Articles by Jack M. Germain

Online advertising, like many novelties that play on the Internet, at first grabbed a great deal of attention from businesses. Online advertising was the new fad, and many people predicted it would overtake traditional advertising forms. Now that the newness of Internet advertising is wearing off, some early adopters argue that advertising on search engines such as Google and Yahoo is not working. They cite recent stories of click fraud and other problems with online advertising...

Scalix, a software company providing Linux-based e-mail, calendaring and messaging clients, is now offering a series of open source components based upon its products The company announced this week an open source project through which it is releasing the source code to several of its flagship offerings. The code disclosure follows a plan company o...

Lenovo announced this week that it is arming its ThinkPad notebooks with the ability to fully encrypt the hard drive to bolster security and reduce the risk of data theft Lenovo's latest technology move links fingerprint identity to the active directory. The fingerprint swipe recognizes 30 data points of identity to authorize access to the encrypte...

Several computer security companies are bolstering their efforts to remain viable players with enterprise computer users and consumers alike asMicrosoft loosens control over security access in its next-generation operating system, Vista Computer security firm McAfee announced on Monday a security risk management strategy for its customers using cur...

Internet users are under attack -- and what's more, there's no bulletproof defense against hackers on the horizon. Despite hype to the contrary from marketing departments at Microsoft, Apple andMozilla, Web browsers themselves -- not just the operating systems that run them -- are to blame for many security flaws Vulnerabilities are so embedded in ...

Biometric security providerUPEK announced onMonday a partnership with Internet security firmPay By Touch to bring an integrated biometric security service called "TrueMe" to online transactions UPEK makes a fingerprint reader that is preinstalled in some laptops and is also available on separate USB fingerprint sensors. When activated, laptop owner...

Autumn is here. That means the start of the holiday shopping season, the traditional time for electronics makers to introduce their new product lines. This buying season, consumers interested in one of the new high-definition DVD players being introduced over the next two months risk buying a player that may not be around very long. Remember the format war between the Betamax and VHS video tape machines in the late 1970s?...

Enterprise data security firmPGP on Wednesday began shipping its new NetShare product, as well as major upgrades to its encryption and e-mail security line of policy enforcement and key data management software PGP NetShare manages and shares encrypted network-based files. It allows enterprises to protect intellectual property in files commonly sha...

American corporations drawn to China's vast market of 1.3 billion people have to be prepared to jump through some regulatory hoops and adhere to a host of government censorship codes. Xinhua, China's state news agency, recently announced rules that require foreign media to get prior approval for the distribution of news, pictures and graphics within China. These rules prevent international financial information companies like Reuters and Bloomberg from selling their news services directly to Chinese banks, brokerages and other potential customers...

MX Logic released on Monday a new managed security product giving small to medium-sized businesses new options in fortifying their computers against spyware, spam and viruses These computer-intrusion threats top the list of SMB concerns, driving 2006 IT security spending for SMBs to more than US$10 billion. MX Logic is an e-mail and Web defense man...

Oracle released its 2007 first quarter fiscal results late Tuesday showing soaring corporate profits that reflect considerable market share gains in the business management software field, according to the company President and CFO Safra Catz said Oracle was in excellent fiscal shape and has exceeded all forecasts. "We delivered strong revenue gro...

EBay is an icon for online merchandising for both private sellers and small companies. However, industry watchers warn that user dissatisfaction over increased rates and its rules could give alternative auction Web sites more market share Rival auction sites are catering both to newcomers to online auctions and unhappy eBay customers, said Chris Fa...

New electronic privacy laws are forcing businesses to rethink how they handle their digital data. The retail industry is now regulated by new privacy laws aimed at reducing the growth of identity theft and consumer fraud Congress passed The Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, known as FACTA, in 2003. This law, which amended the Fair Credit R...

Information technology experts warn that lingering security issues are making Radio Frequency Identification, or RFID, another uncontrolled tool for identity theft. RFID is an old inventory control technology that is quietly being deployed throughout business and industry to track everything from pets to people and products. This technology is helping optimize inventory and business systems and is making consumers' lives more convenient...

Communication security experts do not all agree that cell phone and mobile device viruses pose imminent threats to U.S. consumers. Whether virus attacks become a problem in six months or five years might depend on how cell phone carriers react now to the threat potential A Gartner report by security analysts John Pescatore and John Girard released ...

The adoption earlier this month of a new e-mail security technology by e-commerce merchant Amazon.com, Internet service provider RoadRunner and Internet security firm IronPort Systems signals what industry watchers say might be the start of a trend that will harden e-mail from phishing and spamming attacks Amazon and RoadRunner are the first major ...

Identity theft from phishing and pharming attacks is one of the biggest problems computer users face. It can take ID theft victims four or five years to repair the damage, according to financial consultants "The most prevalent ID theft threat is the phishing attack, and it is getting worse. Attacks are larger and are more frequent," Peter Schlampp,...

Spam-fighting strategies used by ISPs and consumers might be turning the tide against unwanted e-mail. However, innovative phishing scams continue to target both corporate users and consumers Users of file-sharing networks are particularly vulnerable to attacks, a new industry analysis warns....

Widespread use of computer networks and the adoption of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) phone service are fueling the rapid growth of electronic learning beyond the classroom. The e-learning technology is improving the way for students to earn degrees and enhancing the way employers in-service their workers' job skills and reduce training costs...

Wireless Fidelity (WiFi) connections to the Internet provide business and personal users with near limitless computing convenience. However, unprotected wireless connections can be more damaging to corporate network security and user privacy than always-on cable connections without firewalls Security experts are warning wireless users about the lat...