http://www.linux.com/articles/46607

Ottawa Linux Symposium, Day 2
By David "cdlu" Graham on July 22, 2005 (8:00:00 AM)

The second sitting of the 7th session of the Ottawa Linux Symposium saw several interesting, highly technical discussions. Here are my reports on Trusted Computing, the ext3 filesystem, the e1000 network driver, and SELinux.

for more, click the link above.

Mobile operators concerned by increasing malware threat

13.02.2007 - Mobile network operators are increasingly feeling the impact of viruses and security threats that are already very familiar to computer users, new research has found.

According to a study by Informa Telecoms & Media, sponsored by McAfee, 83pc of operators have been hit by mobile device infections. In addition, the number of reported security incidents last year was more than five times as high as in 2005.

The amount of time and money needed to repair the damage is also increasing, the research found. The number of mobile operators that spent more than US$200k on mobile security in 2006 rose by 100pc compared to 2005. Moreover, the time taken has also risen dramatically - a 700pc increase in operators saying it took more than 1,000 man hours to fix a problem.

Operators are worried about the impact that mobile security could have on their business. Almost 80pc rated the public relations impact or an effect on their brand as of high concern. Many also fear a loss of credibility in how reliable new services are. This is especially important as mobile providers look to earn more revenue from customers who use these services.

Almost one in three respondents (29pc) said that the greatest impact from a security incident was in subscriber satisfaction rather than revenue. The second most serious impact from mobile malware infections was on network performance.

Unsurprisingly in light of the findings, 85pc of operators polled for the survey said they plan to increase their mobile security budgets. These will tackle issues such as network intrusion, mobile viruses, denial-of-service attacks, spam and mobile phishing, which is sometimes called SMiShing.

Mobile malware is a subject that has divided the IT security industry on how real the threat is. Some believe mobiles are the next obvious target for attackers whereas others dismiss it as hype, with viruses often merely proof-of-concept prototypes rather than live examples in the wild.

By Gordon Smith

Vodafone Announces YouTube Mobile Service

U.K.-based GSM mobile operator Vodafone has announced YouTube will soon be available to Vodafone Group mobile phone users in the U.K. YouTube Mobile will be available later in the year through the Vodafone Live Web portal, which is currently available on 4.7 million handsets in the U.K.

Vodafone plans to launch the service in other European markets as well, the UK being merely the testing grounds. In the U.S., customers of Cingular Wireless, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile USA, and Verizon Wireless can all upload videos on YouTube from their phones.

"We're continually looking at what customers are doing on the Internet and the way that they are using their phones and the way they want to use their phones," a Vodafone spokeswoman said.

The launch will focus on the UK initially and involve YouTube providing a daily selection of videos users can select from. Also, users will be able to forward links of their favourite clips and upload their own content from their phones, like the services provided in the US by other carriers.

Earlier this week, Vodafone announced similar deals to make MySpace and eBay available on Vodafone mobile phones. Vodafone has also recently unveiled a virtual island in Second Life.

The new mobile Web 2.0 services are part of the company's strategy to add brands that it believes will be attractive to customers. Mobile carriers see an opportunity in syphoning a little more bucks from customers by using data services, which are usually more expensive than voice calls.

"People want to view and share favourite YouTube videos seamlessly wherever and whenever they want," said Steve Chen, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer for YouTube. "Partnering with Vodafone will accelerate those efforts to serve our loyal YouTube users as well as allow new mobile audiences to enjoy YouTube."

"Today's announcement with YouTube further expands the range of Internet services we're bringing to the mobile, introducing a seamless experience that allows customers to engage with user generated content on the move," said Frank H. Rövekamp, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Vodafone. "Through attracting the most popular internet brands onto Vodafone mobile devices we will continue to ensure our customers can access and share the best entertainment anytime and anywhere."

The last two paragraphs are impressive!!!
That is: ...

Again, I'm still not planning to switch. I like Sprint. I like them a lot. I like them enough to put up with really bad phone UI, because their service, both RF-wise and person-wise, has been pretty good. Not that I wouldn't switch for a phone, but I'd have to see all the details, which I don't have right now.

But after seeing the iPhone, I'll tell you, I kind of wish my work provider around June would be Cingular.

==
iPhone vs. Windows Mobile: And the Winner Is...
February 6, 2007
By John Welch
--

to see the news body, visit this link please:
http://itmanagement.earthweb.com/article.php/31771_3657946_1

What kinds of functional features and security requirements
can be required by mobile telecom operators? (to achieve the goal described below)

http://www.playfuls.com/news_06085_Europes_Telecom_Giants_Declare_War_to_US_Web_Search_Giants.html

Europe's Telecom Giants Declare War to US Web-Search Giants
08:23 PM, February 5th 2007
by Dan Nicolae Alexa
--

Vodafone, O2, Hutchinson, Telefonica, Deutsche Telecom and Telecom Italia are planning their own mobile search engine, considering that Europeans use mobile Internet more frequent than Americans.

The only American telecom company ready to join the Europeans in their endeavor is Cingular. The companies will have secret, high-level meetings to establish future plans for the development of the mobile search engine. However, the group also plans to consider asking an existing service such as Yahoo! or Google to back its efforts to develop a mobile-specific search engine.

Although the two US search-engine giants Google and Yahoo have both developed mobile search engines, they are not sharing revenues with the mobile carriers. The telecom companies on the other hand are confronted with declining profits due to competition, cheaper calls and VoIP emergence, so mobile advertising is very enticing source of money.

Another point for discussion is likely to concern the creation of a new white-label service which would utilize a single advertising and technical team, which mobile networks could then apply to their own brand.

The UK's main operators - Orange, owned by France Telecom, O2, part of Spanish network Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile and Vodafone - account for around 600 million mobile users worldwide, including 15.9 million users in the UK alone.

A UK executive at one of the companies involved told the Sunday Telegraph newspaper:

"There is a big play in mobile search that we need to be part of, and we are exploring those options at a very high level."

Yahoo launched a beta version of Yahoo! Go for Mobile 2.0 at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2007 in Las Vegas. Beginning with the first half of 2007, Yahoo Go 2.0 will be pre-loaded on select new mobile devices from Motorola. Consumers can also download Yahoo Go 2.0 on more than 70 other mobile devices from major manufacturers worldwide and use it on most wireless networks.

Cell phone maker Samsung Electronics has also agreed on a collaboration with Google which will facilitate handset customers' access to the search engine's mobile services on select phones. The services include one-click access to a search box, Web mail, and maps for finding local businesses and driving directions.

The phone that will mark the debut of this partnership is the slim Ultra Edition SGH-Z720 model.

A study published by ComScore Networks in October 2006 showed that 29 percent of European Internet users within U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK regularly access the Web from their mobile phones compared to only 19 percent in the U.S.

Of the countries examined, the highest mobile Web penetration is seen in both Germany and Italy (34 percent for each), followed by France with 28 percent, Spain with 26 percent and the UK with 24 percent. The U.S. figure of 19 percent is the lowest of the set.

The comScore Mobile Tracking Study also shows than men are somewhat more likely to access the Web from their mobile phones than women. Across all six countries, although the Internet penetration is split evenly between men and women, 55 percent of those who access the Web from their mobile phones are men.

The comScore tracking study determined that the major online portal sites represent the most popular online destinations among mobile Web surfers, with Google, Yahoo! and MSN leading the way. However, the mobile Web sites set up by the phone operators, such as Vodafone, O2 and T-Mobile, are also proving attractive to mobile Web surfers, particularly in Europe.

"Three-quarters of American mobile Web surfers access content from the leading online portals such as Google, Yahoo! and MSN compared to only thirty percent of Europeans," commented Bob Ivins, managing director of comScore Europe. "In Europe, the mobile Internet appears to mirror the dynamics of the fixed Internet. Google remains strong but the other U.S.-based portals achieve much lower penetration, facing stiff competition from local competitors -- in this case the mobile providers -- who have the structural advantage of a degree of control over the access point and interface from the mobile phone."

anti-UNIX jokes from somewhere on the Internet. :)
(somewhat funny, although I'm heavy mania of UNIX ^^)
Let's have fun!!!

Anti UNIX jokes:
If Unix is the answer, then it must have been a stupid question.
Unix is the only virus with a command-interface.
How can an operating system from 1970 (UNIX) be more modern than an operating system from 1978 (VMS)?
Unix - the first computer virus.
NFS = Nightmare File System.
Berkeley is famous for LSD and BSD UNIX. I don't think that is a coincidence.
Sure, the Unix file system corrupts your files, but look how fast it is!
Friends don't let friends use Unix.
Unix - the ideal operating system for CPU's that are never powered up.
Nothing wrong with Unix that a total redesign and rewrite can not fix.
UNIX will be preempted by NT. UNIX doesn't know it yet - it won't notice until it's too late, because UNIX is the Yugoslavia of software, at war with itself -- but it's all over.
The users of Unix systems said speed wasn't an issue when the Alpha chip was released. The same people tell their wives and girlfriends that size doesn't matter.
If Unix were a beer, then it would be shipped in open casks so that anybody could piss in it before delivery.
UNIX is user friendly. It's just selective about who its friends are.
UNIX is akin to a religion to some. If things aren't done like they are in UNIX, then they must be bad. Sorry, I don't believe in this religion.
UNIX is a four-letter word!
VI = Virtually Incomprehensible.
Unix is about as user friendly as a blow in the back from an ice-pick, only not quite as productive.
What has happend, when a system-manager gets gray-haired in one day ? One day with a UNIX system !
How do you pronounce UNIX ? You Nix !
The sad thing about UNIX is that no matter how many times you hit yourself over the head with it, you never quite manage to completely lose conciousness.
Cretin and UNIX both start with C.
The scariest thing about Jurassic Park was that the control systems were Unix.
I used to do VMS, now I do Unix - it's a living.
Why is using a UNIX system like being an Enuch? Everytime you go to do something important, you realize something critical is missing.
Why aren't there many female unix users? They don't think about to ask a man for help!
UNIX programmers are like witch doctors. They think they have to be covered with scars to show how powerfull they are.
UNIX on Alpha ? Why run a 2-bit operating system on 64-bit hardware ?
UNIX and NT were talking about security and reliability. After some time they concluded, that they would like to be like VMS, when they grow up.
NFS = Not Fully Servicable.
NFS = No File Security.

Currently, we can hear about the followings
frequently in many sites and places:
(the following list may not satisfy MECE condition)

- trusted computing
- trust management
- trusted computing base
- secure microkernel
- hypervisors, VMM(virtual machine monitor)
- strict resource isolation / access control
- platform integrity management
- privacy control
- pervasive computing security
- security in rich featured mobile handset
- digital rights management / content protection
- digital object identifier
- digital watermarking
- decentralized security policy management
- usable security
- code protection
- code signing/verification
- code behavior detection
- code obfuscation

what can be listed additionally
as the hot keywords in computer security fields?

(MECE: Mutually Exclusive and Completely Exhaustive)