Microsoft SIR Report release for June 07-Dec 07

The latest Microsoft Security Intelligence Report (SIR) released.

You can download a copy and also view a quick video report of the release from the website.

This is global security assessment/trends from July 2007 - December 2007

Online scan for computer vulnerabilities

Worried about your computer and security? Think you might be running some kind of trojan downloader, spyware, etc.

Use the online scanner from Microsoft:

http://onecare.live.com/site/en-US/center/howsafe.htm?s_cid=mscom_msrt

Happy safe computing!

Web-based photo editor

Need a quick online web-based photoeditor tool...

Here's a good one, reviewed by CNET Secret Tips.

http://fotoflexer.com/

Plaxo, now owned by Comcast

Hhhmmm, this is interesting... not sure what it will mean but my gut says, "oh no"!

Email I received today...
----------------------

A Letter from the CEO and Founders

Dear Plaxo member

We are excited to announce some of the biggest news in the history of Plaxo. Plaxo has signed a definitive agreement** to be acquired by Comcast, the nation's leading provider of entertainment, information and communications products and services. We've got at least a few months to go before the acquisition is completed, but we wanted to send you this note to let you know what's coming up and how it affects you and your account.

Plaxo will remain an independent brand, organization and entity. We've been busy at work on our networked address book service and our next-generation social network, Pulse (if it's been a while, please come back and check out all the new features at http://pulse.plaxo.com/?src=200805-plaxo-comcast). And, through additional projects with Comcast, we'll be able to take these services to a lot more users and places than we could on our own... including the TV, phone and more.

If you'd like to read more about some of the great new things we're planning, please read our official announcement:

http://www.plaxo.com/about/comcast?src=200805-plaxo-comcast

So, what does this mean for current Plaxo members like you? The services you know and enjoy from Plaxo will not only continue to exist, but will also continue to evolve and improve. We will continue to make our basic services free, and we will continue to serve customers in multiple languages across the world. But, we'll now be able to invest even more in our services, and we will enhance them with more users and more content available across a wider array of devices.

We will also continue to protect your privacy and give you control of your information. We will continue to protect your data with one of the strongest privacy policies, which will remain in effect even after the transition. And, we'll continue to be a strong advocate for the open social web.

We've put together a quick Q&A about your privacy, account and your data:
http://help.plaxo.com/article.asp?article=1571&p=15&src=200805-plaxo-comcast


Last, we'd like to extend an enormous thank you. Whether you've been a Plaxo user for a long time or just recently joined Pulse, we'd like to thank you for making Plaxo a vibrant network. We are excited to open a new chapter today and look forward to helping you keep in touch with the people you care about.
Sincerely,

Ben Golub, Chief Executive Officer
Cameron Ring, Founder and Chief Architect
Todd Masonis, Founder and Vice President of Products

**We are not releasing financial details of the transaction. The acquisition is subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals, and is expected to close in the near future.

Awesome Deals from Staples, Data Storage

Staples has some amazing deals for data storage this week.

If you haven't been backing up your data or need more space... check these deals out:

- Maxtor OneTouch 4 Mini 160GB portable hard drive: $79.98
- Maxtor EXTERNAL 500GB hard drive: $89.98 (amazing price)
- Western Digital My Passport 250GB portable hard drive $109.98 (these are pretty devices)

You can order online OR visit a Staples store.

Happy shopping AND most importantly, backing up your data!

EMC Extends Mozy Online Storage to Macs

Online backup, more and more options, lower and lower pricing, more secure?...
---------------------

EMC Extends Mozy Online Storage to Macs
Stephen Lawson, IDG News Service
Thursday, May 01, 2008 12:30 PM PDT

The MozyHome online backup service became generally available on Thursday after a long beta test and the acquisition of its creator by EMC.

MozyHome lets consumers back up the data on their desktops and laptops to a remote data center, then recover it later if their systems crash. EMC took over the service when it bought Berkeley Data Systems last October. The company, in Salt Lake City, is now called Mozy and is part of EMC's Cloud Infrastructure and Services Division.

MozyHome is already commercially available for PCs. Berkeley introduced a Mac version last April that had remained in beta since then, though both Berkeley and Mozy charged US$4.95 per month for unlimited storage with the service.

Mozy claims MozyHome for Mac is the only unlimited online backup service for Macs. It's part of parent EMC's move into the consumer space with a variety of storage options. Last month EMC agreed to buy consumer and small-business drive maker Iomega for $213 million.

Though PC users have had many options for online backup, Mac users have been left behind. Carbonite says it will have a Mac version of its system in the middle of this year, and Itronis Technologies says on its Web site that it will extend its eSureIT backup service to Macs and Linux computers, but gives no date.

With MozyHome, users can upload as much as 2G bytes of any type of content for free, with no expiration date, according to EMC. For unlimited capacity, the service still costs $4.95 per month. MozyHome encrypts the files with 448-bit Blowfish encryption and transfers them via a 128-bit SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) connection.

After files are first uploaded, MozyHome does incremental backups of changes made since the last upload, which takes less time, the company said. It can carry out new backups at scheduled times. In addition to the most recent backup, the service keeps 30 days' worth of older versions of files. To recover the data, users can download it from the Mozy Web site, use the Mozy client software or order a set of DVDs from Mozy.

Later this year, Mozy will extend Mac support to MozyPro and MozyEnterprise, which are backup services designed for businesses, the company said.

Mozy claims more than 700,000 users worldwide, including 20,000 businesses. It is backing up more than 7.5 petabytes of data across multiple data centers, the company said. More than 43,000 people participated in the Mac beta test, according to Mozy.

From: PCWorld.com article.

Open Screen: Adobe Lifts Restrictions on Mobile Flash Use

Open Screen: Adobe Lifts Restrictions on Mobile Flash Use
By Dan Keane 15:27, May 2nd 2008

Adobe has taken an aggressive step to ensure its Flash and AIR technologies are not left behind when it comes to mobile platforms.

The Open Screen Project is meant to improve Internet experiences on television, personal computers, mobile devices and computer electronics, while removing licensing fees previously associated with mobile versions of Flash.

Adobe is also to remove restrictions on the use of files in SWF and FLV format and to publish detailed information about the inner workings of its Flash player and streaming Flash technologies (the Adobe Flash Cast protocol). The company unveiled that top industry leaders, such as LG Electronics, Sony Ericsson, Toshiba, Motorola, Verizon Wireless and others are supporting the Open Screen Project, together with BBC, MTV Networks and NBC Universal.

While Adobe Flash is already on 98 percent of desktop systems, according to the company's own estimates, the percentage of Flash Lite presence on mobile devices is much smaller. For example, Apple's iPhone does not support Flash and it's hard to say whether it will ever do, because it seems against the Mac maker's interests in the long term.

By 2009, Adobe expects its Flash Player to reach more than one billion handsets and mobile devices, meeting consumer expectations and demands. “Adobe Flash Player is the world’s most pervasive client runtime,” the company said, adding that it delivers “unparalleled creative options, highly engaging user experiences, stunning audio/video playback and universal reach.” In order to do that, Adobe says software applications and video should seamlessly work on a wide range of devices.

From efluxmedia.com