SunGard Acquires System Access
SunGard’s offer to acquire System Access Limited, a provider of universal banking software solutions for financial institutions worldwide, has become unconditional in all respects. SunGard has received acceptances for approximately 99.54 percent of System Access’ shares. System Access will expand SunGard’s portfolio of product offerings into the core banking space.
“Core banking solutions are at the heart of information technology requirements of commercial banks,” said John Wilson, president of SunGard’s Asia-Pacific business. “The System Access acquisition will help SunGard deepen its relationship with banks in Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and Asia Pacific.”
Register Your Laptop Before US Travel
StealitBack.com, a special service offered by online police auction site PropertyRoom.com, advises anyone bringing valuables, such as laptops or cell phones, to the US to register them at the site. StealitBack.com maintains a nationwide registry of lost or stolen goods. Properly documenting valuable goods is a necessary step to recovering them.
Should an item get lost or stolen in the US, it may wind up in one of the hundreds of police property rooms that StealitBack and its affiliate site, PropertyRoom.com, conduct auctions for. StealitBack checks all property it receives against the serial numbers in its database, and returns items when legitimate claims are made — all free of charge.
Items can be returned through several avenues. However, proper documentation of an item is imperative in the return process. In order for StealitBack to return an item, a user must register the items’ serial number, produce proof of having the item in their possession or show proof of having purchased the item.
Microsoft to Intensify Anti-Piracy Effort
To fight against software piracy, Microsoft has introduced a set of technologies that will be included in Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn.” The company claims that the technologies are aimed at helping prevent piracy and to protect customers from software tampering while making licensing of its products easier to manage.
According to Cori Hartje, director, Microsoft Genuine Software Initiative, the technologies, collectively termed the Microsoft Software Protection Platform, will introduce improvements in how Microsoft software activates, is validated online and behaves when tampering or hacking is detected. The upcoming releases of Windows Vista and Windows Server “Longhorn” — code name for the next generation of Microsoft’s server software — will be the first two products to ship with the new technologies included, but eventually more Microsoft products will adopt the technologies.
“One of the things the Software Protection Platform enables is enhancements to the genuine experience in Windows Vista, thereby differentiating it from the non-genuine experience. Customers that use genuine Windows Vista product should expect, and will get, an enhanced set of features that will not work on non-genuine or unlicensed versions of Windows Vista,” Hartje said. “Customers using genuine and licensed copies of Windows Vista will have access to Windows Aero and Windows ReadyBoost features, as well as full functionality of Windows Defender and extra optional updates from Windows Update. Computer systems that do not pass validation will not have access to these features, although they will still have access to critical security updates. In addition, users of non-genuine Windows Vista software will be notified if their copy of Windows Vista is determined to be non-genuine with the appearance of a persistent statement in the lower right hand corner of their desktop space that reads, ‘This copy of Windows is not genuine.’”
Hartje went on to explain that another change with Windows Vista has to do with the activation process. “As with Windows XP, Windows Vista systems must activate with Microsoft with a genuine product key within 30 days,” she said. “Failure to do so will result in the system operating in reduced functionality mode until a genuine product key is used to activate and a successful validation occurs.”
However, Microsoft is not yet willing to play the its final card in the anti-piracy fight. Hartje stated that even though Microsoft will know that an operating system is not genuine, “Microsoft anti-piracy technologies cannot and will not turn off your computer.”
Wireless Net Access Usage and Security
AnchorFree, the world’s largest free WiFi network and community, consisting of more than 10,000 wireless hotspots in over 2,400 cities across the US and worldwide, released first-of-its-kind survey results about wireless Internet access usage and security.
According to the study, conducted by Harris Interactive, half (51 percent) of US adults have connected to the Internet wirelessly and 63 percent of these adults have connected via a free public hotspot. Of the 63 percent, nearly half (46 percent) believed the connection was only somewhat secure. Yet, despite this perceived lack of security, few free public hotspot users expressed concern about their online privacy when using such connections: Only 26 percent of those respondents were either concerned or very concerned. Half (52 percent) were only somewhat concerned, and one in five (22 percent) were not at all concerned.
“Consumers are only vaguely aware of the mammoth security issues surrounding public Wi-Fi hotspots,” said David Gorodyansky, president, AnchorFree. “Consumers are ‘sitting ducks’ while using public hotspots, as hackers can easily ‘hijack’ the network and spy on unsuspecting web surfers, stealing their identity information.”
AnchorFree is committed to spreading the word that free Wi-Fi is accessible around the world, but cautions consumers to protect themselves when they log-on to the Internet using public locations. AnchorFree offers a free security Hotspot Shield download that creates a secure Internet session via a virtual private network (VPN) at any public hotspot — for both Mac and PC users alike. Download the free Hotspot Shield software from www.anchorfree.com.