Commtouch is a leading global provider of messaging and Web security technology, offering easy-to-integrate solutions for hosting and service providers that increase customer satisfaction while reducing capital and operating expenditures.

“Leading hosting companies are already using Commtouch’s solutions to reduce infrastructure and help desk costs and improve spam detection with fewer false positives,” said Ofer Tal, vice president of international sales and business development at Commtouch. “This improved service helps to enhance their customer satisfaction and bottom line.”

Commtouch’s cloud-based spam, phishing and email malware protection, along with its perimeter defense technologies, have been shown to reduce hosting providers’ hardware expenses by up to 85% and user bandwidth costs by as much as 80%, and significantly decrease help desk calls and IT administration time.

Commtouch’s solutions can leverage existing infrastructure investments through a set of integration tools into open-source and commercial messaging software, as well as provisioning platforms such as Parallels Plesk, H-Sphere and cPanel. Specifically, Commtouch provides the following easy integration tools:

– Plug-ins for common open-source email filtering packages such as SpamAssassin

– Milter for Sendmail and Postfix

– Connector to hosted and managed Microsoft Exchange Server environments.

Members of the Commtouch team will be available to discuss the company’s messaging and Web security solutions that complement open source technologies at WebhostingDay 2010, from March 17-19th, 2010 in Cologne, Germany.

Mr. Mizrahi will be speaking at 16:00, March 18 about “Taking Your Open Source Security Solutions to the Next Level.”

Commtouch will be exhibiting at the conference. To schedule a meeting with a Commtouch representative at WebhostingDay, please contact events@commtouch.com.

In a controversial speech to ABC staff on Wednesday, Mr Newman said the damning emails hacked from the University of East Anglia that pointed to dubious research and politicised advocacy “were known to Paul Hudson, the BBC climate correspondent one month before the story broke – but not reported at the time”.

Mr Hailes responded: “Paul wrote a blog for the BBC website on 9th October 2009 entitled `Whatever Happened to Global Warming’. There was a big reaction to the article – not just here but around the world.

“Amongst those who responded were (climate change scientists) Professor Michael E. Mann and Stephen Schneider whose emails were among a small handful forwarded to Paul on October 12th.

“Although of interest, Paul wanted to consider the emails as part of a wider piece, following up his original blog piece.

“In early November Paul spotted that these few emails were among thousands published on the internet following the alleged hacking of the UEA computer system. Paul passed this information onto colleagues at the BBC, who ran with the story, and then linked to the emails on his blog.”

The claims about Hudson were first aired in an article in Britain’s Daily Mail on November 26. The Daily Mail is a newspaper that is generally critical of the BBC, alleging a left political bias.

Ironically, Hudson’s original blog that prompted the emails from professors Mann and Schneider was a balanced piece about the debate on the causes of global warming.

Wrote Hudson: “One thing’s for sure. The debate about what’s causing global warming is far from over. Some would say it’s hotting up.’’

I receive all these enrolments and invitations even if I have never, in my conscious life, done the Twitter, Chatter, Mutter or make myself a complete Nutter in this so-called social-networking whirl, though I have been invited to a few and I have put them all in my “Hold” folder in the hope that you cannot hold on to things for long for they shall all soon fade away.

And what do I have here now? An email from a lady named Ruth inviting me to the pleasures of Kwarezimal and Figola in an enticing little nook called Triq ta’l-Ibrag in the district of Swieqi. I have looked in my Atlas to locate those places — I do not Google the Earth if you don’t mind, I am still addicted to road travel — and I have found out that Triq ta’l-Ibrag is actually a little street in sunny Malta. And all those of you who are now suppressing your little sniggers I shall disabuse you of whatever images you are drawing in your mind and let you know that Kwarezimal and Figola are types of cakes that you eat in Malta on Lent and Easter respectively.

As an exercise in lateral learning all this has been very useful. I know now how much influence Arabic has on the Maltese language (“Triq” is unmistakably the Arabic tariq, street; and “ibrag” from the Arabic bourj, tower), and it has all brought back to me once again the aroma of pastizzi wafting in the air amid diesel fumes one hot day at the bus terminus in Valetta.

These are emails from real people, not from soi-disant widows of some African dictators inviting me to share their loot, or that painstaking researcher Kun Chun, who, styling himself as an attorney at law, is trying to introduce me to a “deceased client of mine who shares the same last name as you”.

The said client, I am sorry to say, died in 2005 “as a result of a heart-related condition” as the attorney says delicately in his email, “due to the death of all the members of his family in the tsunami disaster on Dec 26, 2004 in Sumatra Indonesia”. And here the ever resourceful Kun Chun provides a Wikipedia link to the Indian Ocean Earthquake of 2004.

I have an image of this man Kun Chun with ‘tache and beard like Dr Fu Manchu, sidling forth with his piece of paper to elicit my consent to a transfer of US$19,000 (RM63,800) “under a legitimate agreement” without as much as a fanfare.

“If this business proposition offends your moral values,” he adds, “do accept my apology.” He’s a decent sort of guy.

Meanwhile, in the world of real people, I have gained the phone numbers of Kapil and Chitra Desai, Jagdesh Kirpalani, and Sanjay Singh, all apparently working merrily in a busy office in North America.

They flew like doves in my direction, released into the air at the click of the Send button by someone named J. Radia. I have since written to J. Radia to warn her of the randomness of the sorting office of this email provider, and she has replied with an er and an oops and many profuse thanks and apologies and a cheery “Have a great day!”

The email address that I am talking about isn’t the one that you see at the bottom of this page, so I can say “God rest ye merry” to all those who have written to me, but it’s my other one that just the other week gave me a snoop into the social life of one Isatou Ceesay Kebbeh who is now pining for her friend Tida. So if Miss Kebbeh is reading this, I hope she will soon write in with some news for me to forward to her friend in Gambia.

Which brings me to my son who was in a hotel lift one day with a gentleman from Africa. “Ah,” said the burly man who was looking resplendent in a Nigerian buba. “Why are you burning all those churches in Malaysia?”

“I am standing here and you are accusing me of burning churches over there,” riposted my son after recovering from the initial shock of the inquisition. “You’re Nigerian, you must be the man who’s been spamming me with those cod emails.”

The shortest route to instant connectivity is the email.

WinMagic and Intel will demonstrate SecureDoc with support for Intel Anti-Theft Technology, which is now available in select systems with the all new 2010 Intel(R) Core(TM) processor family. As an added layer of protection, and acting as a laptop theft-deterrent, Intel(R) AT provides the benefit of issuing a “poison pill” to lost or stolen laptops whether they are connected to the internet or not. Laptops equipped with Intel AT have hardware-based intelligence to detect potential theft situations and respond according to an IT policy. When a notebook is reported lost or stolen, Intel AT also allows organizations to remotely disable the computing platform and lock access to its data. SecureDoc adds full-time sector-by-sector FDE which ensures data is protected at all times as well as central management of Intel AT. This ensures data cannot be accessed in the time it takes to report the loss and disable the laptop — even if the hard drive is removed and installed on another computing system.

If the laptop is recovered, the notebook can easily be returned to its pre-theft state via a typical help desk challenge/response scenario. Since the data on the recovered laptop is not deleted and the protection is non-destructive, it can be retrieved securely upon routine pre-boot authentication — and the hard drive remains protected by SecureDoc the entire time.

A notebook secured with the latest version of SecureDoc can now take advantage of Intel AT deterrent mechanisms to enhance security and set a new benchmark for positive end-user experience and ease of management for both standard and self-encrypting drives. Combining the two technologies will ensure organizations can comply with privacy and security regulations by making it simple to manage their entire suite of security functionalities in a heterogeneous IT environment from a single central SecureDoc(TM) Enterprise Server management console.

“This collaboration with WinMagic provides new ease-of-management and protection for data security,” said George Thangadurai, general manager of Intel PC Client Services Division. “Now organizations looking to deter PC theft and, more importantly, protect the data inside — the loss of which can have very serious consequences to a business — have a simple and intuitive solution that seamlessly combines the two technologies.”

WinMagic and Seagate will demonstrate for the first time how SecureDoc supports and manages the Seagate(R) Secure(TM) Self-Encrypting Hard Drives, which provide a highly-secure computing environment for independent data processing and private code execution in certified software applications. SecureDoc adds organization-wide encryption key management, multi-factor pre-boot user authentication, file/folder encryption and other capabilities that lock down digital information assets. This provides organizations with the flexibility to deploy any combination of hardware/software-based encryption, or to transition between the two, with full transparency for users and a consistent management interface for administrators, which makes it easy to customize data protection to meet any security protocol and to “future-proof” investment in encryption.

“Seagate(R) Secure(TM) disk drive technology is a security platform combining strong, completely automated hardware-based full-disk encryption and security, with a programmatic interface that makes it easy to add other software security applications,” said Michael Danielson, Director of Security Software Engineering at Seagate. “WinMagic’s SecureDoc supports Seagate Secure hard drives to deliver robust data protection, flexibility and end-user transparency under a single, extensible management console and policy framework,” Danielson continued. “Our combined goal is to reduce or eliminate the risks associated with unnecessary data loss or data exposure from unprotected desktops, notebooks and other portable storage media.”

WinMagic will also demonstrate full support for TCG’s OPAL specification drives and its all-new software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution. At the same time, the company will debut exciting new features for SecureDoc’s Mac OS X (including Snow Leopard) and Windows 7 — which, in response to feedback from U.S. government agencies, integrate seamlessly with CAC and PIV cards.

“According to the 2008 Ponemon Cost of a Data Breach studies, compromised customer records cost U.S. companies $200 per record and U.K. companies GBP 60 per record,” said Thi Nguyen-Huu, CEO and President, WinMagic Inc. “The best way to eliminate this risk is for vendors to work together in order to provide complete end-to-end data security solutions,” Nguyen-Huu continued. “Our collaboration with Intel and Seagate will make it simpler for organizations to implement comprehensive data protection practices to ensure lost or stolen devices don’t provide unwanted access to company data.”

WinMagic’s SecureDoc enterprise-class “always-on” full-disk encryption is compatible with Microsoft Windows, Mac and Linux platforms and protects all data stored on servers, desktops, laptops and removable media, such as USB thumb drives and CD/DVDs. In the event that a password is forgotten, or if the user is not available, centralized escrow and management of encryption keys ensure that critical data can still be accessed.

According to the company, the latest release is aimed to help small businesses to strengthen customer relationships and drive sales by connecting to their customers quickly, simply and affordably. Features include professional-looking email campaign creation, multiple ways to grow and manage lists, integration with CRM, and the utilization of campaign metrics and reports to increase results.

The new email marketing service will enable small businesses to run their own email marketing campaigns without the need to hire costly outside marketing professionals. The new customer-driven product features allows even easier creation of new email campaigns and sign-up forms that help small businesses build their opt-in mailing lists and also helps in importing contacts directly from Microsoft Excel.

In a release, Steve Adams (News – Alert), vice president of marketing for Protus, the provider of Campaigner, said that small business owners often start a business because they’re good at something or have a passion for it and when they try to market that business, though, they may find the tools that are available assume a level of experience or expertise they don’t have.

He said Protus has designed the new Campaigner after asking customers how they could make it easier for them to create effective sales-generating and loyalty-building campaigns.

Campaigner’s Email marketing service is currently available for 30-day free trial. Small businesses can subscribe to the service for just $10 per month.

The company is also offering a free template that includes putting the business colors, logo, fonts and contact information in place. Along with that users can also contact company’s customer service group available 24×7 to answer questions and provide technical support.

This move complements and completes MXSweep’s adoption of the full suite of Commtouch email security products, which already includes Commtouch Anti-Spam and Zero-Hour Virus Outbreak Protection.

“We selected Commtouch because its real-time security technologies give us an even greater edge in our market space,” said Edward Grant, CEO of MXSweep. “We tested various messaging security solutions, and Commtouch was by far the most robust. The company is also easy to do business with and provides fantastic marketing support, creating a true partnership.”

MXSweep is using GlobalView Mail Reputation Service and Outbound Spam Protection as integral parts of its managed services for email. MXSweep provides reseller partners with the flexibility to offer their customers full email security protection, based on Commtouch’s complete solution.

With Commtouch, MXSweep’s email protection combines effective anti-spam, anti-virus and anti-phishing coverage with uniquely low false positives while it protects against external email threats.

Together, these services help end-customers achieve a smoothly working IT infrastructure that drives efficiency and productivity. In addition, MXSweep’s vision is built around its SaaS model and the company will continually be enhancing and adding services for its customers.

“We have tested MXSweep for a number of weeks and are very satisfied. The service, enhanced by Commtouch technologies, is exactly what we were looking for — a perfect solution to handle spam and other threats from the Internet,” said Olli Rikala, CEO of Deferon OY, a customer of MXSweep’s.

“We have been working with MXSweep since 2006, and its addition of GlobalView Mail Reputation Service and Outbound Spam Protection to its full email security offering further validates our technology as the ideal solution for service providers looking to strengthen their email protection and reduce operational costs,” stated Ofer Tal, VP, international sales and business development at Commtouch. “With Commtouch’s technology, MXSweep’s customers ensure their end-users are protected against spam, phishing and malware outbreaks.”

Of the 703 garda stations throughout the country, email facilities are only available at 347 “networked locations” within An Garda Siochana.

However, all gardai have access to internal email through the Garda Pulse system.

The figures come in the aftermath of the Garda Inspectorate report, which found a new computer system was urgently required in order to match policing resources to the needs of local communities.

Aspects of the current computer system were described as “antiquated” by the Garda Inspectorate.

Last night, Fine Gael justice spokesman Charlie Flanagan said that while Justice Minister Dermot Ahern was “talking tough” with new legislation to tackle crime, his talk was not being matched with resources. “Every modern method of communication should be available to the gardai. You can’t expect them to fight crime with 1960s methods,” Mr Flanagan said.

Labour Party communications spokesman Tommy Broughan, who has been asking questions about expanding email facilities to garda stations for 10 years, said: “It’s amazing that for the last decade, when the public service and rest of us went online, the Garda Siochana was limping way behind us.” Garda sources said there may have been a reluctance in the past to introduce email facilities in case the public then started to use it as a means of alerting them to issues that needed urgent attention.

Queues

Unlike telephone calls, which come to the attention of gardai immediately, emails of significance could join a queue of correspondence, they said.

However, other sources said there was little reluctance on the part of gardai to have external email expanded to them as part of moves to modernise the force. External email is provided to all gardai from the rank of inspector upwards, Mr Ahern said in response to a Dail written question.

External email has also been made available to members of other ranks and civilian staff based on operational needs identified by garda management.

Meanwhile, out of 98 hoax calls made last year, only 22 callers have so far been identified and investigated by the gardai. Some 88 of the false calls entailed the call-out of the army’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal team.

Mr Ahern said he was focused on identifying the “culprits” in these incidents and — where there was enough evidence — in bringing them before the courts.

However, Mr Flanagan called for stiffer penalties which he said would deter people from making hoax calls in the first instance.

According to researchers with AV vendor Avast, malware distributors are constantly refining their SEO skills and accelerating the pace at which they hop on emerging news stories and tie their attacks to related search terms.

The experts have specifically uncovered a commercial-grade type business process that some of the leading malware SEO gangs have adopted, a set of tactics that keep these cyber-criminals on top of the latest and greatest trends in Google’s GoogleRank system and ensure that more end users than ever will likely end up confronted by their work, Avast researchers said.

The networks involved typically involve “hundreds” of fake links that work through hijacked web sites to game Google’s search algorithms. Many of the attacks still center on the use of rogue AV programs, a business that the FBI has already pegged as a $150 million per year malware vertical market.

Recent news events that triggered a lightening fast response from the malware gangs included former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s heart surgery. As many as 70 individual URLs were rapidly incorporated in related attacks just after the news was announced.

“These guys had targeted keywords out on Bill Clinton within hours of the former president’s heart operation. They have an extremely sophisticated understanding of search engine optimization,” Jindrich Kubec, Avast director of antivirus research, said in a research note.

The expert said that the model his company has uncovered involves four distinct business processes and/or units that handle consumer-facing hijacked sites, SEO optimization, redirector sites, and the malware domains themselves, respectively.

Under the model, when someone searches on keywords targeted by the SEO attackers the results typically include many URLs that have already been hijacked and incorporated into redirection schemes.

The SEO “maximizing” unit often employs an entire network of hacked sites that have been loaded with invisible link-filled content, making them likely to turn up after users enter their terms in Google, Avast said.

The model also incorporates intermediary sites, which are also typically hijacked domains that actually connect the Google results with sites offering up fake AV or whatever content the attackers are attempting to pass along. The fourth business unit or process is involved in control of the fraudulent URLs themselves.

This refined methodical approach to SEO manipulation and attack is increasingly popular and likely to keep working unless end users suddenly smarten up and change their willingness to visit unknown or questionable sites, or security firms can work more closely with Google, Kubec said.

“In the ideal world, we would work with Google to adapt their search algorithms to find and remove the infected sites,” he said.

With Google likely still reeling from the fallout of the recent “Operation Aurora” attacks that successfully infiltrated its internal networks, perhaps the search giant is open to expanding its already significant security operations once again.

Let’s hope so.

The man is said to have tried to hug and kiss one teenager and touched two other girls inappropriately.

In a further incident, he tried to get a girl inside his Vauxhall car.

West Yorkshire Police said it believed the same man was involved in all the incidents, which happened on the city’s Shadwell Lane, School Lane, Harrogate Road and Eastmoor Crescent.

‘High-visibility patrols’

He is described as Asian, 5ft 6in and aged in his early 30s.

Police said the man has dark, short cropped hair and was wearing a jacket and tracksuit bottoms.

Sgt Iain McKelvey said: “These incidents are concerning which is why we are making every effort to track down this man and bring him before the courts.

“High-visibility patrols are being conducted in the areas. I would urge anyone who may know this man or who may have seen anyone fitting his description in the area to contact police.”

The blog is a source of valuable information and a vehicle for
consumers to communicate ideas with industry experts. The site is a great source for tips and tricks on developing and maintaining modern, search engine optimized websites. It also provides content on graphic/web design. This includes articles on successful email campaigns and generating more leads from a website.

The resources page is also important for SEO as it ensures that fresh and engaging content is always available. Essentially, search engines index a site by its contents. The more current and relevant the information on the site the higher it will be ranked. This is important for when customers search for a company’s services online. If a company is ranked well they will be easily found which ensures that revenue is not lost to more visible competitors.

NetGain was founded in 2008 as an advanced web and graphic services company. NetGain specializes in making websites that are easily found on major search engines, such as, Google, Yahoo & MSN. Using modern SEO techniques, state-of-art layout and graphic design tools they create clean, searchable sites. The new resources page is an edition to the NetGain site and a service they have extended to several of their customers.

According to Drew Dekker, Vice President and founder of NetGain SEO, “The News Page is a valuable industry resource. We are pleased to add blog forum applications to our extensive line of web, graphic and marketing services. The service has already been introduced to several of our customers and we anticipate positive results.”