IT NEWS
Firefox Update fixes problem with Internet Explorer
The update for the
Mozilla browser fixes an unusual vulnerability that could cause
malicious code to run if the browser is launched by Microsoft's
IE.
A new update for the Firefox browser fixes an unusual
vulnerability that could cause malicious code to run if the
browser is launched by Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer.
The critical vulnerability involves Internet Explorer's ability to
launch other applications such as Excel or Firefox after a user
clicks on a specially written link in a Web page. Explorer does
not properly check the syntax of the link, which could allow a
malicious link to attack Firefox if launched, according to Mozilla,
the open-source project that develops Firefox.
Microsoft expresses no issue where Explorer is concerned. Either
way, Firefox's 2.0.0.5 release fixes the problem by now validating
incoming data. The update will automatically be pushed out to
Firefox 2.0 users via the built-in update system, Mozilla said in
an advisory.
The update also fixes seven other vulnerabilities, two of which
are considered "critical" by Mozilla. One problem, labelled
2007-18, is a memory corruption problem that could cause arbitrary
code to run on a machine. The other, 2007-21, could also allow
arbitrary code to run.
Source: IDG News Service
Symantec Offers Chinese Market Compensation after Faulty Software
Update
Symantec Corp. declared its compensation offer for Chinese
users who saw their computers damaged by a bad software update a
success Sunday, but declined to say how many users had accepted
the deal.
Symantec ran into trouble May 18, when the company issued a faulty
software update for its Norton antivirus software that wrongly
identified two system files in the Simplified Chinese edition of
Windows XP as malware, and quarantined them. That blunder rendered
an estimated 50,000 Chinese PCs unusable, Symantec said.
The incident provoked an angry outcry from Chinese users, who
demanded compensation for the damage wrought on their systems by
Symantec. At least two users filed lawsuits against Symantec over
damage done to their PCs.
Five weeks after the bad update was released, Symantec offered
free software to the affected users. The company offered Chinese
consumers a 12-month Norton license extension and a copy of Norton
Save & Restore 2.0. Corporate customers were offered Symantec
Ghost Solution Suite licenses, depending on the number of PCs
affected. Symantec did not offer Norton licenses to the affected
corporate customers.
The compensation offer, which was valid for two and a half weeks
starting from June 27, ended Sunday night. However, the Web site
created for users to apply for compensation remained up at the
time of writing, on Monday morning.
In an e-mail statement Sunday, Symantec declared the offer a
success, saying the gesture had been "well received." But the
company did not offer any information to back up that claim.
Symantec's offer was widely criticized in the Chinese press when
it was first announced.
"Symantec's response to its Chinese consumers lacks seriousness
and sincerity," Alamus, the deputy director of the China
Electronic Commerce Association's committee on legal and policy
issues, said at the time in a report by China Central Television (CCTV),
the country's national TV broadcaster.
While the compensation offer officially ended Sunday, Symantec is
keeping the door open for users who missed the July 15 deadline.
"After this date, anyone who missed the registration date should
contact Symantec Customer Support and we will give consideration
to extending the date for that individual customer," the company
said.
Source: IDG News Service
New Computer
Efficiency Specs by Energy Go Into Effect
New Energy Star specifications for computers and related
equipment that go into effect next week should save consumers and
businesses more than US$1.8 billion in energy costs over the next
five years. In addition, the specifications will prevent
greenhouse gas emissions equal to the annual emissions of 2.7
million cars, according to Energy Star, the joint program of the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of
Energy.
Under the new Energy Star 4.0 specifications, computers and
related equipment, including desktop and notebook computers,
workstations, integrated computers, servers and game consoles that
meet Energy Star's specifications will earn the Energy Star label.
That means that such computer equipment will be 65 percent more
efficient than other models because they will use more
energy-efficient internal and external power supplies, according
to Energy Star.
If all businesses only purchase energy-efficient computers that
meet Energy Star requirements, they will save $1.2 billion over
the lifetime of the computers, according to Energy Star.
In addition, if government agencies only purchase computers that
meet the new Energy Star requirements, they will save nearly 1.4
billion kilowatt hours and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2
billion lbs. each year, Energy Star said.
On average, products that meet the Energy Star requirements use
about half as much electricity as other models and automatically
go into sleep mode after they have been inactive for a period of
time. Computers use 75 percent less energy when they are in sleep
mode and copiers use 40 percent less energy, according to Energy
Star.
Earlier this year, Hewlett-Packard, Dell and Lenovo Group all
released products that comply with Energy Star's specifications.
Lenovo announced a new version of its ThinkPad T61 laptop that it
said is energy efficient but also its highest-performance notebook
computer to date.
Source: Computerworld
TRENDS
Social Networking, Online Videos are Top Digital Trends
In the U.S. market and others where homes are saturated
with televisions and DVD players, video content is a predominant
part of consumers' daily lives, analysts said.
Online video and social networking are outpacing other digital
media behaviors, according to a study released Thursday.
Ipsos Insight released some findings of its annual study "The Face
of the Web 2006." The survey, conducted in November and December
2006 among a random sample of 6,553 adults around the world, found
that online video activities have replaced music as the driver of
digital media's growth.
Thirty-six percent of U.S. Internet users watched a TV show or
other video streaming online at the end of 2006, up from 28% at
the end of 2005, and three-quarters had done so in the 30 days
before polling. Brian Cruikshank, Executive VP and Managing
Director of Ipsos Insight's Technology & Communications practice,
said consumer appetite for video content has accelerated the
adoption of online video behaviors.
In the U.S. market and others where homes are saturated with
televisions and DVD players, video content is a predominant part
of consumers' daily lives, he said in a prepared statement.
"Increasing penetration of broadband access and PC ownership
globally signals that the PC will begin to really assert itself as
a 'second screen' within the household," he said.
Globally, about one in five adults has visited a social networking
Web site, and 20% of regular Internet users had visited these
types of Web sites in the past 30 days, according to the study.
South Korea led all other markets in popularity of social
networking. Forty-nine percent of all adults there had visited at
least one social networking site in the past, while over half of
all online adults around the world had visited a social networking
Web site in the preceding 30 days, according to Ipsos Insight,
which attributed the popularity of social networking in South
Korea to Cyworld, one of the oldest and most successful social
networking sites in the world.
According to Cyworld, about 18 million people in South Korea have
accounts with their service, about 30% of the country's
population. Only 24% of Americans have ever visited a social
networking Web site.
Ipsos Insight reported that online chat, text messaging, e-mail,
video, voice chat, file sharing, blogging, and discussion groups
help social networking sites create strong relationship with users
- "beyond the simple transactional nature many sites have with
their audience."
"Social networking Web sites, such as Cyworld, MySpace, Facebook,
and Mixi, have emerged as major factors in the culture of
communication for adults globally, which is underscored by their
popularity with Internet users even among lesser developed
markets," Cruikshank said. Ipsos Insight said that at least
two-thirds of all Internet users in most global markets have
visited social networking sites in the preceding 30 days,
indicating success with creating captive audiences.
"The frequency of visitation to social networking Web sites
globally implies that many Internet users are no longer simply
'trying out' these sites, but rather adopting social networking as
a significant part in their evolving digital lifestyle,"
Cruikshank said. "What will be interesting to monitor is the
affect social networking will have on other online and offline
entertainment behaviors that ultimately compete for a share of the
consumer's disposable time. We have already seen some effects of
social networking cannibalizing other online activities in some
markets.
Source: InformationWeek
Google Still Tops, But Apple Cracks Top 10
New Web site rankings from comScore list
Google as the top online property for May 2007 but Apple was the
fastest-growing property for the month.
Maybe it was anticipation for the much-hyped iPhone, maybe it was
the lure of DRM-free music from on the way from EMI, but new
figures from market analysis firm comScore show Apple as the
fastest-growing online property during May 2007, and the interest
was enough to put the electronics company into the top ten Web
properties for the month. According to comScore, the number of
unique visitors to Apple's online properties increased by 5
percent from April to May, climbing to a total of over 120 million
visitors and potentially reaching over 15 percent of all Internet
users.
However, Apple's figures pale in comparison to top-ranked property
Google, which comScore says saw more than 536 million users during
May 2007, an overall gain of 0.8 percent from the previous month.
However, the strength of Google's audience is emphasized by other
figures: comScore estimates that Google essentially reaches 70
percent of the online population. Moreover, comScore estimates
Google gets over 27 visits per user—in comparison, Apple managed
just 1.4 visits per user.
Microsoft properties like MSN and Windows Live services occupied
the number two slot, attracting over 528 million visitors and
averaging 23 visits per user, while Yahoo properties took the
number three spot with almost 470 million users and 21.5 visits
per user. Time Warner properties (including AOL) came in fourth
with over 266 million users, while eBay rounded out the top 5 with
over 258 million visitors. Another interesting entry in the top
ten: Wikipedia, which saw over 217 million visitors in the month,
but only 4 average visits per user.
comScore's reports also highlight the strength of online retailers
during the month, with strong performances from price-comparison
operator Caio sites (growing to 29.6 million visitors), and eBay
and Amazon.com both increasing their traffic during May.
comScore's numbers also highlight the rapidly growing popularity
of social networking site Facebook, which saw a nearly 22 percent
increase in traffic during May and, perhaps more significantly,
the highest average number of visits from any fast-growing
property, with over 20 visits per user on average during the
month.
Source: Digital Trends News
Online Gaming is
Booming, not Boring
The number of unique visitors to online
gaming sites grew 17% year over year to almost 217 million
worldwide, according to a new ComScore survey.
Far from being bored to death, gaming enthusiasts appear to be
thrilled with online gaming. The number of unique visitors to
online gaming sites grew 17% year over year to almost 217 million
worldwide, according to Internet metrics company ComScore.
Such figures seem at odds with the sentiment expressed by
Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello, who in a Wall Street Journal
interview Monday lamented the lack of creativity in the gaming
industry.
"We're boring people to death and making games that are harder and
harder to play," he said.
Riccitiello's dour assessment of the computer gaming may be more
of a reflection of his own company's performance than anything
else. EA saw its number of monthly worldwide unique visitors, as
measured by ComScore, drop from 30.5 million in May, 2006, to 21.2
million in May, 2007, a 30.5% decline.
While online traffic doesn't correlate directly to the company's
game software sales, it does provide some sense of the broad
troubles confronting EA, which failed to anticipate the popularity
of Nintendo's Wii console and also faces escalating game
production costs as a consequence of pursuing a Hollywood-style
strategy of sequels and cinematic spectacle at the expense of
quality writing and game play. (EA's Spore, to be released late
this year or early next, represents an obvious exception.)
Outside of the big budget, hit-driven world of shrink-wrapped
blockbusters, gaming continues to thrive.
"With one in four Internet users visiting a gaming site, playing
games online is extremely popular," said Bob Ivins, Executive VP
and Managing Director of ComScore Europe, in a statement. "The
fact that these Web sites are pulling in over a quarter of the
total worldwide Internet population shows what a global phenomenon
gaming has become."
What Riccitiello seems to have missed, or perhaps sees and doesn't
want to admit, is that the gaming industry is moving to the
software-as-a-service model. As a consequence, fewer computer
users are likely to bother with expensive boxed games and the
burden of downloading, installation, and maintenance. The
popularity of online game sites like Yahoo Games (52.7 million
unique visitors in May) and MSN Games (40.3 million) suggests that
rather than licensing blockbuster properties like The Lord of the
Rings, gaming companies should aim lower and make sure they have
the rights to titles like Pac Man and Tetris.
Source: InformationWeek
STUDIES
Developers Turning Away from Windows, Study Reveals
Evans Data found that 64.8% were targeting Windows,
down from the 70% to 74% that the Microsoft platform recorded in
the 2006 surveys.
Evans Data said Tuesday that North American software developers
are slowly but steadily turning away from Windows in favor of
other platforms.
"It's clear that a shift away from Windows began about two years
ago, and the data show that this migration is now accelerating,"
said John Andrews, president of Evans Data, a market research firm
that watches programming trends.
The claim is likely to be disputed in some quarters. Evans Data
survey participants self-select to participate on the
questionnaires sent out every six months, and Microsoft spokesmen
in the past have questioned how scientific the sample is.
Nevertheless, Andrews said his firm has been tracking where North
American developers invest most of their time and effort for eight
years and their interest in Windows peaked in 2004. That year,
they devoted 76% of their efforts to the Windows platform, both
server and desktop versions.
In a two-month survey of 440 developers completed June 30, Evans
found that 64.8% were targeting Windows, down from the 70% to 74%
level that the Microsoft platform recorded in the 2006 surveys.
Andrews predicted that the decline in Windows programming is slow
but is likely to continue to register another drop to 63% next
year. "An erosion of 3% to 5% of Windows total market share per
year starts to take its toll, if it gets entrenched as a long-term
trend”, Evans said in an interview.
Various platforms are commanding more developer time and
attention, including the Apple Macintosh, Andrews said, without
providing figures. The Macintosh barely shows up in the survey,
compared with Windows.
The platform that is showing the largest measurable increase is
Linux, moving from 8.8% of developer effort last year to 11.8%
this year, a gain of 34%.
Unlike Windows, Linux's market share is almost exclusively in
server programming. Few developers are working on Linux client
programs, Andrews said. Growth is also occurring in "niche
operating systems for non-traditional client devices," such as
Symbian for cell phones or Research In Motion's proprietary system
for the BlackBerry handheld device.
Source:
InformationWeek
Link Between Data Breaches and ID Theft
Unclear, GAO Study Reports
Even if someone is the victim of identity theft,
it's difficult to figure out how that person's sensitive personal
information fell into the wrong hands, the agency said.
Data breaches have become a sad fact of life for any organization
that uses, stores, or trades in digital information. But a
Government Accountability Office report issued Thursday indicates
that, while the amount of information lost or stolen is
disturbing, it's very difficult to prove that these breaches often
lead to identity theft.
In fact, GAO examined the 24 largest - in terms of number of
records compromised - data breaches reported in the news from
January 2000 through June 2005, as well as five breaches that
involved federal agencies, but found that the extent to which data
breaches resulted in identity theft is not well known. Even if
someone is the victim of identity theft, it's difficult to figure
out how that person's sensitive personal information fell into the
wrong hands.
Of the 24 breaches GAO studied, three included evidence of
resulting fraud on existing accounts, while only one included
evidence of unauthorized creation of new accounts. The agency
could not find clear evidence of any link to identity theft for 18
of the breaches, and information about the remaining two breaches
was inconclusive.
This may come as small consolation to the 2.3 million customers of
Fidelity National, an arm of Fidelity National Information
Services, whose bank account and credit card information may have
been stolen. A former senior-level database administrator was
fired for taking and selling the information to several direct
marketing companies. Fidelity made this announcement earlier in
the week, just before the July 4 holiday.
This low ratio of identity theft per stolen personal data could be
explained in any number of ways, according to the GAO. Identity
theft victims often don't know how their personal information was
obtained. In addition, law enforcement officials told the agency
that in some cases, stolen data may be held for a year or more
before being used to commit identity theft. Add to this the fact
that issues of privacy and confidentiality make it difficult for
organizations to conduct comprehensive studies of data breaches
and identity theft.
While the correlation between data breaches and identity theft is
unclear, there's no mistaking that data breaches are a growing
problem. More than 570 data breaches were reported in the news
media from January 2005 through December 2006, and often the
incidents varied significantly in size and occurred across a wide
range of entities, including federal, state and local government
agencies, retailers, financial institutions, colleges and
universities and medical facilities, the GAO found.
Law enforcement is feeling the strain. The FBI's Cyber Division
told the GAO that it's currently working on more than 1,300
pending cases of computer or network intrusions where data
breaches resulted from unauthorized electronic access to computer
systems, such as hackings, at public and private organizations.
The Secret Service in 2006 alone opened 327 cases involving
network intrusions or data breaches, specifically where financial
information was lost or stolen.
Legislators have been working at the state level to protect
citizens from identity theft resulting from a data breach. As of
April, at least 36 states had enacted some form of law requiring
that affected individuals be notified in the event of a data
breach; California's law, enacted in 2002, was the first such
state requirement. There is no federal law that specifically
addresses breach notification.
Source:
InformationWeek
Researcher Raises Revenue Forecast for LCD
Panels
The year 2011 is expected to mark the first time the
market exceeds $100 billion in revenues, analysts said.
ISuppli on Tuesday raised its revenue forecast for the year for
large-sized LCD panels, citing rising demand, tightening supplies
and increasing prices.
The market researcher said global revenues would reach $66
billion, up 22.2% from 2006. The new number was 6% higher than the
previous forecast of $62 billion. ISuppli defines large-sized LCD,
or liquid-crystal display, panels as at least 10 inches
diagonally.
ISuppli also upped its 2007 global forecast for shipments, which
are expected to reach 353.8 million units, 25.2% more than last
year. Earlier this year, the firm had predicted 350.1 million
units for 2007.
Following weak pricing in the fourth quarter of last year and the
first quarter of this year, the market entered into a fast
recovery in the second quarter, with strong conditions persistent
during the current quarter, Sweta Dash, iSuppli Director of
Projection Research, said in a statement. Demand is rising in the
three major markets: televisions, desktop monitors and notebooks,
while inventories remain under control.
"This combination of rising demand and constrained supply is
causing overall panel prices to increase," Dash said.
Increasing adoption worldwide of LCD-TVs, as well as higher sales
of notebooks and desktops, is expected to drive market growth over
the next several years, iSuppli said. The overall LCD market is
forecast to expand to 597.6 million units by 2011, up 2% from the
firm's previous projection of 587.1 million units.
Revenues are expected to reach $102 billion in four years, up 6%
from iSuppli earlier forecast of $96 billion. The year 2011 is
expected to mark the first time the market exceeds $100 billion,
analysts said.
LCD-TV panel shipments this year are forecast to reach 77.5
million units, and are expected to break the 100 million threshold
next year, iSuppli said. In 2009, the panels are expected to
become the dominant TV display technology, accounting for 52% of
unit shipments. By 2011, that percentage is expected to increase
to 65%.
As of the first quarter, Samsung was the leading supplier of LCD
TVs, followed by Sony and Philips Electronics, respectively,
iSuppli said. Philips lost the No. 2 spot to Sony that quarter.
Source: InformationWeek
