Back to Top

With concerns growing over the incidence of bank card fraud and identity theft, a majority of people globally would accept biometric authentication to verify their identities, according to recent research from Unisys Corporation.

Analyzing recent findings from the nine countries covered in the bi-annual Unisys Security Index, Unisys found that consumers remain most concerned about bank card fraud and identity theft – despite a general decrease in overall concerns about security threats. These global concerns may have led to an increasing consumer acceptance of biometric technologies, such as fingerprint and eye (retinal) scans, versus more traditional methods of using passwords and PINs. Respondents in every country surveyed in the Unisys Security Index indicated a majority favored the use of advanced biometric methods.

In most countries surveyed in the latest Unisys Security Index research, between one quarter and one half of adults around the world are seriously concerned about the ability of financial services providers and national or local governments to keep their personal information secure.

The Unisys Security Index is a biannual global study of consumer opinion on four areas of security: financial, national, Internet and personal safety. The results are tallied on a scale of 0-300, with 300 representing the highest level of perceived concern. Nearly 8,300 consumers in the Asia-Pacific region, Brazil, Europe and the U.S. responded to the latest survey conducted in September, 2009. Each survey also includes supplemental research on a security niche topic such as current attitudes towards biometric devices and the security of personal information.

Back to Top

Taking forward the commitment towards building a strong Web ecosystem and fostering innovation around web, Microsoft India launched the WebsiteSpark program, an initiative designed to create a partner network and drive business growth for professional web development and design companies. Combined with the release of the Web Platform Installer 2.0 and the Windows Web Application Gallery 2.0, the initiatives make it easier for Web professionals & Organizations to build richer, more compelling Web experiences. The program is supported by Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) and The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) as the network partners; and Netmagic and Net 4, as the hosters.

As the latest initiative in the ‘Spark’ family of programs, including BizSpark and DreamSpark, Microsoft is building upon a legacy of working with key communities and providing the additional support, tools and resources needed in order to help them thrive. The WebsiteSpark Program provides Web professionals with Microsoft software and solutions, together with related tools, training and support, to help their businesses succeed. The WebsiteSpark Program also helps drive new business opportunities by connecting Web professionals and hosters with an ecosystem of customers, partners and other professionals with complementary technologies.

Back to Top

ZyXEL Communications declares that the company's products that are shipped to and sold on the European market after January 1, 2010 will be compliant with the European Union's EuP Directive (2005/32/EC) requirements. ZyXEL once again meets the international standards in environment protection, and the move also reaffirms ZyXEL's commitment to being a responsible manufacturer.

Aiming to reduce environmental burden and improve environmental performance, the Energy Using Products (EuP) Directives adopted by European Parliament and the Council established a framework for eco-design requirements that administrating energy-using products. ZyXEL's EuP compliant products will meet with the energy and resource consumption standards to follow the objective of the EuP Directives: Improve energy efficiency throughout the product's lifecycle from mining of the raw materials to its end-of-life recycling.

With commitments to the environment, ZyXEL will work continuously on improving the environmental performance of its products and take every effort a step further by actively decreasing greenhouse gas emissions to underline its role as a responsible global corporate citizen.

Back to Top

The latest edition of Virus Bulletin magazine has described its recently published investigation of 43 anti-virus products on the Windows 7 platform their "biggest month of testing ever", producing an exhaustive 27 page report examining the detection abilities of different security solutions.

Not only does the December 2009 edition of Virus Bulletin award Sophos Endpoint Security the prestigious VB100 award for detecting all the in-the-wild viruses without false alarming, but Sophos also achieved a perfect 100% score against worms, bots and polymorphic malware. This meant that Sophos outperformed a number of other products which failed to detect 100% of the viruses in the wild.

Even more impressive, from Sophos' point of view, was Sophos' performance in Virus Bulletin's RAP ("Reactive and Proactive") test, helping users form a better impression of the heuristic and generic proactive detection capability of security software - in particular how well products perform against malware that appears after vendors have submitted their products to Virus Bulletin for testing. In this test, harder than any other, Sophos achieved a higher ranking than any other product tested with 73.2%.

Back to Top

eScan, has again received the prestigious Three Star Award – Advanced+ from AV Comparatives for Proactive/Retrospective as well as On-demand detection of potentially unwanted applications which include Adware, Spyware and Rogue Software. eScan Internet Security Suite was also awarded VB100 certification from UK based Virus Bulletin.

Since its launch eScan 10 has been proven to be a technologically advanced solution providing a simplified GUI, which makes it easy to operate for a novice user too. For more tech savvy users, eScan 10 offers multi-level protection with advanced configuration controls providing enterprise-grade configurability to those who want it. eScan 10 also features real time network activity monitor making use of a TCP viewer utility, solidly implemented high quality main anti-malware and anti-hacking components and many additional tools.

Back to Top

IntraLinks announced it will further increase its application security by leveraging Symantec DeepSight Threat Management System and Symantec DeepSight Alert Services to proactively identify potential vulnerabilities. In addition to IntraLinks’ current multi-level security policies governing infrastructure, process, and personnel, Symantec’s real-time threat and vulnerability identification services will expand application security by enabling the company to immediately evaluate and proactively address any vulnerabilities identified on the system.

Specifically, IntraLinks’ security team has created registered lists of open source as well as commercial products utilized by the application. Symantec DeepSight Threat Management System and Alert Services identify only the issues specific to products used by the company and automatically alerts IntraLinks’ security team out of the thousands of vulnerabilities reported daily. This service obviates the need to monitor tens of vendors and several different vulnerability reporting sites for a more streamlined reporting process and faster response time to potential threats.

Back to Top

One of the leading handset manufacturers in India, Spice Mobiles issued an advisory to reassure its customers that their handsets carry a genuine IMEI number and is a registered member of the ICA (Indian Cellular Organisation) in India for manufacturing of GSM and CDMA mobile handsets. All handsets sold by Spice Mobiles carry the ICA-Spice hologram certifying the genuineness of the product.
In the event & due to any technical reasons a Spice Mobile Phone gets deactivated, the same can be brought to the Spice Authorised Service Centres where it will be restored immediately free of cost.

Back to Top

Array Networks announced its SSL VPN solution has certified Windows 7 support. Additionally, Array announced a significant increase in Layer 3 VPN performance for its SPX Series Universal Access Controller (UAC).

With Microsoft certification, Array customers are able to utilize Windows 7 while maintaining secure remote access anytime, from any location. Array’s SSL VPN now includes certified, signed drivers for Microsoft’s Windows 7 Operating System. Array worked within Microsoft’s certification program to release this update in conjunction with Microsoft’s retail release of Windows 7. In addition to Windows 7 support, this release also features support for Mac OS X 10.6, also known as “Snow Leopard”.

Moreover, Array has upgraded Layer 3 performance for its SPX Series UAC. Users can now experience an overall 50% performance improvement for SSL-encrypted traffic in both LAN and WAN environments. With these upgrades, Array’s SPX enterprise customers can boost the productivity of their remote workers.

Back to Top

HID Global announced that the company’s Crescendo smart cards and OMNIKEY brand readers have been successfully tested for compatibility with McAfee Endpoint Encryption. Through its inclusion in the McAfee Security Innovation Alliance (SIA), HID Global is recognized among leading security innovators, enabling McAfee users to leverage HID’s converged solutions for logical and physical access. With HID’s Crescendo smart cards and OMNIKEY brand readers, organizations can take advantage of a single card for two-factor authentication to secure data on IT networks and PCs, as well as secure physical access to facilities.

Easily deployed out-of-the-box, HID’s Crescendo smart cards make it simple and convenient to implement pre-boot authentication and disk encryption, as offered by McAfee Endpoint Encryption for PCs, providing customers unparalleled cost savings and return on investment. When coupled with HID’s OMNIKEY brand readers, Crescendo enables two-factor authentication to desktop, mobile and laptop computer applications, reducing risk and unauthorized access to sensitive data, while combining logical and physical access control into a single card solution.

Back to Top

The latest State of the Internet 2009 report issued by CA states that the most notable 2009 online threats were rogue/fake security software, major search engines, social networks and Web 2.0 threats. The report, based on data compiled by CA’s Global Security Advisor researchers, compiles trends from the first half of 2009. CA security researchers also offer predictions for the top Internet threats for 2010, including an increase in “malvertising” and the potential for another big computer worm outbreak like Conficker.

While spam and phishing scams are still on the rise, the breakdown for how malware was distributed in 2009 was dominated by the Internet at 78 percent, followed by email (via attachments or phishing) at 17 percent, and finally removable media (such as USB drives, digital photo frames, etc.) with 5 percent.

Back to Top

Symantec Corp. and Message Systems announced a joint initiative, Service Provider Next Gen, under their strategic partnership. The objective of the Service Provider Next Gen Initiative is to combine best of breed products and services from the two companies to provide a superior suite of message security, management and other business solutions for telcos, ISPs, hosting companies and other service providers. Through integrated technology, service and support, Symantec and Message Systems are planning to offer service providers a better way to achieve their business objectives and post higher financial returns as well as streamlined access so those benefits accrue faster.

As part of this announcement, Symantec and Message Systems are also releasing their first solution under the Service Provider Next Gen initiative – combining Brightmail and Momentum at the edge of the network. Brightmail in combination with Momentum offers an integrated solution that combines the Symantec Brightmail Message Filter and Symantec Brightmail Traffic Shaper products with Message Systems’ Momentum platform. It offers optimal message filtering and management results with higher financial return and lower cost of ownership.

Back to Top