4 July 2008 : Quiet before the storm?
Security vendor Symantec's July spam report suggests the spam scourge has levelled out, with around eight out of every 10 e-mails sent around the world falling into that category.
But Symantec regional director Patrick Evans says it may be the calm before the storm.
“Plateaus like this are always short-lived and we have a big sporting event that's about to come up, the Beijing Olympics. The one thing we saw at the time of the FIFA 2006 World Cup was a 40% increase in phishing attacks. I fully expect there to be plenty of phishing and spam activity around the Olympics.
“Spam has steadily increased as a percentile of e-mails sent. In the middle of last year, it was about 65% of global mail, climbing to 65% of mail in the second half of the year, before spiking to over 80% around Christmas. It briefly receded in January before returning and hugging the 80% median.”
Evans says SA is somewhat protected from spam by high broadband costs, meaning the local average for the last three months is between 55% and 65%. But the country and Internet users are by no means safe from the scourge, he adds.
“South African organisations are being targeted by spammers. We must be mindful of that. During a recent denial-of-service attack against a local organisation, they were receiving between one and two million messages an hour, versus the normal million e-mails a day. Ninety-seven percent of this was spam and 100% of those were infected either with a Trojan or a virus.
“The attack was very directed. It targeted that institution only. No-one else in the country was targeted at that time.” Evans says the attack meant to swamp the business' Microsoft Exchange server so it would let the infected spam through to end-users and contaminate their systems.
The lower South African spam average is partly the result of high broadband costs, Evans says, which has kept the number of local spammers in check – and partly the result of efforts by Internet service providers (ISPs) to fight the scourge.
“The ISPs are quite good at combating spam. The lower figure is a testament to the ISP community, who leads the battle; in a lot of cases they have risen to the challenge.”
June-08 : AVG Launch Free Antivirus Version 8
Basic antivirus and antispyware protection for Windows available to download for free. Limited features, no support, for private and non-commercial use only.
Anti-Virus
Protection against viruses, worms and trojans
Anti-Spyware
Protection against spyware, adware and identity-theft
Downloadable from : http://www.grisoft.cz/filedir/inst/avg_free_stf_all_8_100a1315.exe
March-08 : Microsoft to curb piracy in Vista update
Microsoft has submitted its Windows Vista successor, Windows 7, to the committee that oversees its US anti-trust compliance. This suggests the company may be moving into the second build of the operating system (OS).
According to the status report on the anti-trust case, the technical committee (TC) and Microsoft are discussing a “middleware issue”, which the TC has asked the software giant to include in Windows 7.
Microsoft plans to improve that one step farther still with changes built into Windows Vista Service Pack 1, the first major update to the operating system, which is due out in the first quarter of 2008.
The company plans to close a loophole that let pirates mimic activation used by some computer manufacturers to install Vista. Microsoft also will clamp down on a method of extending a "grace period" time between installation and activation.
According to trade group Business Software Alliance, about 35% of the world's consumer software is pirated. Windows, which sits on more than 90% of the world's computers, accounts for the bulk of those pirated copies.
Many software pirates sell illegally copied versions on auction sites and some small computer manufacturers install pirated versions of Vista on PCs sold to unknowing victims.
Microsoft said it would also change how it deals with pirated versions of Vista, whose users will now get recurring notifications that their version of software is fraudulent with a link to buy a genuine copy. Currently, Microsoft shuts down features in Vista when it finds a pirated copy.
If a user of pirated software wants to purchase a genuine copy of Windows from Microsoft, they can do so for $89 for the Home Basic version or $119 for the Home Premium version.
Reducing piracy is considered one major way for the $51 billion software maker to spur growth in its dominant software franchises. The company said improvements in reducing piracy helped to spur a 25% rise in Windows sales in the September quarter.
Microsoft declined to estimate the financial impact of its new measures. The company had sold 88 million Vista licences as of the end of September.
14-02-08 :- Following recent announcements by Government of a National Recovery Plan to tackle the energy emergency, Eskom today announced measures being taken to address the situation while at the same time called on all South Africans to get involved in establishing a national movement to harness the ingenuity and resolve of the nation.
At a press conference in Johannesburg today, Jacob Maroga, chief executive, Eskom said: “The unavoidable load shedding of January left South Africans with a sense of anger and frustration, which was completely justified. It is a time for leadership and accountability. Although the solution to this problem does not lie with Eskom alone, in fact, Eskom cannot build new power stations fast enough to meet South Africa’s demand, it is our duty to deliver to South Africans a plan that is workable and achievable. A plan that demonstrates Eskom’s commitment to providing security of supply, in partnership, with all our stakeholders. A plan that can form the basis of a national rallying cry or a movement in which each and every one of us plays a crucial role, for the sake of our nation’s future.
“We have been overwhelmed by the response from all quarters of South Africa. President Mbeki and his Cabinet have acted decisively on the matter, pronouncing a national emergency and mobilizing all relevant departments to assist. Our meeting with Ministers and top business leaders on the 29th of January was another success story with concrete actions following; our key industrial customers have come to the party with a 10% saving which has had a dramatic impact on the stability of supply in the last two weeks. I would like to applaud the key industrial customers for the positive approach they have taken on the issue, and I take cognizance of their comment that this is a problem that needs to be shared, it cannot be shouldered by some industries alone. The media, both print and broadcast have offered assistance in getting the message through and lastly, the people of South Africa have demonstrated the spirit of this nation - a spirit that says we shall overcome, a spirit of ingenuity which we applaud and encourage as we partner forward.”
“Our mandate is to re-establish Eskom’s ability to provide a secure supply of power, the plan has already started and will run until 2012, when our first base-load power station comes on line.”
The plan follows three phases: Phase 1 - Stabilisation Programme (immediate to end February) which specifically looks at restoring 4000MW to the system; Phase 2 - Power Rationing (March - July); and Phase 3 - Power Conservation Program and Supply Side Options (August 2008 - 2012), which requires 3000MW continuously for a period of 4 years.
Phase 1: Stabilisation Programme: For the immediate restoration of the system security, 4000MW is required until the end of February: 1000MW from the improvement in coal delivery and associated problems; 1800MW in load reduction by municipality customers; and 1200MW or 10% in load reduction by industrial customers.
Says Maroga: “Since the 4 February, we have not had to load shed, in large part due to the relief provided by the key industrial customers through their 10% reduction in load and the generation improvements. The impact has been immediate and demonstrates just how effective energy saving can be. In January, losses were unusually high (2000MW-4000MW); plant performance deteriorated and unplanned outages were unusually higher than normal (2000MW-3000MW), resulting in a continuous 4000MW deficit in meeting supply and demand. If we could get the residential, commercial and agricultural customers to reduce consumption by 10% or 1800MW, we would be close to our 4000MW target, without having to load shed.”
Phase 2: Power Rationing: during the power rationing phase, and having restored coal supply, the focus falls on the long-term recovery of the power system. During this period, 3000MW is required from load reduction (1800MW from municipal customers and 1200MW from industrial customers), so power rationing would be a continuation of the 10% voluntary curtailment.
Says Maroga: “It is important to note that power rationing is a positive step towards providing consumers and businesses with a measure of predictability. If we are able to maintain the load reduction , the reserve margin increases to the required 15% and our maintenance can be done to ensure reliability of supply.
Phase 3: Power Conservation: During this phase and for a period of 4 years the 3000MW sustained reduction enables growth and ensures adequate operational reserves for the power system security.
05-02-08 :- The industry is reeling today with the News that Light Edge Technologies, one of the Largest National IT suppliers have been forced into provisional liquidation by an up-stream supplier. This leaves hundreds of there staff without work, and thousands of Dealers scrambling, to find new Supply Chains. The industry was aghast at this news which broke late on the 4th, and many are blaming the recent introduction of the BEE partner for the sudden demise in this 14 Year Old mainstay IT Company.
