“Antivirus companies are reporting the spread of a new variant of the mass-mailing PC virus known as "Bagle." The latest version of the malicious software, which some experts refer to as an e-mail worm, is rearing its head worldwide. By Thursday morning, virus trackers in China, Japan, the United States and parts of Europe had reported instances of the threat.�
Judges protect right to boot suspected spammer, Cnet News.com, 27 Jan 2005
“A federal appeals court has ruled that EarthLink was within its rights to disconnect a customer who it incorrectly believed to be spamming. EarthLink pulled the plug on independent film producer Peter Hall's account in August 1997 after receiving a report from UUNet, its network provider, that Hall was sending out bulk junk e-mail. Realizing its mistake about a week later, EarthLink offered a public retraction and forwarded Hall about 16 e-mail messages that had accumulated in his account during that time.�
No-cost Skype strikes chord with businesses, Cnet News.com, 27 Jan 2005
“Skype executives have already recognized there is opportunity in the business market. As a result, they plan to introduce a new set of business offerings later this year. The idea is to create a package similar to the free Skype, but with extra features, such as videoconferencing, user groupings and company directories, that business customers would be willing to pay for.�
Yahoo links local search with mobile phones, InfoWorld, 27 Jan 2005
“Yahoo on Thursday rolled out a new feature in its local search service that lets users send results from their PCs to mobile phones, the company said. At Yahoo Local (http://local.yahoo.com), which is a directory of business listings, users can search for restaurants in Denver, Colorado, or for dentists in Philadelphia. Now, they can send Yahoo Local results as a text message to their mobile phones directly from their PCs by clicking on a new "send to phone" button that accompanies every listing.�
China Unicom receives breaking-up signals, FT.com, 27 Jan 2005
“Pity the poor managers at China Unicom, the country's number two mobile telephone operator. Not only must they labour with the politically imposed legacy of running two networks based on completely different standards, they also recently saw their chairman summarily transferred to lead larger rival, China Mobile. The worst, however, may be yet to come: Chinese telecoms circles and local media have in recent months been abuzz with reports about a possible big restructuring of the industry - and the hottest rumour of all is that Unicom could be broken up.�
Underused Cyberport harbours 3G carnivals to attract visitors, South China Morning Post, 28 Jan 2005
“The government, which is struggling to fill its underused Cyberport facility, yesterday unveiled an $8 million programme to develop third-generation (3G) mobile-phone services at the sprawling office complex. Of the $8 million, $2.4 million is earmarked for 3G applications development, while another $1 million will go towards training at least 160 engineers. The programme will give financial awards for 15 new 3G applications to be tested at the Wireless Development Centre under the Wireless Technology Industry Association (WTIA), based at Cyberport.�
Friendster, Love and Money, The New York Times, 24 Jan 2005
“Jan. 23 - Fifteen months ago, Friendster enjoyed the kind of enviable status that Silicon Valley start-ups dream of: A-list investors and millions of users flocking to its Web site to browse profiles posted by friends and friends' friends, in search of dates or playmates… "I think Friendster really missed their big opportunity," said Mark J. Pincus, who is an investor in Friendster and the founder of Tribe Networks, a budding social networking Web site that hopes to capture some of the print classified advertising market. "They weren't quick to turn on new functionality, where a company like MySpace kept innovating and adding new features."
“On the first anniversary of the infamous MyDoom.A worm, MessageLabs examines how it changed the virus landscape forever. At 13.26pm on 26th January 2004 MessageLabs, the world’s leading provider of email security services to business, intercepted its first copy of W32/MyDoom.A. Within the first twenty-four hours, the company had stopped over 1.2 million copies. MyDoom.A, which achieved a peak infection rate of 1 in 12 emails, has proved to represent a landmark in the history of computer viruses, and the legacy lives on…�
Postini Annual Email Security Report Shows Smaller Companies Experienced 10 Times More Spam in 2004, Postini Inc., 26 Jan 2005
“Postini, the industry's leading provider of email security and management for the enterprise, today announced the release of a landmark annual report on the state of email security that points to dramatic vulnerabilities for small businesses and certain vertical industries that are experiencing much heavier attacks than other types of companies. The findings also show that even as attention to the cost and prevention of spam reached a high point in 2004, threats to email systems grew worse as the incidence of spam remained at 75-80 percent of email, virus attacks grew threefold, and directory harvest attacks (DHAs) continued to plague corporate email servers.�
From South Korea, With Love, Forbes.com, 26 Jan 2005
“Internet service provider EarthLink is teaming up with South Korea's SK Telecom to sell mobile-phone service in the U.S. It's only the latest example of an international telecommunications provider diving into the U.S. market--and it likely won't be the last.�
National ISP Offers Firefox to Customers, eWeek, 26 Jan 2005
“The Mozilla Foundation's popular open-source Web browser Firefox took another step forward in mainstream acceptance with the announcement that Speakeasy, a Seattle-based national broadband ISP, is offering a customized version of Firefox 1.0 to its customers.�
Opera, the Forgotten Browser, Wired News, 26 Jan 2005
“When he reads the glowing stories detailing the wonders of the fledgling Firefox web browser, Jon von Tetzchner can't help but wonder why his own baby is so often ignored…But the show ain't over till the fat lady sings. And Opera intends to put on a grand performance this year with a fresh version of its browser, new offices in North America and Asia, an expanded public relations campaign and an increasing emphasis on becoming the browser of choice for entertainment and mobile devices…The newest version of Opera -- its name is still a secret -- is slated to be released in February.�
Google Browser?, Broadbandreports.com, 26 Jan 2005
“Rumors have been circulating for some time that Google would be developing a Mozilla based browser (and potentially even an IM application) that would easily integrate with the company's GMAIL service. Tacked on to a slew of other moves, the hiring of two Mozilla/Firefox developers this week only fuels speculation that there's a Mozilla based "GBrowser" on the horizon.�
Spam Slams E-Mail and Even Web Use, ClickZ Network, 20 Jan 2005
“Because of the proliferation of spam, spyware, and related problems, 44 percent of computer users have reduced their use of e-mail and the Internet in the last 12 months, according to findings of a survey conducted by Osterman Research.�
Minister is accused of distortion on Cyberport, South China Morning Post, 27 Jan 2005
“Facts had been twisted by the government to reject accusations of collusion with the business sector on the Cyberport project, Democratic Party legislators claimed yesterday. They demanded that Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang Chun-wah apologise for presenting what they said was inaccurate information to the public, or resign if he had deliberately misled people.�
Update: Earthlink claims victory in another spam case, InfoWorld, 25 Jan 2005
“ISP (Internet service provider) EarthLink declared victory in yet another court battle with two men it accused of running a spam e-mail distribution ring from EarthLink's network.�
FBI chides Hotmail and Yahoo! for sidestepping UK laws, The Register, 25 Jan 2005
“Poor controls and lax compliance with local laws by global hosting and webmail firms is hampering the fight against cybercrime, an FBI agent told a London conference yesterday. Ed Gibson, FBI special agent and assistant legal attache of the US Embassy in London, said international ISPs operating in the UK used their international presence as an excuse for not complying with British laws.�
“America Online on Tuesday confirmed that it will stop supporting access to newsgroups, a once-popular feature on the Internet that has since become overshadowed by message boards and blogs.�
Moveable Type Vulnerability Patched, internetnews.com, 25 Jan 2005
“Blogging giant Six Apart has released a new version of its Moveable Type software and a plug-in for earlier versions, urging all users to update as soon as possible. The new version plugs a recently discovered exploit that could allow a malicious user to send e-mail via Movable Type to any number of arbitrary users.�
Richard Li seen shifting attention to Japan, The Standard, 26 Jan 2005
“PCCW chairman Richard Li may pull out of the phone company completely to run businesses in Japan, according to Eastweek magazine, a sister publication of The Standard. Li has been quietly building up his interests in hotels, property, financial services and telecoms in Japan where his investment now totals HK$10 billion, Eastweek said in its latest issue.�
Stalker Software's CommuniGate Pro Ports to HP OpenVMS, Stalker Software Inc., 25 Jan 2005
“Stalker Software, the technology leader in e-mail, collaboration, and real-time communication solutions, today announced the port of its flagship product, communiGate Pro, to HP OpenVMS on the HP Integrity server platform . CommuniGate Pro offers a wide range of functionality from groupware features to real-time communications such as secure IM, VoIP, video conferencing, whiteboarding, desktop and application sharing using any client based on Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) via the built-in SIP server. Built-in functionalities include SMTP, POP, IMAP, directory services, groupware for calendaring—all integrated with Web-based mail client.�
Online Communication And Collaboration: Teenagers Show The Future, www.masternewmedia.org, 14 Dec 2004
“For a glimpse into the future for online collaboration tools, whether in the office or in everyday life, one only has to look at how teenagers are using such tools as instant messaging (IM) and mobile phone based text messaging services (SMS) today. As today’s teenagers grow up to become tomorrow’s workers, we can expect to see the pervasiveness of the use online communication and collaboration tools transferred and reproduced from a predominantly social environment into the workplace.�
Government addresses Cyberport 'collusion', The Standard, 26 Jan 2005
“In an attempt to counter public allegations of collusion between the administration and local tycoons, the government today published a commentary in six local newspapers explaining its role in the controversial Cyberport deal. The article, written by John Tsang, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, was offered to papers on the condition that it run uncut and unedited.�
Analyst fuels talk of Google telephony service, InfoWorld, 24 Jan 2005
“Comments from a U.K. industry analyst have added to speculation that Google (Profile, Products, Articles) Inc. is planning to offer a voice-over-Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephony service. "This would be an obvious development for the world's leading search engine. Millions have downloaded the 'Google toolbar,' so why not a VoIP client too?" said Julian Hewett, chief analyst with Ovum Ltd., in a note distributed to reporters on Monday.�
Love match as Cupid goes mobile, South China Morning Post, 25 Jan 2005
“In Singapore more than 2,500 phone users have downloaded a program developed by Bedd to their handsets. The software, designed by Swedish engineers, uses Bluetooth to connect with others, continuously hunting for phones with the Bedd program - and beyond that a user's ideal match in a friend or partner. Bedd wants to bring its program to Hong Kong, believing the city is the perfect place for social networking software. The company hopes to form a partnership with a content provider that has an established relationship with the city's six mobile phone operators, thus eliminating the need to negotiate separate billing agreements with each one.�
“China Mobile is considering a bid for CSL, Hong Kong's second-largest mobile phone operator, owned by Australia's Telstra, in a deal that could be worth about US$1.8bn and mark the latest overseas foray by a state-owned Chinese group. People close to the situation said China Mobile was looking at a CSL takeover, which would enable the Chinese group to lessen the impact of rising competition in its home market.�
MSN Aims for Productivity Dominance, NewsFactorNetwork, 24 Jan 2005
“Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) has taken another step to bolster its Web e-mail service, MSN Hotmail, by tying it with its popular desktop application Outlook. For a US$59.95 yearly subscription fee, customers can use Outlook Live when accessing their Hotmail accounts. The company is offering a reduced introductory price of $44.95 through April 19th.�
“I got a letter the other day from AOL postmaster Carl Hutzler, about how the Internet community could get rid of spam, if it really wanted to. With his permission, here are some excerpts.�
Webmail.us Adds More than 20 Partners with New Private Label Reseller Program, PRWeb, 24 Jan 2005
“Webmail.us, the proven provider of on-demand email hosting services for small and geographically dispersed businesses, today announced that in the last sixty days, the company has added 20 new partners to its private label reseller program – many of which hail from a number of different industries.�
Yahoo Extends $4.98 Domain Offer, Go Daddy Cuts Price, Netcraft, 24 Jan 2005
“Yahoo has extended its $4.98 a year domain name promotion through at least Feb. 8, the third such extension since it introduced the offer on Dec. 10. The promotion was intially scheduled to end Dec. 31, but the extension suggests the offer is generating business for Yahoo, which is seeking to attract small business customers. In other domain pricing movements, Go Daddy has lowered its one-year .com price from $8.95 to $7.95, having shfted back and forth between the two prices periodically over the last year.�
ZJ.COM Launches 2GB Large-Volume Email Boxes, 12 Jan 2005
“ZJ.com, a Zhejiang-based localwebsite, launched email boxes as large as 2GB at the beginning of 2005. Google firstly launched email boxes as large as 1GB in April 2004, causing that many websites work hard to release their 1GBlarge email boxes, such as Hotmail, Yahoo!, Sina, and etc. The competition is very fierce.Although ZJ.com is a local website, it performs very well during this competition. It firstly launched email boxes as large as 100M for free, and then it invested CNY 500,000 in building anti-spam and anti-virus gataways. Its email boxes are very popular among netizens, and there are over 10,000 netizens who register for them per day.�
PayPal E-Mail Leak Brings Phishing Worries, eWeek, 24 Jan 2005
“Electronic payment provider PayPal Inc. on Monday confirmed that a security breach at a partner site left an unknown number of e-mail addresses exposed on the Internet. The eBay-owned company, which has been a major target for phishing attacks, said the security breach occurred at Benchmark Portal, a third-party company that handles customer-survey e-mails and exposed a "limited number of user e-mail addresses."�
Survey: Thousands leave laptops, mobiles in cabs, CNN.com, 24 Jan 2005
“An estimated 11,300 laptop computers, 31,400 handheld computers and 200,000 mobile telephones were left in taxis around the world during the last six months, a survey found on Monday.�
Let market decide, Ofta says, South China Morning Post, 24 Jan 2005
“The competition tsar for the telecoms sector has hit back at suggestions he is not doing enough to protect small internet service providers (ISP). He also indicated that the Office of the Telecommunications Authority (Ofta) is happy to sit back and watch a Darwinian shake-out in the marketplace.�
Symantec to launch security e-mail appliance, ZDNet, 21 Jan 2005
“Security software giant Symantec is expected to announce Monday it will enter the security e-mail appliance market, expanding the competitive landscape that also includes its current partner IronPort.�
Blogger Influence Raises Ethical Questions, Associated Press, 21 Jan 2005
“The growing influence of blogs such as his is raising questions about whether they are becoming a new form of journalism and in need of more formal ethical guidelines or codes of conduct. According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 27 percent of adults who go online in the United States read blogs. And blogs have greater impact because their readers tend to be policy makers and other influencers of public opinion, media experts say.�
Why blogging matters to your business and your IT, TechRepublic, 21 Jan 2005
“Blogging isn't simply some trendy technology for broadcasting our deepest thoughts, building community, and joining the new age media movement. The evolution from an e-mail-centric system to a subscription-based world is underway, and no business can afford to be left behind.�
Verizon faces lawsuit over email blocking, The Register, 21 Jan 2005
“Aggrieved Verizon customers are invited to join a class action that seeks damages arising from the US ISP's enthusiastic email filtering policies. Philadelphia law firm Kohn, Swift & Graf, P.C. filed suit this week against Verizon on behalf of a DSL subscriber in a civil case that seeks class action status.�
Europe goes mad for broadband, The Register, 21 Jan 2005
“Almost half of all households in Western Europe - 72m in total - will be be hooked up to broadband by 2010 as the cost of high-speed net access continues to fall.�
Ask Jeeves developing wireless search, InfoWorld, 21 Jan 2005
“Looking to provide yet another way for users to tap its search capabilities, Ask Jeeves is developing new wireless search services to be launched this year, according to a company executive. Unlike competitors such as Google and Yahoo, Ask Jeeves (Profile, Products, Articles) currently doesn't offer a way for users to access its search engine via mobile devices, but that will change at some point before the end of 2005, said Daniel Read, Ask Jeeves' vice president of product management.�
Australia's Ozemail likely to be sold to Perth-based ISP iiNet – report, AFX News, 20 Jan 2005
“Perth-based internet service provider iiNet is believed to be the likeliest to close a deal to buy OzEmail for about 100 mln aud when bids for the company close today, The Australian newspaper reported without quoting sources.�
