The Association for Financial Professionals (AFP) and VCampus Corporation have collaborated to create online continuing education courses designed to support the recertification requirements of the Certified Treasury Professional (CTP) or its predecessor, the Certified Cash Manager (CCM) credential.

The new course, “Technology Innovations to Enhance Cash,” is the first in a series of online courses. The online curriculum, being developed with content from AFP’s Annual Conference sessions and created by leading financial and treasury industry experts, will support the more than 16,000 individuals who have earned either the CTP or CCM credential. Technology Innovations to Enhance Cash will provide two continuing education credits toward the 36 credits a CTP or active CCM must earn during the three-year recertification cycle. The course is available to individuals for $75 through the AFP Online Continuing Education Center (www.vcampus.com/afp).

3Com Email Firewall Powered by BorderWare

OnLine Distribution has announced the availability of the new 3Com Email Firewall powered by BorderWare. The firewall scans all inbound messages for spam, viruses, inappropriate content and attachments, providing a proven layer of protection for business-critical e-mail. The 3Com Email Firewall also stops existing and emerging threats from entering a network through e-mail.

“Spam is more than a nuisance, it has hidden costs in lost productivity and can be the source of more sinister attacks,” said K. Ganesan, OnLine’s divisional director. “E-mail servers, such as Microsoft Exchange and Lotus Notes, are under constant attack from viruses, Trojan horses, malformed messages and blended threats designed to shut down business operations. Perimeter firewalls do nothing to protect mail servers from attack. The new 3Com Email Firewall is specifically designed to secure SMTP e-mail servers from e-mail-borne attacks.”

The new 3Com Email Firewall easily integrates into an existing network. Installation takes less than 30 minutes. Using the web-based interface, administrators can securely monitor, manage and maintain their organization’s entire e-mail infrastructure. The 3Com Email Firewall appliance has a list price of $1,200.

Batelco and McDonald’s Put WiFi on the Menu

Batelco and McDonald’s have teamed up to provide WiFi service to patrons of the restaurant chain. McDonald’s customers who have laptops or PDAs will be able to access wireless high speed Internet connections in McDonald’s Saar, Sakhir and Bab-El-Bahrain branches.

“Batelco is investing 21 million Bahraini dinars in a three-to-five year ‘Broadband Bahrain’ program with the aim of providing faster, more affordable Internet access for both individuals and businesses in the Kingdom of Bahrain,” said Ian Dench, GM, Batelco, Sales and Marketing. “The WiFi service is offered as a prepaid scheme whereby an end-user can purchase WiFi cards and simply use them as and when needed within the WiFi zones.”

The company has plans to continue to activate WiFi hotspots in a host of locations throughout Bahrain, including cafes, restaurants, malls and hotels, in addition to the airport.

HP to Present Live Webcast of Stockholder Meeting

HP plans a live audio webcast of its 2005 Stockholder Meeting. Patricia Dunn, non-executive chairman of the board of directors at HP, and Bob Wayman, HP chief executive officer and chief financial officer, will speak. The webcast will begin on Wednesday, March 16 at 3 p.m. EST. To tune in click to www.hp.com/go/stockholders.

SanDisk Brings Out Cruzer Profile With Fingerprint ID

SanDisk has introduced the Cruzer Profile, a compact portable, hi-speed USB 2.0 flash memory storage drive with added personal security capability. Fingerprint identification technology embedded in the device helps restrict access to only the designated user(s) of the Cruzer Profile.

The Cruzer Profile will be sold in 512MB and 1GB capacities, and includes dual LED’s. One LED indicates USB functionality and data transfer and the second one provides proper status during enrollment and authentication of the biometric fingerprint. Usage of the Cruzer Profile will not require the loading of any applications onto a computer. Fingerprint images will be stored on the Cruzer Profile. The Cruzer Profile will also provide a portable password manager, which will work on any host PC. The 512MB Cruzer Profile will retail at $99.99 while the 1GB model will be priced at $199.99.