Daily Digest 7 August

07-08-2008

by Billy MacInnes

Warning over Facebook walls | MobileAware gets new funds, new CEO

Security specialist Sophos has warned Facebook users to be careful clicking on links in wall posts after discovering an attempt by hackers to use them to infect computers with a trojan. The company reported it had found messages left on the walls of Facebook users urging members to view a video, supposedly hosted on a Google website, but which takes them to a site which asks them to download an executable to watch the movie. The executable file, the Troj/Dloadr-BPL Trojan horse, downloads further malicious code and displays an image of a court jester sticking his tongue out. "People have got to learn that clicking on links in messages can lead to a malware infection, whether the messages are in your email or on a site like Facebook," said Sophos senior technology consultant Graham Cluley.

Mobile data services company MobileAware has appointed Todd Shingler as its new CEO following an additional round of funding secured from existing investors. Nauta Capital and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners put a further undisclosed sum into the company and added three new members to the MobileAware board. Shingler, who most recently led MobileAware's sales and business development efforts in the Americas, joined the company in 2003 following 12 years at Nortel Networks' wireless business. The company said it would use the new funding to expand its range of mobile self-service solutions. Shingler replaces current CEO Kevin McCloskey, who remains on the company's board.

The security researcher who uncovered a dangerous internet security flaw in Domain Name Server (DNS) that left people vulnerable to a phishing attack has revealed it can also be used to circumvent the secure sockets layer (SSL) security accreditation and intercept emails. Speaking at the Black Hat conference in Las Vegas, security researcher Dan Kaminsky detailed the flaw he had discovered in DNS and claimed the industry was entering a new era of computer security where all networked applications were fair game. He argued DNS bugs had created "a skeleton key" across almost all major websites and warned that because SSL certificates were dependent on DNS they could not be considered as a "panacea".

As many as one in five people are confused by technology gadgets such as digital cameras and satnav systems, a survey in the UK has revealed. But it's not just new technology that baffles people; the survey by Revoo.com also found 18 percent were unable to work their washing machine properly and more than one in ten had the same problem with their microwave. The research also found 32 percent of people admitted to throwing a gadget across the room when they couldn't work out how to use it. The high numbers unable to use satnav systems could have something to do with the fact only six percent of users bothered to read the manual. In total, 46 percent of people admitted they never bothered to read the manuals for a product.

Merger and acquisition (M&A) activity in the mobile phone sector is rising in emerging markets on the back of increasing consumer demand for mobile telephony in those areas, according to Informa Telecoms & Media's Global Mobile M&A report. Although M&A activity declined last year and is expected to fall again in 2008 in value, Informa argued the number of deals suggested the market was still active. It pointed to the potential in Africa, which has a 34 percent penetration rate, and the Indian subcontinent where there were 36 million additions in the first quarter of 2008.

Jobs in the IT sector in the UK have remained steady despite the economic downturn sparked by the credit crunch, according to the www.theitjobboard.co.uk "Skills in Demand" report. IT support, business analysts, networking and programming roles remained stable in the first six months of 2008, according to the report, although there was a slight decrease in developer roles, and project manager and IT manager roles declined by five percent. The report said there was a surprising 50 percent increase in investment banking positions in the second quarter. "The good news is that we are seeing stability across IT positions as a whole, with no further significant drops since the beginning of the year," Operations Manager Adam Stokes said.

Sega and cosmetics giant Shiseido have joined together to launch software that will allow women in Japan to use their Nintendo DS for a beauty makeover, AFP reports. The product, known as Project Beauty, uses a scanning device to feed digital images of the user's face into the DS. The software matches the face to one of four groups -- cool, active, cute and feminine -- and produces a suggested makeover. Project Beauty will be released in Japan in November.