Short takes on this weeks technology and tech data
news
Survey highlights risk of e-mail
interception
A survey sponsored by the DTI has found that only a quarter of
UK businesses encrypt their e-mails, potentially compromising the
security of company information. PricewaterhouseCoopers, which
conducted the survey of 1,000 firms and said business e-mails
travelling over the internet could easily be intercepted and
read.
Microsoft to take on Adobe in design field
Microsoft is to broaden its range of design and development
software to provide an alternative to Adobe products. The
Expression suite, aimed at graphic designers and illustrators, will
be available early next year, a couple of months after Windows
Vista.
SAS Institute helps users link to sources
SAS Institute is expanding its data integration offering, with
technology to help users link various sources of operational data.
New servers will help to "clean up" data in the operational part of
the system, SAS said.
Users may have to turn off Active Scripting in
IE
IT managers may have to disable the Active Scripting option in
Internet Explorer until Microsoft releases an official patch, an IT
security firm has warned. eEye Digital Security released a
temporary fix last week for a recently disclosed security hole.
However, it recommended only installing the fix as a last resort,
and advised firms to disable Active Scripting instead. Microsoft is
working on an official fix, which it may release before the 11
April patch bundle.
Call quality biggest barrier to VoIP
take-up
The quality of voice calls over IP is the most common barrier
for enterprises considering adopting voice over IP, according to a
survey of businesses. Nearly half of firms surveyed at a VoIP
conference last week said quality and reliability of service were
an issue, more than business disruption, cost or security.
Fedora upgrade adds desktop applcations
The open source software project Fedora, which is sponsored by
Red Hat, has released a major new version of its free Linux
software suite, Fedora Core 5. It includes new desktop applications
such as the latest version of Openoffice and the Firefox 1.5 web
browser.
Feedback requested on second Samba preview
Samba has launched a second preview version of its open source
Samba 4 software, inviting feedback from users, managers and
developers. Samba produces software that enables interoperability
between Linux or Unix servers and Windows clients. Samba 4 is
designed to support the Active Directory log-on protocols used by
Windows Server software.
Tech-savvy SMEs grow tired of feng shui
UK small businesses have undergone a technology revolution,
according to a study of 400 firms by Cisco. Small firms have
swapped salubrious offices, feng shui and lavish company cars for
advanced technologies that increase productivity, improve customer
service and make mobile workforces more efficient, said Cisco.
Sendmail patch put out to plug major flaw
A major flaw in the open source e-mail application Sendmail
server application could allow hackers to take control of any
devices running the affected software. Sendmail Consortium, which
oversees the development of non-commercial versions of Sendmail,
has released an updated version that includes a security patch to
fix the flaw.
Lombardi Office 200 ties systems together
Lombardi Software, a supplier of business process management
software, has released Lombardi for Office 200, a product that
tightly integrates the Lombardi Teamworks BPM platform with the
Microsoft Office System. The software helps end-users participate
in business processes directly from desktops.