NEWS IN BRIEF
Daily Digest 22 February
22-02-2010
by Sylvia Leatham
Spammers now speaking Irish | eGov award winners announced
Viruses and spam are in the news again this week, with at least three new threats for internet users to keep an eye out for. Irish banks are warning online banking users to be wary of a sophisticated Trojan horse virus nicknamed 'silentbanker', which can intercept user login details if inadvertently downloaded. Meanwhile, security firm Eset has advised that spammers are now using Irish-language e-mails to try to trick users into opening and acting on fake e-mails, and an outbreak of phishing attacks on Twitter, spreading by DM (direct message) and linking to a site called bzpharma, is using compromised accounts to send out spam.
Wi-Fi provider Bitbuzz says it grew its registered user numbers 51 percent last year, to a total of 215,860 users by the end of 2009, up from 142,866 at the end of 2008. The Dublin-based company says it now has a total of 204 hotspots across the country. The firm noted that highlights during 2009 included signing new deals to provide Wi-Fi to hotels, such as D4 Hotels, Fitzwilliam Hotels, and Ibis Dublin West Hotel; launching an open-area hotspot at Dingle Marina; and developing a free iPhone app that shows users the location of the nearest Bitbuzz hotspot.
Facebook director Colm Long will be among the speakers at the upcoming Enterprising Donegal Business Week, due to run from 5 through 12 March. The theme of the event is 'New Ideas and New Opportunities'. Long is to due to kick off proceedings in Letterkenny on 5 March with a lunchtime seminar, where he will speak about the opportunities Facebook and other online networks can create for small businesses. Other events during the week will include talks on green energy, new technologies, and how to organise your business for export. For more information visit www.donegalenterprise.ie.
Scientists at the Tyndall National Institute have created a 'junctionless' transistor, a development that could revolutionise microchip manufacturing, they say. All existing chip transistors are based on junctions, but Tyndall's new transistor does not require a junction. "We have designed and fabricated the world's first junctionless transistor that significantly reduces power consumption and greatly simplifies the fabrication process of silicon chips," said Tyndall's Professor Jean-Pierre Colinge. The devices "have the potential of operating faster and using less energy than the conventional transistors used in today's microprocessors," he added.
The snappily titled Non Principal Private Residence Online Payments Service, www.nppr.ie, was the overall winner of the Irish eGovernment Awards, presented on 19 February. The 8th annual awards, sponsored by Eircom, also recognised Mayo County Council, Bord Gais, the HSA, and the Property Registration Authority, among other winners. The People's Choice award went to the National Concert Hall. "[There] has been a silent revolution going on at quite a rapid rate within the State sector in moving so much of their activities online," said Maeve Kneafsey, MD of Elucidate, co-host of the awards. "For example, the Property Registration Authority collaborated with the Law Society of Ireland, the Irish Banking Federation, the Revenue Commissioners and the Companies Registration Office to move property registration online." For the full list of winners see www.irishegovernmentawards.ie.
Caped Koala Studios has built a virtual world for kids, combining education and social networking 