Security: I Spy with Muni WiFi

As free public Wi-Fi networks go live, one unlikely community will be waiting to log in: cyber criminals.

Municipal and public Wi-Fi networks could become a breeding ground for crooks looking to steal information from individual users and big companies alike.

Mischief makers won’t have to wait long. This month, search giant Google started testing its free wireless Internet service in Mountain View, California. That news comes as a number of cities including San Francisco, New York, Philadelphia, and Toronto have announced plans to create municipal, or “muni,” Wi-Fi networks.

The free public networks will carpet cities with free Internet connectivity. By 2007, cities in the United States will spend $405.6 million on wireless networks, up from 76.5 million in 2005, according to projections by the research firm MuniWireless.

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Got Laptop Security?

Restrictions around carry-on baggage items at airports may have been relaxed a little, but some security companies said Monday they are betting on increased demand for products that can protect electronic devices such as laptops and PDAs during air travel.

Products such as asset-tracking software for laptops, rugged carrying cases for electronic devices, stickers, locks, and anti-theft tags could find increased favor among travelers, some of whom may be forced to check in their gadgets.

Until Monday, travelers out of the United Kingdom

had to check in all luggage. Britain has now said it has relaxed a ban on airline cabin baggage and scaled down a security alert that was put in place last week after a plot to blow up airliners was discovered and foiled.

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Internet: She-Blogs

Magazine News Story/Aug 14, 2006

Hugs, kisses, and finely manicured feet were in abundance at Silicon Valley’s latest technology conference. But the 700-plus mostly female attendees of the second annual BlogHer conference weren’t there just to socialize. Major advertisers like General Motors, Yahoo and Johnson & Johnson were watching closely, eager to tap into a potentially big marketing opportunity. “This is probably the most important women’s media network,” says Elisa Camahort, president of events and marketing for BlogHer.

Indeed, 46 percent of bloggers in the United States are women, according to a survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project last month. “While women still aren’t writing and reading blogs as often as men, we’re catching up, especially when it comes to reading blogs at least weekly,” Charlene Li, an analyst with Forrester Research, wrote recently in her blog. The number of attendees at this year’s BlogHer conference, held in San Jose, California on July 28-29, more than doubled over last year.

BlogHer is hoping to leverage those numbers to transform itself into a powerful online presence. The site’s 4,000 bloggers post on topics ranging from health, food and drink, religion and spirituality, to “mommy & family.” The Palo, Alto, California-based company, founded by Ms. Camahort and her partners, Lisa Stone and Jory Des Jardins, launched an ad network for the site on June 1.

The “Mommy Bloggers,” as many of the community’s members are known, are becoming a huge draw for corporate America, says Ms. Stone. “Women control 83 percent of household spending,” she says. “Online, many of these women are having conversations about what they want to buy, what they want to read, and what they like—conversations that are difficult to find elsewhere.”

If you want to know what women really want, the BlogHer swag bag could offer clues. Among the items: a bib, a 64-MB USB JumpDrive, a fast food book, a notebook, a pen, and an Elexa condom.

Security: Symantec vs. Microsoft. Round One: Symantec

Magazine News Story/ Aug 14, 2006


When Microsoft released its desktop antivirus and data backup package, Windows Live OneCare, many figured traditional security players like Symantec and McAfee would be quashed. Three months later, the numbers indicate otherwise.

Far from hurt, the market leaders saw sales grow after OneCare hit retail shelves across the United States. In its quarterly financial results delivered on July 27, Symantec said its consumer antivirus business posted 5 percent sequential revenue growth, and that revenues of its flagship Norton Internet Security product grew 47 percent compared to the same period last year. The next day, Symantec rival McAfee said its packaged consumer software division grew 2 percent in the last quarter while revenue from online consumer services grew 7 percent.

The desktop antivirus and anti-spyware business is a huge and growing market. Gartner projects 2005 revenues of $4 billion will grow another 13.5 percent this year.

When Microsoft announced plans to enter the consumer security business last year, Wall Street made dire predictions for Symantec and McAfee. Given their latest earnings, the doomsayers may want to recast their opinions. “The fact that OneCare didn’t have an immediate impact on consumer sales lends credence to the idea that companies like Symantec are doing pretty fine,” says Richard Stiennon, founder of consulting firm IT Harvest.

OneCare received some bad reviews since its release on May 31, Mr. Stiennon notes, and Symantec CEO John Thompson wouldn’t let that opportunity slip by. “Independent reviews have put Norton Internet Security well above everyone else, and particularly strong against OneCare,” Mr. Thompson said during a call with analysts.

Of course, Microsoft has hardly been knocked out of the park. And Symantec and McAfee are both grappling with internal issues that could take their eye off the ball, if not derail growth. On August 1, Symantec Chief Technology Officer Ajei Gopal left the company to join Computer Associates. He follows a long line of executives who have exited in the last year, including the chief financial officer, chief information officer, and chief operating officer. Meanwhile, McAfee has said it will likely restate past financial results because of a review into its stock option grant practices.

While these industry veterans tend to internal matters, Microsoft might spend its time on improving OneCare, though inferior offerings haven’t stopped it from dominating many markets in the past.

Software: Matrix Invests $13.8 million in Digium

Matrix Partners dialed in a $13.8-million stake in Digium, putting in line a veteran open-source backer for the startup.

Venture capital firm Matrix was involved with the blockbuster open-source deal for Jboss, which was scooped up by Red Hat.

Digium is an open-source developer of phone systems software, with a product called Asterisk. The open-source company plans to use the funding to offer more services for businesses. Meanwhile, Digium said that it’s been profitable since 2002.

Mark Spencer, president of Digium and creator of Asterisk, said it’s not entirely about the money, that connecting with the right VC to develop the company was important.

“We wanted to find some sort of partner that would help us grow, expand into newer areas and refine our model to take advantage of what we have developed in Asterisk,” Mr. Spencer said.

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Software: Leopard Chases Vista

Apple’s upcoming Mac OS X operating system, code-named Leopard, could lead some consumers to switch from Windows, analysts said Tuesday.

Leopard is scheduled to debut in spring 2007, only a few months after Microsoft’s long-awaited Windows Vista operating system is supposed to finally reach consumers. The timing could pit the two companies against each other in the market.

Microsoft has said it plans to release Vista to businesses in November and make it available to consumers in January, but many analysts are betting the operating system will be further delayed.

Last week, the Gartner research firm said it stood by an earlier prediction that Vista is unlikely to ship as planned by Microsoft. If it’s late once again, Vista will have to race against Apple’s Leopard, which was announced with much fanfare on Monday at Apple’s developer conference.

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Security: AOL Leaks Search Data

In yet another case of unauthorized data leaks, search queries from more than 600,000 AOL users made over three months this year became easily available over the Internet, raising an outcry from bloggers who criticized the company for not protecting the privacy of its search engine users.

AOL had planned to make the data available only to researchers as part of an effort to help the academic community develop new search-related tools but ended up posting it on a wiki page that could be accessed by all.

Search data for roughly 658,000 anonymous users were released. AOL said there were about 20 million search records over that period, so the data included roughly a third of 1 percent of the total searches conducted through the AOL network during that period.

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Security: US Ratifies Cybercrime Treaty

The U.S. Senate endorsed an international treaty Friday that calls for global cooperation in fighting computer-related crimes, making the United States the sixteenth of the 43 nations to have ratified the pact.

The treaty, known as the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, is the first that tries to create a consensus among nations on laws to tackle crimes like hacking, fraud, child pornography, and copyright infringement.

While it is not expected to have much impact on U.S. policy on cybercrime, it is likely to help domestic agencies in their international efforts.

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Internet: Firefox Turns Up The Heat

Mozilla said Thursday that its Firefox browser, the open-source challenger to Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, has crossed the 200-million downloads mark.

The organization also inked a deal Wednesday, along with its partner Google, to bundle its web browser along with RealNetworks’ RealPlayer, tightening the screws further against Microsoft in the increasingly competitive browser market.

RealPlayer is one of the most heavily downloaded software programs in the world, with more than a million downloads a day. When installing RealPlayer, users will now be given the option to install Firefox and the Google Toolbar.

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Software: Microsoft's Suing Spree

Magazine News Story/July 31

After years of turning a blind eye to piracy, Microsoft is finally cracking down on software thieves. In its biggest legal action ever, the company filed 26 lawsuits in seven states on July 18. The suits accuse companies of selling unlicensed versions of its two main products—the Windows operating system and Office desktop software.

Microsoft says it is working to protect its partners, through whom it sells most of its software. Pirated software causes honest partners to lose out on business, says Mary Jo Schrade, senior attorney at Microsoft. “Honest resellers and distributors are telling us we need to do more to support them,” she says.

But there may be more to Microsoft’s actions, says Carmi Levy, analyst with the Info-tech Research Group. Microsoft is at a critical point in its business as it attempts to shift from producing shrink-wrapped boxes to delivery of software as a service. In November, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates sent a memo to employees urging them to better leverage web-based software and services. The coming “services wave” will be highly disruptive to the software industry, he said.

With the future of boxed software being called into question, Microsoft needs to work harder than ever to protect its existing revenue stream. “I don’t think Microsoft has a choice,” says Mr. Levy. “They need to do this because they are trying to shift their revenues, but until then they have to do everything they can to protect their existing products.”

Some 21 percent of all software in the United States is unlicensed, causing $6.6 billion in losses last year, according to trade group Business Software Alliance. The No. 1 software maker is among the worst hit. Now, with improved broadband access, creating and distributing pirated software is easier than ever, says Mr. Levy.

Until recently, Microsoft’s attitude toward pirates was far less aggressive since acquiring more users, licensed or otherwise, could only help its hegemony. But now that the market is reaching saturation, the company is spending millions of dollars on legal action. In September, it filed suits against eight software resellers for piracy. The company has also started secret shopper programs to purchase hardware and software from computer dealers across the country and then run tests to determine their authenticity, says Ms. Schrade.

Security: Open Source Gets Ugly

Magazine News Story/ July 31, 2006

Proponents may believe that the movement can do no wrong, but could open-source tools and techniques be doing more harm than good? A July 17 report from security giant McAfee poses that question and reaches some disturbing conclusions. Open-source systems that help companies create efficient and inexpensive software can become instruments of online mayhem in the hands of hackers and cyber criminals, say McAfee security researchers.

“The open-source code-sharing model has contributed to the rise of malware,” or malicious code, says Dave Marcus, security research and communications director for McAfee AVERT Labs. “Without source-code sharing, we would not see the massive virus families today.”

Increased availability of the source code of viruses like W32/Mydoom has led to more types of malware. Bots, or a network of infected computers controlled by hackers, are on the rise, replacing legacy viruses for DOS and Windows 3.1, because of greater collaboration among malware writers.

Transparency and openness are generally considered essential when it comes to finding and fixing software vulnerabilities. Mailing lists are devoted to sharing information about security loopholes in popular products and finding patches.

But McAfee says some of those techniques can backfire. Malware writers are using open-source development models and software to share malicious code and collaborate on projects, increasing the efficiency of the malware creation process. “There are times when the community needs to show some restraint, some public responsibility, before sharing with the world,” writes Jimmy Kuo, a senior fellow with McAfee Avert Labs, in the report.

For example, cyber criminals are making available source code with documentation so that viruses can be easily modified to create more variants. They are also using open-source project management software, such as a Content Versioning system, to keep track of their nefarious projects, says the report.

Still, stifling conversation may not be the answer, says Mike Rothman, an analyst with consulting firm Security Incite. “Open source is a wonderful thing from the standpoint of building up a community to help troubleshoot and magnify development efforts,” he says. Instead, he suggests security experts be made responsible for the kind of disclosures they make and work better with the companies to fix loopholes faster.

Collaboration: India Blocks Blogs

Magazine News Story/July 31, 2006

For four days, all blogs on Google’s Blogger and Six Apart’s TypePad in the world’s largest democracy were mysteriously shut down, sparking an outcry among writers. As it turned out, the government of India had ordered the country’s Internet service providers to block access to some sites a few days after the deadly train bombings in the financial capital of Mumbai on July 11.

The Indian government says it was trying to squelch some of the radical voices in the country. “A two-page write-up containing extremely derogatory references to Islam and the Holy Prophet which had the potential to inflame religious sensitivities in India and create serious law and order problems in the country appeared in a blog,” says A.R. Ghanashyam, Indian deputy consul general in New York City.

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Software: Vyatta's Open Source Router

Startup Vyatta launched an open-source router for businesses on Monday, in a move that puts a new twist in the billion-dollar networking market dominated by such giants as Cisco and Juniper. yatta’s open-source Open Flexible Router software will be a low-cost, reliable alternative to proprietary solutions, the company said. Vyatta will also offer a software subscription service for businesses to receive software updates and professional technical support.

Vyatta is positioning for a chunk of a highly profitable business. The enterprise routing and firewall segment is estimated to be an $8-billon market. But it is largely dominated by networking giant Cisco, which has about 80 percent of the market. Though an open-source router hasn’t found success yet, Vyatta comes at a time when open source is in fashion. In April, publicly listed open-source software company Red Hat acquired JBoss, another open-source player, in a $420-million deal.

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Microsoft Files Piracy Suits

Microsoft said Tuesday it has filed 26 lawsuits in the U.S. against alleged dealers of pirated software in a move to protect its partners and curb the proliferation of unlicensed versions of its software. The software giant accused companies of pirating its software or installing copies of its products on computers they sold without paying license fees.

Piracy hits No.1 software maker Microsoft particularly hard. The company sells much of its software through partners. But often honest partners lose business to companies offering pirated software at cheaper prices. The company’s efforts to combat piracy are aimed at leveling the playing field for these honest partners, it said.

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Firms Eye Video Surveillance

Magazine Feature/June 26, 2006

Every day, 30 million surveillance cameras beam down on America’s malls, ATMs, parking lots, railway platforms, airports, you name it. And as the technology shrinks, the cameras slip deeper into the background, hardly noticed, streaming more than 4 billion hours of footage a week—footage that usually ends up lost, and never seen.

David Anthony says the final chapter in the surveillance story is about to be rewritten. Mr. Anthony is a general partner at New York City-based 21Ventures, a venture firm that just bet $2 million on an Israeli startup that promises to scan every frame for suspicious events and sound the alert. “A human rent-a-cop cannot watch a bank of 50 screens for more than 22 minutes in an hour without going to sleep or not paying attention,” says Mr. Anthony. The Petach Tikva–based startup, Aspectus, has a system that can handle feeds from more than 100 cameras.

Mr. Anthony is not the only VC to have figured that out. In the past year alone, more than eight startups including VideoNext, Vigilos, Aspectus, 3VR Security, and EnVysion have raised their first or second rounds of funding. And their technologies all aim to do roughly the same thing—replace humans with intelligent video systems that capture high-quality images which can be easily searched by time, location, clothing, or facial characteristics.

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Security: Worm Poses as FBI or CIA Email

A variant of the Sober worm disguised as an email from the intelligence agencies threatens computers.
By Priya Ganapati
November 22, 2005

The Sober email worm that first struck in 2003 has made another comeback through a variant disguised as an email from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Central Intelligence Agency, becoming one of the fastest-spreading security threats in the last 24 hours, security software companies said Tuesday.

The worm is not considered highly dangerous as it does not seek to steal personal or financial information, but it can make infected computers susceptible to future viruses, which could potentially be more worrisome.

The first incidence of the latest Sober variant was detected Monday, said Patrick Hinojosa, chief technical officer of Panda Software, a Spanish security software company.

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Security: Texas Sues Sony Over Spyware

By Priya Ganapati
Suit alleges Sony installed spyware through its antipiracy software on CDs.
November 21, 2005

The state of Texas sued Sony BMG Music Entertainment on Monday for allegedly installing spyware through its copyright protection software on music CDS, making it the first state to bring legal action against the music giant in the month-old controversy.

The lawsuit alleges New York-based Sony BMG violated a recently passed Texas law, the Consumer Protection Against Computer Spyware Act of 2005, that protects consumers from hidden spyware. The state’s attorney general’s office is seeking civil penalties of $100,000 for each violation of the law, attorneys’ fees, and investigative costs.

This is the second lawsuit that Sony faces over the issue, but the first action brought by a government agency.

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Searching for Security

Sorting though data collected by intelligence agencies could be the next big growth area for technology companies.
By Priya Ganapati
November 18, 2005

The Tower of Babel built by government snoops has sparked demand for entrepreneurs who can help make sense of it all, according to a report released Friday.

Government agencies and corporations are spending nearly $1 billion a year to sort, contextualize, and analyze data in one of the most important segments of homeland security, according to C.E. Unterberg, Towbin (CEUT), a New York-based consultancy in technology and global security sectors.

Advanced data analytics, which looks for useful intelligence in videotapes, voice messages, and text, is expected to grow at 20 percent over the next five years and become a $2-billion market by 2009, according to CEUT and the Chesapeake Innovation Center, a business accelerator for homeland and national security.

“There is an overload of data spearheaded by FBI and intelligence agencies, collecting information on terrorist activities,” said Scott Greiper, senior research analyst, global security at CEUT. “The challenge is that the data collection efforts are overwhelming the ability to analyze the data and get actionable intelligence.”

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Security: Spam for the Holidays

Computer users will see more viruses, spam, and phishing during this holiday season.
By Priya Ganapati
November 17, 2005

Online consumers should click their way carefully through the holiday season, security experts warned Thursday, because spam will double, computer viruses will multiply, credit card thefts will soar, and online scams will increase as cyber thieves intensify their efforts.

The volume of spam flooding email inboxes is likely to double, peaking on Wednesday—the day before Thanksgiving, according to AppRiver, a Gulf Breeze, Florida-based spam and virus filtering service provider.

The increase is part of an annual pattern that spam-filtering services providers have been seeing for the last three years.

“Spammers realize that this is the best time to advertise to users as shopping peaks during this season and users are looking to buy something,” said Joel Smith, co-founder and chief technical officer of AppRiver.

Among the products being touted are personalized Christmas ornaments, Santa letters, and gift cards from Sears, Costco, and Home Depot. Almost all of these are fakes, and users who do fall for them are unlikely to receive the products, said AppRiver.

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Oracle Buys Two Security Firms

Software firm boosts database products with identity management solutions.
By Priya Ganapati
November 16, 2005

Database software giant Oracle said Wednesday it’s buying two security software companies in a bid to offer its database customers a secure product that will take care of their identity and access management requirements.

Oracle plans to acquire Thor Technologies, a provider of identity and access management solutions, and OctetString, a provider of virtual directory software. Both companies focus on ensuring that only authorized users have access to read and make changes to sensitive data.

The two acquisitions will help complement Oracle’s existing database products by bolstering their security and offering customers a single point for their database-related needs, said Carmi Levy, an analyst with Info-Tech Research Group, an advisory services company focused on mid-sized firms.

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Security: Keylogger Threats Rise 65%

Secretly installed programs that track keystrokes represent a growing security threat to consumers using PCs.
By Priya Ganapati
November 15, 2005

Threats from keyloggers, the stealthily installed programs that record computer keystrokes to help steal personal information, grew 65 percent this year, a study said Tuesday, marking a growing trend in hackers using malware for financial gain.

About 6,191 keyloggers were recorded this year, up from 3,753 in 2004, said iDefense, a security intelligence provider that is part of VeriSign. iDefense recorded 3,753 keyloggers in 2004, a huge leap over the 300 released in 2000.

“Keylogging is a very effective method for hackers,” said Joe Payne, vice president, VeriSign iDefense Security Intelligence Services. “Fraudsters can launch hundreds of these attacks around the world in seconds, gathering sensitive data to conduct large-scale monetary transfers for their illegal activities.”

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Security: Symantec Shifts Focus to Lab

Maker of Norton Antivirus now wants to create technology instead of buy it.
By Priya Ganapati
November 12, 2005

Symantec, a company renowned for buying its way into emerging technologies, now says it will focus on developing technologies at the in-house research facility it built during the past year.

The new emphasis on the Symantec Research Lab, which combines the research teams of Symantec and Veritas, could affect the future of some security startups that consider an eventual acquisition by Symantec as an exit strategy.

Symantec, which makes the popular Norton Antivirus Software, recently met with analysts and the media to showcase some of the lab’s technology. Over the next few months, the company hopes to add more people to the team and create partnerships between the lab and its various product groups.

“You can call it the coming-out of the research lab,” said CTO Mark Bregman. “The question for us is how do we build a startup company within Symantec that can operate without all the costs and infrastructure associated with putting out a Symantec product.”

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Gates Memo Rocks Microsoft

Redmond chairman predicts a 'sea change' in the software giant's approach.
By Priya Ganapati
November 9, 2005

Bill Gates wants to overhaul the way Microsoft approaches the software market, shifting toward online services and the ad-supported model championed by rivals, according to an internal email that was broadly circulated on Wednesday.

In the email dated October 30, Mr. Gates urged the company he founded to better leverage web-based software and services to make up for missed revenue opportunities realized by competitors such as Google, Salesforce.com and Skype Technologies, which was recently acquired by eBay.

Over the next few months, analysts said the various business divisions inside Microsoft are likely to incorporate the services idea into their products. It could lead to some confusion, but by early next year, a clearer plan is likely to emerge.

“When Gates sent out the Internet memo [in 1995], every single group started putting Net-related features in their products, a lot which aren’t used today because they were not well thought of,” said Rob Helm, an analyst at Directions on Microsoft, an independent Microsoft-focused consultancy firm.

Analysts said the memo showed Microsoft’s realization that it has to move faster on product development to respond credibly to competitors.

In the last four years, Microsoft has faced severe criticism over its delayed software development cycles. For instance, updates to SQL Server 2005 came nearly five years after the release of the previous version. Similarly, a trial version of Windows Vista, formerly known as Longhorn, was released in July after missing multiple deadlines.

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Security: Workers Leak Data Via IM

Study reveals slack security on corporate instant message systems.
By Priya Ganapati
November 8, 2005

Whether intended or not, employees have started leaking confidential information through instant messaging systems as they try to avoid corporate email surveillance, according to a study released Tuesday.

About four out of five companies studied by Reconnex, an enterprise risk management company, had some form of confidential data pass through their instant messaging systems during the months of August and September. Just 10 to 13 percent of companies had sensitive data pass into secured email systems, Reconnex said.

“Instant messaging is commonplace but is not properly monitored,” said Kevin Cheek, vice president of marketing at Reconnex. “We are seeing a much smaller percentage of leaks through email and more through IM which has becomes an avenue for insiders to share nonpublic information.”

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Microsoft Updates Biz Products

Microsoft launches new versions of SQL, Visual Studio and Biz Talk Server products.
By Priya Ganapati
November 7, 2005

Microsoft updated its database and developer software Monday, increasing the ability of the products to integrate in a move that could give business customers greater incentive to standardize their platforms on the company’s products.

Updates were launched for database product SQL Server 2005, developer tool Visual Studio 2005, and the business process server, the BizTalk Server 2006. The three products are integrated for collaboration across different environments and faster software delivery, Microsoft said.

The Redmond giant said the updates are built on the foundations laid in place over the last several years with significant investments in Windows Server 2003 and the Microsoft .NET software development platform.

The updates showed Microsoft’s commitment to integration and creating a seamless experience for users by bringing its various products together, said analysts.

“The three products launched today are the first wave of a tide of tightly integrated products,” said Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research. “While some Microsoft executives have said that Microsoft bet the company on Windows Vista, the real bet is on integrated innovation."

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Internet: Firefox Share Rises Again

The No. 2 Internet browser rides on the news of an upgrade and of reaching a key benchmark of 100 million downloads.
By Priya Ganapati
November 7, 2005

After three months of stalled growth, Mozilla's Firefox, the No. 2 Internet browser after Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer, is increasing its market share, thanks to recent news it had logged 100 million downloads and the release of a trial version of its upgraded browser, a report said Monday.

In October, Firefox captured 8.65 percent of the browser market share, up from 7.55 percent in September, according to a report released by NetApplications, which offers applications that measure web sites for small and medium enterprises.

Other reports have pegged Firefox’s market share to be even higher, with web traffic analytics firm OneStat saying 11.5 percent of Internet surfers globally use Firefox.

Despite the improvement, Firefox is still a long way from seriously rivaling IE’s 86.52 percent.

Nevertheless, Firefox has come a long way fast. It launched in November 2004 and now has more than 45 million users, said the Mozilla Foundation, the nonprofit group that oversees the browser’s development. The browser started at 2.69 percent market share in January and peaked at 8.71 percent in June.

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Software: BroadVision Buyout in Trouble

The lack of shareholder approval for the struggling software company’s $29-million buyout could push it to bankruptcy.
By Priya Ganapati
November 4, 2005

Nearly three months after buyout specialist Vector Capital said it would buy struggling software firm BroadVision, just over 40 percent of BroadVision’s shareholders have voted for the deal, putting the buyout process and the publicly traded company in jeopardy, the companies said.

The issue isn’t so much that shareholders are against the deal but rather that the holders simply aren’t voting. Delaware-incorporated BroadVision needs 51 percent of all shareholders to vote before a motion can be approved or denied.

This is a tougher standard than in some other states, where a majority vote solely from actual votes—not necessarily all shareholders—is considered sufficient. In some other states, a non-vote is considered a vote against the proposal.

“The conventional wisdom is that shareholders will mostly vote for a buyout like this,” said Chris Nicholson, partner at Vector Capital in San Francisco. “But we are in a peculiar situation here where it is not like shareholders are voting ‘no,’ but they are just not voting.”

Founded in 1993, the once high-flying BroadVision makes software to help enterprises create portals and e-business infrastructure. Vector Capital agreed in July to buy BroadVision for $29 million, a big discount.

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Security: Symantec Posts Dour Outlook

Shares of the security company fell nearly 9 percent after company’s warning.
By Priya Ganapati
November 1, 2005

Stung by slowing growth in both consumer and enterprise anti-virus segments and costs related to its Veritas merger, Symantec on Tuesday said it lost $251 million in its second quarter and warned it will miss Wall Street expectations for the current quarter.

The net loss equaled $0.21 per share. In the year-ago quarter, the security software maker had a net income of $135 million, or $0.19 per share. The loss was mainly due to a $284-million write-off expense and other costs related to its recent acquisition of Veritas.

Some analysts are also concerned about the potential impact of competing security products from Microsoft.

“Growth in the consumer segment could turn sharply negative as Microsoft enters the space,” said Richard Williams, an analyst with Garban Institutional Equities, a brokerage firm based in New Jersey. “It could take away a significant chunk of the business from the big three security companies of today.”

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Microsoft: Gates’ $258M Grant for Malaria

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation donates funds for malaria-related initiatives.
By Priya Ganapati
October 31, 2005

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will give $258.3 million for the development of a malaria vaccine, drugs, and research to combat the disease that kills more than 1 million people worldwide every year, mostly children in Africa.

The latest grants bring the total spending on malaria-related initiatives by the Gates Foundation to about $718 million since its inception in 1998, the foundation said Monday. Two of the grants will be spent over five years and the third will be disbursed over six years.

The grants will cement the Gates Foundation’s position as one of the leaders in the fight against malaria.

Global funding in 2004 for malaria research and development totaled $323 million, according to a study by the Malaria R&D Alliance, an international coalition of malaria research groups. The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the Gates Foundation accounted for 49 percent.

The U.S. government invested $129 million in 2004, which comprised 70 percent of total public-sector support for the disease worldwide and almost 40 percent of the total investment.

Malaria represents just 0.3 percent of total health-related R&D spending. This is not proportionate to the havoc caused by malaria, which accounts for 3.1 percent of the global disease-related burden, the organization said.

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Microsoft’s Korea Threat

Software maker may pull Windows out of the Korean market over an antitrust case.
By Priya Ganapati
October 28, 2005

Microsoft said it may have to pull Windows out of the South Korean market if it receives an unfavorable ruling from a Korean agency investigating complaints the software giant breached the country’s antitrust laws.

The Korean Fair Trade Commission has been investigating whether the inclusion of streaming media technology or instant messenger in Windows violates Korean law. Microsoft’s decision to include Windows Media Services as an optional component of Windows Server is also under investigation.

In a filing to the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission on Thursday evening, Microsoft said, “If the KFTC enters an order requiring Microsoft to remove code or redesign Windows uniquely for the Korean market, it might be necessary to withdraw Windows from the Korean market or delay offering new versions in Korea unless the remedial order is stayed or overturned on appeal.”

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Microsoft Outlook Irks Street

Software maker’s results narrowly beat expectations, but its stock falls after Redmond lowers its sales forecast.
By Priya Ganapati
October 27, 2005

Microsoft said Thursday its first-quarter earnings rose 24 percent, narrowly beating expectations, but the software giant’s stock fell after disappointing guidance for the current quarter.

Net income rose to $3.14 billion, or $0.29 per share, from $2.53 billion, or $0.23, in the year-ago quarter. The 2005 results included a $0.02-per-share charge for the RealNetworks settlement while 2004 results included a charge of $0.03 per share to settle a dispute with Novell.

But analysts were disappointed with the guidance the company issued for the current quarter. For the second quarter ending December 31, Microsoft sees earnings per share in the range of $0.32 to $0.33 on revenue in the range of $11.9 billion to $12 billion. This fell far short of analyst expectations of $0.35 per share, according to Thomsom Financial.

The results came out after the market closed, but Microsoft shares fell $0.36 to $24.49 in after-hours trading.

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Security: Zotob Cost $97K per Company

The worm that struck in August was classified as a low risk but infected businesses had to pay a big price.
By Priya Ganapati
October 27, 2005

The Zotob worm that crippled corporate computer networks in mid-August cost infected businesses an average of $97,000 to clean up, but its impact was milder than the Slammer or Sasser worm outbreaks, a security software company said Thursday.

Some 61 percent of the organizations hit by Zotob reported that cleaning their systems required more than 80 hours of work, Cybertrust said. The healthcare industry experienced the greatest Zotob impact with 26 percent of companies experiencing problems from Zotob, compared to 7 percent of financial institutions.

Cybertrust surveyed 700 companies about the Zotob worm’s impact.

The financial losses caused by the Zotob worm and its impact on businesses, rather than on home users, revealed a new trend. Zotob heralded the rise of the “business worm,” with security threats aimed at businesses rather than at individual users, experts said. What’s more, these new worms are often driven by a strong motivation of financial gain

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VeriSign Buys Retail Solutions

The $24-million acquisition is expected to help VeriSign gain a foothold in the supply chain management business.
By Priya Ganapati
October 26, 2005

VeriSign said Wednesday it will pay $24 million to acquire Retail Solutions, a company that provides point-of-sale data about products, giving the infrastructure services company a foothold in the supply chain management business.

The deal marks VeriSign’s third acquisition in a month.

Lincoln, Rhode Island-based Retail Solutions specializes in operational point-of-sale data which gives detailed information about products sold through retailers. That information, when combined with data forecasting demand and identification technologies like RFID [Radio Frequency Identification], is designed to help retailers better manage their inventory. It is also expected to help increase sales and reduce costs.

VeriSign may be happy with its latest acquisition but it has left analysts like Richard Williams puzzled.

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Internet: VeriSign Settles with ICANN

The settlement is likely to raise the price of domain names though impact on users will be minimal.
By Priya Ganapati
October 25, 2005

VeriSign has agreed to settle a dispute with the Internet’s oversight agency that will allow the domain registrar and security company to retain its control over the .com and .net registry till 2012.

VeriSign sued the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers in 2004, alleging the non-profit was interfering with the company’s ability to do business.

The settlement, announced late Monday, is also expected to increase prices of the .com domain lease by 7 percent and add at least $40 million in revenue for VeriSign in 2007, analysts said.

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Feds Want Better Net Security

A directive from federal banking regulators is expected to boost the market for two-factor authentication products.
By Priya Ganapati
October 21, 2005

For security startups in the business of offering authentication solutions, a recently issued letter by a U.S. government agency urging banks to take greater measures to protect online customers could result in a big boost in business.

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council recently sent a letter to banks asking them to use a more demanding identification system known as two-factor authentication.

The directive could mean big business for security startups serving financial institutions, executives said.

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Microsoft: Redmond's $1.2M IT Fund

Microsoft creates fund to spread IT in the developing world.
By Priya Ganapati
October 20, 2005

Microsoft has created a $1.2-million fund to help academic researchers tackle technology challenges related to improving health, education, and socioeconomic conditions, the company said Thursday.

Called the Digital Inclusion funding opportunity, the initiative is intended to reach people who have little or no access to technology, especially in developing countries. It is part of Microsoft Research, a computer research organization created by the Redmond giant in 1991.

Microsoft Research will call for proposals from researchers to explore how technologies such as mobile devices, cellular phones, and networking can make computing more affordable and accessible.

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Internet: Firefox Marks 100 Million Downloads

The milestone solidifies the position of the No. 2 browser after Internet Explorer
By Priya Ganapati
October 20, 2005

In less than a year after its launch, the Firefox browser has already clocked 100 million downloads, browser development officials said Thursday, marking a milestone that solidifies Firefox’s No. 2 position after Microsoft’s dominant Internet Explorer.

Firefox, which launched in November 2004, has now logged more than 45 million users, said the Mozilla Foundation, the non-profit group that oversees the browser’s development. That gives Firefox a 7.6 percent share of the browser market, according to September figures from Net Applications, a very distant second to IE’s 86.9 percent share.

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Security: Printers Sport Hidden Codes

The Electronic Frontier Foundation alleges some color printers can help track consumer information through hidden codes.
By Priya Ganapati
Oct 18, 2005

The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a consumer privacy and digital rights organization, alleged Tuesday that there are codes embedded in printouts made by some color laser printers that can be used to track the origin of a printed document.

The codes are ostensibly a part of anti-counterfeiting measures developed by government agencies to curb the creation of fake currency but could have serious implications for consumer privacy, according to privacy advocates.

A Secret Service spokesperson, Jonathan Cherry, said the organization does work with other government agencies and “industry partners on preventive technological countermeasures designed to discourage the illegal use of printers and copiers in the production of counterfeit currencies.”

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Security: FBI Thwarts Spam Tycoon

Authorities cripple the operations of a man alleged to be the world’s biggest spammer.
By Priya Ganapati
October 17, 2005

The FBI’s probe of a man purported to be the world’s biggest spammer demonstrates the seriousness with which law enforcement agencies are cracking down on spam, online security experts said Monday.

The FBI raided both the Detroit home of Alan M. Ralsky and the home of his son-in-law, Scott Bradley, seeking evidence he violated the CAN-SPAM act, which establishes the rules for sending out commercial email.

Authorities seized computers, servers, disks, and financial records as part of the raid, said Philip Kushner, an attorney who represents Mr. Ralsky. “The raid has had the effect of preventing him from doing business,” said Mr. Kushner.

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Security: Symantec Ups Software Prices

Hike could boost maker of popular Norton AntiVirus software’s bottom line, help counter rivals like McAfee.
By Priya Ganapati
October 13, 2005

Symantec has raised the price for renewing its popular Norton security software used on some 40 million computers around the world in a move that could net the company about $300 million in additional revenue, analysts said Thursday.

Symantec hiked the renewal price for its flagship Norton AntiVirus software 20 percent to $29.99 from $24.99. Meanwhile, the price to renew its Norton Internet Security is rising 34 percent to $39.99 from $29.95. This software includes a firewall and anti-spam protection. The renewals are good for one year.

The Cupertino, California-based security giant said the price hike is just one of the changes it’s making to its current subscription model. Among the changes, it will now deliver product updates throughout the year. A subscription to the Norton suite would ensure users not only get the most updated protection against existing viruses or worms but also feature updates ensuring their products remain current.

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Security: U.S. Tops Spammers List

But legal and legislative measures to stop unsolicited email seem to be having impact.
By Priya Ganapati
October 12, 2005

Despite legislative and legal pressure, the United States remains the world’s worst offender when it comes to the origin of spam, though South Korea and China are fast catching up, a software security company said Wednesday.

To identify the top 12 countries where span originates, London-based enterprise security software company Sophos looked at spam messages received in its network of spam traps.

The U.S. was responsible for 26.5 percent of the all spam trapped in Sophos’ networks between April and September 2005.

Still, there is some good news: this is significantly lower than the 41.5 percent chalked up during the same period last year.

South Korea ranked No. 2 on the list with a share of 19.73 percent of all spam. Meanwhile, China ranked No. 3 with 15.7 percent. But the Middle Kingdom nearly doubled its share in the spamming market.

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Security: Virus Targets Nintendo DS

Gaming systems are becoming the new targets of malicious Trojan viruses.
By Priya Ganapati
October 11, 2005

A Trojan virus disguised as a program that supposedly loads X-rated material is preying on the Nintendo DS handheld game console, security experts said Tuesday, making it the second security hazard to hit gamers in two weeks.

The malicious Trojan comes disguised as a program that promises to load “hentai,” a Japanese term for pornographic comics, cartoons, and games, onto the Nintendo DS. Once downloaded and run, the Trojan can delete system files in the gaming console and make it impossible to boot up, rendering it useless, security experts warned.

“These Trojans get onto a gaming system in the same way that malicious applications get onto a PC,” said Shane Coursen, senior technical consultant for Kaspersky Lab, a security software firm. “If an application has an underlying code that acts as a Trojan or virus, it can damage gaming systems if installed on it.”

So far, there are no clear numbers on how many gamers were infected as few victims report the infections. But the rate of infection is likely to be very low, said Dean Turner, senior manager of development at Symantec Security Response.

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Microsoft Draws E.U. Scrutiny

The European Union has asked Symantec for info following Redmond's move into security.
By Priya Ganapati
October 7, 2005

The European Union has requested information from security software maker Symantec to determine whether Microsoft’s recently announced security products may violate any antitrust regulations, analysts said Friday.

Symantec, the maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, said Friday it has responded to the E.U.’s request for information but denied that the company had lodged a formal complaint with the E.U. The discussions with the E.U. were in response to its queries, said Symantec spokesperson Genevieve Haldeman.

“As we’ve said in the past, we will compete with Microsoft in the markets, not in the courts, as long as there is a level playing field,” she said.

This is not the first time Microsoft’s actions have raised eyebrows among E.U. officials. Last year, Microsoft incurred the E.U.’s wrath after bundling its Windows media player with the company’s operating systems, which the E.U. said stifled competition. Microsoft was fined $613 million, the highest ever in any European competition case.

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Software: Senior Adobe Execs to Leave

Adobe shakes up its management in the midst of its merger with Macromedia.
By Priya Ganapati
October 6, 2005

As Adobe inches closer to completing its acquisition of Macromedia the company said three senior Adobe executives will leave the company by the end of the year as five Macromedia execs come on board.

Those leaving include Adobe’s senior vice president of human resources, Theresa Townsley, Digital Imaging Chief Bryan Lamkin, and Ivan Koon, senior vice president of the intelligent documents business unit.

The announcement reflects a changing power structure within Adobe as it prepares to complete the merger. “It looks like the Macromedia people are dominating the integration process,” said Samuel Saunders, an analyst with Fulcrum Global Partners, a securities firm based in New York City.

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Security: $100M Investment for Viisage

VC firm L-1 invests the money to help the identity authentication and biometrics specialist make acquisitions.
By Priya Ganapati
October 6, 2005

Identity authentication and biometrics specialist Viisage said Thursday venture capital firm L-1 Investment Partners will invest $100 million to help it make acquisitions, sending its stock up 40 percent.

Under the agreement, Stamford, Connecticut-based L-1 will buy 19 million newly issued shares of Viisage at $5.25 per share.

The news sent the company’s stock soaring on the stock market. Viisage shares rose $1.42, or 40 percent, on the Nasdaq to close at $5.06.

Viisage will initiate a one-for-two-and-a-half reverse stock split. Post-split, L-1 is expected to control 28 percent of the company. Based in Billerica, Massachusetts, Viisage has more than 200 employees.

Viisage expects to close the transaction by the end of 2005.

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Security: Hackers Attack Mozilla Site

The outfit that runs the popular Firefox browser sees its community marketing site get hacked again.
By Priya Ganapati
October 4, 2005

Mozilla Foundation, the group that runs the second-most-popular web browser after Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, said Tuesday that hackers broke into its marketing site where users can download the Firefox browser and discuss ideas on how to promote it.

It is the second time in less than three months that the community marketing site, Spread Firefox, has been hacked. The server hosting the community site had been accessed by unknown remote attackers who attempted to exploit a vulnerability in it, said Mozilla.

The attack was limited to SpreadFirefox.com and did not affect the outfit’s main mozilla.org web sites or Mozilla software, Mozilla said in a note to users.

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Security: Symantec to Buy BindView

Security software giant tries to get firmer hold in compliance security segment.
By Priya Ganapati
October 3, 2005

Symantec continued its acquisition spree on Monday with the $209-million buyout of BindView, a security compliance firm.

The deal comes barely two weeks after Symantec’s last acquisition and is the company’s third acquisition in as many months.

The all-cash transaction valued BindView at $4 per share, a 14 percent premium over Friday’s price, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2006. BindView shares rose $0.37 to $3.87 in recent trading. Symantec shares climbed $0.34 to $23.00.

BindView focuses on the fast-growing area of compliance-related security. Companies are required to keep up with regulations imposed by the Sarbanes Oxley Act, HIPAA, and Federal Information Security Management Act, among others. Firms like BindView help them cover vulnerabilities, protect information, and provide secure access.

Founded in 1990, BindView had its initial public offering on Nasdaq in 1998. In 2004, it clocked revenue of $72.9 million from over 5,000 customers including many mid-sized companies across major industries. The Houston, Texas-based company has 550 employees worldwide.

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Security: Q&A: ScanAlert’s Ken Leonard

Computer security outfit's CEO discusses benefits of certifying web sites as ‘Hacker Safe’ via method developed by his firm.
By Priya Ganapati
September 30, 2005

As ScanAlert has discovered, being based in the wine country of Napa, California, has its perks, especially when there’s reason to celebrate. In September, the web site security company’s CEO Ken Leonard got his chance to uncork a favorite bottle of cabernet. Fittingly, the bottle carried a label marked “Hacker Safe,” which resembled the company’s certificate awarded to clients with secure web sites and networks.

The occasion marked ScanAlert inking one of its biggest deals ever. The three-year-old company is partnering with Visa International to offer its scanning service to all of the payment processing giant’s merchants in the Asia-Pacific region.

Under the deal, ScanAlert on a quarterly basis will check for security vulnerabilities on the web sites and networks of merchants in the region who handle Visa cardholder data. About 1,000 merchants are expected to be covered in the first year of the deal.

Launched in 2002, ScanAlert’s scanning process assesses the security of a web site and the network supporting it by looking for vulnerabilities and gaps. In the absence of any, it certifies the site as ‘Hacker Safe,’ a tag that web sites hang on their front doors.

The label can cut both ways. While it increases consumer confidence in the web site, critics have said that a ‘Hacker Safe’ emblem could infuriate some hackers and serve as an invitation to attack.

So far, that hasn’t happened, said Mr. Leonard. None of the more than 65,000 web sites that carry the certification today have experienced any attacks. The process is gaining momentum, as evidenced by the Visa deal, he said.

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Security: Symantec Wins Piracy Case

The security software company wins more than $1 million in restitution.
By Priya Ganapati
September 28, 2005

Symantec, maker of the popular Norton antivirus software, said Wednesday that it won more than $1 million in restitution in a case of software piracy, one of the largest amounts ever awarded to the company in a criminal case.

Li Chen, a Houston-based wholesale distributor of software products, agreed to pay the amount as part of a plea bargain in which he entered a guilty plea to one count of trademark infringement. Mr. Li was accused of distributing counterfeit versions of Symantec’s Norton Antivirus software and other popular security-related applications.

“He was a tier-1 distributor, moving millions of dollars worth of our products every year,” said William Baird, Symantec’s Global Investigations manager. “We had been watching him for nearly two and a half years before we could gather all the evidence needed to move against him.”

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Microsoft, IFC Back Chinasoft

The duo will invest up to $35 million in Chinasoft International.
By Priya Ganapati
September 27, 2005

Microsoft and International Finance Corporation, the World Bank’s private-sector arm, said Tuesday they will invest up to $35 million in Chinasoft International, a publicly traded IT company specializing in outsourcing and e-governance services.

The Redmond-based software giant will invest up to $20 million and IFC is expected to pump in $15 million. The investment is intended to help Chinasoft develop its existing business and accelerate its expansion in the international market, the company said.

Microsoft and Chinasoft also inaugurated a jointly built Online Lab that will conduct software outsourcing R&D and testing. The lab will try to enhance Chinasoft’s capabilities to undertake software outsourcing projects and its R&D services capabilities.

Chinasoft is a publicly traded company on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

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Security: FBI Gets Tough on Cyber-Crime

Fed’s cyber-squad, Silicon Valley defense contractors meet in cyber-crime crackdown.
By Priya Ganapati
September 26, 2005

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to meet with small- and medium-sized defense contractors in Silicon Valley to increase awareness about security risks to their IT infrastructure and encourage cooperation with law enforcement in the event of an IT break-in, the Bureau’s San Francisco-based agents said Monday.

The move represents the FBI’s efforts to reverse the decline in the number of computer intrusions that are reported to law enforcement, despite the increase in the number of cyber crime attacks. When it begins sometime in November, the outreach program will be the first time the FBI has set out to work on crime-fighting with a specific sector in the Valley.

With the program, the FBI plans to have its special agents personally visit companies and give presentations emphasizing the importance of creating secure networks and reporting security intrusions to law enforcement agencies.

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Security: Symantec Buys WholeSecurity

The makers of the popular Norton antivirus software add yet another security start-up to its portfolio.
By Priya Ganapati
September 22, 2005

Symantec made its second acquisition in two months Thursday with the buyout of WholeSecurity, a startup that offers an anti-phishing tool and a behavior-based analysis of security threats to block them as they occur.

Terms of the transaction, which is expected to close next month, weren’t disclosed. The companies announced the sale after the stock market closed, but Symantec’s stock fell $0.10 to $21.09 in after-hours trading. Prior to the announcement, Symantec shares fell $0.13 to $21.19.

WholeSecurity was founded in 2000 and has 80 employees. The company said it has over 100 customers for its products but declined to reveal its revenue. WholeSecurity had received $20 million in funding over two rounds from venture capitalists, New Enterprise Associates, Venrock Associates, Trellis Partners, and Parker Price Venture Capital.

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Microsoft: Redmond Reorg Skirts Problems

Microsoft’s restructuring fails to win the approval of analysts, who say it won’t solve the software giant's problems.
By Priya Ganapati
September 21, 2005

Microsoft’s reorganization of its business fails to tackle the bureaucracy and lack of agility that has plagued the software giant in recent years and is unlikely to revive the company’s comatose stock, analysts said Wednesday.

The restructuring will, however, put the focus on online services, shifting the company’s attention from desktops and better positioning it to take on rival Google, its strongest competitor since Redmond trounced Netscape during the browser wars of the mid-1990s.

Microsoft created three super groups in Tuesday’s reshuffling: Platform and Products Services, led by Jim Allchin and Kevin Johnson; Business Division, led by Jeff Raikes; and Entertainment & Devices, led by Robbie Bach. These three groups overlook the seven divisions within the company.

Although Microsoft said the realignment will “speed up execution,” analysts said that it adds another layer of bureaucracy.

“It seems like they are moving deck chairs around on the Titanic,” said Peter Cohan, founder of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm. “When I saw the announcement, it sounded like some large bureaucratic organization hiring McKinsey to move boxes around.”

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Internet: Opera Browser Is Now Free

To increase market share, the underdog browser company offers Opera for free.
By Priya Ganapati
September 20, 2005

Ten years after it launched the first version of its browser, Norwegian software company Opera Software said Tuesday it will start giving away its underdog browser Opera for free as it seeks to catch up with its nearest rival Firefox and capture greater market share.

The move means that Opera, which has a relatively small but fiercely loyal fan base, will remove the ads from the basic version of its browser and will no longer charge a licensing fee for the premium ad-free version.

“The idea is to get a lot more users than we have currently,” said Opera CEO Jon S. von Tetzchner. “Removing the ad banner and licensing fee will encourage many new users to discover the Opera browser.”

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Microsoft Files 8 Piracy Suits

The software giant sues eight alleged software pirates across the U.S.
By Priya Ganapati
September 19, 2005

Microsoft said Monday that it has filed lawsuits against eight software resellers for allegedly distributing pirated copies of its popular consumer and enterprise software products like Windows XP, Office 2000, Microsoft SQL Server, and FrontPage.

The lawsuits were filed over the past two weeks against companies in Arizona, California, Minnesota, and New York.

The Redmond-based software giant said it considers legal action against alleged software pirates to be a last but “effective” resort, and files lawsuits only after efforts to warn the alleged pirates do not succeed.

“Microsoft does not take legal action lightly,” said Mary Jo Schrade, a senior attorney at Microsoft. “Our customers want to know if they’ve received the product they paid for and our legal initiatives are based on leads from customers and Microsoft’s own investigation.”

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