Computer security firm Sophos has released its Security Threat Report 2009 (PDF), summarizing the battle against malware and ticking off the top threats against computers, operating systems, Web sites, and consumers out there in the wild. And, despite massive increases in spam and malware that originate internationally, the United States still claims the top spot for hosting malware and sending spam. According to Sophos, some 37 percent of malware is hosted in the United States,. China (including Hong Kong) came in second at 27.7 percent and Russia ran a distant third at 9.1 percent.
Tag Archive: Czech Republic
Google Tallies 2008 Top Searches
Internet search giant Google has released its 2008 End-of-Year Zeitgeist, noting what was hot worldwide in Internet searches for the year. Unlike search engines like AOL and Yahoo who base their end-of-year summaries mostly on the frequency of terms—hence allowing Britney Spears to rule the search engine listings for years on end—Google bases its Zeitgeist both on frequency and on the novelty of terms. In other words, 2008’s zeitgeist is more about what users searched for in 2008 that they were not searching for in 2007. Google claims their method is more indicative of the “spirit of the times”…and it definitely produces some different results.
Only 88 Pct of U.S. Youth Have Net Access
The Center for the Digital Future, part of USC’s Annenberg School, has released its World Internet Report, detailing the global impacts of Internet and online technologies, including its use in communication, media, social and political processes, information, commerce, and other facets of everyday life. Once of the findings? While some 88 percent of young Americans have access to the Internet, that figure is far behind Internet access for youngsters and teens in other countries. For instance, 95 percent of Canadian youth have Internet access; the Czech Republic and Macao come in at 96 percent, Israel at 98 percent. And the winner? Apparently 100 percent of young Britons have access to the Internet.
Vodafone to Offer iPhone in 10 Markets
International mobile operator Vodafone—which owns part of the U.S.’s Verizon Wireless—has announced that it has reached an agreement with Apple to sell the iPhone in ten international markets—including Italy, where Telecom Italia had recently been reported to have made a non-exclusive deal with Apple to sell a 3G iPhone.
In addition to Italy, Vodafone says it will offer iPhones in Australia, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, India, Portugal, New Zealand, South Africa, and Turkey. Vodafone hasn’t released any other information, including which version of the iPhone it plans to sell: the existing GSM/EDGE model, or the forthcoming 3G model.
Dell Signs Another Retail Agreement
In its continuing march to march product available in retail outlets, computer maker Dell has signed a deal with Tesco, whichowns stores in England, Ireland, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia, to sell its desktop and laptop machines starting next month. "With over 13 million customers per week shopping atTesco’s stores, this deal will result in substantial exposure for Dell’s brand and products," Mark Ormerod, vice president and general manager of consumer business for Dell’s Europe, Middle Eastand Africa operations, said in a statement. It follows from CEO Michael Dell’s vow to get product into the top two retail stores of 20 different countries. But it’s hardly thefirst time Dell has made such a deal. The company’s computers are already in Wal-Mart, Best Buy and Staples at home, as well as in stores in Singapore, China, Japan and Europe – a totalof 10,000 stores worldwide.
Europeans Go More Mobile
New figures released by Eurostat show that mobile phone subscriptions in the 27 EU states increased a staggering 14 times between 1996 and 2005. At the start of the period, the average was seven subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, but just nine years later it had increased to 96 for each 100. With 158 and 127 respectively, Luxembourg and Lithuania were top of the list, with Romania the lowest, having just 62 mobile subscriptions per 100 inhabitants. The most interesting figures, though, show countries where people used mobile access but had no landline. There was a great divide between Western Europe and the newer EU member states to the east. Although Swedish registered non one with just a mobile and no landline, the percentage was 42% just using mobiles in the Czech Republic, 40% in Latvia, and 36% in Estonia, 48% in Lithuania and 38% in Slovakia. Throughout the EU members in 2006, 18% had mobile access but no landlines. The overall percentage of landlines rose during the nine-year period from 43 per 100 inhabitants to 48, with the highest numbers occurring in Western Europe.
Omnifone Announces Mobile Music Service
Britain’s Omnifone has announced an ambitious new MusicStation mobile music service, aiming to provide an all-you-can-eat subscription-based music from all major music labels to owners ot 2.5G and 3G mobile phones throughout Europe (and, eventually, other regions). The service will be priced at £1.99/&euro2.99 a week, and has already set up partnership deals with 23 mobile network operators.
"The launch of MusicStation heralds the next generation mobile music experience for the hundreds of millions of mobile phone subscribers worldwide who want a simple, easy-to-use digital music experience," said Rob Lewis, CEO of Omnifone, in a statement. "MusicStation will give users of any music-capable handset the ability to legally access, download and enjoy an unlimited amount of music, from a global music catalogue supported by the music industry, all for a small weekly fee, wherever they are."
Shanghai To Host ‘Battle of the Brains’
More than 200 university programmers, from San Diego to Seoul, and from Wisconsin to Warsaw, have earned the right to compete at the most prestigious programming competition of its kind.
Seventy-eight teams of three students each will take part in the 29th Annual World Finals of the ACM (Association for Computing Machinery) International Collegiate Programming Contest (ICPC), April 3 – 7, 2005, in Shanghai, China. And, for the first time, in a separate POWER challenge, finalists will be able to build applications on IBM’s POWER-based IBM eServer Blue Gene supercomputer.
Acer Leads EMEA Noteboook PC Market
Acer became the number one provider with 16 percent of the unit marketshare in the second calendar quarter of 2004. These exceptional results in the notebook segment were highlighted with annual year-on-year growth rates (2Q 2004 vs. 2Q 2003) of 68.6% versus the industry average growth of approximately 29% during the same period.
“We are delighted with the significant growth that Acer posted during the second quarter 2004 and the fact that we have gained considerable ground in both the notebook and desktop sectors,” said Gianfranco Lanci, president of Acer EMEA and of the International Operation Business Group (IOBG). “Not only have we strengthened our leadership in the Notebook segment achieved in Western Europe over the last two quarters, but for the first time we have reached first position across the entire EMEA region.”
