RIM plans to counter Apple's iPad with 'Blackpad' in November

RIM plans to counter Apple's iPad with 'Blackpad' in November
From AppleInsder article

By Slash Lane

Published: 03:20 PM EST

BlackBerry maker Research in Motion plans to enter the touchscreen tablet market and compete with Apple's iPad this November, when it will release the "Blackpad."

Two people familiar with the plans confirmed the product to Bloomberg, and the device will reportedly be called the "Blackpad." RIM already acquired the blackpad.com domain name this month.

The hardware is said to sport a 9.7-inch screen, identical to the iPad's dimensions, will also be priced similarly to Apple's touchscreen tablet, which starts at $499. It will include both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and will allow users to connect to the Internet through their BlackBerry. Apple does not currently allow iPad users to access 3G cellular data networks with their iPhone.

Sources said that RIM has no plans to undercut Apple's iPad pricing, as the company hopes to make additional profit from its tablet rather than sell a huge number of devices at a lower price.

QuickTime Player Allows Movie Files to Trigger Malware Download

From TrendMicro.com blog posting:

QuickTime Player Allows Movie Files to Trigger Malware Download

Quicktime Player (version 7.6.6) allows movie files to trigger download of files, and cybercriminals are using this to download malware from malicious websites.

Trend Micro Threat Research Engineer Benson Sy encountered two .MOV files (001 Dvdrip Salt.mov, salt dvdrpi [btjunkie][xtrancex].mov) that both used the recent movie, Salt of Angelina Jolie. It looks suspicious enough because of its relatively small size compared to regular movie files.

When the movie files are loaded to Quicktime player, it doesn’t show any live action scenes but leads users to download malware pretending to be either an update codec or another player installation. It is still under investigation whether the malware is using vulnerability or a known functionality to download the malware.

Read more: http://blog.trendmicro.com/quicktime-player-allows-movie-files-to-trigger-malware-download/#ixzz0vCD8EK8t

Cloud Security Pros and Cons

Cloud Security Pros And Cons

Securing your business in the cloud can offer substantial savings and resources balanced by large and unexpected risks. In this review of cloud security silver linings and storms warnings, we look at some of the brightest and darkest security clouds.

By Keith Ferrell, InformationWeek
July 27, 2010
URL

As more security vendors provide cloud-based security as a service (SaaS), more small and midsize businesses consider these offerings. With vendors broadening their security offerings to include backup-and-restore, end-point monitoring messaging security and more, the appeal of one-stop security shopping in the cloud continues to grow. The best cloud security vendors are beginning to fulfill the promise of bringing enterprise-level security to SMBs. This is a trend that's likely to grow, and to grow quickly, especially with big security providers gobbling up both smaller specialty service companies. If you don't have dedicated security staff, now might be prime time to get your security head in the clouds.

This one sounds like a no-brainer, but even a little brain-work will remind you that complete dependence upon the cloud -- whether for security services or anything else -- requires complete confidence in your business's ability not only to connect to the cloud but also to ensure that your connections are themselves secure. That's easier said than done, judging by ongoing concerns about security at the local business network level. So before moving to the cloud, a thorough, rigorous and absolutely aggressive review of your entire network security infrastructure -- and usage policies is a must.

If you build it, will they come to the cloud? Only if it's secure. Because security concerns always cause hesitation, cloud-based vendors of apps and services have addressed it constantly. And the security industry is itself getting involved, rolling out security certifications for cloud-based businesses. Check the security, reliability and reputation of cloud services before you commit portions of your business to them. In other words, make sure every cloud-based company you do business with protects its resources -- and yours -- with the full array of security tools, technologies and policies.

Secure connection to the cloud means constant, dependable and fast connections. All the security in the world isn't going to help you access the cloud if your connection is subject to frequent outages or slowdowns -- or if your bandwidth or capacity is limited by your IP, as with rural customers dependent upon satellite connections, for instance. Keep an eye on your ISP, your telecommunications provider and very other vendor whose availability -- or bandwidth pricing policies -- could have an effect on your cloud security or its cost. Be sure to have alternatives in place should your cloud connection go down, even briefly.

Continue to the complete article.

Apple's Magic Trackpad

Apple's Magic Trackpad

Here it is. Connect via bluetooth to your Mac desktop. It works kinda like an iPhone/iTouch screen. Cool! Here's the direct info on the Apple's store website.