Why We Click
The idea that none of us are immune is the main takeaway from a report titled "Mind Games: A psychological analysis of common e-mail scams," that Blascovich and McAfee published on June 25. McAfee, of Santa Clara, Calif., throws around figures like these: If half of the population in the United States (about 150 million people) use e-mail on a daily basis, and if only half of them (75 million) are gullible, and only 1 percent (750,000) buy into scam-spam on a given day, and if those victims were to cough up a mere $20 per scam, the potential market amounts to $15 million a day, or $105 million per week, or nearly $5.5 billion per year in just the United States..

McAfee Reports Drop in Malicious Search Results
Perhaps one of the most curious new portable application platforms to hit the market, MojoPac alters from U3 and Ceedo tremendously by actually allowing you install anything on a portable USB Mass Storage Device, whether it's Photoshop, World of Warcraft, or Outlook for the cubite masses. On top of that, practically everything personal (bookmarks, documents, etc) is kept within MojoPac, always with you and never touching the host computer.

Online Search Dangers: Music And Tech Are The Riskiest
Despite coming up with such a large number, McAfee's researchers report in a release that it's actually down by 1%. The study also showed that people who do their searches on advertising-sponsored sites are at much greater risk than people using nonsponsored sites. "We're encouraged to see some improvement in search engine safety this year. But with four out of five Web site visits starting with a search engine query, consumers are still exposed to hundreds of millions of risky searches per month," said Tim Dowling, VP of Consumer Growth Initiatives at McAfee, in a written statement. "In fact, an active search engine user, one that performs more than 10 searches per day, is likely to visit a dangerous site at least once a day."

Risky Business: Sponsored Search Links Less Safe Than Nonpaid Links
Clicking on a paid link in a results page displayed by Google, Yahoo and other search engines is two-and-a-half-times riskier than using an "organic" link, McAfee Inc. reported today, although the percentage of dangerous sponsored links has fallen in the past six months. Changes Google Inc. made last year to its AdWords paid link program are behind the improvement, said Mark Maxwell, senior product manager for McAfee SiteAdvisor, a free safe-browsing service.

MojoPac
Congratulations, Mojopac. You have left us bitter and broken, but in the best way possible. For as much as we tried to find fault with, or otherwise break, your portable Windows virtualization software, we have returned from the war sans spoils. You win. For a fairly complex piece of software, Mojopac is remarkably easy to use. You install the program onto any storage-themed external device—like a USB drive or an iPod—and that’s it. In essence, Mojopac operates as a clone of your current Windows XP environment, but the primary hard drive is mapped to the external device, not the connected PC.

MojoPac Mobile Gaming Platform & More
Perhaps one of the most curious new portable application platforms to hit the market, MojoPac alters from U3 and Ceedo tremendously by actually allowing you install anything on a portable USB Mass Storage Device, whether it's Photoshop, World of Warcraft, or Outlook for the cubite masses. On top of that, practically everything personal (bookmarks, documents, etc) is kept within MojoPac, always with you and never touching the host computer.

MojoPac Mobile Gaming Platform & More
Perhaps one of the most curious new portable application platforms to hit the market, MojoPac alters from U3 and Ceedo tremendously by actually allowing you install anything on a portable USB Mass Storage Device, whether it's Photoshop, World of Warcraft, or Outlook for the cubite masses. On top of that, practically everything personal (bookmarks, documents, etc) is kept within MojoPac, always with you and never touching the host computer.

May 14, 2007

Family Friendly Gaming for Summer Distraction
If parents and kids are all trying to use the same family computer, the poor machine can get cluttered up pretty quickly. One solution to "PC clutter" is MojoPac, an interesting application that essentially turns any USB device (like a USB drive, external hard drive or even an iPod) into a portable PC desktop. Games and applications can be installed directly onto the MojoPac device, and when it is connected to a host PC, it will display a special desktop environment that allows access to those programs and files. When the MojoPac device is unplugged from the PC, no traces of the applications or files are left behind.

May 11, 2007

Carry your Personal PC on MojoPac
MojoPac is the first application to virtualize the Windows operating system, so you can carry it with you. MojoPac already supports hundreds of specialized applications. MojoPac allows you to carry your personal PC in your pocket from home, to your favorite vacation spot, to your hotel room and back, and go totally unnoticed. Tens of thousands of users have already adopted MojoPac within the past few months by downloading the software from the MojoPac web site. This new technology finally breaks the shackles that bind mobile professionals to a single computer.

May 3, 2007

DigitalPersona Takes Companies' Pulse on Authentication A Web Exclusive from Windows IT Pro
Many organizations use passwords as their authentication mechanism, but a recent survey suggests that they might not be so confident about their reliance on this approach. Of the IT and security professionals surveyed, 73 percent said that password security has become a bigger concern to their organization in the last year. The survey was conducted by Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum and DigitalPersona, which provides fingerprint authentication systems.

May 2, 2007

Sharing passwords a cause for concern for IT departments
The sharing of passwords within organizations is becoming a growing concern among IT and security executives, according to a recent survey conducted by DigitalPersona, a provider of fingerprint authentication solutions. The study, done in conjunction with the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum, noted that 73 per cent, out of the 120 IT and security executive who responded to the survey, indicated that password security has become a bigger issue over the last year, and 77 per cent stated that a network data breach could be critical or disastrous to their company.

Better defining CMO role can cut high turnover rate
The casualty rate of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs) can be reduced if CEOs and boards better understood the role, requirements and value of a CMO and empowered the right individuals to architect all aspects of a company's operations around the customer experience, according to a new study conducted by the CMO Council. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based CMO Council said the study, entitled "Define & Align the CMO," found that a paucity of effective ROI metrics for marketing was also undermining the CMO position and function as a whole. "Conventional wisdom holds that the CMO is a strategic player . . . but this study shows a significant gap between perception and reality," said Donovan Neale-May, executive director of the CMO Council. "That's why the CMO Council strongly advocates a significant change in the way this position is defined and structured.

New Study Shows Hyped Role of Chief Marketing Officer Needs Better Definition, More Substance and Strategic Leadership
The casualty rate of Chief Marketing Officers can be reduced if CEOs and boards better understood the role, requirements and value of a CMO and empowered the right individuals to architect all aspects of a company's operations around the customer experience, says anew study that looks at how to better 'Define & Align the CMO' in the enterprise.

Locked Tight
Options allow administrators to configure settings for domains, sites and organizational units. Settings include fingerprint authentication and registration, data caching, fingerprint logons, password randomization and event logging. Administrators can audit who accessed or failed to access networked computers, password-protected programs and Web sites. The DigitalPersona Pro Workstation and Server software also support various notebook computers with embedded fingerprint swipe readers, including Dell, Lenovo, HP, Toshiba, Fujitsu and Itronix.

CRM Companies Look to Wireless for Increased Productivity
TOA Technologies makes use of a Web-based system that relies on wireless in order to cut down the amount of time that customers must wait at home for a cable service person or a delivery-to perhaps an hour instead of a typical four-hour window of waiting impatiently and possibly calling in to a call center for an update on when to expect an arrival.

Symantec: Weave security into brand
Commissioned by the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) Council together with Symantec and Dow Jones, the study found that nearly two-thirds of marketers believe security and IT integrity can significantly impact corporate and product brands, while 76 percent recognize that security lapses can weaken their brands. The study was conducted by U.S.-based Opinion Research Corporation, and polled 250 top marketers and over 2,000 consumers in North America and Europe.

Emobile Selects InnoPath’s OTA
InnoPath announced that EMOBILE has selected their Integrated Mobile Device Management Solution (iMDM) to deliver over-the-air firmware updates and configuration management. EMOBILE will be deploying InnoPath’s Firmware Manager allowing for software and firmware updates, in addition to offering its Configuration Manager enabling remote configuration of settings and new services; both applications being offered over-the-air, in real time.

Getting compliance out of the datacenter
New partnership between AXS-One and EDS suggests outsourcing to cope with the regulatory burden. Every now and then I have to touch on compliance -- not because I like the topic, but because it has quickly become a significant aspect of data management and, therefore, of storage. 

RingCube Raises $12M (Same as VMW and VDI)
"RingCube Technologies, Inc., the creator of truly portable personal computing solutions, announced today that it has secured $12 million in Series B funding. The funding comes from MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures and first-round investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing total investment in the company to $16 million.

A portable PC on a flash drive, iPod, or harddrive with Mojopac
Today, I was searching for a way to install an operating system on my USB flash drive. I figured that it would be fun to try something like this. A while back on Lifehacker, they mention a software application called MojoPac that will allow you to use an iPod, USB 2.0 flash drive or harddrive, even a cellphone as a portable PC. You can even play games from your portable device and even use specific software like MS Office, Photoshop, etc.

MojoPac Portable PC
MojoPac is a technology that transforms your iPod or USB Hard Drive or Flash drive into a portable and private PC. Just install MojoPac on any USB 2.0 complaint storage device, upload your applications and files, modify your user settings and environment preferences, and take it with you everywhere.

Your PC In Your Pocket with MojoPac
Mojopac proposes an interesting solution for people who are fed-up of carrying their laptops or users who don't like to have too much crap installed on their system. The idea is to have a second Windows OS on an external device and to be able to switch from one to the other instantaneously.

I'll take my desktop to go, please
Basically, when MojoPac is installed on any USB 2.0 device (including your iPod) it becomes like your laptop. Any Windows machine you plug it into will have all your applications, files, buddy lists, browser bookmarks, etc. Plus, the host computer doesn't retain any of your activity, so it's like you were never there at all.

Inside Track v26n7&8
With MojoPac, you can install software applications on a USB device that virtualizes the Registry. The company seems most proud of the fact that you can avoid traveling with your laptop by loading Microsoft Office and all your Office docs onto an Apple iPod. Plug your iPod into any computer anywhere, and bingo, you're running Microsoft Word or typing on an Excel spreadsheet. Not everything works with the MojoPac, but an astonishing number of programs do. That includes the Adobe Creative Suite as well as Microsoft Office.

Vikings Best, Polynesians Worst In Domain Safety
SiteAdvisor, the domain risk assessor acquired by McAfee Associates last year, has completed an extensive scan of 265 top level domains (TLDs) on the Internet, ranking sites by the percentage of malicious code found in visiting the site.
The survey found that 4.1 percent of all Web sites pose some sort of risk to a visitor, whether it's viruses, adware, spyware, phishing or some other form of malware.

Report: Government Domains Safe-Unless It's Romania
Government domains are the safest out there, McAfee reported on March 12—unless your definition of "government" includes countries that aren't the United States or Finland.
According to the latest McAfee SiteAdvisor report, .gov is the only frequently tested domain for which SiteAdvisor found no risky sites. That domain is only available to United States government agencies.

Report: Government Domains Safe-Unless It's Romania
According to McAfee, the riskiest country domains are found in Romania (.ro, 5.6 percent risky sites) and Russia (.ru, 4.5 percent risky sites). McAfee found those domains to be the most likely to host exploits or "drive-by-download" sites.

Russia tops malware exploit league
Russia and Romania are the country domains most likely to host ‘drive-by’ web exploits, according to a new map compiled by McAfee using its SiteAdvisor toolbar.
McAfee SiteAdvisor, a free-of-charge plug-in for Internet Explorer and Firefox, rates sites on several criteria, including dangerous downloads, spam tendencies and hosted exploits. It then posts green, yellow and red icons on search results obtained from Google, Yahoo or MSN.

Free domain registrations help spread malware
Cheap or free registration of new domain names drives the growth in Web sites used for spamming or hosting malicious software, according to research from McAfee.
The study, released Monday, highlights continuing problems concerning how Web sites are registered and the ease with which bad actors can change Web sites to continue online scams.

The safest Web sites on the Internet end in .gov, according to security firm McAfee.
McAfee found no risky Web sites within the domain for U.S. government agencies, it said in a report published Monday. In contrast, one in 10 Web sites that end in .tk, the domain for the tiny island of Tokelau, either spread malicious software or warrant a warning because of pop-ups or other nuisances, McAfee said.

McAfee Study Sheds Light on Web's Dark Domains
Talk about a list you don't want to be on! Using its free SiteAdvisor tool to visit web sites and measure their degree of safeness, McAfee has come up with a report on web site domains you shouldn't touch with a 10-foot pole.

My Mojo Experience
MojoPac is a technology that transforms your iPod or USB Hard Drive or Flash drive into a portable and private PC. Just install MojoPac on any USB 2.0 complaint storage device, upload your applications and files, modify your user settings and environment preferences, and take it with you everywhere. Every time you plug your MojoPac-enabled device into any Windows XP PC , MojoPac automatically launches your environment on the host PC. Your communications, music, games, applications, and files are all local and accessible. And when you unplug the MojoPac device, no trace is left behind – your information is not cached on the host PC.

Mar 8, 2007

Get a cup of MojoPac:
Developed by RingCube, MojoPac turns your mobile USB device, whether it be an iPod, USB hard drive, or even an iPhone, into a portable computer. After installing MojoPac on any USB 2.0 compliant device, you can upload your applications and files, modify your user settings and environment preferences, and take them with you wherever you want. Plug MojoPac into another computer and your environment is immediately launched onto that computer. Your communications, music, games, applications, and files are all accessible but not cached on the local computer, so no trace is left behind when you unplug MojoPac.

Mar 8, 2007

Next Frontier for VMWare: Virtualised Desktops
Start-ups, such as Parallels, Thinstall, and RingCube Technologies have been toying with the possibilities in the virtualized desktop market for the last year or more. Now VMware, the 800-pound market leader in virtualization, has entered the ring. "You can tell the virtual desktop what IP addresses it can or cannot access," notes Jerry Chen, director of VMware's enterprise desktop platform. "You can instruct it, you can't plug USB’s into this virtual machine."
A previous version of ACE has been tested in private beta. Now VMware is subjecting its approach to the virtual desktop in a public posting for free download at www.vmware.com/products/beta/ace/. It is expected to be commercially available in the second quarter. No pricing is available at this time.

Mar 7, 2007

RingCube raises $12M for virtual PC service
RingCube Technologies, the Mountain View company that sells the “MojoPac,” which is a software to store a virtual PC in your pocket via a USB device or iPod, has raised $12 million in a second round of financing.
VentureBeat first wrote about the company here, and later about the MojoPac’s choppy debut. But the company’s chief executive says those problems, related to some original restrictions the company placed on USB drive usage, have been resolved.
The funding comes from Mohr Davidow Ventures and first-round investors New Enterprise Associates (NEA), bringing total investment in the company to $16 million.

RingCube Connects to $12M
RingCube Technologies has raised $12 million in a second round of funding, the company said Tuesday. MojoPac is just one of many options for people who want access to their computers without actually taking them along—from souped-up UBS devices to on-demand software that’s stored on the Internet. The company said it already has tens of thousands of users since launching the software in September 2006.

“We’ve seen phenomenal growth month to month,”RingCube CEO and founder Shan Appajodu said. Forty percent of users are outside the United States—mostly in Brazil and China—which supports RingCube’s plan to target emerging markets where users don’t have their own personal PC, he said.

Mar 06, 2007

PC On a USB Device Software Maker MojoPac
Launched and Raising $12M
RingCube Technologies makes a software utility called MojoPac that gets great reviews. It can turn portable storage devices such as an iPod, USB flash drive, cell phone or digital camera memory card– into a virtual PC. The next time you are away from your PC you can just insert your device into a USB port and there are all of your files.
RingCube touts the software's ability to run side-by-side with the host PC, allowing you to work in both domains while keeping all of your private info secure.

Mar 6, 2007

RingCube Technologies receives $12 million investment
RingCube Technologies of Mountain View, California, announced today that it has obtained an additional $12 million in funding. The cash infusion comes from initial investor New Enterprise Associates, which had seeded the company with $4 million in capital already, as well as new entrant MDV-Mohr Davidow Ventures. MDV partner Jim Smith, a former system architect for Silicon Graphics, will join the RingCube board of directors.

Mar 6, 2007

RingCube Connects to $12M
Mountain View, California-based RingCube would like to change computing habits by making computers truly portable with its MojoPac software. MojoPac allows users to transfer all applications from their main computer to any portable storage device, be it a digital music player or a flash memory stick.
MojoPac is just one of many options for people who want access to their computers without actually taking them along—from souped-up UBS devices to on-demand software that’s stored on the Internet. The company said it already has tens of thousands of users since launching the software in September 2006.

Mar 2007

Mobile Campus Corrals Co-ed
94 percent of today’s 17 million U.S. college students won a cell phone … and no matter where you look someone is calling, texting, and surfing, completely reliant on these mobile lifelines. A new company called Mobile Campus is using this universal device to launch the next wave in mobile connectivity on campuses across America through a group-texting platform that delivers critical text-based campus notifications, alerts, social networking reminders, and announcements—along with exclusive student discounts and promotional offers.

Mobile Content Usage is Higher in Developing Countries
Mobile users in third world countries express a stronger desire for content and advanced features, according to a "Global Mobile Mindset Audit" study released by the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME), part of the CMO Council and Global Market Insight (GMI), and sponsored by Palm. "The difference between developing countries and the U.S. and Western Europe really is played out throughout the survey in terms of advanced services and how interested users are in accessing them," said Dave Murray, director of the CMO Council's FAME Group. "The new mobile power user is really in emerging markets. There is a population in these markets that is interested in using and willing to pay for advanced services."

Google Business Apps Shows The Changing Battle For Workers' Desktops
With the launch of a more business-friendly version of its online productivity applications last week, joins Microsoft and IBM in a newly energized competition for office workers' attention.

Survey Sez: Too Many Features Bug Global Wireless
"Function fatigue" is afflicting mobile-technology users worldwide, and it tops several consumer issues negatively impacting the embrace of new wireless devices and services. At least that’s what the CMO Council's Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME) is saying.

Google Gives Office a Web 2.0 Spin
In a move to make Google Apps Premier Edition even more relevant to business users, Google has invited its professional partners, including Avaya and Postini, to develop several solutions based on the Google Apps APIs, including e-mail gateways, enhanced security, Google Calendar synchronization, and third-party integration with Google Talk.

Watch out MS Office, Here Comes Google
Google has launched Google Apps Premier Edition, which will be available for $50 per user account per year. The commercial suite, expected to rival Microsoft Office, is a new version of Google's original hosted communication and collaboration applications, and includes phone support, additional storage and a new set of administration and business integration capabilities.

Google Era of Apps Dawns
The search king on Thursday solidified its position with the introduction of Google Apps Premier Edition, the pay version of its free hosted applications. Google may have also set the industry’s new commercial standards with its low pricing, service guarantee, customer support, and a partner program that already boasts 10 companies.

Google Unveils Apps Premier Edition
Analysts have said that Google Apps represents a new, hosted approach for productivity suites, an area of I.T. that has been dominated by Microsoft's Office desktop software. The Premier Edition of Google Apps, which costs $50 per account, per year, is Google's latest assault on the Microsoft Office empire.

America's Network : Battle for mobile search
In fact, slow service was one of the most frequently cited causes of customer frustration, according to the CMO Council's Global Mobile Mindset Audit, a study of 15,000 consumers in 37 countries unveiled on Feb. 12. (The study was supported by Palm.) "Consumers are typically looking for answers, not links," says Medio's Lent.

DigitalTrends: Mobile Users: Underwhelmed by Features?
One of the interesting news items to come out of last week's 3GSM conference in Barcelona was the CMO Council's Global Mobile Mindset Audit, a survey of some 15,000 mobile users in 37 countries to determine what consumers liked and disliked about their mobile technology and the how it integrates into their lives. The results? The new power users of mobile technology are in developing nations rather than fully-industrialized (er, post-industrial) nations, and the leading complaint of mobile device users worldwide is that the technologies offer "too many functions I do not use."

Datamation: Smartest Mobile Users? It Ain't Us
"Device manufacturers and service providers have a real opportunity to differentiate themselves to make the user experience simplified and the buying experience more educational, and something that supports users," FAME Director Dave Murray told internetnews.com.

TMCnet: Cell phones pushing way into GPS market
"Device manufacturers and service providers have a real opportunity to differentiate themselves to make the user experience simplified and the buying experience more educational, and something that supports users," FAME Director Dave Murray told internetnews.com.

Apple's Mac Halo: No Myth
Discussions with business software vendors at the Macworld Expo in January also gave me the increasing scope of continued acceptance of the Mac. Several vendors, including the San Francisco-based Mindjet, showed "mind mapping" software, or project visualization and brainstorming software. Mindjet's MindManager now comes in a Mac OS X-native version.
Who uses this kind of software? Top-level executives, directors and project managers in the enterprise, that's who.

AXS-One Supports IBM System Storage DR550 Line
AXS-One, a provider of high-performance records compliance management solutions, has announced that the AXS-One Compliance Platform, a scalable, policy-based archiving and electronic records management system, will fully support the IBM System Storage DR550 and IBM System Storage DR550 Express products. "We have worked on this integration with IBM for some time now," Marie Patterson, vice president of market strategy for AXS-One, told 5 Minute Briefing during a private interview. "While we are vendor-neutral, our policy is also to support the APIs of specialist storage technology."

InternetNewsFactor: The New Battle for Mobile Search
In fact, slow service was one of the most frequently cited causes of customer frustration, according to the CMO Council's Global Mobile Mindset Audit, a study of 15,000 consumers in 37 countries unveiled on Feb. 12. (The study was supported by Palm.) "Consumers are typically looking for answers, not links," says Medio's Lent.

InternetNews: Smartest Mobile Users? It Ain't Us
"Device manufacturers and service providers have a real opportunity to differentiate themselves to make the user experience simplified and the buying experience more educational, and something that supports users," FAME Director Dave Murray told internetnews.com.

MarketingWeb: Understanding Mobile Users
The pain of owning a cellphone begins at point-of-purchase while the irritation continues with the poor battery life and cost of the service, but despite this the total number of mobile phones topped 2.5-billion by September 2005.
This comes out of a study of nearly 15,000 consumers in 37 countries including South Africa, which aims to understand mobile consumers, including their brand preferences, buying intentions, user pain points and product design issues.
The Global Mobile Mindset Audit was conducted by the CMO Council’s Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience, and GMI, Inc. (Global Market Insite).

3GSM LIVE: 80% of Mobile Users claim PIM is Key to Device selection
At the 3GSM World Congress, Palm announced the findings of a milestone study it has sponsored across six European markets. The Global Mobile Mindset Audit revealed that for more than 80 percent of respondents, access to personal information management (PIM) such as calendar and contacts information is considered the leading advantage of owning a mobile device after being able to make calls and send text messages. PIM data is valued more and used far more often by smartphone users than capabilities such as music, MMS/video messaging and camera. The study - conducted in association with the CMO Council's Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME) – found that calendaring and contact management are used 'all the time' or 'frequently' by 55 percent of smartphone users.

Mobile Users Weary of ‘Function Fatigue’
Manufacturers have become so enamored of cool features -- including cameras, recording devices and video-streaming capabilities -- that they have lost sight of the fact that many consumers just want good voice reception, according to a survey by the Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience (FAME). "There are too many product features that consumers don't use, or don't know how to use, and it frustrates them," says Dave Murray, FAME director. His organization is an arm of the Chief Marketing Officer Council, which represents more than 3,000 marketing officials worldwide.

‘Function Fatigue’ Plagues Cellphone Users, Study Finds
Cellphone users are increasingly overwhelmed with the assortment of advanced features and functions on their phones, so much so that they rarely make use of services beyond simply placing a call, according to a new study by the CMO Council’s Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience. CMO Council claims it was most surprised to find that consumers in developing countries reported the highest levels of device dependence and the greatest reception to the latest applications and services. The report, CMO Council’s Global Mobile Mindset Audit, was released at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

DM News: Security Standard Boosts Consumer Confidence
Data breaches are what triggered a need for ISO 27001, an international standard published in October 2005 by the International Organization for Standardization and the International Electrotechnical Commission. It provides best practice guidance on protecting the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information such as individuals' bank accounts and health and defense data.  The CMO Council found in a recent survey of more than 2,000 consumers that "over half would either strongly consider or definitely take their business elsewhere if their personal information were compromised." The council also cites Emory University researchers who found that a company's stock price falls on average 0.63 percent to 2.10 percent in value following the report of a security breach.

Cisco's New Security Target: Consumers
Linksys rival D-Link already sells a $99 security device. However, the D-Link "SecureSpot" is not a router or gateway, instead it sits in-between a router and a cable modem. D-Link partnered with McAfee for many of the features, which include antivirus and spyware blocking. "Security is top of mind for consumers and it does make sense for us as networking vendors to offer solutions," said Daniel Kelley, D-Link's director of marketing.

Cisco's New Security Target: Consumers Mobile TV
Linksys rival D-Link already sells a $99 security device. However, the D-Link "SecureSpot" is not a router or gateway, instead it sits in-between a router and a cable modem. D-Link partnered with McAfee for many of the features, which include antivirus and spyware blocking. "Security is top of mind for consumers and it does make sense for us as networking vendors to offer solutions," said Daniel Kelley, D-Link's director of marketing.

3GSM: Contacts and calendars can sway device choice
The Global Mobile Mindset Audit, released by Palm at the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, studied users of standard mobile phones and smartphones across France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain and the UK.  Users are buying devices specifically tailored to their needs, the study showed. Smartphone users value access to PIM data more than music, video messaging and cameras, while standard mobile phone users are less likely to use the PIM functions included on their devices. Smartphone users value access to PIM data more than music, video messaging and cameras, while standard mobile phone users are less likely to use the PIM functions included on their devices.

3GSM Panel Says Consumers Lukewarm On Mobile TV
The Chief Marketing Officers Council (CMO), in a Monday (Feb. 12) forum at the 3GSM World Congress provided a snapshot of both the potential and difficulties facing the annual trade show's current pet technology: mobile television.  The biggest issue is that global market penetration for mobile TV stands at only 7 percent.  CMO Vice President Brian Regan previewed a forthcoming CMO survey of some 15,000 mobile service early adaptors in 40 countries. Calling this study "the broadest look yet into the psychographics of the consumer," Regan detailed the "buttons" marketers can push, as well as the "pain points, irritants and aggravations" consumers suffer at the hands of service providers device manufacturers and retailers.

Users Rebel Against Mobile Device 'Bells and Whistles'
The 'Global Mobile Mindset Audit' study, carried out by the CMO Council found 'too many functions I did not use' to be the number one device problem in all regions of the world. "Compounding this complaint were disappointments in the early buying and ongoing ownership experience," the report found. "Most notably, consumers gave low marks to retailers and carriers for lack of product demonstrations, sales associate knowledge, as well as slow service at point-of-sale." The CMO Council research initiative is part of program initiated by FAME, a strategic interest group of top marketers, associations and experts drawn from all sectors of the wireless ecosystem. It is supported by Palm and the GSM Association. Early findings from the study were presented at the opening of the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona. "Clearly, wireless operators, device manufacturers and sales channels need to be much closely aligned and integrated in creating a simpler, more satisfying and predictable user experience," said Dave Murray, director of the FAME group.

EE Times: Consumers lukewarm on mobile TV
The Chief Marketing Officers Council (CMO), in a Monday (Feb. 12) forum at the 3GSM World Congress provided a snapshot of both the potential and difficulties facing the annual trade show's current pet technology: mobile television. CMO Vice President Brian Regan previewed a forthcoming CMO survey of some 15,000 mobile service early adaptors in 40 countries. Calling this study "the broadest look yet into the psychographics of the consumer," Regan detailed the "buttons" marketers can push, as well as the "pain points, irritants and aggravations" consumers suffer at the hands of service providers device manufacturers and retailers.

Developing Regions Lead in Mobile Devices
The Global Mobile Mindset Audi was commissioned by the Palo Alto-based CMO Council’s Forum to Advance the Mobile Experience representing a wide range of global companies and undertaken by Global Market Insite, a market research firm. Dave Murray, director of the Fame group, claimed the study is the most ambitious research ever conducted on worldwide mobile usage. It was based upon the responses of more than 14,000 mobile users in 37 countries. The study found people in emerging economies considered themselves to be much more proficient with mobile technology than respondents in more developed regions such as North America and western Europe. The Global Mobile Mindset Audit may be purchased from the Fame website.

The Business of Integrated Mobile Device Management
A new world of mobile multi-media data services is emerging as data ARPU grows in importance to carriers. In this world, the mobile device serves as the hub for communications, entertainment, and computing applications that enhance the lives of users. With this transition come challenges. These new services require complex feature phones with advanced video and data capabilities, and smart phones, commonly based on Windows Mobile, Symbian, or Linux.

World 2007 Map Editor for Mindjet MindManager
I find mind-mapping software (brainstorming applications that let you visualize and build on ideas more easily) to be among the most useful and emotionally pleasing types of software—and MindManager Pro 6 ($349 direct, $280 street) is my favorite. It includes a full set of tools for creating maps with relationships, task info, and rich content, including hyperlinks, attached files, and graphics. I use it all the time for brainstorming, organizing ideas, and meeting preparation. But most of my colleagues don't. The new Word 2007 Map Editor for Mindjet MindManager, a free but unsupported download, provides a way to share and collaborate with coworkers who use Microsoft Word 2007.

Encryption Set To Go Mainstream
Enterprises like the idea of building an encryption "platform," in which encryption technologies, processes, and interfaces would be common across applications, systems, and departments, the study says. Sixty-one percent of the survey's respondents viewed the idea of building an encryption platform as "important" or "very important."
That figure is good news for PGP, which underwrote the study. PGP recently began marketing the idea of building an encryption platform. "But we didn't slant the questions," says Ponemon. "We wanted to know their attitudes about this. If everybody had said it was a bad idea, we'd have reported that, too."

Green Means Go
The Internet is a dangerous place. As if being besieged by viruses, worms, and offensive spam emails weren’t enough, we also are facing an epidemic of spyware and adware. Estimates from Webroot Software show that nearly 90% of consumer PCs are affected by spyware. Too many users either don’t have anti-malware applications installed on their PCs, or they don’t know how to interpret the warning signs. Help is readily available for both camps, though. Many Smart Com-puting readers already have discovered McAfee’s SiteAdvisor, a spyware warning system. SiteAdvisor lets you know whether a site has been deemed safe; that is, whether you risk downloading malware to your PC if you interact with a particular site. It can assist in keeping you away from the roughly 7% of all Web sites that it finds unsafe for your PC.

What to Do When Your PC Has a Virus
VirusScan updates definitions automatically, but you can check to make sure you have the latest updates. The McAfee SecurityCenter, which is the software’s main window, lets you know whether your system’s virus definitions and other components are up-to-date. To download virus definitions and any other updates, click the Update button. A small icon that has an arrow will appear in the System Tray while McAfee searches for updates. The process won’t take long (about 15 seconds, in our experience) over a broadband connection. Once the definition update completes, you are ready to scan your computer for viruses.

Spam Made Up 94% Of All E-Mail In December
The Postini report says the rise of botnets and image spam is causing e-mail systems at some companies to melt down.

ThePlanet.com Thinks Big for SMB Services
The past seven months have been pretty busy in the offices of The Planet. The company merged with EV1 Servers, another Web hosting company, in May. Since the merger, The Planet has more than doubled its sales force. The Planet now serves more than 22,000 customers and powers more than 2.8 million Web sites. It also operates six geographically distributed and highly redundant data centers linked by one of the world's fastest networks at 100G bps, according to the company.

PGP Whole Disk Encryption
PGP Whole Disk Encryption provides the easiest to install hard drive encryption package we tested. Both the standalone and enterprise products were easy to configure and were easy enough that most end-users could perform the installation with only the quick start guide. We configured PGP Whole Disk Encryption to use password authentication, which was easily synchronized with the Windows XP login through the PGP Single Sign-on Process.

Q&A: PGP’s Phil Dunkelberger
After bagging another $10 million in venture funding, PGP has big plans to expand its encryption technology for laptops and to make strides in the business market. The funding round announced last week marked PGP’s second dip in the venture well. The company raised $14 million after it broke off from Network Associates during 2002.

Does IT Fail Thee? Let Us Count the Ways
…Although the majority of chief executives confirm they've been paying more attention to compliance issues over the past six years, less than half of IT executives consider compliance a critical initiative with full management support. This is just one of many findings pointing to big disconnects in "CEE the Future: Building the Compliance-Enabled Enterprise," a study conducted by the Business Performance Management Forum, the IT Compliance Institute and Chief Executive Magazine, and sponsored by AXS-One.

Companies' IT Systems Not Compliance Ready
When it comes to compliance issues, many companies do not have the necessary IT infrastructure and are therefore unprepared for audits, regulator requests or even lawsuits. According to a new study, "Compliance Enabled Enterprise (CEE) the Future: Building the Compliance-Enabled Enterprise," issued by Business Performance Management Forum, less than half of IT executives consider compliance to be a "critical initiative with full management support" and 40% report their own company's IT execs don't understand current regulations well enough to effectively implement compliance technologies and policies.

Teen-only gym: Virtual reality, real sweat
The gym, called Overtime, will have its grand opening here on Saturday, a stone's throw away from the Googleplex, a Wi-Fi-enabled Starbucks and a Gold's Gym (where the older set works out). Unlike Gold's and other adult-oriented gyms, Overtime restricts access to members ages 13 to 18. Little kids and parents must wait in the lobby...

Bay Area Fitness Center Gets Fat Kids To Exercise With Games
The Mountain View, CA based Overtime Fitness has a strict age limit of 13-18. This isn’t because they’re dirty perverts, but it’s because they’re focused solely on getting fat kids to get into shape. For a base fee of $109 and $59 a month, kids get access to all of the facilities. ...

New fitness center targets teens with games
Located in Mountain View, CA, Overtime Fitness restricts its membership to teens aged 13 through 18. "It's a first-of-its-kind fitness center because it's focused solely on teens," founder and president Patrick Ferrell told Ars Technica. "Getting kids interested in fitness has some interesting challenges which we've managed to overcome by having the right combination of electronics, fitness equipment, and a place to socialize."...

PGP Desktop Pro 9
Public-key cryptography has other advantages: You can encrypt a single document to open with different keys or, for hypersecurity, require multiple individuals to supply their keys at once. For convenience, you gain access to your private key using a single secure passphrase, and you can change the passphrase without changing the key. An optional Additional Decryption Key provides emergency access if the main key is lost. PGP Desktop will create one or more public/private-key pairs for you and leverage those keys to handle a complete range of encryption tasks.

25 Products Define 25 Years of Personal Computing
Having agreed that 25 products for 25 years provided a pleasing symmetry, we then found ourselves in a debate that sounded like a dictionary editor brawling with a technology historian. What was an "influential" product? Did it need to be the first of its kind, or should it rather be the first implementation that others found worth imitating? Must it have been a popular product in its own right, or should it rather have been the one that showed the way—whether or not it was ever effectively marketed?

McAfee buys search-warning company
Security company McAfee has acquired SiteAdvisor in a move to fortify defenses for people before they browse potentially malicious Web sites. Boston-based SiteAdvisor informs people conducting Web searches whether their results include sites potentially associated with spyware, adware, spam and browser attacks. The safety ratings are displayed next to the search results with red, yellow or green icons...

McAfee Buys SiteAdvisor
McAfee Inc. has purchased Web-site rating company SiteAdvisor Inc., the two companies announced Wednesday. Founded by a group of Massachusetts Institute of Technology engineers in April 2005, SiteAdvisor develops automated software that tests Web sites to see whether they install nasty things like spyware or computer viruses. Last month the company released a free browser toolbar designed to warn users when they visited Web sites that seemed risky....

McAfee Buys SiteAdvisor
Security software company McAfee said Wednesday it bought web site safety ratings startup SiteAdvisor for an undisclosed sum, in a move to create a new product that will expand its security offerings in search, which is the No. 1 activity on the Internet today. Boston-based SiteAdvisor makes a downloadable toolbar that can be used with Internet Explorer and the Firefox browser to protect against online security threats like spyware infections, web sites running malicious code, and potential spammers. ...

McAfee Acquires SiteAdvisor
Hoping to improve its online security offerings, McAfee on Wednesday announced that it had acquired SiteAdvisor. The Boston, Mass. based company maintains a database of Web sites that it tests for spyware, adware, spam, browser attacks, and online scams. Each site is rated by a green, yellow or red icon based on those tests. McAfee says the acquisition would give an unprecedented level of security for those surfing the Internet when combined with the company's other products. ...

LegalMatch Gets New Lease With Siebel CRM
Laurie Ziffrin recites legal services industry stats with glee. It's a $70 billion market; 4 million people each month use the Internet to find legal help; by 2007 the number of consumers and small businesses that boot up to find a lawyer is expected to climb to 7 million. "We love those numbers," said Ziffrin, CEO of LegalMatch, a San Francisco online company that connects lawyers with potential clients....

Arcot Debuts Software Alternative to Smartcards
Most user-authentication systems are built around the concept of blocking unauthorized access to a network. ArcotID, however, relies on a system designed to trap unauthorized users after they attempt to break in to the network. Arcot Systems has introduced ArcotID, a software-only, two-factor authentication product designed to give CIOs a cost-efficient alternative to hardware tokens and smartcards in protecting corporate networks against unauthorized access...

Poll: U.S. Has Conservative Tack on Innovation
U.S. technology executives identify innovation as essential to improving their competitiveness, yet their approach to innovation is conservative, mainly focusing on existing products and services, according to a study published Thursday by consulting company A.T. Kearney Inc. Top executives at manufacturers, software companies, and IT service companies in the U.S. clearly feel the pressure from the risk of falling behind global competition in technology and telecommunications, according to a survey of more than 300 executives. The survey was conducted in late 2004 and early 2005.

Many Tech And Telecom Companies Not Prepared To Compete In Global Arena
Most American technology and telecommunications companies haven't yet put into place new processes and practices to compete in a rapidly evolving global marketplace, according to results from a study released last week. The report, "Crunch Time: The Competitiveness Audit," is based on a survey conducted in late 2004 and early 2005 of more than 300 CEOs and business-line executives at North American technology and telecommunications companies. The study was conducted by organizations such as the Chief Marketing Officers Council, the Business Performance Management Forum, and consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

Study: Small firms cook up more spam
Antispam services provider Postini said in its annual E-mail Security Report, published Wednesday, that small businesses and companies in certain industries are experiencing more frequent spam attacks than other businesses. Companies with 100 e-mail addresses or less received up to 10 times more spam than businesses with 10,000 addresses or more, it said.