Yahoo! on Wednesday set out to reclaim the Internet search crown from Google with the release of software that transforms the way users explore the Web using Apple’s coveted gadgets.

A Yahoo! Axis application was introduced for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch devices and also as “plug-in” software for Chrome, Internet Explorer, Firefox and other Web browsers featuring HTML-5 graphics capabilities.

“Yahoo! is still very much in search,” special projects product management director Ethan Batraski said while giving AFP an advance look at Axis. “We continue to flourish.”

Axis does away with the blue links that have defined Internet query results for a decade and replaced them with previews of pages that might provide the information being sought.

The application lets users easily “swipe” from one Web page to another or review a pull-down strip of preview pages instead of making them click on links to see what websites look like.

“We removed the entire search results page from the equation for a game-changing search experience,” Batraski said.

“The entire search experience is in the app,” he continued. “You will never have to use Safari ever again.”

Safari is the Web browsing program Apple builds into its devices.

The Axis search results pane instantly displays information of potential interest, such as the score from a most recent game if the query is a sports team.

Yahoo! also made it simple to email, tweet, “pin,” or bookmark pages with touches of screens.

Axis also gives users the option of synching pages across devices, so that driving directions, movie times or other pages left open on one gadget will automatically display on another, the demonstration showed.

“I could easily start something on my iPad and continue on my iPhone,” Batraski said. “The goal here is to connect all my devices together.”

Clicks of side tabs replace swipes in the plug-in version of Axis for desktop computer browsing software.

For now, Yahoo! is not displaying ads in Axis because the focus is on winning users before weaving in ways to make money without marring the smooth experience.

Yahoo! has been steadily losing ground to Google in the Internet search market. Google’s share inched up to 66.5 percent in April while Yahoo!’s portion slipped a fraction to 13.5 percent, according to comScore.

Microsoft’s Bing was the second most popular search service, handling 15.4 percent of queries, the industry tracker reported.

Yahoo! in 2009 made a deal with Microsoft to have Bing handle the labor-intensive job of finding and indexing content on the Internet, freeing itself to concentrate on interesting or personalized ways to present results.

“We outsourced a backend process that every search engine was trying to do,” Batraski said.

“It is grunt work and we are really focused on innovating.”

Axis became available at Apple’s online App Store late Wednesday.

Axis will be begin rolling out to France, Britain and a few other countries by the end of the year, according to Batraski.

Source:http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/yahoo-moves-to-reclaim-internet-search-crown/articleshow/13430774.cms

A project to allow companies to set up a website with almost any address has relaunched after a software glitch exposed sensitive details of applications last month, forcing it to shut down.

In the most ambitious expansion of the Internet so far, the body that oversees domain names has now given organisations until May 30 to apply for their own Web address endings – for example .london, .eco or .canon – provided they have a legitimate claim to the domain name and can pay a hefty fee.

The new suffixes should allow companies or communities more control over their online presence and send visitors more directly to part of their sites.

But the process was dogged by controversy even before the embarrassing software bug: many brand owners have felt forced to take part in the expensive project or risk rivals bagging domains that could be mistaken for their own.

It has also raised questions of corporate governance at Icann, the non-profit body that manages the Internet’s naming system, since some current and former directors of the body stand to make money out of the explosion of new names.

Chief Executive Rod Beckstrom said Icann now hoped to be ready to publish details of who had applied for what before the U.S. organisation’s next major meeting in Prague, which will be his last before he hands over to a new CEO.

“I think the team has done a very professional job of dealing with the situation,” he told Reuters by telephone. “Now we’re able to move on to the next phase.”

The new generic top-level domains will expand the variety of possible Web addresses beyond those currently available, which end in a limited number of suffixes such as .com, .org or .edu. The stated goal is to encourage innovation on the Internet.

Many desirable Web addresses, for example toys.com or sex.com, were sold long ago – sometimes to parties who acquired them for their real-estate value but put no content on the sites – and now sell at auction for millions of dollars.

Icann has tried to prevent such so-called cybersquatting in its latest process, building in safeguards for brand owners that mean applicants have to show they have rights to a trademark, say “Apple”, before they can be given .apple.

However, most organisations have chosen to keep quiet about whether they have applied for the new domains, or which so-called strings they have applied for, fearing that rivals might take advantage of the knowledge for their own Web strategies.

Each application costs $185,000 in the first instance, and applicants must actively operate their new domains at an estimated cost of tens of thousands of dollars a year.

At the time the system was taken offline, 1,268 applicants had registered.

Source:http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/05/22/internet-domains-idINDEE84L0H120120522

The FBI warned people traveling abroad that attackers are targeting users on hotel networks by tricking them into installing malware under the guise of software updates. The agency’s Internet Crime Complaint Center says any government, business or academic personnel traveling abroad should be especially wary.

The FBI issued an advisory this week alerting international travelers about attempts to infect their computers with malware when they log on to hotel networks.

In an intelligence note from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3), the agency warned that attackers have been targeting travelers abroad when they use the Internet connection in their hotel rooms. According to the FBI, when the victims attempt to set up the hotel room Internet connection, they were presented with a pop-up window notifying them to update a “widely-used software product.”

“If the user clicked to accept and install the update, malicious software was installed on the laptop,” according to IC3. “The pop-up window appeared to be offering a routine update to a legitimate software product for which updates are frequently available.”

The FBI recommends checking the author or digital certificate of any prompted update to see if it corresponds to the software vendor, and advises travelers update the software on their laptops immediately before travelling.

The warning follows a December report from Bloomberg that cited unnamed sources alleging iBAHN, one of the largest providers of hotel Internet service in the world, had been compromised. The company has denied the accusation. The FBI warning does not include any information about specific hotel chains or service providers.

The scant details offered in the intelligence note however make it difficult to know exactly what travelers should do beyond the basics, argued Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos.

“What’s fascinating about the advisory is what it doesn’t say,” he blogged. “And without more information it’s hard to know how computer users are supposed to take meaningful action to protect themselves other than follow the normal advice of running security software, being careful what you install, running a VPN to hide your browsing from snoopers, etc.”

“It’s certainly very peculiar that the FBI didn’t share more information in its warning, or mention where in the world it believes it has seen these attacks taking place,” he added. “By coincidence, earlier this week, for the first time in almost ten years, a Chinese defense minister visited the United States. The day before the FBI’s warning was issued, US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta met his Chinese counterpart Liang Guanglie in Washington DC, and told the world’s press that the two countries must work together to avoid cyber war, and emphasized the importance of the relationship between China and the USA.”

There is inherent risk in connecting to public Wi-Fi networks due to the ability of attackers to target unsuspecting users and pedal scams and malware, said John Harrison, senior manager at Symantec Security Response.

“It is also unfortunately all too easy for hackers to setup rogue Wi-Fi access points with the sole purpose of intercepting your Internet traffic—whether that is accessing your social media and financial accounts or tricking users with fake software updates,” he said. “Just because a network name says “Free Wi-Fi,” “Hotel XYZ Wi-Fi” or even the brand name of your ISP or coffee shop does not ensure it is legitimate.”

“Corporate users should only connect to their networks using VPN software to ensure encrypted connections between their laptops and their corporate networks,” Harrison added.

“Beyond that, standard security best practices apply: they should use a modern endpoint or internet security software on their computers and mobile devices and they should be wary of any pop-ups requesting them to download updates and other potential social engineering scams. Software updates should only be installed through corporate software updating mechanisms, internal servers or by users going directly to their software publishers’ websites.”

Source:http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/FBI-Warns-of-Malware-Attacks-Through-Hotel-Internet-Services-118238/

THE GLOBE’S story about Tor Software says it can be used to guard online privacy, but also to hide illegal activities ( “Privacy software, criminal use; Unintended consequence of Walpole firm’s technology,’’ Page A1, March 8). Doors on our houses, shades on our windows, and the anonymity that comes from being in a crowd can also hide illegal activity. Our privacy and personal freedom is what distinguishes our country from just about all others. Tor gives citizens that privacy online – and, more importantly, gives people in other countries a taste of that personal freedom, too.

I WAS active with Anonymous during last year’s Arab Spring. I watched as dozens of people combined their knowledge and resources to crack through the walls that the governments of Libya, Tunisia, and Egypt had thrown up around their Internet.

One of the projects Anonymous undertook was to create a packet of useful information and computer programs to help people in those countries evade censorship. A key part of that packet was Tor. The extreme security of Tor provides a vital channel of communication between the open and free Internet and the isolated, closed Internet of oppressive regimes. People in China, Iran, Syria, Burma, and other places have used Tor to get news and information, when any other means would have put them at enormous risk.

For the Globe’s story to focus instead on how Tor is “inadvertently providing child pornographers, drug dealers, and other criminals’’ with anonymity is an insult to people who risked their lives. While news corporations were ignoring the first weeks of the Arab Spring, Tor was a vital source of information. Tor helped disseminate the news that ultimately led corporate media to take interest in the Arab Spring.

Source:http://bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2012/03/12/software-ensures-internet-freedom/FcgpNef7higjyBlNXOVTyJ/story.html

When 32-year-old public relations specialist Wang Ning heard that China Software Developer Network, the country’s largest programmers’ website, had 6 million pieces of its users’ personal information stolen days before the end of last year, he decided to change the passwords of all his accounts on the Internet.
“I have to do something to protect my private information because I have put so much personal information online,” he said.
However, Internet security experts say changing passwords alone does not guarantee the safety of users’ data. They say Internet companies should invest more into keeping users’ data safe.
According to an annual report released by Beijing Rising Information Technology Co Ltd, the country’s leading Internet security company, nearly 200,000 websites in the nation were hacked last year.
“Our conservative estimation is that at least 10 security breaches can be found on three quarters of the websites whose daily page views exceed 10,000,” said Liu Siyu, director of the security research team at Rising.
“That means almost every website in China can be attacked by hackers,” he added.
Many Chinese companies’ websites have been attacked. More than 50 percent of the hacking was conducted by viruses or Trojan horse programs, said a recent Rising report.
Another Bejing-based Internet security provider, Qihoo 360 Technology Co Ltd, reported last month that more than half of Chinese websites have gaps in their security and as many as 36 percent carry “high-risk vulnerabilities”.
Chinese enterprises are vulnerable to hackers because they have failed to take precautions when setting up their websites in the first place, according to Liu. “Most executives in China hesitate to invest in security departments because they do not generate profits for the company.”
But this reluctance could leave open a backdoor that rivals with harmful intent could exploit.
In February, an online dating website owner surnamed Le was accused of unfair competition after he allegedly hired hackers to attack baihe.com, China’s first dating website, Beijing Times reported.
The attacks caused intermittent paralysis to baihe.com for a month.
“The increasingly vicious competition between Chinese enterprises is turning China’s mystery hacker circus into a fresh battle ground,” said Liu.
Beijing policemen uncovered more than 2,600 hacking cases in 2011, according to the Rising report.
Experts warned that users’ hotel-booking accounts, social networking and online purchasing websites are most at risk of attacks. “These websites usually contain large quantities of personal information including itineraries, contact lists, phone numbers and purchasing habits,” said Liu.
“Such information is valuable to many interest groups such as business rivals, salesmen and even swindlers,” he added.
However, the most inviting yet poorly-guarded targets for hackers are the websites of education institutions, governments and online games, the report said. More than one third of Trojan attacks were targeted at education institutions.
In addition, the report also found that at least 65 percent of the attacks came from overseas Internet protocol addresses, with the United States, South Korea and Japan being the major sources.
As much as 22 percent of attacks on the country’s facilities with relatively high security – such as data centers, terminal controls and automatic industrial control systems – came from the United States.
But Liu pointed out that a large number of hackers in China are using proxy servers to conceal their actual IP address, an action that may disguise the source of the attacks or suggest it came from another country.

Source:http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2012-03/05/content_14752654.htm

Watching “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” makes me think that everyone, everywhere is spying on me as I browse the Internet. I visit my bank site, and snippets of valuable information about my spending habits are being transferred to their server. I buy the odd parasol at my favorite umbrella website, and data miners will note that I live in a place where it rained on Sunday. And so it goes.

But you don’t have to worry about the kind of data mining that goes on every time you use the Internet. Not if you use NoTracks Anti-Tracker for Windows PCs.

NoTracks works with your browser (Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari and Opera) to stop websites from tracking your activity.

Even if you’re using expensive Internet security software — and there are plenty on the market — NoTracks is worth having because it performs one function: saving you from divulging who you are and your interests.

Some data miners know more about you than they should. They know where you shop, what your other preferences are and even where you live. They shouldn’t, of course, but that is the nature of the New Internet. Big Brother is indeed watching your every keystroke.

NoTracks Anti-Tracker can be downloaded from NoTracks.com.

A seven-day trial is free. After that, registration costs $20, and is well worth the money if you care about your privacy.

Source:http://www.registerguard.com/web/business/27656262-41/internet-notracks-data-anti-goes.html.csp

The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, caught Nicholas Lovell making sexual advances to his 15-year-old daughter.

He discovered the abuse by installing spy software on her computer.

In 2008 Lovell, from Guildford, in Surrey, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, and has since been released.

The father said he installed the software on his 15-year-old daughter’s computer after she started acting suspiciously.

Lovell met the teenager in Bracknell, Berkshire, in 2006 while coaching her in ice hockey, and started contacting her through email and MSN messenger.

She had told her parents she was staying with a friend while she was seeing Lovell in secret.

The parents discovered her subterfuge and alerted the police, who gave Lovell a police warning.

‘Sneaky’ kids
However, Lovell used various false names to maintain contact, hoping to evade detection.

The father said he continued to be suspicious.

Continue reading the main story
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For about a month she wouldn’t talk to me, but then one day this guy turned up at the ice-rink and she freaked out and called me”

Victim’s father
With the consent of his ex-partner, he installed the spy software on his daughter’s computer, and began monitoring her email and instant messenger conversations with Lovell.

“My wife was trying to keep an eye on her, but kids can be sneaky,” he said.

By reading his daughter’s emails and messages, he was able to build evidence against Lovell which led to him being jailed for four-and-a-half years in 2008 for five counts of sexual activity with a child.

Lovell was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely and was also disqualified from working with children.

It was later discovered he was introducing the girl at his place of work as his girlfriend and took her to hotels for sexual relations.

“She was being groomed,” said the father.

Tuesday marks the 2012 Safer Internet Day, an annual event designed to encourage people to use internet technology, including mobile devices, more responsibly.

This year it coincides with the week-long BBC Share Take Care campaign, in partnership with the UK Safer Internet Centre, which is being featured across BBC television, radio and websites to raise awareness of issues surrounding safeguarding reputation online.

The government’s online child protection watchdog CEOP urges parents to get involved with any activities their children take part in on the internet.

It advises people to consider using parental controls on all the internet-connecting devices that children have access to and to “set boundaries in the online world, just as you would in the real world”.

‘Freaked out’
The father said his daughter had been originally angered by his actions, but now was grateful he had intervened.

“For about a month she wouldn’t talk to me, but then one day this guy turned up at the ice-rink and she freaked out and called me,” he said.

His daughter is now at university and is in a relationship with a man of her own age.

The father said he had since installed the software on the computers of all his children – with their knowledge.

However, he said the best way to prevent children falling prey to internet predators was to be “open and honest” with them.

“Talk to them and listen to them,” he said.

He also said he did not approve of children having computers in their bedrooms, and becoming members of social networking sites such as Facebook.

Source:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-berkshire-16911260

A provider of enterprise output management, announced the Farmington N.M, Fire Department has deployed Brooks’ RPM Remote Print Manager.

“This is an excellent example of a public safety agency applying low cost EOM technology to improve communications at the core of its services, and better protect staff and local citizens,” said Dave Brooks, president of Brooks Internet Software, in a release. “RPM is especially suited for PSAP (Public Safety Answering Points) telecommunication systems, used by providers in cities, townships and rural areas to relay timely, accurate communications from fire and police departments, to hospitals and ambulance services.”

RPM enables the Farmington FD to send 9-1-1 call transcripts to first responders, arming them with critical details about the nature of each emergency and hazards that may be faced upon arrival. These text and email alerts reach about 500 emergency responders in the area.

In addition, RPM’s print-to-email capability serves as a secondary failsafe, in the off chance that primary alerting systems fail.

“These texts are delivered lightning fast. In fact, some of the firefighters’ phones receive dispatch texts before the tones go off in the fire station and the dispatcher calls them on the radio,” said firefighter Mark Mordecki, who manages the 9-1-1 call to text system for the Farmington FD. “The others get them within seconds of the tones going off, so really there is no delay in being able to learn about a call. In an emergency situation, seconds count, so getting information as soon as possible helps save lives.”

Brooks’ RPM Remote Print Manager is a Windows print server. The Windows-based software works with Linux, CUPS, Solaris and HP-UX, as well as legacy systems including System i and mainframes.

Brooks Internet Software provides a bridge between legacy IBM and UNIX systems and high volume print jobs, across enterprise networks.

Source:http://www.fireengineering.com/news/2012/01/1583470672/farmington-new-mexico-fire-department-selects-brooks-internet-software.html

I renewed my AVG security software recently but despite numerous attempts, both with AVG support and the help of my local IT specialist, there appears to be a conflict between the software and Windows XP (Professional).
I contacted AVG about this on 6 October and returned the backup disk and the installation documentation and requested a refund of £41.12. But AVG has not acknowledged it.
Norman Nelson
Mr Nelson said he had been told by an AVG technical-support employee that there was a known issue with the latest version of the company’s security software, AVG Internet Security 2012, for people using Windows XP Pro.
We have had no other complaints about this issue, so have asked AVG for a comment. Mr Nelson was hoping to get his money back but, with software purchases, this is easier said than done.
The law regarding software is patchy, to say the least. Software is not considered ‘tangible goods’. If you bought the software on a CD or DVD and the disc was damaged, then the disc is the tangible goods and you would have a case.
You would also have a case if you were misled about what the software can do, for example if you were told it was a complete security suite but it turned out to be only a firewall.
If you were sold the wrong software then again there would be legal grounds for a refund. But at the moment that is about the extent of the protection consumers get with software.
It has been a matter of debate by consumer organisations and European politicians for a long time. This has led to some stronger rules on software under the new European Union Consumer Rights Directive.
The new legislation will give customers, for the first time, the right to withdraw from a digital-content purchase. The tricky part is that this right lasts only up to the moment the downloading process begins.
It is not clear whether stopping a download can be construed as cancellation of the contract and it would not help someone in Mr Nelson’s position. At the time of going to press AVG had yet to comment.

Source:http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/consumer-rights/2123211/avg-internet-security-2011-windows-xp-dont-mix

Internet Retailer today named Old Time Candy to its “Hot 100 E-Retailers of 2012″ list, an annual collection of retailers who have broken new ground in the past year in ways that other retailers can learn from. Old Time Candy’s online store, dedicated to selling retro candies like Wax Lips, Ice Cube Chocolates and more, is built on 3dcart ecommerce software.

“Old Time Candy Co. turned an old, clunky site into a sleek, rich entertainment,” Internet Retailer wrote about the online candy store. “Old Time Candy enables shoppers to personalize the tops of candy boxes with their custom messages and images. And, recognizing that this is a perfect gift, the e-retailer offers an unusual service: a staff member will handwrite a gift card, adding a truly personal touch.”

“We knew Old Time Candy required a much more dynamic platform, so we made the switch to 3dcart in 2010,” said Don Bridge, co-owner of Old Time Candy. “Since then, we’ve had a much easier time managing our business on the backend while giving our customers a unique, well-designed experience on the front end.”

Since switching to 3dcart, Bridge cites the ability to control and automate the shopping experience, from ordering to shipping, as a huge time saver for the organization. As a result, Old Time Candy has more time to focus on outstanding customer service-a feature of the store that Bridge and his staff see as a huge priority and a big differentiator from competing stores.

“We’re always impressed when we see customers using our software to drive a unique online shopping experience, but Old Time Candy is one of our favorites,” said 3dcart CEO Gonzalo Gil. “One of the strengths of our software is customizability, and many of our customers take advantage of that, pushing out great examples of successful online stores.”

Source:http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/12/06/prweb9014092.DTL

To monitor the activities of internet users in cyber cafes in the eastern part of Kutch district bordering Pakistan, the Special Operations Group (SOG) of the district police has installed special software in computers.

According to Chirag Koradia, Superintendent of Police, Kutch (East), the software will keep track of all surfing activity done at the cyber cafes of bordering cities. “Since the area is close to the border, we wanted a system which could provide us minute details such as who surfed which website on any given day,” said Koradia.

The Special Operations Group has identified 22 cyber cafes in Gandhidham, Adipur, Anjar, Bhachau and Rapar. According to SOG police inspector LD Vagadia, the computers of all 22 cyber cafes in the areas are now equipped with ‘Clinch,’ a web tracking software. “It is made by a Bangaluru based firm and installed at free of cost in every computer at these cafes. The software will keep complete records of the person who uses the PC and which website he/she opened,” said Vagadia.

Under the new system, the user has to fill a form before he/she starts surfing the net from a café.”After filling of the form, a unique ID will be created, through which the user can surf the web. The software firm has given access of their database to SOG, so that we can keep track of all users through our own server,” said Vagadia, who also added that this software is already installed in cyber cafes in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab and some southern Indian states.

Source:http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_special-software-to-track-internet-users-in-kutch_1612899

My child hates his Type I diabetes, and I can’t really blame him. Nobody likes to have a debilitating disease that keeps him from participating in a lot of the fun stuff his friends get to participate in.

When another child brings cupcakes into the classroom to be nice and share one with everyone, my child misses out. When they go on field trips, he misses out because the school refuses to send a qualified person to monitor him. When he wants to go Trick or Treating, like he will this coming Halloween, we let him, but when we get home, we will check to see what looks safe and what doesn’t, first of all, and then we will sort out the tiny pile that is his to parse out to himself over the next several weeks and the much larger pile that we grudgingly take to work and push off onto his teachers and classmates, making them break whatever diet they were on in the first place.

But not too long ago, I found a handy tool for keeping track of all of those numbers we have to keep track of as parents, and it’s made my child hate his diabetes just a little bit less. And honestly, as much as he hates it, any lit bit of hating it less helps our whole family at this point.

There’s nothing more miserable than having to bug my kid about his blood sugar readings every time he eats breakfast, lunch and dinner, but all of that changed when we were at a recent diabetes convention.

The City of San Antonio has conventions here just like any other major metropolitan area. So over the summer, we heard about the diabetes convention being held here. Our diabetes numbers are staggering in this part of the country, but particularly in this part of the state.

The 2010 Bexar County Community Health Assessment — created by the county’s Health Collaborative — reported that 85 percent of Southside residents are overweight or obese, followed by residents in Southeast San Antonio at 80 percent. About 16 percent of Southside residents were diagnosed with diabetes, compared to 7 percent and 8 percent in Northwest and Northeast San Antonio.

Now, that’s just a snapshot of where I live. Diabetes is a problem all over the country, and many of these diabetics, Type I diabetics especially, are children, just learning how to take care of themselves and resenting the heck out of the adults in their lives for making them do it.

A new software program that is designed to track blood sugar readings could help children and parents with that arduous task. While at this convention last summer, we discovered Blue Loop, Internet-based software that helps parents and kids organize the diabetic kids’ blood sugar readings.

It’s located at and it’s amazing. The first part of the site you get to explore involves a chart with different categories you can fill out. For instance, you can track his blood sugar readings every day, if you’d like. If your doctor just needs you to keep track of a week or two worth of readings, you can do that, too. You can write them down on a piece of paper, and then you can enter them in the appropriate fields later on. You have almost unlimited options when it comes to tracking your blood sugar.

The best part of this website is that you can share it with your doctor. Because of the Health Information Portability and Accountability Act, privacy between doctor and patient is at an all-time high. There are imitators of this site out here, but very few does what it does, allowing the doctor to go into your website and check your numbers all with the approval of HIPAA. The site has been approved for use in this way, meaning you can give your doctor access to your records and it’s sanctioned by people who work diligently to protect your medical records.

On the front page of Blue Loop, it says, “BlueLoop is your personal electronic health record for people with diabetes and all caregivers – parents, spouses, school personnel, doctors & more… Share BG’s, carbs, medication, notes and more instantly with your caregivers via e-mail and text message.”

I use Blue Loop as a kind of go-between between us and the doctor’s office but also to track my son’s wholle life. I use the section where we can keep track of what he ate and how much insulin he was given what day and at what time. I like knowing that kind of information so if his blood sugar routinely gets high or routinely gets low, we can consult his diet and exercise level over the last however many weeks and see if his blood sugar changes are from something that has to do with his everyday life. If those changes are due to something else, and we can’t figure it out, we’ll consult the doctor at his office.

Ultimately, the best part of BlueLoop is that since it’s on a computer, my 9-year-old son loves it. It’s a fancy form of record-keeping, so it feels like just one more thing for me to do every day, but for him it’s the chance to use computer with permission. You really can’t beat that when you’re a fourth grader.

Source:http://www.emaxhealth.com/8751/track-your-childs-blood-sugar-new-internet-software

The program is called Computer Cop. And Shannon Davis who works in the DA’s office says the first thing you should know about computer cop is that it’s easy to use.

“It’s no harder to install than Turbo Tax or something similar. You just pop the disk in, you follow the prompts and it installs. It has a number of applications on it that allow you to follow your children’s activities online.”

There are already products on the market that help parents monitor their children’s online activities, but they stress that this one is much simpler. Plus, it’s free.

Davis says the computer will save every image that’s been viewed on the computer. You can also tell the computer to look for certain words and to notify you if your child, or someone your child is chatting with, uses those words.

“When these words pop up, you can have an email sent to yourself, which means you don’t have to wait till later. You get that instant message. You can call home and say, ‘Excuse me, Junior.What exactly are you doing?’”

District Attorney Pat Lykos says computers can be an important educational tool, but can also be a safety concern if parents aren’t watching out.

“You cannot relax vigilance in this day in age with respect to your children. It seems that every advancement in technology that we have, the perverts seize upon it first and that we’re always playing catch up.”

Lykos gives an example of a recent case involving a young girl who was playing a video game that was hooked up to the internet.

“We had a case in Harris County where an 11 year old girl was being solicited by a male out-of-state, who was pretending to be an 11 year girl and who was grooming her. Fortunately, the father saw an email opened it up and was horrified and brought it to us. So we became the 11 year old girl and we ‘greeted’ him when he came to Harris County.”

Deputies in the DA’s office will begin passing out copies of Computer Cop at local schools. They’ll also be available to the public at the DA’s downtown office on Franklin Street.

Source:http://app1.kuhf.org/articles/1318455442-Free-Internet-Monitoring-Software-For-Parents.html

Avast is one of the biggest providers of free security software, but it has recently been giving its paid-for versions more of a push.

When it launched versions of its programs last year it gave them a makeover; previously the programs were rather clunky and technical-looking, but the new look was clean and professional.

The new version of the program doesn’t make as many changes – in fact, it looks similar to the previous one. The Internet Security edition includes an anti-spam tool and a firewall – an alternative Avast Pro Antivirus 6 includes all the security features except those two and is good if you want to use the free firewall built into Windows.

We would recommend the Avast firewall, though, as it gives lots of configuration options but was still easy to follow. You can download the Avast Free Antivirus product and get the same level of protection, but it doesn’t include the innovative new Avast Safezone that’s in both paid-for versions.

The Safezone improves upon the ‘sandbox’ feature of version five. That allowed users to open potentially troublesome programs in an isolated mode so they can’t cause problems on the PC. If you get sent an email that looks dodgy but you want to check it, you can open the attachment in the sandbox. There is now a helpful option to automatically run new programs in the Sandbox.

Safezone extends that to an entire web browser that’s boxed off from the rest of the PC, so you can surf any website without any danger to the rest of the PC. But its usefulness does depend on the user remembering to enable it.

Otherwise, not much has changed. The program’s controls are well laid-out and easy to follow and configure. A feature that will be familiar to all Avast users is the audible alerts whenever a virus is found or the program is updated. But this can be turned off easily.

Avast Internet Security 6 may only be a slight improvement on its predecessor but it’s a good one.

Source:http://www.computeractive.co.uk/ca/review/2104899/avast-internet-security-software

Global sales revenue for New Zealand-developed accounting software MoneyWorks has increased more than 40 per cent since the launch of version six of the application just six months ago.

The software has also recently secured three major international distribution deals.

MoneyWorks is a powerful accounting and business information system for both Mac and Windows platforms.

First developed by Auckland software company Cognito Software in 1992, the software brand now has more than 30,000 customers worldwide and has seen a huge response to its latest version, MoneyWorks 6.

Cognito Software CEO Dr Grant Cowie says sales revenue since the launch of MoneyWorks 6 in February has grown by around 44%.

“What’s really pleasing is the growth has come from the sale of new packages – upgrade purchases from existing users are on top of this.”

The software is also generating big interest in offshore markets. Already available in more than 70 countries, two new distribution deals will further boost sales.

In South Africa, MoneyWorks is now stocked in Incredible Connection, the country’s premier technology retail chain with nearly 80 stores nationwide. Similarly in Singapore, MoneyWorks is now available through the Challenger chain, the country’s largest IT retailer.

MoneyWorks will also now make a strong play in the Indonesian market, with the appointment of Net21Plus as the distributor for this market. Net21Plus has a strong history of accounting software sales and support throughout Indonesia.

Capping off a highly successful six-months for Cognito, the MoneyWorks� Cashbook app for Macs has consistently ranked in Apple’s Top Paid and Top Grossing Business application charts in Australia, Canada and New Zealand since it was launched in May.

Dr Cowie says the Apple connection is excellent for MoneyWorks because both brands function on similar premises.

“Simplicity, ease of use, functionality, flexibility, performance and integrity – these are the values of MoneyWorks that resonate with users.

“Many people still regard accounting software as a necessary evil* so we have worked hard to ensure our customers find MoneyWorks easy to use and enjoy the experience of being in charge of their finances.

“That strategy obviously resonates with the market – here in New Zealand and in many other countries.”

Dr Cowie also notes that the software’s recent successes coincide with the company’s first move into marketing.

“Until this year, we’ve relied simply on the strength of our product and the power of word of mouth and the internet. We began marketing MoneyWorks seriously for the first time in April this year and have been excited by the results.”

Source:http://www.voxy.co.nz/business/sales-leap-kiwi-accounting-software-brand/5/97035

C2 Software, the online customer engagement company, has revealed that its managing director will address the prestigious Internet World 2011 at Earls Court in London tomorrow.

In a seminar covering the complex challenges of integrating mobile with customer relationship management (CRM) and web content management systems (CMS), Finlay Carmichael C2 Software’s MD will tackle one of the key issues facing enterprises today.

Carmichael explains: “We are delighted to have been invited to speak at such a high profile event. Managing content in a digital age is a major challenge for all companies and I am looking forward to meeting and engaging in debate with those who are shaping the future of our industry.”

Providing e-business solutions that enable collaborative content and the integration of enterprise systems, C2 Software has built a powerful reputation as one of the earliest pioneers of web content management systems in the UK.

From consultancy to implementation, C2 Software specialises in CMS and its flagship software Activedition powers the websites and intranets of global and national organisations including NCR, Maclay Murray Spens LLP and the Royal Mint.

Proven, scalable and future proofed, Activedition is a commercially available off the shelf platform that allows companies to manage and maintain their websites, intranets and extranets. Designed for the non-technical user, anyone can contribute content and create, update and publish pages, thus freeing up IT resource.

Attracting over 300 exhibitors and 12,000 visitors, Internet World is recognised as the UK’s top event for digital marketing and online business. Content Management is one of the five shows at Internet World 2011, alongside Digital & Mobile Marketing, Social Media, eCommerce & mCommerce, and Connectivity & Hosting.

High level keynotes from leaders in the CMS field will also be delivered by: Cisco, Mike, eBay, facebook, Ogilvy Group, Dixon’s Retail, Google, The Guardian and Amazon.

Get Ahead – Integrating Mobile with CRM and CMS by Finlay Carmichael,C2 Software MD
Content Management Theatre of Earls Court, Tuesday 10 May, 12.30 pm.

Source:http://www.prlog.org/11479997-c2-software-md-to-speak-at-internet-world-2011.html

Gas prices are high, and jobs are still scarce. So who wouldn’t want to make a little extra money on the internet? FOX6 Investigator Bryan Polcyn has a warning about an internet marketing company that promises to help you get a piece of the trillion dollar e-commerce industry.

Stores Online has been fined more than a million dollars for violating consumer protection laws from coast to coast. They’re back in Wisconsin promising to help small business owners market their products on the internet. Only they don’t seem to care if you actually have a business, a product, or computer skills. The only thing that is required is a checking account.

Jan and Rick Hoesterman are not exactly tech-savvy entrepreneurs. It didn’t strike them as unusual when Rick got an exclusive invitation to an internet marketing conference in West Bend. The mailer informed Rick that he, and a guest had reserved seats for a conference aimed at small business owners looking to increase sales on the internet.

Never mind that Rick is retired, and doesn’t even own a business. Rick said, “Seems to indicate that you’ve got this opportunity to sell something on the internet, but I wouldn’t know what to sell.”.

Jan doesn’t exactly have a business, but she is a consultant for Market America. It’s a work from home system she describes as “kind of like Amway”.

Jan and Rick decided to check out the seminar just to see if Jan could pick up some free tips. What they got was a two hour sales pitch for high priced computer software.

Last month, Stores Online held seminars all over southeast Wisconsin, and we caught one on hidden camera. The seminar was billed as a conference for business owners and entrepreneurs. Jan said, “It seemed like a lot of retired people there. People that you wouldn’t be expecting to start a business at this age in their life, but obviously they must have been pulled in thinking this was going to be their ticket to financial success.”.

Stores Online has been accused of deceiving consumers from California to Florida, and Connecticut to Washington State.

Over the past six years, ten states have ordered the company to pay more than $1.3 million in fines. They were also ordered to pay restitution to consumers who were duped by exaggerated claims that they could make money selling products on the internet.

That includes Wisconsin where the Office of Consumer Protection has boxes of complaints on file from a 2008 lawsuit resulted in a $50,000 settlement.

Attorney Jeff Korn is the Spokesman for Utah-based Stores Online. He said, “We really did a poor job…What happened was about five to six years ago Stores Online grew exponentially, and what happened, unfortunately, customer service and support did not keep up with the growth. And that rightfully made a number of people unhappy, and created a number of issues.”.

Korn tells FOX6 the company has cleaned up its act. During the free seminar, they now make it clear that they intent to sell you internet services and software. In the past, the price of the software wasn’t revealed until you paid to attend a full-day workshop.

Despite these changes complaints are still coming in to the Wisconsin Office of Consumer Protection.

Stores Online still appears to be targeting consumers who lack basic computer skills have little to no business experience, and have no product to sell. They create an illusion of selectivity by requiring the audience to fill out a form with questions like, “How motivated are you to get something started on the internet?”.

After collecting the forms, the pitchman calls out the names of the lucky winners who’ve “qualified”. Rick didn’t expect to hear his name, since he was honest that he indicated on the form “Not sure”. They picked him anyway. Korn says, “I don’t understand why he was picked that would have been a clerical error. That’s obviously someone who probably shouldn’t be a customer of ours.”

Rick declined the invitation, but dozens of other winners lined up to shell out $99 for the next round of training at Milwaukee’s Pfister Hotel. Korn says, “To be able to come to the workshop you have to at least meet minimal qualifications. Owning a computer, having a high-speed internet, and having a checking account.”. Apparently that’s all you need.

Margaret Schuster doesn’t own a business, or a product to sell. Stores Online told Margaret Schuster that she qualified for a $6,000 line of credit to buy their internet marketing tool kit. Schuster says, “When I said I didn’t have it, they just kept going. I must have said no about six times.”.

Jan and Rick walked away without spending a dime. Jan said, “It isn’t fair. It isn’t right for people to take advantage of people who don’t have a lot of money to put forth.”.

Stores Online Spokesman Jeff Korn says they give every customer access to their software for two weeks before they attend the full day workshop. He also says they offer a 15-day refund option for seniors age 65, and older. They offer a three day refund window for everyone else.

However, customers who filed complaints in the past say they tried to get refunds, but were stalled until it was too late.

Stores Online currently has an “F” rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB says the company broke a promise to stop doing seminars. Stores Online says that was a misunderstanding. They fully intend to keep doing the seminars, and expect to be back in Wisconsin in 2011.

Source:http://www.fox6now.com/news/investigators/witi-20110508-easy-money,0,6906798.story

SCADA Software Suite – Wizcon for Windows and Internet

SCADA Wizcon for Windows and Internet

WIzcon is a fully integrated open SCADA architecture software suite, combining Operator interface, Supervisory control, Soft logic, Web technology and Information Systems interface.

Designed to deliver secured business intelligence in Real Time over the Web using standard Web browsers.

SCADA Wizcon Benefits

* Web Technology – Wizcon is fully web enabled allowing remote access to the SCADA reporting through a secure connection.

* Fault Tolerant Reliability – Ensured data integrity both in real time and historical archives through a hot backup system.

* Database and ODBC connectivity – Simple to use access to Microsoft Access databases as well as a user choice function for optional databases.

* Soft PLC, ETHERNET and OPC Connectivity – Over 150 serial and ethernet drivers are inbuilt into the software suite providing connectivity to multiple hardware platforms.

* Online development – The application can be updated and amended online without the need for a shutdown process.

* Easy import of existing drawings – Save application development time of graphical images by importing existing drawings from AutoCAD DXF and Windows metafile format files

Features of Wizcon SCADA Systems Suite

* Develop Windows and Internet Applications

* Support HTML, JAVA, XML and ASP

* Control process from Windows or Internet browsers

* On-line engineering

* High resolution vector graphics editor

* Pre-drawn objects and symbol library

* Alarm notifications with time and date stamp

* Historical data with time and date stamp

* Control and scheduling procedural language

* Macro commands

* Free format production and management reports

* Historical analysis of data loggers

* Historical analysis of alarms and events logger

* Trends, Bar-Graphs and XY Charts

* Recipes manager and batch control

Source:http://www.ferret.com.au/c/Conlab/SCADA-Software-from-Conlab-p17843

ne of the leading providers of automated data recovery software has launched new Quick Recovery Password Recovery Software which deals with all the password related problems of Internet Explorer and Outlook Express. This uniquely developed Quick Recovery password recovery software is designed to retrieve your forgotten user name and password with the domain name.

Quick Recovery password recovery software allows you to recover recently changed password form yahoo, facebook, gmail, orkut which you do not remember now, password misplaced such kind of problems can be handle by this software. This is very much flexible, highly optimized password recovery tool.

Now you can get back your all user name, password from Internet Explorer and Outlook Express using Quick Recovery password recovery software.

* Internet Explorer Password Recovery: Quick Recovery Internet Explorer password recovery will help you out from the problem of all internet explorer login password and user names.

To recover password (which you have forgotten, recently you have changed your password but you forgot to remember it) you would have to install Unistal’s Quick Recovery password recovery software. This lucrative Quick Recovery software recover website password of email accounts with its login IDs and Auto Complete option recover web forms field names and values in internet explorer.

Your password might be in different languages but language will never be a barrier for you. This software automatically saved the password searching state and save all login accounts and password thus there is no compulsion for the users to remember all login passwords at a time.

* Outlook Express Password Recovery: This technology is developed in such a way that it works automatically and instantly.

Quick Recovery Outlook Express password recovery can figure out all passwords related problems regarding Outlook Express.

This software works out in the field of recovery of domain name, multiple login IDs and lost or misplaced password for email accounts, news group accounts created on Outlook Express and Outlook Express Identities. Whatever the length of the password it can recover.

Source:http://pr-usa.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=697916&Itemid=31

Below are the top five companies in the Internet Software & Services industry as measured by relative performance. This analysis was compiled based on yesterday’s trading activity as we search for stocks that have the potential to outperform.

Rackspace Hosting (RAX) ranks first with a gain of 8.31%; Saba Software (SABA) ranks second with a gain of 4.71%; and Equinix (EQIX) ranks third with a gain of 4.45%.

OpenTable (OPEN) follows with a gain of 3.89% and SAVVIS (SVVS) rounds out the top five with a gain of 3.58%.

SmarTrend currently has shares of Saba Software in an Uptrend and issued the Uptrend alert on September 09, 2010 at $5.39. The stock has risen 77.2% since the Uptrend alert was issued.

Source:http://www.investors.com/NewsAndAnalysis/Newsfeed/Article/129035273/201103310612/Top-5-Companies-in-the-Internet-Software-and-Services-Industry-With-the.aspx