Anti-spam legislation proposed, South China Morning Post, 24 Feb 2005

“The government is considering drafting laws and measures to combat spam faxes, emails and mobile-phone messages. Speaking at a luncheon organised by information and communications technology organisations on Thursday, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang Chun-wah said spam was a growing problem in Hong Kong. Telecommunications service operators received more than 36,000 complaints about junk faxes last year.�

Full story at http://hongkong.scmp.com/hknews/ZZZTX4J985E.html

Spam Emails cost Hong Kong economy 769 million dollars in 2004, AFP, 24 Feb 2005

“Spam Emails cost Hong Kong's economy six billion Hong Kong dollars (770 million dollars) in lost productivity last year, the city's technology chief said as he declared war on unsolicited mail.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20050224/tc_afp/hongkongtechnologyspam

SAR announces plans for wide anti-spam campaign, The Standard, 25 Feb 2005

“The government will open a multifront campaign against spam which is costing Hong Kong an estimated HK$6 billion annually, Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology John Tsang said Thursday. However, he conceded the problem may never be completely eradicated.�

Full story at http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/Metro/GB25Ak03.html

Critical Path Announces 2004 Fourth Quarter and Year-End Results, Critical Path Inc., 24 Feb 2005

“For the fourth quarter of 2004, revenues were $19.5 million, compared to $17.5 million in the third quarter of 2004 and $20.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. For the fiscal year 2004, revenues were $71.1 million, compared to $72.3 million for the 2003 fiscal year.�

Full story at http://www.cp.net/en/4/news/?news=678871

38 EU, Asian countries join to fight spam, InfoWorld, 24 Feb 2005

“Thirty-eight European Union (E.U.) and Asian countries have pledged to work together to combat spam, the European Commission announced Thursday. The countries -- the 25 members of the E.U. and 13 Asian countries, including China, South Korea, and Japan -- agreed to a joint drive to fight unsolicited commercial e-mail and to promote antispam efforts in international organizations. The pledge was made by representatives of governments attending a conference on eCommerce in London earlier this week.�

Full story at http://www.infoworld.com/article/05/02/24/HNeufightspam_1.html

EU, Asia launch joint clampdown on spam, AFP, 24 Feb 2004

“The European Commission (news - web sites) trumpeted a joint EU-ASEAN initiative to clamp down on Internet spam, which constitutes an estimated 60 percent of all emails sent around the world. The European Union (news - web sites) (EU) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) signed an accord at a conference on electronic commerce this week, the EU's executive arm said.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/afp/20050224/tc_afp/euasiainternetspam

NTL email floored nationwide, The Register, 24 Feb 2005

“Many of NTL's 1.4m internet punters are without email today following technical problems at one of the cableco's data centres in Winnersh near Reading. A spokesman for the UK's largest cable company was unable to provide exact details of the snag. However, he confirmed that the glitch is affecting NTL's internet customers nationwide. As a result, punters are unlikely to be able to access email although web browsing is understood not to be affected by the outage. Punters began suffering intermittent email problems two days ago but matters worsened overnight.�

Full story at http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/02/24/ntl_email_snafu/

Skype sends SMS to phones, Cnet News.com, 24 Feb 2005

“A free feature that lets users send short text messages to cell phones from Internet phone service Skype was being made available for testing starting Thursday. Prior to Thursday, people downloading the Skype software could only receive short message service (SMS) messages, which are text-only and a maximum of 160 characters.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/Skype+sends+SMS+to+phones/2110-1039_3-5588919.html?part=rss&tag=5587315

Chinese hacker group known for hitting U.S. websites dissolves, Kyodo News, 22 Feb 2005

“A Chinese Internet hacker group claiming 80,000 members at its height has dissolved after four years, apparently because of declining interest and difficulties penetrating the U.S. websites that it specialized in attacking, media and observers said Tuesday.�

Full story at http://asia.news.yahoo.com/050222/kyodo/d88deeo00.html
Suresh is mentioned in the last paragraph.

Hotmail outage peeves some e-mail users, ZDNet, 23 Feb 2005

“Microsoft is grappling with a Hotmail outage that's keeping some users of the e-mail service from using their accounts. A faulty server is apparently the root of the problem, according to a Microsoft customer service representative who confirmed the outage on Wednesday. The representative declined to immediately discuss the nature of the problem, when it began, or how many of Hotmail's 187 million users are affected.�

Full story at http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9588_22-5587906.html?tag=zdnn.alert

Symantec Announces Extended Agreement With MSN to Help Protect MSN Hotmail E-mail Customers from Spam, Symantec Corporation, 23 Feb 2005

“Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq:SYMC - News), the global leader in information security, today announced the extension of its licensing agreement with MSN for Symantec Brightmail AntiSpam. Since November 2002, Symantec Brightmail AntiSpam has been utilized by MSN Hotmail to help detect and stop billions of spam messages before they entered MSN Hotmail customers' in-boxes.�

Full story at http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050223/235164_1.html

Excedent Becomes Webmail.us, thewhir.com, 23 Feb 2005

“On-demand email hosting provider Excedent Technologies announced on Tuesday that the company is changing its name to Webmail.us, Inc. (webmail.us). Already used by its retail subsidiary, Webmail.us will now be the name of all its operations, including its private-label reseller division.�

Full story at http://www.thewhir.com/marketwatch/exc022305.cfm

Faith in HK ad market modest, South China Morning Post, 23 Feb 2005

“Fewer than half of Hong Kong's key advertisers will spend more on marketing this year but their bigger advertising budgets will nudge up overall spending by 6.8 per cent. A study by the Hong Kong Advertisers Association, which represents more than 100 firms, said the 45 per cent who would dig deeper on advertising would spend an average 21.9 per cent more this year.�

Full story at http://technology.scmp.com/techenterprise/ZZZW81J985E.html

Finding a replacement for passwords, ZDNet, 23 Feb 2005

“As online scams get more sophisticated, passwords are becoming hopelessly outmoded--as passe as floppy disks. Yet many businesses and nearly all consumers still rely on passwords as the primary means of verifying who they say they are. At last week's RSA security conference, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sounded once again his well-worn call for an end to passwords, while on the show floor, companies touted gadgets to help verify identity.�

Full story at http://www.newsisfree.com/iclick/i,73499056,55,f/

Spam Costs World Businesses $50 Billion, CRN.com, 23 Feb 2005

“Spam will cost the world $50 billion in lost productivity and other expenses a research firm said Wednesday, with more than a third of that -- $17 billion -- wasted by U.S. firms…Since 2003, for example, spam volume hitting U.S. enterprises has jumped five fold, while costs have not even doubled. In 2003, Ferris estimated spam costs to U.S. organizations at $10 billion, with 2005's lost money amounting to $17 billion.�

Full story at http://crn.com/sections/breakingnews/breakingnews.jhtml?articleId=60403081

China joins forum on curbing spam, Cnet News.com, 22 Feb 2005

“As European and Asian policymakers meet in London this week to discuss how their regions can work together, the spam that continues to hinder e-commerce and plague businesses worldwide tops their list of concerns.�

Full story at http://news.com.com/China+joins+forum+on+curbing+spam/2100-7348_3-5586304.html?part=rss&tag=5575731

Lycos Goes Looking for Love, PCWorld.com, 23 Feb 2005

“The company will launch on Wednesday a search engine that only indexes dating Web sites, giving users links to personal profiles found at iMatchup.com, LoveAccess.com, Tickle, True.com, and Lycos' own Matchmaker.com. "We did research last year and it revealed that [online] dating customers want a robust and efficient way for searching for dates online," says Curt Degenhart, a Lycos senior product manager.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=1093&e=5&u=/pcworld/20050223/tc_pcworld/119765

NetEase earnings up 19pc as online games prove winner, The Standard, 24 Feb 2005

“NetEase.com, a Chinese online gaming firm and one of the country's top Internet portals, said net profit expanded by a fourth in the final quarter, fueled almost completely by growing demand for its two most popular games. The Beijing-based company said net profits for the quarter to December rose 19.3 percent to 130.2 million yuan (HK$122.7 million) over the preceding quarter. Revenue increased by 9.7 percent to 261.7 million yuan.�

Full story at
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/stdn/std/China/GB24Ad03.html

China's Internet industry: from childhood to youth, People’s Daily Online, 21 Feb 2005

“The Internet has become a spectacle in the Chinese society. In the last ten years China's Internet has grown from a marginal industry to a mainstream and still continues to gain ground in the society. It started from scratch on a non-existent market and seems to be expanding to the limitless. The population of Internet users has kept rising. By June 30, 2004, there were 87 million Internet users in China. The number topped 90 million by the year end.�

Full story at http://english.people.com.cn/200502/21/eng20050221_174108.html

Webmail.us Opens Larger Office to Accommodate Growth and Facilitate the Expansion of its Customer Service and Support Organization, TMCnet.com, 21 Feb

“Webmail.us, the premier provider of on-demand email hosting backed by its industry leading customer service and support, today announced that the company is expanding and moving to larger facilities within the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center to accommodate its growth and facilitate the expansion of its customer service and support organization. The new office space will enable the company to continue to provide the best customer service in the email hosting industry.�

Full story at http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/Feb/1119736.htm

Monthly Report: January 2005, MessageLabs, Jan 2005

“The growing emergence of organised crime in the Internet fraud arena further endorses the need for businesses to protect themselves comprehensively from email security threats. The days of viruses designed merely to disrupt business indiscriminately are gone. Today¹s hazard is the targeted attack, revolving around malicious manipulation of the Internet for the purpose of fraud, theft, blackmail and extortion.�

Full story at http://www.messagelabs.com/emailthreats/intelligence/reports/monthlies/january05/

Greetings From the Most Connected Place on Earth, PCWorld.com, 21 Feb 2005

“…That's easier to understand when you learn that South Korea is the most Internet-connected country in the world. That connectedness makes it very simple to play real-time online strategy games like Starcraft. From gaming rooms filled with high-end PCs to locals speaking freely about downloading movies, it's clear that the Internet is firmly entrenched in most South Koreans' daily lives.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/pcworld/119741

Smart options to replace passwords, South China Morning Post, 22 Feb 2005

“RSA last week announced a trial by online broker ETrade of a multiple factor authentication service for consumers. Users will be able to use USB key tokens, smart cards or software-based tokens on personal digital assistants. The same device will be able to access any site using the service. Each of these devices produces a new random number every minute, which is used to log in to a website and vetted by RSA.�

Full story at http://technology.scmp.com/techinternet/ZZZ6VE9585E.html

Death To Spam, Forbes, 14 Feb 2005

“A popular junk e-mail filtering service puts Postini on our list of fastest-growing private technology companies.�

Full story at http://www.forbes.com/2005/02/14/cx_ah_0214fastpostini.html

Quick facts about the techonology market from The Radicati Group, Inc, Feb 2005

http://www.radicati.com/news/facts.shtml

Internet Usage and Population in Asia, Internet World Stats, 3 Feb 2005

Internet use growth and penetration percentage increased greatly from 2000-2005 in the following countries:

Internet users (2000) Current users Use growth Penetration
China 22,500,000 94,000,000 317.8% 7.3%
HK 2,283,000 4,878,713 113.7% 69.9%
India 5,000,000 18,481,000 269.6% 1.7%
Indonesia 2,000,000 8,080,000 304.0% 3.7%
Malaysia 3,700,000 8,692,000 134.9% 32.8%
Pakistan 133,900 1,500,000 1,020.2% 0.9%
Philippines 2,000,000 3,500,000 75.0% 4.2%
Thailand 2,300,000 6,971,000 203.1% 10.6%
Vietnam 200,000 5,111,240 2,455.6% 6.2%

Hong Kong ranks second (69.9%) in terms of highest internet penetration rate, after Sweden (74.3%). United States ranks third (66.8%).

http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats3.htm

The Times Company Acquires About.com for $410 Million, The New York Times, 18 Feb 2005

“The New York Times Company announced yesterday that it would acquire About Inc. and its Web site, About.com, from Primedia Inc. for $410 million…By adding About's 22 million monthly users to the Times Company's 13 million monthly users - from The New York Times, The Boston Globe and more than 40 other Web sites - the company said it would have the 12th-largest presence on the Internet.�

Full story at http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/business/media/18times.html?ex=1266555600&en=f41caf7765f9fef1&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt

A Leap To Thumbnail Photo Sharing, washingtonpost.com, 19 Feb 2005

“Digital shutterbugs have a new way to share photos online, a program called Photoleap that shrinks image files from 5 to 15 times to get around slow Internet connections and the size limits many e-mail services impose on attachments.�

Full story at http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/washpost/20050220/tc_washpost/a37125_2005feb19

Google Gmail launch edges closer, BBC News, 18 Feb 2005

“Google has edged closer to launching its new Gmail service. The company has invited the people who registered an interest in Gmail, which is still under development, to open a free e-mail account. Previously, it had kept a tighter rein on the number of users given access, limiting to 50 the number of people that existing customers could invite. Google was reluctant to talk about when it would launch Gmail, saying that it was in the development "beta" stage.�

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4277607.stm

Gmail Steals Users From Hotmail, TechWeb, 16 Feb 2005

“Most of the gains in users by Google's free Gmail Web-based e-mail service have come at the expense of Microsoft's Hotmail, an e-mail switching service said Wednesday…Fifty-seven percent of the users with a new Gmail account were changing from Hotmail, said Return Path's 2004 data, while just 27 percent were switching from Yahoo. The remaining 16 percent was split between AOL, MSN, and Comcast.�

Full story at http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/cmp/20050217/tc_cmp/60401349

Yahoo 'in talks' over Indian deal, BBC News, 18 Feb 2005

“Yahoo is in talks about buying a stake in Indiatimes, the internet business of India's largest media company, the Financial Times (FT) has reported. The FT said the US search engine was discussing a tie-up with Bennett Coleman, the publisher of The Times of India newspaper and other titles. The publisher is looking for a partner to develop its online services, a move which may lead to a US flotation. Yahoo is keen to expand in India where internet usage is growing fast.�

Full story at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4276815.stm

EasyLink Reports Fourth Quarter 2004 Net Income of $.02 Per Share, Easylink Services Corporation, 17 Feb 2005

“The Company reports that it achieved its sixth consecutive quarter of positive operating results exclusive of debt restructuring and settlement gains. Net income was $1.0 million or $.02 per share as compared to net income of $.8 million or $.02 per share from continuing operations for the fourth quarter of 2003. Revenues for the fourth quarter of 2004 were $20.9 million as compared to $22.5 million during the third quarter of 2004 and $24.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2003. Gross margin was 61% in the fourth quarter of 2004 as compared to 53% in the fourth quarter of 2003.�

Full story at http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/050217/175257_1.html

Stalker Software Partners with Kaspersky Lab, Stalker Software Inc., 8 Feb 2005

“Stalker Software, the technology leader in email, collaboration, and real-time communication solutions, today announced its partnership with Kaspersky Lab, a leading vendor of secure content management solutions. This collaboration will offer the more than 8,500 CommuniGate Pro Real-Time Communications users worldwide an anti-virus plug-in as well as the best-of-breed messaging solution to telcos, ISPs and enterprises.�

Full story at http://www.stalker.com/content/news_article_02082005.html