

Google gets analytical

2005-11-14T07:27:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Google is set to launch on Monday a free Web analytics service that will let companies see exactly how visitors interact with their Web site and how their advertising campaigns are faring.
The free hosted service, which will be available in English and 16 other languages, is based on technology from San Diego-based Urchin, which Google acquired in March.
Urchin's products previously cost $495 a month and were reduced to $199 a month by Google. The full-featured analytics applications based on Urchin's technology replace the simple tracking tool that's now available with Google AdWords.
Google Analytics will let Web site owners see exactly where visitors to their site are coming from, what links on the site are getting the most traffic, what pages visitors are viewing, how long people stay on the site, which products on merchant sites are being sold and where people give up in multistep checkout processes, said Paul Muret, an engineering director at Google and one of the founders of Urchin. "

Microsoft's ad pitch underpins Net moves

2005-11-11T07:40:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Microsoft's grand ambitions for free services rest on one thing: its ability to get to know you better.
The company has outlined a whole host of things it would like to offer as part of its 'Live' services effort. But it needs to make more money selling ads to make the push pay off.
To do this, it's betting on personalization as the way to boost its online ad sales. The centerpiece of the strategy is something called AdCenter--a tool that Microsoft has been developing for more than a year as a way to serve up ads tailor made for the user that is receiving them. "

VOIP No Longer for the Underdog

2005-11-10T15:48:00.000-06:00

VOIP No Longer for the Underdog: "News Analysis: The telehone industry's old guard emerges as leaders of 'new telephony,' and they can thank federal regulations.

Internet telephony was once for underdog firms able to muster up a few hundred thousand dollars in investments. But that's not the case anymore, and perhaps federal regulations have played a large role.
The present-day landscape is very different from what early VOIP (voice over IP) entrepreneurs had in mind for the freely available software that turns Internet connections into free phone lines.
Because of VOIP, the 'new telephone company' no longer needed to own a network of any kind.
Rather, it required only a little venture capital to build a brand and a Web site, and a requirement that all customers come with their own Internet connection. "

Riot Crackdown Nets Bloggers

2005-11-10T14:45:00.000-06:00

French prosecutors shut down several blogs this week and arrested bloggers suspected of inciting violence, as officials moved to squelch riots that have rocked France for more than 10 days.

A prosecuting attorney from Le Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris, who spoke under condition of anonymity, told Wired News that three bloggers and forum visitors allegedly posted messages that violated French criminal statutes governing violent speech. Two of the bloggers, who were arrested earlier this week, could be arraigned under violent speech statutes, the prosecutor said. The blogs in question, he said, were hosted on a French site called Skyblog, which is owned by Skyrock.

Link: Wired News.

Study: Teenagers favor IM to e-mail

2005-11-10T13:43:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Instant messaging is emerging as a favorite communication tool among teenagers and young adults, with a good number of them sending more IMs than e-mails, a new survey says.
Nearly 66 percent of 13- to 21-year-olds say they send more IMs than e-mails, compared with 49 percent last year, according to an America Online-commissioned study of instant messaging trends.
Overall, 38 percent of users say they send as many or more IMs than e-mails.
One-fourth of users would like to see entertainment content within instant messages, while 20 percent want to make phone calls from their messaging service. Already, 33 percent of users send mobile IMs from their cell phones at least once a week. Another 12 percent say they would be interested in an IM-based VoIP service that could replace their primary household phone line, the survey said."

More Google classifieds buzz

2005-11-10T10:27:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "Google has filed a patent application for something called 'Google Automat,' a service that could tie into the Google Base database service and 'Google Purchases' (formerly 'Google Wallet') online payment system, said Classified Intelligence, which helps media companies and others develop classified-advertising services.
Last month, Google said it was testing a new service, Google Base, that would let people post and make searchable any type of content. A sample page listed as examples party planning services, current events and used car listings.
'Google is seeking to patent a Web advertising placement system tentatively known as 'Google Automat' that could directly impact the $100 billion annual global classified-advertising business,' Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based Classified Intelligence said in a statement.
'It's crystal clear Google is planning for an all-out move into classified advertising,' said Peter M. Zollman, founding principal of Classified Intelligence.
In its patent applications, Google used the 'classifieds.google.com' Web address, Classified Intelligence said. "

Got 2 extra hours for your e-mail?

2005-11-10T10:26:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "'I was buried under a pile of e-mail,' Robbins, 41, said. 'I can't remember ever having a nightmare. For my first nightmare to be about e-mail, that was pathetic.'
In his waking life, at the consulting company where he worked, Robbins sometimes had to troll through 120 e-mail messages a day, many of them from his boss. 'By the time I got done triaging the e-mail, I didn't have energy to do the rest of the work,' Robbins said.
So Robbins sent his boss and colleagues a series of recommendations about changing their e-mail ways. When the suggestions were ignored, Robbins quit his job and went into business for himself, helping executives improve their job performance. High on his list of priorities was helping them wrestle down their e-mail."

Google's Tough Call

2005-11-10T08:41:00.000-06:00

Wired 13.11: "A decision will be made this November that may well change the Internet as we know it. Not in a technical sense - the threats there are many and are yet to be resolved. I'm talking about change in a business sense - meaning what business models will work on the Internet."

Yahoo backs off bidding for AOL stake

2005-11-10T08:37:00.000-06:00

CNET News.com: "'After we learned what their proposed deal terms were, we passed and we've never looked back,' a Yahoo spokeswoman said on Thursday, confirming a report in the Wall Street Journal.
She denied that the company had made an offer for AOL but confirmed that Yahoo Chief Executive Terry Semel met with Time Warner chairman Richard Parsons in October.
The paper, citing a person familiar with the matter, said Time Warner signaled it wasn't interested in the terms Yahoo was willing to offer.
Time Warner is still in talks with Web search engine Google and software giant Microsoft and the Journal said the two companies are neck-and-neck in the talks, citing unnamed sources.
Time Warner is expected to choose one partner with which it will start exclusive negotiations as early as next week, the paper said."

One million Windows users switch to Mac

2005-11-09T16:09:00.000-06:00

Techworld.com : "As many as one million Windows users may have switched to Macs this year as the iPod halo transforms Apple into a technology industry 'darling' and users tire of Windows security problems.
According to Needham analyst Charles Wolf the shift follows Apple's fast-paced series of innovations. 'The momentum generated by these products has translated into financial results that have easily beat most estimates. Most importantly, Windows users are buying Macs in increasing numbers.
'We estimate that in the first three quarters of calendar 2005, over one million of them have purchased a Mac compared to our estimate of 500,000 for the entire calendar year. Clearly, the so-called halo is working. Windows users are also switching because of the growing epidemic of viruses infecting their PCs,' he writes."