Archive for July, 2011

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Dell joins media-streaming fight with Stage software update

July 28th, 2011
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Joining, Amazon, Apple, and others, Dell today becomes the latest vendor to offer dedicated media-streaming software. Dell’s newly update Stage software, included with Dell’s Android devices, desktops, and laptops, allows users to stream music, movies, and photos between Dell devices and DLNA-equipped home theater components on a local network. Stage also provides 2GB of cloud-based storage via a Nero-powered feature called SyncUP.

To try Stage, you must have a Dell device with the most recent software update. New Dell systems shipped since July 7 have the updated version already, and older Dell PCs can get the update via download. Owners of Dell’s Streak tablet or its Venue smartphone can also download an application called Stage Remote, which lets you manage streaming between PCs and supporting devices without sitting in front a keyboard. In addition to its core functionality, Stage has built-in support for Hulu, Facebook, Flickr, the Blio e-reader, and other services.

Stage is, of course, not the only software that combines streaming and cloud-based storage. Among others, Amazon’s Cloud Player debuted in March, and Apple has scheduled its competing iCloud for release this fall. Those services are more flexible than Stage in that they run on any OS X or Windows-based PC and on the wide universe of Android and iOS devices. Throw in Windows 7’s own native DLNA compliance, and it’s not exactly clear where Stage has a competitive advantage.

Source:http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20084261-1/dell-joins-media-streaming-fight-with-stage-software-update/

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Polaris Software expects to post better performance on pricing power

July 28th, 2011
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The stock of Chennai-based global financial technologies companyPolaris Software has outperformed theET Infotech Index over the past six months. The stock has gained nearly 4% during the period against a 9% drop in the benchmark index. The company’s consistent financial performance over several quarters seems to have infused investor interest in the stock.

Polaris has witnessed a reasonable traction in its topline over the past few quarters now. In the June 2011 quarter, the company posted a 3% jump in its consolidated topline at Rs 450 crore against the previous quarter. It posted a 100-bp rise in its operating margins to 14% on a sequential basis. It has been in the range of 12-14% over several quarters.

During the quarter, although sales and operating margins improved, the company’s net profit took a hit on account of higher expenses and an increase in tax outgo. During the quarter, the company’s tax expense in relation to net sales rose by 15 percentage points to 28% against the previous quarter.

Besides, last quarter’s other income included Rs 10 crore accrued through property sale which had boosted its bottomline during the quarter. These factors led to a more than 20% drop in the company’s bottomline to Rs 45 crore against the previous quarter.

Polaris expects to post better performance, given a pricing uptick in some of its key projects. Also, the company’s core banking product, Intellect, has gained better acceptability, globally. The company has won 15 deals, of which 11 were Intellect wins. During the quarter, Intellect revenue stood at Rs 105.2 crore, a 3% increase over the previous quarter.

The proportion of the business in the company’s overall revenue is likely to increase to 26% by the end of FY12 against 23% currently. This will drive the company’s operating margins. Going ahead, being a higher margin business, it offers 25% operating margins against services business which offers 11%. Furthermore, stable macro-environment will offer an extra cushion to the company’s operations.

Recently, Polaris has entered into a JV with two banks in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It has signed a $55-million deal with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). With this, the company has revised upwards its revenue guidance for FY12 to $430-440 million from $425-435 million announced earlier. At the current market price of Rs 176, the stock trades at 8.7 times its earnings for the trailing twelve months.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/ites/polaris-software-expects-to-post-better-performance-on-pricing-power/articleshow/9390773.cms

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Software takes brain power out of hacking

July 28th, 2011
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EVEN if David ”Evil” Cecil is guilty, he is not necessarily a hacking mastermind. Computer security professionals say breaking into websites and computer networks is now as simple as downloading free software, selecting a target and hitting ”run”.
Even without a specific target in mind, a method called ”Google hacking” allows hackers to find target servers running vulnerable software using just the search engine.
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”If an attacker wants to get in, it’s just a matter of time really,” Ty Miller, the chief technology officer at Pure Hacking, said.
”You can use the search engine to find vulnerable companies and it’s trivial to gain access to company firewalls and administrative access to people’s systems and get straight into their internal network.”
Chris Gatford, of HackLabs, which like Pure Hacking is hired by organisations to break into their systems to test their security, said attackers with specific targets in mind often used a software tool called ”Metasploit”.
Hackers just point the software at a target and then wait while it searches for exploits in the system and, if there are any holes, provides access.
”Tools to perform complex attacks are readily available, they’re extremely easy to use and people have made good use of these tools for several years,” Mr Gatford said. ”I could teach you the basics of gaining unauthorised access in a day.”

Mr Miller said all it took was one piece of software on the target server to contain an unpatched security flaw for the entire system to be vulnerable. Even fully patched systems can be accessed if the attacker has what is known as a 0-day exploit.
”We do internal penetration tests where we act as a rogue employee or an attacker … usually within a day we’ve been able to take over the entire network, gaining access to every system and every application and also all of the user names and passwords for the company,” he said.
As the federal police Assistant Commissioner, Neil Gaughan, said yesterday: ”Even the best security systems are only as strong as the weakest link.”
The police charged Mr Cecil over allegedly breaking into a national broadband network service provider, but their investigation began when Sydney University’s website was defaced and a Melbourne web-hosting provider was attacked.
Website vandalism is so common that the website Zone-H.com, which catalogues website defacements, logs over 95,000 separate incidents a month. In 2002 when the site launched it was averaging 2500 monthly defacements.
Mr Miller said he was ‘’surprised” Mr Cecil was arrested considering the extent of cybercrime and the fact that arrests and convictions are rarely secured.
“When you’re no longer shocked that a company has been hacked but you are shocked that a hacker has been arrested, that’s not good,” he said.

Source:http://www.smh.com.au/technology/security/software-takes-brain-power-out-of-hacking-20110727-1i076.html

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Businesses, public pan WiFi monitoring

July 28th, 2011
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A regulation that requires bars, restaurants, hotels and bookstores to install expensive Web-monitoring software has sparked controversy among business owners and the public.
The software, which is designed to supervise illegal activities by passing the identities of customers using free wireless services to public security departments, will cost business owners 20,000 yuan ($3,100). Those who refuse to pay and offer unfettered Internet access may face a 15,000-yuan fine.
Ye Jia, a cafe owner in Wudaoying Hutong, Dongcheng district, told China Daily that her brother was asked to install the software during a meeting at the district’s public security bureau on July 22.
“All small businesses with WiFi in our area attended that meeting,” she said. “But I won’t use the software, because I can’t afford the costly fees.
“If the restriction on the wireless service is put into effect, my cafe will be affected and I won’t be able to keep offering this service.”
Many business owners in the city who had not heard about the new regulation expressed disapproval when they were told how much the installation would cost.
“It’s a requirement of the public security organs. Why should we pay the fees?” said Yang Xiaowen, manager of UBC Coffee in Chaoyang district.
A 40-year-old customer surnamed Guan using the WiFi in a Sculpting in Time cafe in Chaoyang district said she thought the regulation violated her privacy.
“I don’t want to be watched. It will make me uncomfortable,” said Guan, who works for a consulting company.
Another customer named Zhou Li, 29, an administrative employee, said she did not care about the regulation and will do private online work at home instead of in public.
Yi Shenghua, a Beijing-based lawyer at Ying Ke Law Firm, said he did not support the regulation, which is similar to one that applies to Internet bars. He said business owners should not have to pay for the monitoring software.
The Beijing municipal public security bureau had not responded to these criticisms by Wednesday.
“I have known about it and we are studying the issue at present,” said Zi Xiangdong, spokesman for the bureau, who declined to make any further comment.
A report in Beijing News said the public security department revealed that the regulation has been introduced in the capital and will be applied across the country.
Cafe owners contacted by China Daily reporters in Shanghai, and in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, said they had been notified of the new measure.
In addition, the developer of the program, Shanghai Rain-Soft Software, did not comment. A receptionist at the company said: “Our manager has been away on a business trip and won’t be back until August, so there is no one available to explain the software.”

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-07/28/content_12997187.htm

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BMC Software’s 1Q Revenue Disappoints, Profit Beat

July 28th, 2011
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Business software company BMC Software Inc. said its first-quarter net income inched higher while revenue grew as it said it capitalized on customer demand for agile, flexible information technology infrastructures. But revenue fell short of expectations and shares fell.

Net income in the three months through June 30 rose 3 percent to $95.7 million, or 53 cents per share, from $92.8 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Adjusted to exclude share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangibles and other items, adjusted earnings per share came to 72 cents, beating the 68 cents expected by analysts polled by FactSet.

Revenue grew 9 percent to $502.4 million from $460.9 million a year earlier, slightly below the $507.1 million expected by analysts.

The company lifted its annual adjusted earnings guidance by 4 cents to $3.25 to $3.35 per share. The midpoint was slightly better than the $3.27 expected by analysts. It said revenue would grow for the full year “in the high single to low double digits.” Analysts are expecting revenue growth of 9 percent this year.

Shares fell $2.39, or 5 percent, to $46.50 in after-hours trading, after already dropping $2.13, or 4.2 percent in the regular session Wednesday.

Source:http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=14175889

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Grand Strand Tea Party president arrested for selling fake computer software

July 27th, 2011
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The president of the Grand Strand Tea Party and his son were arrested on charges related to counterfeit language software being sold to a Loris man, according toan Horry County police report.

Anthony Jack Trinca, 61, and Michael Robert Trinca, 23, both of Myrtle Beach, spent about two hours at J. Reuben Long Detention Center Tuesday, each charged with unauthorized use or trafficking in counterfeit trademarks by an individual, according to jail records. They were each released on $5,000 bail.

An Horry County police report showed that a 46-year-old man called police June 17 about six Rosetta Stone language software packages he purchased from Anthony Trinca and learned the items were counterfeit. The man said that at the end of May he bought the products for $125 each after seeing an ad on Craigslist.

The man said he picked up two of the software packages after meeting Anthony Trinca in a parking lot at Market Commons on May 29. The next day the man purchased the other packages from Trinca’s home on Palmetto Glens, which is where Trinca operated a computer business known as Computer Repair Dirt Cheap.

The man told police he saw several other computer software products inside the home, which he also believed were counterfeit, according to the report. The man said he sold two of the software packages on Ebay and learned it was counterfeit.

The man said he tried 10 times to get his money back from Trinca, who refused to return it.

Trinca is listed as the president of the Grand Strand Tea Party, according to the group’s website and information.

source:http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/07/27/2301072/grand-strand-tea-party-president.html

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Absolute Software Announces Support for Mac OS X Lion

July 27th, 2011
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VANCOUVER, July 27, 2011 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Absolute Manage 5.4.2 to Support Mac OS X Lion & Apple Open Directory

Absolute® Software Corporation (“Absolute” or the “Company”) /quotes/zigman/14654 CA:ABT +8.90% , the leading provider of firmware-based endpoint security and management solutions that reduce IT costs, prove regulatory compliance, respond to computer theft, and optimize productivity, today announced the general availability of Absolute Manage 5.4.2.

“Absolute Manage is truly cross-platform and provides endpoint management capabilities for PC, Mac®, and iOS devices,” said John Livingston, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at Absolute Software. “Our customers expect us to keep pace with the market and we do, ensuring our solutions support the most current operating systems and form factors on the market today.”

Absolute Manage allows organizations to efficiently manage all their assets by automating time-consuming IT processes such as software distribution, patch management, asset inventory and imaging. Additionally, it helps organizations save money by allowing them to track installed applications and licenses, redeploy under-used licenses and hardware to optimize inventory, and avoid non-compliance fines.

With Absolute Manage 5.4.2, Absolute customers can upgrade to Apple’s newest operating system without any interruption to the endpoint management processes they depend on to effectively manage their cross-platform deployments. In addition, Apple Open Directory integration means organizations can now better manage users’ access to resources used on iOS 4 devices.

About Absolute Software

Absolute Software Corporation /quotes/zigman/14654 CA:ABT +8.90% is the leader in tracking, managing, and protecting computers and mobile devices. The Company’s Computrace, Absolute Manage and LoJack for Laptops solutions provide theft recovery, data protection and computer lifecycle management capabilities to organizations and consumers. The Company’s software agent is embedded in the firmware of computers by global leaders, including Acer, ASUS, Dell, Fujitsu, General Dynamics Itronix, HP, Lenovo, Motion, Panasonic and Toshiba, and the Company has reselling partnerships with these OEMs and others, including Apple. For more information about Absolute Software, visit www.absolute.com and http://blog.absolute.com .

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, the expected performance, functionality and availability of our services and products, and other expectations, intentions and plans contained in this press release that are not historical fact. When used in this press release, the words “plan,” “expect,” “believe,” and similar expressions generally identify forward-looking statements. These statements reflect our current expectations. They are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in technology and general market conditions. In light of the many risks and uncertainties you should understand that we cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements contained in this press release will be realized.

Source:http://www.marketwatch.com/story/absolute-software-announces-support-for-mac-os-x-lion-2011-07-27-8000?reflink=MW_news_stmp

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