Big Hero 6 | New Technology from the Film - YouTube

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Big Hero 6 | New Technology from the Film - YouTube

Big Hero 6 | Producer Roy Conli on the Creativity of Technology - YouTube

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Big Hero 6 | Producer Roy Conli on the Creativity of Technology - YouTube

Lenovo Acquires Stoneware to Expand Secure Cloud Computing

Press release:

Lenovo Acquires Stoneware to Expand Secure Cloud Computing

Lenovo grows its technology portfolio and advances its PC Plus strategy

Stoneware brings substantial experience and expertise in secure cloud computing

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. and Carmel, IN, September 18, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced the acquisition of Stoneware Inc., to enhance and expand its cloud computing solutions, a key component of Lenovo’s product portfolio. Stoneware has built a strong, profitable, and growing business by delivering innovative software technologies, which are helping people and organizations make the complex environment of cloud computing that much simpler.

 

As a result of this acquisition, Lenovo will add significant new technologies and accelerate its capabilities for both commercial and consumer cloud offerings, particularly the ability to provide secure content across multiple devices in education and government.
 

Lenovo’s product portfolio will benefit from the experience and expertise of the Stoneware team. Stoneware already has several strong, highly innovative cloud products – including webNetwork and LanSchool – that serve millions of users primarily in education and the public sector. Lenovo will help extend the reach of these products as well as new offerings through its global reach as the world’s second largest PC maker and number one commercial laptop company. Lenovo will also help develop the opportunity to extend this technology, beyond the current strongholds that Stoneware has in government and in education, into more consumer-focused offerings over time.
 

“Adding Stoneware cloud computing into the Lenovo line up presents a significant opportunity to leverage their success, and enhance our PC Plus offerings, all to the benefit of our customers,“ said Peter Hortensius, senior vice president, and president, Product Group, Lenovo. “We have a history of innovation and embracing new technologies, and the talented team at Stoneware will fit in perfectly with our long-term strategy.
 

With today’s typical technology user carrying multiple devices, the PC Plus era is here, and Lenovo is aggressively expanding its product offerings and capabilities to help people and businesses connect across any device to the content and communities that matter most to them. Customers simply want a better way to connect their PC with their tablet with their smartphone, and with Stoneware, Lenovo aims to help them get there.
 

The purchase of Stoneware is critical to Lenovo’s broader PC Plus strategy. As a recognized leader in PCs, with the momentum of an expanding tablet and smartphone business and a newly formed joint venture with EMC, Lenovo aims to offer end-to-end secure solutions to business customers and compelling cloud-based technology to consumers.
 

“We are pleased to be joining forces with Lenovo”, said Rick German, CEO, Stoneware. “Lenovo is one of the largest and fastest growing technology companies in the world and for Stoneware, a small company with roots in the heartland of the United States, we are delighted to be given the opportunity to deliver real benefit to customers on a global stage.”
 

While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition is not material to Lenovo’s earnings. Stoneware has 67 employees, located in either Indiana or Salt Lake City, Utah. As part of this agreement, it is expected that all U.S.-based Stoneware employees will join Lenovo, and that there will be no job losses as a result of today’s announcement.
 

The acquisition is expected to be completed by the end of 2012 and in the coming weeks the Stoneware team will be fully integrated into Lenovo. The Stoneware team will remain in Indiana and Utah and will continue to sell both webNetwork and LanSchool while serving customers and partners with the same level of dedication and excellence.
 

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company and the world’s second largest PC company, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com.

Press release:

iPhone 5 Pre-Orders Top Two Million in First 24 Hours

CUPERTINO, California—September 17, 2012—Apple® today announced pre-orders of its iPhone® 5 topped two million in just 24 hours, more than double the previous record of one million held by iPhone 4S. Demand for iPhone 5 exceeds the initial supply and while the majority of pre-orders will be delivered to customers on September 21, many are scheduled to be delivered in October. iPhone 5 is the thinnest and lightest iPhone ever, completely redesigned to feature a stunning new 4-inch Retina™ display; an Apple-designed A6 chip for blazing fast performance; and ultrafast wireless technology*—all while delivering even better battery life.**

“iPhone 5 pre-orders have shattered the previous record held by iPhone 4S and the customer response to iPhone 5 has been phenomenal,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “iPhone 5 is the best iPhone yet, the most beautiful product we’ve ever made, and we hope customers love it as much as we do.”

iPhone 5 comes with iOS 6, the world’s most advanced mobile operating system with over 200 new user features including: an all new Maps app with Apple-designed cartography, turn-by-turn navigation and an amazing new Flyover™ view; Facebook integration for Contacts and Calendar, with the ability to post directly from Notification Center; Passbook®, the simplest way to get all your passes in one place; new Siri® features, including support for more languages, easy access to sports scores, restaurant recommendations and movie listings;*** Siri and Facebook-enabled apps like Photos, Safari® and Maps; and Shared Photo Streams via iCloud®.

Pricing & Availability
iPhone 5 will be available at 356 Apple retail stores in the US beginning at 8 a.m. local time on Friday, September 21. Every customer who buys an iPhone 5 at an Apple retail store will be offered free Personal Setup service, helping them customize their iPhone 5 by setting up email, showing them new apps from the App Store and more, so they’ll be up and running with their new iPhone before they leave the store.

iPhone 5 comes in either white & silver or black & slate, and will be available in the US for a suggested retail price of $199 (US) for the 16GB model and $299 (US) for the 32GB model and $399 (US) for the 64GB model. iPhone 5 will be available from the Apple Online Store (www.apple.com), Apple’s retail stores, and through AT&T, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, select Best Buy, RadioShack, Target and Walmart stores and select Apple Authorized Resellers. iPhone 4S will also be available for just $99 (US) and iPhone 4 will be available for free with a two-year contract.****

iPhone 5 will roll out worldwide to 22 more countries on September 28, including Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.

* LTE is available through select carriers. Network speeds are dependent on carrier networks, check with your carrier for details.
** Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.
*** Not all features are supported in all countries.
**** Availability varies by carrier.

Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple has reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad.

Lenovo Announces Smarter, Slimmer Android Tablets at IFA

Press release from Lenovo:

Lenovo Announces Smarter, Slimmer Android Tablets at IFA

 Latest Tablets Offer Optimized Multimedia Experiences at Attractive Price Points

IFA 2012, Berlin– August 30, 2012: Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) today announced that it has expanded its Ideatab® product line with the Ideatab S2110, A2107, and A2109. Powered by the Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) operating system, the new product lineup provides smarter, slimmer tablet designs with a variety of multimedia options at attractive price points.   

 

“The newest line of Ideatab products provides an option for everyone who wants to keep all of their favorite books, songs and movies at their fingertips, no matter where they go,” said Liu Jun, senior vice president, and president, Mobile Internet and Digital Home business.  “Whether consumers crave a pocket tablet with 3G connectivity or seek a premium entertainment tablet for games and graphics, Lenovo has it, and at every price point.” 

  

Ideatab S2110

The Ideatab S2110 is a premium entertainment tablet with an optional detachable keyboard dock to provide a true PC+ experience that moves easily between the tablet and PC worlds. At just 8.69mm and only 580g, it is one of the thinnest and lightest 10-inch tablets available today. The tablet’s IPS (In-Plane Switching) screen with 178-degree viewing angle and unique 10-point multi-touch display is ideal for two-player gaming, and a Micro-HDMI port enables full HD viewing of 1080p on an HDTV. When attached the to the keyboard dock, the S2110 delivers double battery life for up to 20 hours of activity, as well as an SD card reader and USB ports to connect a thumb drive, external hard drive or mouse. The S2110 is also equipped with a 5Mp, auto-focusing rear-facing camera and an LED flash, in addition to a 1.3Mp front-facing camera, 1GB memory, WiFi connectivity, and a textured back cover that provides a more comfortable grip.

 

Ideatab A2107, A2109

The Ideatab A2107 and A2109 are affordable tablets that offer essential entertainment, social media, and productivity capabilities—all protected by the same metal alloy roll cage inspired by Lenovo ThinkPad products.

 

At seven inches—the same size as a standard book page—the A2107 display is designed for on-the-go reading, Web browsing and email. The A2107 also provides hassle-free entertainment with two speakers, a micro-SD card, Bluetooth 4.0, a built-in FM radio, 720p HD resolution, and up to ten hours of active use. In addition to a WiFi model, a 3G version gives users anytime, anywhere information access and fast A-GPS capability.

 

With a powerful quad-core NVIDIA Tegra 3 CPU and graphics card, the A2109 is an optimized entertainment tablet that features a 9-inch, four-point capacitive display with 1280x800 resolution, 1080p output via the tablet’s Micro-HDMI port, and two speakers with SRS TruMedia audio enhancement. At just 570g with a sleek metal shell backing, the A2109 also includes 1.3 megapixel front and 3 megapixel rear-facing cameras, dual microphones, GPS, a Micro USB port, and up to 16GB of storage with MicroSD card support up to 32GB.

 

Pricing and Availability¹

The Lenovo Ideatab A2109 and S2110 are available now with prices starting at $299 and $399 respectively. The A2107 will be available later in 2012. All products will be available through Lenovo sales representatives and business partners in the US.

 

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter andFacebook.

 

About Lenovo

Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company – and the second largest PC company in the world, serving customers in more than 160 countries. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the Company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina.  For more information, see www.lenovo.com.

 

###

 

¹Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

Lenovo Ushers in New Affordable, Thin and Light S Series Laptops

Press release from Lenovo:

Lenovo Ushers in New Affordable, Thin and Light S Series Laptops

 Full-featured laptops tout ultraportable design withmainstream performance and price

IFA 2012, Berlin – August 30, 2012: Today at the IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin, Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) announced the expansion its ultraportable IdeaPad® product line with the IdeaPad S300, S400, and S405 laptops. These affordable thin and light laptops strike a balance between portability and performance for consumers who want more computing power than a netbook and longer battery life than a traditional laptop, without the premium price of an Ultrabook™.

Measuring just 21.9mm thin (less than one inch) and weighing 1.8kg (less than four lbs), the S Series features a sleek exterior design with a stylish metallic finish powered by either 3rd generation Intel® Core™ or AMD A-Series processors. The S Series laptops combine comfort, simplicity and responsiveness to give consumers an inexpensive PC with quality construction and solid performance.

“As a global leader in the PC market, Lenovo’s success rests on our ability to deliver consumer-centric innovations in products that deliver a blend of mobility, performance and price,” said Bai Peng, vice president and general manager, IdeaPad Business Unit, Lenovo. “Customers don’t just want a functional product, though; they also want one that speaks to their sense of style and individuality. The new Lenovo IdeaPad S Series laptops give everyday consumers exactly what they need by matching small size and light weight with the power needed for everything from Web browsing to productivity tasks, all in an affordable package.”  

Powerful and intelligent

Equipped with the latest technology, the Lenovo IdeaPad S300 and S400 laptops are available with Intel’s 3rd generation Core™ i3 or i5 processors, while the IdeaPad S405 is packed with up to AMD A8 quad core processors. Up to 500GB hard disk storage capacity (up to 1TB HDD in the S405) offers plenty of space to store music, movies and documents, and an optional 32GB solid state drive on the S400 and S405 can help speed boot time and application responsiveness. In addition, intelligent energy management features not only increase time spent between charges—up to 5 hours—but also protect the long-term durability of the battery.

All of the new S Series laptops offer Microsoft Windows 7 Home Professional and will be eligible for the Microsoft Windows 8 upgrade program. Designed for Windows 8, the updated S Series’ intelligent touchpad gives users a more controlled experience when scrolling and zooming, while the AccuType keyboard with individual rounded keys provides a platform for comfortable and accurate typing.

Users can also take advantage of innovative ease-of-use features such as Lenovo Quick Start “instant on” functionality to get online in seconds. Even data protection is made easy with Lenovo’s OneKey™ Rescue System, which offers an amazingly simple and quick way to back up and restore data, recover corrupted system files and run a complete virus scan.

Slim and stylish multimedia companion

Less than an inch at their thickest point and weighing under four pounds, Lenovo’s new consumer laptops feature a contemporary design with a tactile metallic finish available in a variety of colors including, crimson red, silver grey and cotton-candy pink. With up to a 14-inch HD widescreen display, HDMI output, stereo speakers and Dolby® Advanced Audio™ v2 certification, the new S Series laptops offer premium features for immersive entertainment and multimedia activities. 

Pricing and Availability¹

The Lenovo IdeaPad S300, S400, and S405 will be available starting today through Lenovo sales representatives and business partners in the US starting at $499.  

For the latest Lenovo news, subscribe to Lenovo RSS feeds or follow Lenovo on Twitter , Facebook andYoutube.

About Lenovo
Lenovo (HKSE: 992) (ADR: LNVGY) is a $US30 billion personal technology company serving customers in more than 160 countries, and the world’s second-largest PC vendor. Dedicated to building exceptionally engineered PCs and mobile internet devices, Lenovo’s business is built on product innovation, a highly-efficient global supply chain and strong strategic execution. Formed by Lenovo Group’s acquisition of the former IBM Personal Computing Division, the company develops, manufactures and markets reliable, high-quality, secure and easy-to-use technology products and services. Its product lines include legendary Think-branded commercial PCs and Idea-branded consumer PCs, as well as servers, workstations, and a family of mobile internet devices, including tablets and smart phones. Lenovo has major research centers in Yamato, Japan; Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, China; and Raleigh, North Carolina. For more information, see www.lenovo.com

.

¹Prices do not include tax or shipping and are subject to change without notice and is tied to specific terms and conditions. Reseller prices may vary. Price does not include all advertised features. All offers subject to availability. Lenovo reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice.

# # #

Saudi Oil Producer’s Computers Restored After Cyberattack

The following is an excerpt from an article in 

The New York Times
Monday, August 27, 2012

Saudi Oil Producer’s Computers Restored After Cyberattack

By REUTERS DUBAI (Reuters) — Saudi Aramco, the world’s biggest oil producer, has resumed operating its main internal computer networks after a virus infected about 30,000 of its workstations earlier this month, the company said Sunday.

Immediately after the Aug. 15 attack, the company announced it had cut off its electronic systems from outside access to prevent further attacks.

On Sunday, Saudi Aramco said the workstations had been cleansed of the virus and restored to service. Oil exploration and production were not affected because they operate on isolated systems, it said.

“We would like to emphasize and assure our stakeholders, customers and partners that our core businesses of oil and gas exploration, production and distribution from the wellhead to the distribution network were unaffected and are functioning as reliably as ever,” Saudi Aramco’s chief executive, Khalid al-Falih, said in a statement.

However, one of Saudi Aramco’s Web sites taken offline after the attack — www.aramco.com — remained down on Sunday. E-mails sent by Reuters to people within the company continued to bounce back.

The company said that the virus “originated from external sources,” and that an investigation into the causes of the incident and those responsible was continuing. It did not elaborate.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.

Computer Science for Non-Majors Takes Many Forms

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Sunday, April 01, 2012

Computer Science for Non-Majors Takes Many Forms

By RANDALL STROSS

READING, writing and — refactoring code?

Many professors of computer science say college graduates in every major should understand software fundamentals. They don’t argue that everyone needs to be a skilled programmer. Rather, they seek to teach “computational thinking” — the general concepts programming languages employ.

In 2006, Jeannette M. Wing, head of the computer science department at Carnegie Mellon University, wrote a manifesto arguing that basic literacy should be redefined to include understanding of computer processes. “Computational thinking is a fundamental skill for everyone, not just for computer scientists,” she wrote. “To reading, writing and arithmetic, we should add computational thinking to every child’s analytical ability.”

There is little agreement within the field, however, about what exactly are the core elements of computational thinking. Nor is there agreement about how much programming students must do, if any, in order to understand it.

Most important, the need for teaching computational thinking to all students remains vague.

At the college level, computer science courses intended for non-majors run a gamut. In some classes, students start coding right away with a mainstream language. Others exclude programming and examine social and ethical issues related to computer use.

At Carnegie Mellon, students who are not computer science majors are invited to try “Principles of Computation.” It starts with a history of computation, but in Week 2, students start learning the programming language Ruby. Then the course covers iteration, recursion, random number generators and other topics.

Tom Cortina, who teaches the course, says that some students perceive the programming as challenging, especially those who aren’t majoring in a field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics and are not accustomed to “the preciseness required.”

Chinese Company and Employee Deny Any Involvement in Hacking Attacks

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Saturday, March 31, 2012

Chinese Company and Employee Deny Any Involvement in Hacking Attacks

By DAVID BARBOZA

SHANGHAI — Tencent, a Chinese Internet company, denied on Friday that one of its employees had been involved in a recent breach of computers belonging to Japanese and Indian companies, as well as Tibetan activists.

The company and the employee suggested that his identity might have been confused with someone else’s.

The company released a statement soon after Trend Micro, a computer security company with headquarters in Tokyo, released a report on Friday describing the breach. It was the result of a nearly yearlong effort to hack into computers and steal information from hundreds of companies and individuals in several countries, the report said.

The report never identified a hacker by name. But it linked the attacks to an alias used by a graduate of Sichuan University in western China who wrote several articles on computer hacking and defense. The researchers found the alias through its connection to an e-mail address and a QQ number, the Chinese equivalent of an instant messaging screen name.

The New York Times identified the owner of the alias as Gu Kaiyuan, based on online records of his writing. Mr. Gu is now an employee at Tencent, which offers social networking, instant messaging, online gaming and other online features.

On Thursday, when asked about the attacks, Mr. Gu said, “I have nothing to say.” On Friday, however, he denied involvement.

With Advance Warning, Bracing for Attack on Internet by Anonymous

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Added on Saturday, March 31, 2012

With Advance Warning, Bracing for Attack on Internet by Anonymous

By SOMINI SENGUPTA

SAN FRANCISCO — On a quiet Sunday in mid-February, something curious attracted the attention of the behind-the-scenes engineers who scour the Internet for signs of trouble. There, among the ubiquitous boasts posted by the hacking collective Anonymous, was a call to attack some of the network’s most crucial parts.

The message called it Operation Global Blackout, and rallied Anonymous supporters worldwide to attack the Domain Name System, which converts human-friendly domain names like google.com into numeric addresses that are more useful for computers.

It declared when the attack would be carried out: March 31. And it detailed exactly how: by bombarding the Domain Name System with junk traffic in an effort to overwhelm it altogether.

There was no way to know for sure whether this was a pre-April Fool’s Day hoax or a credible threat. After all, this was Anonymous, a decentralized movement with no leaders and no coherent ideology, but a track record of considerable damage. The call to arms would have to be treated as one would treat a bomb threat called in to a high school football game. The engineers would have to prepare.

Those preparations turned into a fast-track, multimillion-dollar global effort to beef up the Domain Name System. They offer a glimpse into the largely unknown forces that keep the Internet running in the face of unpredictable, potentially devastating threats.

Among those leading the effort was Bill Woodcock, whose nonprofit based in San Francisco, Packet Clearing House, defends vital pieces of Internet infrastructure. By his calculation, the Anonymous threat was as good a reason as any to accelerate what might have been done anyway over the next several months: fortify the network, chiefly by expanding the capacity of the root servers that are its main pillar.

“Whether or not Anonymous carries out this particular attack, there are larger attacks that do happen,” Mr. Woodcock said. “A forewarning of this attack allowed everyone to act proactively for a change. We can get out in front of the bigger attacks.”

Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Computer Intrusion and Wiretapping Scheme Targeting Celebrities 

U.S. Attorney’s OfficeMarch 26, 2012

Central District of California(213) 894-2434

LOS ANGELES—A Florida man pleaded guilty today to a series of cyber-related crimes relating to his hacking into the personal e-mail accounts of more than 50 individuals associated with the entertainment industry.

Christopher Chaney, 35, of Jacksonville, Florida, pleaded guilty to nine felony counts of a 28-count first superseding indictment, including unauthorized access to protected computers in furtherance of wiretapping and wire fraud, unauthorized damage to protected computers resulting in more than $5,000 loss and physical harm, and wiretapping. At the conclusion of the hearing, United States District Court Judge S. James Otero ordered Chaney taken into custody.

During the hearing, Chaney admitted that from at least November 2010 to October 2011, he hacked into the e-mail accounts of Scarlett Johansson, Mila Kunis, Renee Olstead, and others by taking the victims’ e-mail addresses, clicking on the “Forgot your password?” feature, and then re-setting the victims’ passwords by correctly answering their security questions using publicly available information he found by searching the Internet. Once Chaney gained exclusive control of the victims’ e-mail accounts, he was able to access all of their e-mail boxes. While in the accounts, Chaney also went through their contact lists to find e-mail addresses of potential new hacking targets.

In pleading guilty to the wiretapping charges, Chaney admitted that, for most victims, he also changed their e-mail account settings by inserting his alias e-mail address into the forwarding feature so that a duplicate copy of all incoming e-mails to the victims—including any attachments—would be sent virtually simultaneously to Chaney without the victims’ knowledge. Most victims did not check their account settings, so even after they regained control of their e-mail accounts, Chaney’s alias address remained in their account settings. As a result, for many victims, copies of their incoming e-mails, including attachments, were sent to Chaney for weeks or months without their knowledge, causing Chaney to receive thousands of victim e-mails. In addition, when a victim reset his/her password to regain control of the account, Chaney sometimes hacked into the account again and reset the password, sometimes multiple times, in order to continue illegally accessing that victim’s account.

Chaney admitted that as his hacking scheme became more extensive, he began using a proxy service called “Hide My IP” because he knew what he was doing was illegal and wanted to “cover his tracks” so that law enforcement agents could not trace the hacking back to his home computer. Even after his home computers were seized by law enforcement agents pursuant to a federal search warrant, but before he was arrested, Chaney used another computer to hack into another victim’s e-mail account.

Chaney further admitted that as a result of his hacking scheme, he obtained numerous private communications, private photographs, and confidential documents from the victims’ e-mail accounts. The confidential documents included business contracts, scripts, letters, driver’s license information, and Social Security information. On several occasions, after hacking into victim accounts, Chaney sent e-mails from the hacked accounts to friends of the victims, fraudulently posing as the victims to request more private photographs. Chaney downloaded many of the confidential documents and photographs he stole to his home computer, where he saved them on his hard drive in separate computer file folders. Chaney e-mailed many of the stolen photographs to others, including another hacker and two gossip websites. As a result, some of those stolen photographs, several of which were explicit, were later posted on the Internet.

“Today’s guilty pleas shine a bright light on the dark underworld of computer hacking,” said United States Attorney André Birotte, Jr., whose office prosecuted the case. “This case demonstrates that everyone, even public figures, should take precautions to shield their personal information from the hackers that inhabit that dark underworld. It also demonstrates that the Department of Justice will take whatever steps are necessary to protect Americans from harm in cyberspace.”

“Mr. Chaney’s admission to compromising victim accounts, utilizing both technically and socially engineered means, demonstrates the persistence and extent to which a hacker will go to obtain private information,” said Steven Martinez, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “This case sends an important message to all users of Internet-accessible media that practicing good computer security makes us less vulnerable to this type of attack. The FBI remains committed to investigating cyber adversaries who target protected computers, whether of private citizens or the nation’s critical infrastructure.”

Each charge of unauthorized access to a protected computer carries a maximum of five years in prison, each charge of unauthorized damage to a protected computer carries a maximum charge of 10 years in prison, and each charge of wiretapping carries a maximum of five years in prison. As a result of all of today’s guilty pleas, Chaney faces a total statutory maximum sentence of 60 years in federal prison. In addition to the possible prison term, as part of his plea agreement filed in federal court, Chaney agreed to forfeit his computers and related devices seized during the investigation, to pay restitution to all of the victims for any losses they suffered, and to comply with strict restrictions regarding his future use of computers and computer-related devices. In exchange, the government agreed to dismiss the remaining counts, including nine counts of aggravated identity theft, at the time defendant is sentenced.

Chaney is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge S. James Otero on July 23, 2012.

The investigation of this case was led and conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Microsoft Raids Tackle Online Crime

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times

Monday, March 26, 2012

Microsoft Raids Tackle Online Crime

By NICK WINGFIELD and NICOLE PERLROTH

SEATTLE — Microsoft employees, accompanied by United States marshals, raided two nondescript office buildings in Pennsylvania and Illinois on Friday, aiming to disrupt one of the most pernicious forms of online crime today — botnets, or groups of computers that help harvest bank account passwords and other personal information from millions of other computers.

With a warrant in hand from a federal judge authorizing the sweep, the Microsoft lawyers and technical personnel gathered evidence and deactivated Web servers ostensibly used by criminals in a scheme to infect computers and steal personal data. At the same time, Microsoft seized control of hundreds of Web addresses that it says were used as part of the same scheme.

The sweep was part of a civil suit brought by Microsoft in its increasingly aggressive campaign to take the lead in combating such crimes, rather than waiting for law enforcement agencies to act. The company’s targets were equipment used to control the botnets, which criminals, known as bot-herders, use for ill intent.

Microsoft has a big interest in making the Internet a safer place. Despite inroads made by Apple and others in some parts of the technology business, Microsoft’s Windows operating system still runs the vast majority of the computers connected to the Internet. The prevalence of its software has made Windows the most appealing target for online criminals, and the security holes they discover in the software are a persistent nuisance for Windows users.

Microsoft’s involvement in what had been considered largely a law enforcement function — fighting computer crime — is the brainchild of Richard Boscovich, a former federal prosecutor who is a senior lawyer in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit. That group watches over fraud that could affect the company’s products and reputation.

Words by the Millions, Sorted by Software

Excerpt from an article in

The New York Times (Business)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Words by the Millions, Sorted by Software

By ANNE EISENBERG

IT just keeps growing — the vast electronic archive of books, journals and scholarly literature stored on the Web. But scientists are aiming to keep up with this trove of collective knowledge by devising computer-based tools to winnow and quantify it.

David M. Blei of Princeton University is among those who are teaching computers to sift through the digital pages of books and articles and categorize the contents by subject, even when that subject isn’t stated explicitly.

For decades, of course, librarians and many others have labeled books and documents with keywords. “But human categorization can only go so far,” said Dr. Blei, an associate professor in computer science. “We don’t have the human power to read and tag all this information.”

To cope with the information explosion, Dr. Blei and other researchers write algorithms so that computers can sift through millions of works and find their common themes by sorting related words into categories. It’s a field called probabilistic topic modeling.

Other research tools identify shifts in language over time that could signal important cultural, scientific or historical changes. At Harvard, Erez Lieberman Aiden and Jean-Baptiste Michel, who jointly lead a group there called the Cultural Observatory, will soon inaugurate a browser that searches for such language changes in a large online repository of scientific papers known as arXiv (pronounced like “archive”).

Users will be able to type in one or two words at the site, called Bookworm-arXiv, and immediately see a graph showing the ups and downs of the phrase’s use in the archive, Dr. Michel said. (A test version is at arxiv.culturomics.org.) Users can then click on the graph and drill down to read the original papers in which the terms appear, tracing ideas back toward their roots, or to spots where scientific ideas spread from one field to another.

Why Hackers Set Their Sights on Small Business

If you run a small business, and think that none of your data was of interest to a hacker, consider this: what if a hacker could take stolen bank account or credit card information from your computer and package it with the same information from a hundred or a thousand other small businesses? Would it be worth something then?

"SMBs don't know how defenseless they've become, especially to automated and industrialized attack methodologies by organized crime," Christopher Porter tells PCWorld. Porter, a principal with the Verizon RISK Team, is the author of a new report from Verizon on security risk.

"[Hackers] scan the Internet, looking for remote access services, and then try the default credentials. Once they gain access, they automatically install keyloggers to collect password information [as it's typed in]," Porter says. "Then they send the information it out via e-mail or by uploading it to an FTP server or a web site. They aggregate the data and sell it on the black market."

Hackers could use the keylogger to figure out how access and drain a small business' bank account, but more commonly, Porter said, they'll target point-of-sale systems, as four Romanians did recently. "That kind of attack is increasing, because they're low-risk and low-cost attacks for organized crime." Because they're geographically widespread, it's hard for any one police department to follow up.

For more, click the link below: 

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/252302/why_hackers_set_their_sights_on_small_businesses.html#tk.nl_bdx_h_crawl

Google Faces Class-Action Lawsuits Over New Privacy Policy

Google faces consumer complaints in federal courts in New York and California that claim that its new privacy policy violates the company's earlier policies which promised that information provided by a user for one service would not be used by another service without the consumer's consent.

The Internet company is being charged in both lawsuits for violation of the Federal Wiretap Act, for wilful interception of communications and aggregation of personal information of its consumers for financial benefit, and the Stored Electronic Communications Act for exceeding its authorized access to consumer communications stored on its systems. Google is also charged with violation of the Computer Fraud Abuse Act, and other counts including state laws.

The plaintiffs in both suits seek to bring nationwide class action on behalf of holders of Google accounts and owners of Android devices from Aug. 19, 2004 to Feb. 29, 2012, who continued to maintain the Google accounts and own the devices after the new privacy policy came into effect on March 1 this year.

For more, click the link below:

http://www.pcworld.com/article/252332/google_faces_classaction_lawsuits_over_new_privacy_policy.html#tk.nl_bdx_h_crawl

PRESS RELEASE

Cisco and CTM Collaborate at Macau Cloud Solution Day Showcasing the New Era of Cloud Computing

Cisco Introduces CloudVerse to Address Growing Importance of Cloud Computing

MACAU & HONG KONG, March 23, 2012 – At the Macau Cloud Solution Day, held today at the Grand Hyatt Macau, Cisco, the worldwide leader in networking, and CTM, Macau's leading telecom operator, further collaborated to unveil new cloud computing technologies, bringing an upsurge in innovation to the information technology (IT) industry. Themed "New Era of Cloud Computing", the event marked the launch of Cisco® CloudVerse and the furthering of the collaboration between CTM and Cisco with the preview of CTM's new cloud-based value-added services – the Cloud Infrastructure Service and "Business Talk" Unified Communication Service – facilitating Macau's march towards a new era of cloud computing.

The cloud is dramatically transforming business IT and consumer services. In the inaugural Cisco Global Cloud Index(2010-2015), Cisco estimates global cloud computing traffic will grow 12-fold from 130 exabytes to reach a total of 1.6 zettabytes annually by 2015 – the equivalent of 22 trillion hours of streaming music or 1.6 trillion hours of online high-definition (HD) video streaming. The study also predicts that over 50 percent of computing workloads in data centers will be cloud-based by 2014. Cloud is becoming a critical element for the future of IT, and in addressing today's business demands for agility, continuity and security amid a dynamic economic ecosystem.

Cisco CloudVerse, a framework that combines the foundational elements needed to enable organizations to build, manage and connect public, private and hybrid clouds, can address the growing importance of cloud computing. It responds to the prevalence of cloud computing in a world of many clouds. CloudVerse combines three key cloud elements – Unified Data Center, Cloud Intelligent Network, and Cloud Applications and Services – enabling businesses to realize all of the benefits of the cloud: improved agility, better economics, enhanced security and a dynamic, assured experience. 

Core Elements of Cisco CloudVerse:

Unified Data Center changes the economics of the cloud infrastructure by providing a fabric-based platform automating the "as a service" model across physical and virtual environments, and is designed to scale with business demands by flexibly allocating resources within and between data centers using unified computing and unified fabric.

Cloud Intelligent Network provides a consistent and highly secure user experience wherever the user is located and across the multiple clouds involved in delivering an application or service.

Cloud Applications and Services enable "as a service" delivery of both Cisco and third-party cloud applications.

"With CloudVerse, Cisco is committed to helping businesses accelerate their cloud success and realize the full potential of the cloud. We look forward to working closely with CTM on its journey to the cloud as a progression from our long-term collaboration," said Barbara Chiu, general manager, Cisco Hong Kong and Macau. "Cisco uniquely enables the world of many clouds – connecting people, communities and organizations with a business-class cloud user experience for the next-generation Internet. This next step in our collaboration will empower CTM and Macau's transition to the new era of cloud computing."

With Cisco's innovative technologies and extensive experience in cloud computing and CTM's well-established high-speed network facilities, CTM's cloud based value-added services – Cloud Infrastructure Service and "Business Talk" Unified Communication Service – were introduced and showcased in a live demonstration session at today's event.

"CTM is excited about this further solid collaboration with Cisco. We believe Cisco is the top provider in the industry which caters to our cloud computing needs, dynamically scaling IT resources and making applications and services easier than ever to access," said Vandy Poon, chief executive officer, CTM. "The strengths of both parties create an effective synergy which makes possible the development of cloud based value-added services, continuing to help businesses develop effective strategies for rapid business expansion and supporting the rapid economic development of Macau."

Cloud Infrastructure Service

Powered by the Cisco Unified Communication System™ (Cisco UCS™) and Cisco Nexus® switches, the Cloud Infrastructure Service represents a new consumption model for the use of IT resources, with network, storage and computing resources delivered in a virtualized environment as a service.

Flexible delivery of resources. The Cloud Infrastructure Service enables a resource pooling infrastructure, with dynamic on-demand utility based characteristics and highly flexible management. The pooled IT resources can be flexibly scaled up or down on demand to better align with current and future business needs. The service enables businesses to connect to the required computing resources in a very short amount of time, anytime and anywhere. The hassle of purchasing and deploying computing resources in a traditional approach with long lead time is now eliminated.

Reduced operational cost. By purchasing a compute capability "as a service", the Cloud Infrastructure Service reduces up-front capital investment in computing infrastructure and ongoing hardware upgrade and maintenance expenses including electricity and cooling expenses. The on-demand model allows businesses to purchase the required compute capability based on service consumed and data volume. This is particularly beneficial for SMBs as they can access a business-grade IT infrastructure with a simple monthly subscription plan.

"Business Talk" Unified Communication Service

With CTM's cloud service platform and Cisco Unified Communications Manager and full-featured Cisco IP Phone, the upcoming "Business Talk" service is an intelligent, enterprise-grade business telephony solution designed to address the sophisticated communications needs of today's businesses. The new service provides a unified business communication and collaboration experience that delivers voice services via multiple devices including business phones, desktop computers, notebooks and smartphones.

Enhanced mobility and business efficiency. Apart from the traditional telephony features, the "Business Talk" service provides HD voice, fixed-mobile convergence and mobility extension capabilities, which address the demand for high connectivity with greater mobility. Utilizing one single number, the service enables businesses to extend business voice to mobile phones and a unified communications platform. Users can also extend their mobility and save on roaming charges when calling from overseas via a Wi-Fi connected mobile device. "Business Talk" is a cost-effective, cross-platform unified communications service with distinctive capabilities, which helps facilitate business communications and collaboration.

Supporting Resources

• Cisco Global Cloud Index (2010-2015) Infographic
• Cisco Global Cloud Index YouTube Animation
• Cisco Global Cloud Index Forecast and Methodology, 2010-2015 white paper

# # #

News Release from Compuware - Fewer Online Purchases

Poor Web Performance Results in Tablet Users Less Likely to Make Purchases Online

DETROIT, March 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Compuware Corporation (Nasdaq:CPWR), the technology performance company, today published the findings of the first global study of tablet users' web experience expectations. The survey reveals that global tablet users have high expectations for web experiences and a third are less likely to make purchases online from companies that don't meet those expectations.

Tablet users expect websites and transactions to work flawlessly. Their expectations have been shaped in part by years of using powerful PCs to access fast websites delivered by Internet leaders like Amazon and Google. The survey reveals that users expect tablets to perform as fast, or faster, than on a desktop or laptop computer at home.

However, the new global survey titled "Engaging the Tablet User: What They Expect from Websites," reveals that four out of ten global tablet users have experienced a problem when accessing websites. Among those that experienced a problem, two-thirds reported slow load times, and more than four out of ten experienced website crashes or problems with website functions.

Key survey findings include:

Poor web experiences on tablets impact the bottom line.

·         A bad website experience will also drive 46 percent of tablet users to competitive web sites; 35 percent are less likely to visit the problematic web site on any platform; and 33 percent are less likely to purchase from that company.

·         Nearly half of tablet users will retry a web site only once or twice if it did not work initially.

Tablet users' web experience expectations are high.

·         Almost 70 percent of tablet users expect a web site to load in two seconds or less.

Website issues are common for tablet users.

·         Among those who have experienced a problem, slow load times are the most frequently cited issue (66 percent), followed by site crashes (44 percent), problems with site functions (42 percent) and issues with site format (40 percent).

·          

"Consumers and enterprises have embraced tablets in large numbers for everything from web browsing and social networking to key business applications that increase employee productivity and drive revenue," said Steve Tack, CTO of Compuware APM. "However, based on the survey results, companies are not meeting tablet users' web experience expectations. Tablet users represent a coveted audience that in general tends to spend more per order, so organizations that ignore tablet users do so at their own peril."

To view a summary of the key survey findings in an interactive graphic, go to http://ow.ly/9Bmcp

To read the full survey findings, go to http://ow.ly/9Bi1Z

The Compuware Gomez platform is the industry's leading solution for optimizing the performance of web, non-web, mobile, streaming and cloud applications. Driven by end-user experience, Gomez provides a unified view across the entire application delivery chain, from a user's browser or mobile device, across the Internet or a corporate WAN, in the cloud, to inside the data center, eliminating blind spots from the First Mile to the Last Mile.

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Compuware Corporation

Compuware Corporation, the technology performance company, provides software, experts and best practices to ensure technology works well and delivers value. Compuware solutions make the world's most important technologies perform at their best for leading organizations worldwide, including 46 of the top 50 Fortune 500 companies and 12 of the top 20 most visited U.S. web sites. Learn more at: http://www.compuware.com.