Microsoft reduces price of Vista

Microsoft has announced a price revision for its Windows Vista operating system. In Asia, Malaysia is the only market to enjoy the adjusted pricing offered thru local IT partners, and is one of the only two countries in the world to adopt this strategy. Depending on the editions of the Windows Vista, price adjustments range from 10 to almost 50 percent.

This is reflected in its OEM licensing offering, a move which presents the easiest and most attractively-priced option for purchasing Windows Vista preinstalled in a PC, as well as its stand-alone retail packs. According to Mr. KT Ng, Director, Client Business Group, Business Marketing Organization, the strategy will also increases the product's relevance to the mainstream IT industry in view of the dropping prices of computer hardware and peripherals. As a result, the overall package is now more affordable to consumers, in addition to increasing user confidence in its genuine products.

Microsoft firmly believes that the increased affordability of Windows Vista Home Premium will enhance digital empowerment to a wider cross-section of Malaysian consumers and users and allow more to experience the rich features of a digital lifestyle. It will also ensure consumers and users' computer are well protected from security attacks.

Malaysia 2nd highest in malicious web activities

The latest Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR), Volume XIII (ISTR XIII), released today by Symantec reveals that Malaysia is the country with the second highest number of malicious activities in Southeast Asia behind Thailand. The report covers the six-month period from July 1 through December 31, 2007.

Kuala Lumpur is top on the list of Asia Pacific/ Japan (APJ) cities with the highest number of bot-infected computers. This is a stark contrast to the previous ISTR (January 1 – June 30, 2007), where it came in seventh on the list.In addition, Malaysia has also been identified as the country in SEA with the highest bot-infected computers. Short for “robots”, bots are covertly installed on a computer to allow hackers to remotely control the machine for a wide variety of malicious purposes such as data leakage and information and identity theft.

Kannan Velayutham, Consultant for Enterprise Security, Malaysia, Symantec cited the rapid growth of broadband penetration in Malaysia as a possible contributing factor to the rise in malicious activities because new broadband users may not be aware of the additional security precautions required when accessing an always-on high-speed Internet. This is an area to watch-out for as broadband penetration is expected to continue in its upward trend in Malaysia.

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According to Kannan, “Malaysia has become a prime target for cybercriminals to launch malicious attacks in SEA. While there has been an overall decrease in bot-related activities across the APJ region from the previous ISTR, January to June 2007, Malaysia registered the highest rate of bot-infected computers in SEA. Bot-infected computers are a real concern for online users because their personal information can be easily leaked out, and compromised computers can be used as a launch base for other attacks.”

On the global front, the Web has been identified as the primary conduit of attack activity, as opposed to network attacks, and that online users can increasingly be infected simply by visiting everyday Web sites. The report is derived from data collected by millions of Internet sensors, first-hand research and active monitoring of hacker communications and provides a global view of the state of Internet security.

In the past, users had to visit intentionally malicious sites or click on malicious email attachments to become a victim of a security threat. Today, hackers are compromising legitimate Web sites and using them as a distribution medium to attack home and enterprise computers. Symantec noticed that attackers are particularly targeting sites that are likely to be trusted by end users, such as social networking sites.

"Avoiding the dark alleys of the Internet was sufficient advice in years past," said Ong Kah Wooi, Technical Consultant Manager, Pre-sales, Malaysia, Symantec. "Today's criminal is focused on compromising legitimate Web sites to launch attacks on end-users, which underscores the importance of maintaining a strong security posture no matter where you go and what you do on the Internet."

Attackers are leveraging site-specific vulnerabilities that can then be used as a means for launching other attacks. During the last six months of 2007, there were 11,253 site specific cross-site scripting vulnerabilities reported on the Internet; these represent vulnerabilities in individual Web sites. However, only 473 (about 4 percent) of them had been patched by the administrator of the affected Web site during the same period, representing an enormous window of opportunity for hackers looking to launch attacks.

Phishing also continues to be a problem. In the last six months of 2007, Symantec observed 87,963 phishing hosts - computers that can host one or more phishing Web sites. This is an increase of 167 percent from the first half of 2007. Eighty percent of brands targeted by phishing attacks during the study period were in the financial sector. Malaysia registered the second highest number of phishing sites among SEA countries, with social networking sites as the main target.

The report also found that attackers are seeking confidential end-user information that can be fraudulently used for financial gain and are less focused on the computer or device containing the information. In the last six months of 2007, 68 percent of the most prevalent malicious threats reported to Symantec attempt to compromise confidential information.

Finally, attackers are leveraging a maturing underground economy to buy, sell and trade stolen information. This economy is now characterized by a number of traits common in traditional economies. For example, market forces of supply and demand have a direct impact on pricing. Credit card information, which has become plentiful in this environment, accounted for 13 percent of all advertised goods-down from 22 percent in the previous period and sold for as low as $0.40.

The price of a credit card in this underground market is determined by factors such as the location of the issuing bank. Credit cards from the European Union, for example, cost more than those from the United States; this is most likely due to the smaller supply of cards circulating in the E.U which makes the card more valuable to a criminal. Bank account credentials have become the most frequently advertised item making up 22 percent of all goods and selling for as little as $10.

Google search on Nokias

Nokia has announced that Google's popular search engine will be integrated with the Nokia Search application. The integration will begin in select markets with the Nokia N96, Nokia N78, Nokia 6210 Navigator and Nokia 6220 classic. Google search will be extended to additional Nokia handset models in the future. Ultimately, Nokia will make Google search available to its customers in over 100 countries around the world, serving mobile owners speaking more than 40 languages.

Nokia Search, now with Google, offers fast and easy access to web information from the handset. In addition, Nokia Search also makes it possible for users to search content on their device and use local search engines for a complete search experience. Nokia Search is available on many devices and provides direct access with one click from the active standby screen, saving users time and steps in their searching. Once users have found the information they are seeking, Nokia Search enables users to act on that information by engaging device assets such as maps, messaging or the browser with just one click.

"Adding Google to Nokia Search provides mobile users with fast, relevant and comprehensive search experience that will be familiar to the people who use Google to search the web from their desktop," said Google's VP of Engineering and Products for Mobile Vic Gundotra. "Google search combined with the high quality applications on Nokia devices help make information available to Nokia device users wherever they are and provide an excellent overall experience."

Intel unveils second-generation Intel-powered classmate PC

Intel Corporation unveiled a new design of the Intel-powered classmate PC today at the Intel Developer Forum in Shanghai. As announced in a keynote by Andrew Chien, Intel vice president, Corporate Technology Group and director of Intel Research, the second-generation Intel-powered classmate PC is an affordable, fully functional, rugged Internet-centric computer platform. These simple-to-use PCs have wireless capability, longer battery life, water resistant keyboards and are more shock resistant if dropped. Intel is calling this category of PCs "netbooks"

The Intel designed computer offers different choices to manufacturers so each can tailor laptop models for a variety of education needs. The new classmate PC blueprint is the latest innovation and educational tool for parents and teachers to use technology, computers and Internet access to better educate students around the world.

"Only 5 percent of the world's children today have access to a PC or to the Internet," Chien said. "Education is one of the best examples of how technology improves our lives. We have seen how technology helps teachers create fun learning experiences more efficiently. We have also been touched by children's excitement when they are inspired by technology. The Intel-powered classmate PC is one of the ways we support the IT industry in spreading the benefits of technology in education for children around the world."