Database and Network Journal articles from June 2006

Database and Network Journal archives from June 2006

What is the Semantic Web?(DATABASE INTELLIGENCE)
June 1, 2006... What is the Semantic Web? The Semantic Web is the name of a long-term project started by W3C with the stated purpose of realizing the idea of having data on the Web defined and linked in a way that it can be used by machines not just for...

The Semantic Web.(DATABASE INTELLIGENCE)(world wide web)
June 1, 2006... The entertainment system was belting out the Beatles' "We Can Work It Out" when the phone rang. When Pete answered, his phone turned the sound down by sending a message to all the other local devices that had a volume control. His sister, Lucy,...

Answers to common questions about AI.(ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE PART 1)
June 1, 2006... 1. WHAT IS AN EXPERT SYSTEM? An expert system is a program that includes expertise. 2. WHAT IS EXPERTISE? Expertise is knowledge that enables an individual, group or program to perform an intellectual task better than that task can...

Good worms back on the agenda.(DATABASE INTELLIGENCE)(Computer viruses)(network performance analysis)
June 1, 2006... A researcher has reopened the subject of beneficial worms, arguing that the capabilities of self-spreading code could perform better penetration testing inside networks, turning vulnerable systems into distributed scanners. The worms,...

About Debian Linux.(DATABASE INTELLIGENCE)
June 1, 2006... The Debian Project is a not-for-profit group of volunteers committed to the concept of free, open-source software, and to the goal of providing a stable, reliable, free operating system. "Debian" is more formally known as Debian GNU/Linux...

Skype secures worldwide music licenses.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Skype has announced license agreements for worldwide distribution rights to potentially hundreds of thousands of musical works as ringtones for Skype. The agreements are with three major music publishing companies -EMI Music Publishing,...

OFT launches market study of internet shopping.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... A new fact-finding study into online shopping is being launched today by the Office of Fair Trading. 130,000 UK businesses now sell online, in a market representing about 2.5 percent of all household spending (over 18 billion [pounds sterling]...

"Don't Get Burned on eBay".(IT News)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2006... Every day, people fall into traps while bidding, paying, shipping and dealing with other eBayers. But you don't have to. "Don't Get Burned on eBay" (Wright, O'Reilly) helps you profit from others' mistakes. It's packed with hair-raising...

XP Professional for Embedded environment.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Abacus Embedded Systems Group (ESG) is announcing the availability of the current Windows XP Professional desktop operating system with specific licensing terms and features designed to make it easier to install and maintain in an embedded...

New StorNext FX Software for Xsan 1.3.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Advanced Digital Information Corp, the leader in Intelligent Storage solutions for the open systems market, announced today the introduction of the latest version of its StorNext FX data management software. StorNext FX enables greater...

Britain, stop being so stupid.(customer service)(Philip Cullum speaks at the Customer: Strategy, & Management conference)
June 1, 2006... British companies are throwing away business and losing money by systematically annoying and alienating their customers. A backlash at shoddy customer service and unrelenting sales pitches is hitting business where it hurts the most--on the...

Online system improves financial advice process.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Financial research company Defaqto has launched a new online system, Aequos Engage, for independent financial advisers (IFAs) that will speed up and improve the process of identifying the right financial services products for customers. The...

Flash 8: The Missing Manual.(IT News)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2006... This hands-on guide to today's web design tool is aimed at non-developers, and it teaches users how to translate your ideas into web content. "Flash 8: The Missing Manual" begins with a solid primer on animation, which helps users to get...

Touchpaper's ITBM suite.(IT Business Management software)
June 1, 2006... The Butler Group, has published a Technology Audit on Touchpaper's recently launched IT Business Management (ITBM) suite in which it highlights the company's ITBM approach as a key competitive differentiator. The report provides a comprehensive...

"Head Rush Ajax".(IT News)(Brief article)(Book review)
June 1, 2006... With every new technology, a new race starts-whether it's to be the first to get a handle on the buzzwords, to publish on the subject, or to learn to use the technology for a few new tricks-and the Ajax race is going strong. There's a reason...

"Ajax Hacks".(IT News)
June 1, 2006... According to Perry, "Ajax Hacks" was written for people enjoy hacking web applications creatively, as well as for both experienced and new web-application developers. "Ajax seems to have reached a tipping point where many software developers...

Q-Coach MET.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Storacall has just announced the launch of Q-Coach MET, which is a Quality monitoring and learning solution to enable contact centres to deliver a consistently positive customer experience with the use of Call evaluation, behavioural learning...

Halcyon Software to recruit resellers.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Systems management software provider, Halcyon Sotware, has today announced the launch of its new reseller program for its range of systems management solutions, in a drive to recruit 12 new channel partners both in the UK and EMEA during 2006....

Maconomy X.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Maconomy has launched the newest version of its project management software. The latest release, Maconomy X, is designed and developed specifically for management, engineering and creative consultancies, and will enable these businesses to...

Skype 2.5.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Skype has released the beta version of Skype 2.5, the newest edition of its software that allows anyone with an Internet connection to make free worldwide voice and video calls. With new features and enhanced functionality, As part of the new...

Desktop sharing solutions.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... Netviewer, will present new versions of their desktop-sharing solutions Netviewer one2one and Netviewer one2meet at Internet World 2006. The software offers web users a live view of a partner's screen and enables them to view and operate...

Call centre survey.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... A new international survey of consumers about their experience with call centres reveals that the British get more cross about customer agents with hard-to-understand accents than being put on hold for up to 10 minutes when they contact a call...

UK companies hit by blind spot.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... A new report produced in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit indicates that many large British companies are suffering from a blind spot over the risk posed by IT failure. The report titled, "Managing IT Business Risk:...

SkillSoft launches topic-specific information and learning portals.(IT News)
June 1, 2006... SkillSoft has launched a series of online learning and information portals to provide employees with easy access to a wide variety of data relating to VB.net, C#, leadership and project management. Called KnowledgeCentres, each portal contains...

VPN-1 Edge X industrial model.(data security appliance introduced by CheckPOINT)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... The VPN-1 Edge X industrial model, is the UK's first unified threat management appliance developed specifically to protect UK factory floors from cyber attack. Key features include. The highest levels of security through an unified threat...

Ransom Trojan horse demands money with menaces.(Ransom-A Trojan horse)(data security)
June 1, 2006... SophosLabs have warned users about a Trojan horse that prevents victims from accessing their computer data and asks for ransom to be paid via Western Union. The Ransom-A Trojan horse threatens to delete one file belonging to the innocent user...

World Cup wallchart Trojan horse.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Sophos have warned users about a Trojan horse that poses as a wallchart for the World Cup tournament. The Haxdoor-IN Trojan horse has been spammed out to computer users via a link in an email message, which offers a free wallchart for...

Federation wins 400,000 [pounds sterling] in settlements.(Security)(Federation Against Software Theft)
June 1, 2006... The Federation Against Software Theft (The Federation) has won a substantial cash settlement of over $75,000 against a global courier company based in the US. Acting on behalf of its industry member, Achiever Business Solutions, The Federation...

Russian student sentenced.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Sophos Labs have welcomed the sentencing of a man who not only created his own malware, but ran two websites distributing more than 4,000 different computer viruses. Sergey Kazachkov, a Russian science university student from Voronezh, was...

Sunbelt top ten spyware threats for April.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Sunbelt System Software have announced the top ten most prevalent spyware threats for the month of April. The results are based on the monthly scans performed by the Sunbelt' anti-spyware product CounterSpy. The top ten most prevalent...

April's spam and virus statistics from softscan.(Security)
June 1, 2006... SoftScan revealed that there has been little change once again in the virus and spam statistics for April. By comparison, this time last year there had already been a number of big virus outbreaks, leading SoftScan to conclude that virus...

Home PC users fear loss of their personal data, but don't take adequate precautions.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Steganos has discovered that 64% of people would be more worried about someone else having access to all their personal data than they would about the cost of the hardware if their computer was lost or stolen. Despite this, while nearly 70%...

Fantasy football formula virus.(Security)(Yagnuul-A virus effecting Excel files)(Brief article)
June 1, 2006... Sophos's have warned users about a new virus that infects Excel files under the camouflage of a fantasy football worksheet. Yagnuul-A is an Excel formula virus that infects .XLS spreadsheets and then drops an infected fantasy league file on...

21 year old hacker receives longest ever sentence.(Security)
June 1, 2006... A hacker has been sent to jail for almost five years for seizing control of hundreds of thousands of zombie computers. Jeanson James Ancheta used the compromised PCs to display cash-generating adverts, and rent them out to hackers to send spam...

Computer hacker pleads guilty to mass hospital infection.(Security)
June 1, 2006... 20-year-old Christopher Maxwell, from California, USA has pleaded guilty to charges that he launched an attack in January 2005 which struck hard at Northwest Hospital and Medical Center in Seattle. The attack is said to have shut down computers...

Steganos Safe 8.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Easy to use encryption software, such as Steganos Safe 8, enables everybody to ensure that no matter what happens to their computer, their private data remains secure and hidden from prying eyes." Steganos produces a range of privacy...

Vietnamese denial of service hacker arrested.(Security)
June 1, 2006... A man has been arrested in Vietnam for launching a distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attack against a commercial website. The attack on Vietco's website caused huge losses to the company, which was forced to draft in 40 emergency technicians...

Fat Spaniard faces forty years for hacking.(Security)
June 1, 2006... SophosLabs welcomed the news that a man suspected of hacking hundreds of thousands of euros from bank accounts has been extradited from Argentina by international authorities. Jose Manuel Garci'a Rodriguez was arrested in July 2005 in...

Email scammers use Concorde air disaster in attempt to steal money.(Security)
June 1, 2006... SophosLabs are warning computer users to be wary of a new email seam, which dupes recipients into believing they could receive millions from a bank account belonging to a victim of the Concorde air disaster, in order for criminals to steal...

Insecure networks leave financial transactions exposed.(Security)(Department of Trade and Industry's Information Security Breaches Survey)(Survey)
June 1, 2006... UK businesses are failing to adopt the security controls needed to protect their customers' information, according to findings from the 2006 Department of Trade and Industry's biennial Information Security Breaches Survey, conducted by a...

Poor reporting hampering board's confidence in security provision.(data security)(Cost and Confidence Research report by nCircle)
June 1, 2006... A recent report reveals: 33% of senior managers don't know if their network security has been breached 49% don't believe they're kept adequately informed about security, issues 58% don't agree that their FT team 'communicates effectively about...

First spammer found guilty under Australian spam act.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Experts at Sophos have welcomed news that the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has successfully prosecuted its first spammer under Australia's Spare Act laws. The Western Australia-based spammer, Wayne Mansfield, and his...

Czech-mate for prague phishing stooge.(Security)
June 1, 2006... The Czech authorities have arrested a man suspected of involvement in a gang which phished the bank accounts of innocent internet users. In what is reported to be the first arrest of its kind in the Czech Republic, a man was arrested while...

March, a run of-the-mill malware writer month.(Security)
June 1, 2006... SoftScan reports that there has been little change in its March statistics of virus and spam activity. The top five virus families almost mirrors last month's and spare levels are still high, accounting for 84.06% of all email scanned by...

Spammer fined $1 million claims he is switching sides.(Security)
June 1, 2006... Experts at Sophos's global network of virus, spyware and spare analysis centers, have welcomed news that Microsoft and the State of Texas have been successful in their legal action against a university graduate who admitted sending 25 million...

Software World and Database & Network Journal--still current after 36 years.
June 1, 2006... Software World and Database & Network Journal were first published 36 years ago with the intention of providing interpretative analysis of computer software as it emerged in the future. Subscribed to by IT Information Centres and University...