Security Systems Software

Security Software Basics

Anti-Virus Software:
Install virus protection software. That means three things: having it on your computer in the first place, checking daily for new virus signature updates, and then actually scanning all the files on your computer periodically. Update your anti-virus software daily or weekly and schedule a regular scan. Make sure all family members know what to do if the home computer becomes infected.

Locate Anti-Virus Software - http://www.monitoring-software.net/

Install Firewall Software:
Firewalls act as a gatekeepers between your computer or network and the Internet. They are essential for those who keep their computers online through the popular DSL and cable modem connections, but they are also valuable for those who still dial in. Protect your computer from Internet intruders. Use firewalls. Firewalls are usually software product but can also be hardware solutions.

Passwords:
Choose passwords or Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) that are difficult for others to guess. Use both letters and numbers and a combination of lower- and upper-case letters if the passwords are case-sensitive. Use a different password for each of your Internet accounts.

Passwords should not be names, or words (from any language). Hackers who try to obtain passwords for accounts that don't belong to them (called crackers) use large dictionaries filled with these kinds of passwords. In order to protect yourself against these people, simply don't use common words!

Change these passwords frequently. Don't keep your password where someone can see it. If it can possibly be avoided, don't write it down at all. There are ways to create passwords that are both secure and easy to remember. Remember that your password unlocks your online identity. Don't leave yourself logged in when your machine is unattended. Everything that is done with your account can and will be attributed to you. It's best that you keep your password somewhat esoteric. Do not use the same password for different systems.

More on Passwords - http://www.password-software

Backups:
Back up your computer data on disks or CDs regularly. Retain the only copies of those files on removable media and store the media in a safe place. Use accessories such as rewriteable CD drives and zip disks for copies of your important files - they're easy to use and relatively cheap.

Alert:
Be alert for fraudulent (sometimes called "phishing") emails. They may appear to come from a reputable business or a trusted friend but are actually designed to trick you into downloading a virus to your computer or directing you to a Web site to disclose sensitive or personal information. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, educate all system users to be alert for phishing scams.

Practice Safe Computing:
Protect shared files and folders. Set the permissions on the share to "read-only." This means that no one will be able to copy, delete, modify, or rename your files. Set-up login accounts and file permissions, so only authorised users can access the system. Unix and Windows NT/2000 have these security functions built in. If you run Windows 95/98/Me, you can buy products to provide this protection.

Configure the access restrictions to individual files or folders, so other users can only access the files you want them to. Understand and use the security features provided by your PC software, such as those included in many operating systems, browsers and word processing systems. The safest option is to set your computer to ignore Java and ActiveX programming languages. Otherwise set your browser to ask you each time it is about to run Java and ActiveX code.

Depending on what you know about the site, you will at least have the choice to run it, or not. If information privacy is imperative you should also consider using a file- or disk-encryption system on the sensitive files.

About the Author:
Francesca Black develops educational material for http://www.security-port.com and http://www.security-protection.net a top resource for locating security related RSS feeds.

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Motricity To Power palmOne Software Connection

Relationship to enhance mobile content user experience for palmOne customers

Motricity, the premier provider of mobile content to consumers, today announced it will power palmOne, Inc.'s Software Connection storefront (http://software.palmone.com), providing palmOne customers with an enhanced user experience and broad content catalog for palmOne™ devices such as Treo™ smartphones and Tungsten™ and Zire™ handhelds.

palmOne's Software Connection is a leading eCommerce storefront where palmOne™ mobile device owners access additional value-added software and digital media titles to maximize their device experience. The storefront offers thousands of software and digital media titles from categories such as personal productivity, wireless e-mail solutions, interactive gaming, media and MP3 players, health, finance, travel, enterprise and more which customers can add to their device to create an individualized mobile experience.

"We selected Motricity because of its proven eCommerce and mCommerce expertise in marketing, merchandising and delivering an excellent mobile user experience. We value their commitment and depth of knowledge about each individual customer," said John Hartnett, senior vice president - Americas at palmOne, Inc. "Motricity's strength in delivering consumer-focused experiences through a solid, scalable platform will help enable palmOne to expand aggressively in mCommerce and mobile marketing."

Supporting all major device types, manufacturers and content types, Motricity's Fuel platform helps deliver the right content to the right mobile device at the right time. Using Motricity's Fuel platform, palmOne plans to more efficiently personalize, segment and target mobile content to its customers while providing a superior end-user experience.

* A more robust customer account feature which will enable users to create and view wish lists or watch lists for freeware and shareware software, review their purchase and free software trial history, manage gift certificates and customize their palmOne Software Connection profile.
* Enhanced recommendation tools that enable customers to shop related software titles such as, "Customers who bought this also bought..."
* Improved search and sort benefits to give customers faster and easier access to the software they need.
* A solution built on a carrier-grade platform to provide higher-level service availability.

"We are extremely honored to be palmOne's choice for powering its Software Connection and supporting its future mCommerce strategy. palmOne is a leader in developing innovative mobile devices such as Treo smartphones and Tungsten and Zire handhelds, and we are excited to deliver a full, robust experience to its customers through the software and accessories that create an individual's mobile lifestyle," said Ryan Wuerch, chairman and chief executive officer at Motricity. "By delivering exceptional eCommerce and mCommerce experiences to palmOne mobile customers, Motricity will be showcasing once again the strength of its Fuel platform and services."

This announcement underscores Motricity's leadership in the mobile content delivery market. Motricity now powers consumer storefronts for the three largest Palm OS® focused portals in the industry; palmOne; PalmSource, provider of the Palm OS platform; and PalmGear.com, the largest Palm OS based consumer site with more than 25,000 Palm OS downloadable software titles.

Motricity is the leader in turning ideas into reality by extending technology, innovative mobile solutions and services to leading carriers and enterprise customers globally. Motricity drives the delivery of personalized mobile data offerings which increase user adoption, data usage, ARPU and brand recognition through compelling end user experiences.

Motricity powers over $2B of mobile content revenues annually for 8 of the top 10 and billions of user impressions for carriers and many leading enterprise customers. With more than 300 custom mobile deployments, Motricity's expert team is behind some of the most innovative mobile content offerings over the last 12 years, serving as the "brand behind the brand" for customers such as AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Alltel, CNN, FOX News, A&E and Conde Nast.

Its long standing relationships with carriers, content providers and handset manufacturers put the company in a unique position at the center of the mobile ecosystem. Partners depend on the company's technological superiority, broad carrier relationships and ability to simplify complexity, which delivers quick time to implementation and cutting edge campaigns.

Products and services range from mobile portals and storefronts to messaging aggregation. Motricity is headquartered in Bellevue, WA and has offices in Durham, NC, the U.K., France and the Netherlands.

For more information, visit http://www.motricity.com »

palmOne, Tungsten, Zire and Treo are among the trademarks or registered trademarks owned by or licensed to palmOne, Inc. or its subsidiaries

Laurie Bowser-Sever
Motricity
(919) 287-7345 (office)
laurie.bowser-sever@motricity.com

Shawn Ramsey-Kroboth
SRK Communications on behalf of Motricity
(919) 621-0737
shawn@srkcommunications.com

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How's your software asset management?

For a long time, the perception has been that the technology CIOs have managed has been physical hardware. Servers, SANs, desktops, laptops, switches, access points - all of these devices can be easily seen, quantified and valued. Explaining the cost of hardware to other C-Level executives and boards has been easy because hardware is tangible.

Software is a different proposition. Back when I started my career in IT, the CIO showed me a CD for the forecasting module of our ERP solution and told me that he was holding $100,000 in his hand. The physical media and the value seemed incongruous. However, that software represented thousands of hours and years of experience of the developers. Any asset with that value needs to be effectively managed.

Clayton Noble is the Co-Chair of the Business Software Alliance. His main responsibility is with enforcement and policy for the software companies that are members of BSA. The BSA has a second co-chair who is responsible for education about piracy.

Piracy does cost software developers money. However, many are becoming more savvy when it comes to combatting the steady leak of money. There's a significant effort in place so that pirated code is removed from online sharing sites quickly. There are also efforts made to prevent illegally distributed programs ever being uploaded. Vendors are also getting smarter about how they sell their software so that purchasing is becoming easier than pirating. Noble said that "Across the BSA, members have a whole heap of different delivery mechanisms including downloads and Software as a Service and subscription models at different price points to meet the market how it wants to be met".

In Noble's view, the big issue for CIOs is the importance of Software Asset Management. "It's important because each of the members of the BSA and other companies rely on he organisations customers to remain compliant. By and large, software is licensed on a trust model where the code is handed over. We rely on organisations to retain control over the deployment of software. SAM is a key issue for organisations".

The BSA supplies tools to assist companies with SAM as well as tips and procedures.

The consequences for not maintaining compliance with software licensing can be quite substantial according to Noble with companies becoming potential liable for copyright infringement. However, that potential issue is only one of the substantial risks that businesses can face.

The BSA recommend a four-step approach to SAM. To start, the BSA suggests that appropriate policies and procedures are put in place. To assist with getting started, the BSA offers some sample documentation. This can cover situations where staff load personal software onto company assets. If that software isn't legal then the owner of the asset can be held responsible for the software under the Copyright Act.

Once the appropriate documentation is in place, an initial audit should be carried out. As well as detecting potential non-compliance, this audit can deliver a tangible benefit. "Often, companies don't know what licenses they've bight and end up double-purchasing and end up with a lot of shelf-ware that they're unaware of" according to Noble.

"A lot of BSA members offer free services where they'll pay for software asset management consultants to go in and asset the customer to determine what they've deployed and what they've licensed so they can get a snapshot of where they;re at so they can plan better and determine what licensing model is most cost effective and efficient" Noble said.

With the audit complete, the CIO is able to then understand what software they have that is legally licensed and what items there are for action. Illegally loaded software can be either removed or licenses can be purchased and a register of software, license keys and license numbers can be created and maintained.

The final step in the process is to move SAM form a project to a process and establish a schedule for regular software audits to ensure that non-compliance doesn't recur and that the business has the right software available for staff to do their jobs. 

Software is an asset that is of value to a company and needs to e managed with the same diligence as other, more tangible, assets. There are positive benefits with extraneous licenses not being purchased and the risk management benefit of avoiding non-compliance with the copyright law.

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