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Has SanDisk Solved USB Device Security?
Analyst Roger Kay applauds the security effort SanDisk is making, but would rather see a standards-based approach that works with other hardware.
"I'm here at the RSA Conference, which is full of companies offering solutions from a narrow perspective," Kay told internetnews.com. He noted the efforts of the non-profit Trusted Computing Group to promote open, vendor-neutral security standards.
http://www.internetnews.com/security/article.php/3658211
February 6, 2007
Has SanDisk Solved USB Device Security?
By David Needle
The convenience of tiny Flash drives is also their downfall when it comes to IT security.
The hugely popular tiny Flash devices, also called "thumb" and "keychain" drives, provide an easy way to move files from desktop to notebook computer and transport files and data in your pocket. But that ease-of-use can be a nightmare for IT departments that worry about any non-authorized software that might be introduced to their networks by the Flash drives, as well as what sensitive corporate information might be removed.
SanDisk (Quote) would like to change all that with TrustWatch, an integrated suite of applications that works only with SanDisk Flash drives introduced this week at the RSA security conference.
In some cases, government agencies and corporations have had the USB ports glued shut to prevent USB devices from being attached.
TrustWatch is built around a secure network appliance and a management console designed to let IT administrators easily configure and deploy secured USB Flash drives (UFDs). The system also prevents information from being copied to unapproved devices.
"Sandisk believes USB Flash drives have their place and can change from being a threat to IT to being a competitive device that makes employees more productive," Ron LaPedis product marketing manager at SanDisk," told . "But they need to be managed."
The system's centralized management gives road warriors more flexible access to their data and applications. In some cases, the UFD might suffice rather than a notebook computer.
SanDisk said a TrustWatch UFD can be used on a borrowed PC without leaving any trace of its activity on that PC. If the UFDs are lost or stolen, their data can be remotely destroyed. Built-in e-mail software syncs with Microsoft Outlook folders and has Outlook's look and feel to manage e-mail while on the road.
"Basically, it's a thin client with a secure log-in," said LaPedis. "Every time it's plugged in it talks to the management server."
TrustWatch also performs a security check. When a TrustWatch UFD is plugged in, the software runs a spyware scan to make sure no keyloggers are in memory. File vault storage includes AES (define) 256-bit encryption for security.
Analyst Roger Kay applauds the security effort SanDisk is making, but would rather see a standards-based approach that works with other hardware.
"I'm here at the RSA Conference, which is full of companies offering solutions from a narrow perspective," Kay told internetnews.com. He noted the efforts of the non-profit Trusted Computing Group to promote open, vendor-neutral security standards.
SanDisk is the primary mover behind the U3 platform for application interoperability between Flash drives. LaPedis notes the comprehensive nature of SanDisk's solution and its immediate availability. Though he also notes "We want to sell SanDisk drives."
Other solutions address various aspects of the security issue. For example, SmartLine introduced DeviceLock v6.1 at RSA, end-point security software designed to prevent employees from using their corporate and personal computing resources to siphon off valued information outside the guidelines of IT security policy. DeviceLock controls and audits activity at all peripheral ports and removable device interfaces on Windows-based computers natively via Active Directory Group Policy Objects (GPO) and/or DeviceLock management consoles.
The company said administrators gain precision control over which users and groups have what level of access to which devices on which computers and when that access is allowed. Prices begin at $35 for a single-computer license, or $7,400 for managing 1,000 computers.
SanDisk TrustWatch drives are available now in 1 gigabyte to 8 gigabyte capacities. The TrustWatch security system is $89.95 per seat starting at 100 seats. The software is browser based and doesn't require a native client, so it can be managed from anywhere there is access to a browser.
LaPedis said TrustWatch has been in pilot testing by two banking customers for several months. IT administrators have a number of options in setting up access and policy rules. For example, the system could report on all activities including when the drives are used at home. There could be an alert issued if home use is not allowed.
WOW.. great mention
http://www.cgidir.com/news/press/070131SignaCert.html
Technology Industry Leaders Come Together to Advance New Security and Management Approach
January 31, 2007; 04:00 AM
SignaCert today announced that industry leaders have come together to deliver a new proactive approach to verify customers’ software and IT systems integrity. SignaCert will enable Intel, Sun Microsystems, Juniper Networks, Applied Identity, Cordys, XenSource, PGP Corporation, Wave Systems Corp, Access Data, Kryptiq and others to advance a new method for addressing customer demand for more secure, reliable and cost-effective computing solutions.
Enterprise information environments have experienced continuous evolution since their introduction as business tools in the second half of the twentieth century. But today’s inter-networked and pervasive computing environment has outpaced the design envelope originally contemplated by early IT designers. As a result, the measurement and instrumentation framework necessary to proactively address security, reliability and manageability were not built into the core design. Each successive stage of evolution has added complexity to a foundation, which is insecure and increasingly fragile.
To address these challenges, leading technology ecosystem players are embracing a new approach based on proactive measurement and verification. SignaCert is providing a standards-based, neutral, trusted third-party reference platform that will act as a verification proxy for the software industry. With the ability to verify states of files, systems and software based on a database of authentic data, organizations can proactively assure that software is deployed and configured as intended. System ‘drift’ or anomalous and unwanted files can be detected and corrective policy applied before symptoms develop -- reducing downtime, security failures and risk.
SignaCert’s database of authentic data contains a wide range of signatures for enterprise-focused software, such as: the operating system, applications, platforms and other software. SignaCert continuously and proactively works with IT-industry vendors to ensure the broadest software coverage.
“The traditional approaches to managing and securing systems aren’t working for customers,” said Wyatt Starnes, Founder and CEO of SignaCert. “Having a measurable baseline of verified norms gives organizations a different way to assure systems are in a healthy state. The industry aims to reset the way we manage dynamic, connected heterogeneous software environments to make them more available, more secure and more accountable.”
“All IT environments are mixed environments, and while vendors across platforms do a good job of verifying the integrity of initial installations of their own software, they often have little control beyond the initial state,” said Rob Crooke, Vice President, GM, Business Client Group, Intel Corp. “The shift in approach to a proactive validation and neutral stewardship of files will help make our IT investments more valuable, and will lower operating costs.”
“System failures are often the result of change, either through corruption, malicious code, or unintended configuration changes,” said John Pescatore, VP, Gartner Inc. “To secure servers and PCs, enterprises need vulnerability management approaches that assure that only trusted, valid software is running on their systems.”
“With Solaris 10 we have built in a number of technologies such as Solaris Containers, Least Privilege and Labeling to allow our customers to build secure applications and services,” said Tom Goguen, vice president of Solaris marketing, Sun Microsystems. “SignaCert’s approach is a fine complement to our Secure Execution technology, allowing customers to proactively validate heterogeneous environments.”
Participation is open to all OS, application and infrastructure vendors and is gaining support from other technology companies and organizations.
About SignaCert
SignaCert delivers software and services that provide true 100% enterprise integrity verification. Our Enterprise Trust Services enable business and government to measure, validate, and maintain the state of their enterprise infrastructure using a known, trusted reference. For more information, visit www.signacert.com.
Consumer Motivation?
Fedl Savings Plan: Not Responsible For Some Online Theft
By Judith Burns
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Thrift Savings Plan, which holds billions of
dollars in retirement savings for federal employees, is warning that it won't
be responsible for electronic thefts that have already stung about two dozen
plan participants.
Hackers withdrew about $35,000 from 23 individual TSP accounts in late
December after infiltrating the account holders' computers, according to the
TSP. It said its own system, which holds $206 billion of retirement savings,
hasn't been breached.
In a warning posted on its Web site, the TSP said federal employees and
retirees who access their retirement savings account electronically "must be
vigilant and protect their computers; the TSP cannot be responsible for their
negligence."
Tom Trabucco, director of external affairs at the TSP, in Washington, said
the TSP has alerted each of the account holders whose money was stolen and is
talking to the financial institutions where the funds were transferred. In a
telephone interview Monday, Trabucco declined to comment on whether the stolen
funds would be returned in full, saying talks on that are "ongoing."
"This is something that goes on everywhere," Trabucco added.
Similar intrusions have hit online brokerage accounts, including E*trade
Securities LLC, TD Ameritrade Inc. (AMTD) and Scottrade Inc. The electronic
thefts typically occur after hackers infect computers with software that
captures keystrokes, including user names, passwords and other sensitive
account information. Once they have tools to access the accounts, hackers
make electronic withdrawals without the account holders' knowledge or consent.
One key difference: Investors victimized by electronic theft at online
brokerage companies have been quietly repaid for losses, while those at the
TSP haven't been made whole - at least not yet. Trabucco chalked up that
difference to the fact that, unlike the TSP, such firms are "profit-making
organizations."
While anyone can be victimized by such theft, the TSP said computers without
firewalls and software to detect viruses and spyware are most vulnerable. The
TSP's Web site urges plan participants to beef up the security of their home
computers and said if they can't, they should consider accessing their account
the old-fashioned way - by mail or phone.
About 3.7 million current and retired federal employees have TSP accounts.
Trabucco said he wasn't sure how many plan participants access their accounts
electronically.
Trabucco said the TSP is working with the U.S. Secret Service to identify
the hackers, and has been advised not to provide any information beyond what
it has already revealed on its Web site. He said the online warning on
electronic theft has been well received by some retirement plan participants,
with one calling it a "best practice" for money management companies.
Interesting:
http://www.cio-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=49257
January 11, 2007
Microsoft Confirms NSA's Role in Vista Security
The NSA's involvement with Windows Vista -- which was confirmed by Microsoft this week -- is not the first time the NSA has provided guidance to Redmond. The NSA previously collaborated with Microsoft on the best methods to secure Windows XP and Windows 2000. The agency also has been credited with reviewing the Vista Security Guide published on Microsoft's Web site.
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News emerged this week that top cryptologists at the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) had a hand in some of the security features in Microsoft 's new operating system, Windows Vista. The NSA, best known for its code-breaking capabilities and covert-spying operations, loaned a team of cryptologists to the software giant for reviewing some of the security features in Vista, which is expected to be used, eventually, by hundreds of millions of computer users around the world.
The NSA, which was once so secretive it was referred to as "No Such Agency," said helping secure the soon-to-be-ubiquitous OS was a matter of national interest. "Our intention is to help everyone with security," Tony W. Sager, the NSA's chief of vulnerability analysis and operations, was quoted by the Washington Post as saying.
Sager also told the Post that the agency helped ensure that Vista was both secure and compatible with existing government software.
Microsoft has confirmed the agency played an active role in the software's development.
Ongoing Relationship
It is not the first time the NSA has been involved in providing guidance to Redmond. The NSA previously collaborated with Microsoft on the best methods to secure Windows XP and Windows 2000. The agency also has been credited with reviewing the Vista Security Guide published on Microsoft's Web site.
Although the NSA declined to provide details of its specific involvement with Vista, Sager told the Post it used a "red team" and a "blue team" to test Vista's security. The red team posed as "the determined, technically competent adversary" to disrupt, corrupt, or steal information. And the blue team helped with Vista's configuration.
Microsoft said in a statement that it also asked several other groups to review Vista, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Privacy Concerns
Although the NSA claims to have U.S. interests in mind when participating on projects such as this, the idea of a government agency climbing inside such ubiquitous and important software has raised privacy concerns in some quarters.
Marc Rotenberg, executive director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), told the Post that because Vista is expected to run on some 90 percent the world's personal computers, it is logical to be concerned that a government agency might take advantage to gain access to private data.
"There could be some good reason for concern," Rotenberg said. "Some bells are going to go off when the government's spy agency is working with the private sector's top developer of operating systems."
Computer Cos Boxed In By Latest Consumer Electronic Pdts
By Donna Fuscaldo
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The PC may not be dead, but the personal computer vendors might be hurting
if they don't come up with new ways to increase revenue.
In a world that is increasingly moving toward accessing digital content on
the go with small handheld devices, computer companies are faced with the
challenge of making their usually bulkier products more relevant.
That reality was underscored this week at the Consumer Electronics Show and
Macworld, where much of the hype centered on new video and phone products. For
example, the launch of Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) highly anticipated iPhone sent that
stock to an all-time high. Further evidence that the computer isn't hip came
from Apple's move to drop "Computer" from its corporate name after 30 years.
While the PC industry is expected to see anywhere from 10% to 12% unit
growth this year, analysts and investors say the leading vendors and their
chip suppliers may be hard-pressed to lodge double-digit revenue growth unless
they diversify. It may not be enough to churn out digital television sets or
printers that have low margins. Things like set-top boxes, media servers,
handtop computers and Internet appliances could be a saving grace, industry
watchers say.
"The PC market continues to be around $160 billion a year...but the problem
for many PC vendors is revenue growth is flat," says Charles Smulders, an
analyst at Gartner. "It's a reality that's come to bear in the last couple of
years."
For some time the PC market has been wrestling with how to post healthy
growth amid fierce competition and aggressive pricing. Rewind a few years ago
and PC's companies push into the consumer electronic market was the talk of
the town. However, with mixed results some of the PC makers ended up
retreating, opting to stick to what they know and do best. Others, including
Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), have been forging ahead, realizing the need to
diversify.
Shares of PC vendors and their suppliers have also been under pressure, in
part because of company-specific woes but also over concerns about the
increasingly commoditized PC market.
Dell Inc.'s (DELL) stock is off close to 20% since setting a high of $32.24
Feb. 15. While shares H-P have climbed, it has more to do with cutting costs
than optimism about the PC market or new products. A spokesman from H-P
declined to comment, and officials at Dell weren't immediately available to
comment.
In contrast, shares of Apple, which has successfully transformed itself from
a niche computer maker to digital entertainment company, have risen more than
15-fold in less than four years. Analysts and investors say the computer
companies will have to look more like Apple if they want to see their stocks
get a boost and survive in a mature market.
"What happens is [computer companies] get into areas like printers and
digital cameras and it's killing their margins," says Daniel Morgan, a
portfolio manager at Synovous Investment Advisors. "They have to find niche
spaces" where there's growth. Morgan concedes he doesn't know what the next
"killer app" will be for the computer industry, but it will have to be
something that has higher gross margins and the potential for high volume.
Rob Enderle of Enderle Group thinks the biggest problem facing computer
companies is Microsoft Corp. (MSFT). Computer companies rely on the likes of
Microsoft and Intel Corp. (INTC) to dictate where the market is going. With
Microsoft focusing more on its game console and Internet offerings these days,
computer companies are forced to play defense.
Take Bill Gate's speech at CES. Enderle says Gates talked about the Vista
operating system for only a short period of time before moving on to the xBox.
Little time was spent on the media PC, which has been a big area of
development for the computer companies trying to get into the digital home, he
says.
"The PC makers got a wake-up call during Gates' speech," says Enderle. "The
clear message to the PC guys is if they want to take advantage of what's going
on in this digital home, it's not just the PC."
What's more, computers companies typically don't spend a huge amount of
money on research and development, which hurts their ability to come out with
game-changing products.
As a result, Enderle said PC vendors may abandon Microsoft and move to
develop things on their own whether its a set-top box, handheld computer or
Internet appliance. Industry watchers are also predicting PCs will come in
different shapes and even in portable phones from the computer markers.
Even though Dell and H-P garnered little attention at CES, the companies did
announce some products that show they are trying to stay relevant in the
consumer market. In H-P's case, the company came out with a line of wireless
television displays that send content from your computer, as well as a
touchscreen computer the company is calling its Touchsmart PC. The Touchsmart
PC is designed to fit in areas of the home like a kitchen; using a touchscreen
lets your finger perform like a mouse.
Meanwhile, Enderle said, Dell's new 27-inch widescreen flat panel display's
sleek design looks more like something out of Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple
than Round Rock, Texas-based Dell. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) was also
out in force, announcing a media server that it thinks will fit nicely with
this concept of a digital home where music, movies and pictures can be
streamed throughout the house.
Whatever happens, it's clear that PC makers will "have to broaden their
portfolio in time if they want to continue to grow," noted Gartner's Smulders
New FDE Interview:
Seagate's Full Disk Encryption
An interview with Seagate's Vice President about their new FDE solution
To address the issue of data leaks from stolen or missing laptops, Seagate is working to create the first Full Disk Encryption enabled Hard Drive. The encryption will be performed on the hardware level using a ASIC chip on the drive. Every bit of data will be encrypted before being written to the HDD platter. We interviewed Mr Dan Good of Seagate Technology to find out more about this HDD. Mr. Good is the Senior VP at Seagate Technology.
What led Seagate to develop the FDE technology on hard drives?
The idea first came up from a forum that we had with our research division. Knowing that we had an unique environment with our hard drives and in our hard drive technology, we could do thing differently than what has been done before. After consultation with industry experts we can up with the Trusted Drive architecture five years ago without knowing what the market potential was going to be for data protection at the hard drive level. At the time the Trusted Drive group (at Seagate) was working with the emerging industry standard for enhance security, the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Under the original TPM guidance, however the hard drive was outside the circle of trusted devices. This meant that our drives were not a trusted device, whereas things like keyboards and mouse devices were. We thought this was not right. So we thought there was an added value in building a security solution in the hard drive and take advantage of the position that we had as a hard drive manufacturer. You know, ultimately the data is coming from the hard drive.
One of the big challenges that we had in making the investment in FDE was not having an understanding of the market opportunity. This was something that Seagate was not accustom in doing. So to validate and understand the requirements, we started to do some market research and gather voice of customer input. Our voice of customer process is a very formal and ridged process that enables us to integrate the requirement of the customers to our product. We found out that requirements that matter to our customers were things like ease of installation, maintenance, TCO, etc; not classical hard drive metrics, not classical hard drive requirements. We are more akin to things like capacity, data transfer rate, rpm, and reliability. So, through our voice-of-customer process we learned what some of the opportunities would be. There were two or three but the one that was most prominent was encryption, providing encryption on the drive itself and having the locking mechanism as close to the data as possible.
So this is pretty much how it all came about.
Do you see further developments in the FDE technology?
Oh yes. One of the things that we are doing in the next 6 months is to identify the paths we want to pursue in taking this technology to the next level and bringing to the main stream. With our Trusted Drive technology we got a whole host of application developers eager to engage with us in this technology model. And the reason is that software vendors, particularity software vendors in the security world need to have some place to hide their secrets. And we provide the perfect place to hide secrets, because we can cryptographically handle things in a way that makes very difficult to snoop or sniff the secrets. We have hidden operation in the drive as well as hidden storage place that normally can’t be accessed via ATA commands. So in a way we have a bit of a black box, in terms of a security device, that no one knows what is going on in there, and it is a perfect place to hide stuff.
Has Seagate engaged with Microsoft for its support of the FDE drive?
Definitely. Like with other software partners we have engaged Microsoft to take advantage of what Seagate’s FDE drive has to offer in enhancing security.
Has Microsoft been receptive to Seagate’s FDE drive?
I believe so. I’m hopeful that Microsoft will be supporting natively the FDE drive in future enhancement of Vista, perhaps by SP2. When this happen its solution will have a broad appeal. But at the same time, it will have a different value proposition than that of other solutions. We feel that the FDE drive is a technology enabler, enhancing and complementing the solutions that are already out there.
Wouldn’t Seagate’s FDE drive be competing with Microsoft’s Bit-Locker?
It really isn’t. For your standard-fare kind of applications that doesn’t require a lot of security, they aren’t really performance sensitive, and the user is very cost sensitive, software-based solutions like Bit-Locker would make much sense. However, for those applications that require the highest and best security, they cannot afford a performance impact, and users can afford to pay a little bit extra for an FDE implementation, Seagate’s FDE drive would be ideal. Security has always been good, better, best. Or may be starting with bad then good, better, and best. I think Microsoft sees Bit-Locker as good, but I think it can see FDE drive as best.
Performance wise, Seagate’s FDE drive is the clear winner compared to pure software based FDE implementation. What other areas does the FDE drive excel at?
Easy of use and implementation is another area that the FDE drive excels at. There was a survey done in identifying the challenges of implementing encryption. One of the biggest challenges is managing the encryption. It is a real a pain to manage passwords and keys. By partnering with the application developers we are bridging this gap. One key factor on ease of implementation is that on the FDE drive the encryption is always on, so data is always encrypted. Cost is another area of advantage. Software based FDE solution would end up costing in upwards of $115 per user. The FDE drive cost delta is only $90. So performance, simplicity, and cost are the areas that Seagate’s FDE drive stands out.
Juniper Networks launches new UAC solution
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/dec/07/yehey/techtimes/20061207tech1.html
Juniper Networks, Inc. today launched the new Unified Access Control (UAC) 2.0 solution, helping enterprises more effectively manage user access to critical business assets from a wide range of network endpoints. With UAC 2.0, Juniper Networks has completed integration of its market-leading 802.1X components with existing UAC functionality, including elements of the Odyssey Access Client and Steel-Belted Radius. UAC 2.0 is an open standards-based Layer 2/3 access control solution that can be rolled out in a flexible array of deployment scenarios to give enterprises real-time visibility and granular policy control throughout the network. The UAC 2.0 solution supports current and future interoperability within multi-vendor environments via support for both the IEEE 802.1X standard and Trusted Computing Group's Trusted Network Connect (TNC), a set of non-proprietary specifications that enables open standards-based access control.
"Juniper has delivered on the promise it made less than a year ago when we acquired Funk Software, combining Funk's market-leading 802.1X components and RADIUS technologies with our existing UAC solution," said Greg Bunt, Regional SE Manager for Juniper Networks APAC. "With UAC 2.0, we have set the bar in the network access control market for deployment flexibility and interoperability, enabling customers to use Juniper's firewalls and/or any 802.1X-enabled switch or wireless access point as enforcement points to secure access to applications and resources across distributed networks."
"Enterprise networks are increasingly complex and distributed, with a multitude of users including employees, partners and contractors requiring access to critical business information from network endpoints that may be poorly managed, unmanaged, or in many cases, completely unmanageable. The threat from dangerous and vulnerable endpoints has made network access control (NAC) a critical security process for enterprises," said Lawrence Orans, research director at Gartner. "As the access control market evolves and NAC deployments increase in scale and scope, enterprises will require solutions that enable them to leverage existing investments in network and security infrastructure, and are capable of interoperating seamlessly within heterogeneous IT environments."
Showtime Is Approaching For Microsoft Vista
By Carmen Fleetwood
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Vista and Office 2007 had the
longest and most extensive dress rehearsal in the company's history.
Now, showtime is here. On Thursday, the world's largest software company
will introduce business versions of updates to its core products, operating
system Windows Vista, Office 2007 and Exchange Server 2007, its email
platform, at the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, with Chief Executive Steve Ballmer and
a slew of other company executives attending. The consumer version launch will
be Jan. 30.
Representatives from many of the major PC manufacturers will be at the "A
New Day for Business" event, including Dell Inc. (DELL), Hewlett-Packard Co.
(HPQ), Lenovo Group Ltd. (0992.HK) and others. These companies will be showing
how their products work with Vista, Office and Exchange.
Microsoft has a lot riding on the product lines, particularly Vista and
Office, which make up about 90% of software company's overall profits.
Microsoft spent an estimated nearly $7 billion and five years developing
Vista, originally known as Longhorn. Vista is the first update of Windows
since 2001 and is more than two years behind what was expected to be its
market debut.
Office 2007 is the most significant revamp for the word-processing and
spreadsheet program in many years, although the last Office version came out
in 2003. Meanwhile, Exchange Server 2007 is the first revamp of Microsoft's
email platform in more than three years.
Vista, in particular, had a huge beta testing audience, which should help
get out a lot of bugs that plagued early editions of other major software
releases.
"Windows Vista was tested by more customers and partners than any product in
the history of Windows," a Microsoft spokeswoman said. "Windows Vista RC1 was
made available to more than 5 million users for testing and feedback, and
there were approximately 2 million downloads of Windows Vista beta 2."
There were more than 3.5 million beta testers for the new Office, and more
than 400,000 information technology professionals are testing the second beta
for Exchange Server 2007, the spokeswoman added.
A number of industry experts say it's unlikely that the new product lines
will see enormous sales immediately - even though about 90%, or an estimated
800 million, of all PCs worldwide run on Windows - because of a lack of a
single "killer" application and the belief by many that it's better to wait
for the improved version. A few research firms have projected that Vista will
be installed worldwide on about 100 million computers in its first year after
launch.
Pricing for Vista is about the same as the equivalent version of Windows XP.
Vista will have five versions with three for consumers and two for businesses.
Windows Vista Business will cost $299 for a full package and $199 for an
upgrade. The cost will range from $99.95 for an upgrade of Windows Home Basic
to the top price of $399 for the premium version, Windows Vista Ultimate.
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 suite versions will retail for $149.
Meanwhile, Microsoft Office Ultimate 2007 will retail for $679, and an upgrade
is listed at $539 on the company's Web site. Pricing for Exchange 2007 will
be made available on Microsoft's Web site on Friday.
Microsoft itself provided some hints that a substantial revenue boost from
the new products might not be immediate. The company said it expected fiscal
2007 revenue to increase from the previous year at a range of 13% to 15%. On
average, Thomson First Call expects the company's revenue to be more than $50
billion in 2007. Microsoft's fiscal 2006 revenue grew 11% from the earlier
year.
Microsoft Touts Early Feedback For Improvements
Yancey Smith, a group product manager with Microsoft Office, believes that
with Office's huge beta testing program and the early feedback it provided,
customers will see the "huge improvements" right away.
"There is a little bit of buzz" about Vista from customers, said Glen
Ochten, manager of Village Computer of Bernardsville, N.J., which serves a
consumer and small business audience. But Ochten notes as well that customers
seem to be buying PCs if they need them instead of holding off until Vista's
release.
Others pointed out, though, that Windows XP, Microsoft's current version of
its operating system, has been quite popular with both consumers and business
customers, and they might not see the need to switch immediately.
Microsoft instituted a voucher system with many PC manufacturers in which
customers who buy PCs currently without Vista will get either a free upgrade
or a discount for one, depending on the individual company.
The voucher plan was implemented to lessen the impact of the Vista delay
into the key fourth quarter and holiday season for consumer purchases. In
terms of the business market as well, many times companies wind up making
unexpected technology purchases if they have money in their budget. In the
first quarter, particularly with consumers, spending habits can tighten as
people need to pay off holiday bills.
Thursday's launch is targeted toward users who will purchase bulk versions
of the products. But many analysts expect the initial early adopters to be
more on the consumer side, since businesses tend to wait until the systems can
be deployed by overworked information technology teams. A number of surveys,
including studies from Gartner Inc. (IT), online retailer CDW Corp. (CDWC),
International Data Corp. and many others indicate that corporate buyers won't
do mass deployments until farther out.
Vista (for corporate customers) will have a late 2007 roll, said Rob Enderle
of the Enderle Group. He adds that it will stretch into 2008, as well.
Vista has several new features that have generated positive buzz in the
press and on the Internet, including better security features and an easier
way to distribute security patches, better search capabilities, significantly
improved graphics and more efficiencies.
Perhaps the biggest change in Office is the replacement of drop-down menus
with "Ribbon," which will show command icons across the top of the page. In
Exchange 2007, one of the most substantial changes is that messaging can now
contain a combination of email, voice mail and faxes.
Gotta love this hint:
(Thanks Rosie and UncleV !!)
From the CC, page 6:
I think when the world sees what we have done on top of the Vista platform that that will further enhance where we can take this from a market share prospective going forward.
TCG Member Lockheed Martin:
Lockheed Martin to Webcast Security Technology Conference Presentation
BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lockheed Martin
Corporation (NYSE: LMT) will webcast live a presentation by Judy Marks,
President, Lockheed Martin Transportation and Security Solutions, at the
Thomas Weisel Partners Security Technology Conference on Monday, Dec. 4, 2006.
Ms. Marks will present on behalf of Lockheed Martin from 9:00 to 9:25 a.m.
EST. She will highlight the Corporation's activities in support of homeland
security. An audio replay will be available for two weeks.
Access the webcast and replay at: http://www.lockheedmartin.com/investor.
Trusted Computing Group Enables Platform Integrity Measurement and Verification
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20061120005...
Trusted Computing Group Enables Platform Integrity Measurement and Verification
Specifications Help Detect Rootkits and Facilitate Reporting of Integrity Information to Better Protect Systems, Data and Networks
PORTLAND, Ore.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Trusted Computing Group (TCG), an industry group of more than 140 members creating open industry specifications for computing security, today released a set of specifications to provide a foundation for platform integrity measurement and verification. Effectively measuring and verifying the state of the platform results in the assurance that the platform can protect its information. Platforms can include PCs, servers, mobile phones and virtually any computing device.
The new specifications, which are available today on the organizatiomမs website www.trustedcomputinggroup.org, augment the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a core set of security functions defined by TCG members and widely used in virtually all enterprise PCs and many servers. These new specifications ensure that the state of the system in which a TPM is used is reported accurately and in a standard fashion. Isမs anticipated that services and products incorporating these specifications will go into development for availability in 2007.
The availability of a common approach for assurance of platform integrity and measurement means that users and administrators are assured of accurate and consistent reporting of the platforms state, enabling effective deployment of applications such as network access control, managing patches, monitoring platform integrity, intrusion detection, support for forensics and others+ဝ noted TCG Infrastructure Work Group co-chairs Thomas Hardjono, security architect, SignaCert, and Ned Smith, security architect, Intel Corporation.These specifications are the next step to completing the framework and capabilities of the trusted platform and essential to effective information security-ဝ
The new specifications include:
The Integrity Management Architecture provides a common framework for defining, collecting and reporting information about the integrity of the hardware and software components of a trusted platform (one that has the TPM). Integrity information includes values in the TPM within a system, files on the system, in-memory images and others. What is measured is dependent on the use of the measurement. For example, in implementations of TCFs Trusted Network Connect (TNC) for network access control, the client trying to attach to the network might be measured to determine what patches and antivirus software it has loaded, or checked to see if it has changed since the last connection.
The Platform Trust Services Interface specification defines a measurement agent to collect, measure and report the integrity information on the platform, which can be a PC, mobile phone, server or other device. This ability complements the Trusted Network Connect architecture by enabling an integrity check of the platform before it is connected to the network. This can help detect root kits when used in concert with boot integrity checking, and can identify infected or unauthorized clients.
The Integrity Schema specification provides a common XML-based data format to facilitate information exchange within the Integrity Management Architecture and integrates with Platform Trust Services Interface specification. The schema specification covers the format for integrity data to be collected and reported; the format for representing reference measurement of known values; and the format for evaluating the results of platform integrity assessments including reporting of the TPM platform configuration registers (PCRs).
About TCG
TCG is an industry standards body formed to develop, define, and promote open standards for trusted computing and security technologies, including hardware building blocks and software interfaces, across multiple platforms, peripherals, and devices. TCG specifications are designed to enable more secure computing environments without compromising functional integrity with the primary goal of helping users to protect their information assets from compromise due to external software attack and physical theft. More information and the organizations specifications are available at the Trusted Computing Grouos website, www.trustedcomputinggroup.org.
Brands and trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Contacts
For Trusted Computing Group
Anne Price, 602-840-6495
Mobile: 602-330-6495
press@trustedcomputinggroup.org
Taking A Fresh Look At Quanta
Maybe a little OT ...................
QUANTA COMPUTER, the world's biggest manufacturer of notebook personal
computers, is taking a leap into new product categories, and adventurous
investors may want to go along for the ride.
Taiwan-based Quanta Computer may be the biggest PC company that most
consumers have never heard of. It manufactures notebook PCs -- 18.4 million of
them last year -- on contract for brands like Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo
Group and Acer.
Since Quanta's founding in 1998, the business has grown quickly. For 2005,
Quanta reported revenue of NT$479.22 billion (US$14.61 billion), up 45% from
the previous year.
Quanta works in a painfully competitive sector. Notebook features and
designs have become relatively standard, so vendors increasingly compete on
price. Big-name brands have responded by using their growing market share,
produced by years of consolidation, to try to squeeze costs by playing Quanta
off against rivals in Taiwan like Compal Electronics, Asustek Computer and
Wistron. Quanta's consolidated operating-profit margin, including
subsidiaries, narrowed to 1.5% last year from 3.3% in 2004 and 7.5% in 2000.
To compensate, Quanta last year accelerated expansion into products where
profit-margin pressures aren't as severe, such as MP3 music players,
global-positioning satellite-navigation devices and flat-panel LCD
televisions. At the same time, the company has revved up its investment on
research and development -- a departure for a company long focused on
cost-cutting. Quanta has built a large R&D center near its headquarters in
Taoyuan. Overall, it spent US$162.3 million on R&D in 2005, up more than 80%
from the previous year and more than five times the 2000 level.
The spending appears to be paying off. Non-PC products made up an estimated
15% of total revenue in the first half of this year, and Quanta says that
figure could be 25% in 2007. Alex Hung, a fund manager at Cathay Securities
Investment Trust in Taipei, expects next year's level to be between 25% to
30%. While he doesn't expect profit margins to shoot up, Mr. Hung says the new
products will help them stabilize -- meaning Quanta's earnings growth can hew
more closely to its supercharged revenue growth.
Analysts and some investors also say Quanta's core PC business could grow
even more quickly next year. They say the company is well positioned to
benefit from the launch of Microsoft's new Vista operating system, expected
early next year. Such launches generally trigger a surge in demand for PCs, as
consumers buy machines that can take advantage of the new software's
additional functions. Quanta has recently beat out rivals for some big orders
from leading customers, analysts say.
In the current quarter, the wait for Vista could cause a short-term slowdown
in PC sales, but analysts say that by next year the new system could have a
big positive impact on Quanta's bottom line. Allen Pu, an analyst at SinoPac
Securities in Taipei, expects Quanta's notebook PC shipments to rise 35% to
50% next year from close to 20 million expected for 2006. Mr. Pu has a
12-month target price for Quanta of NT$62 to NT$65 (US$1.89 to US$1.98).
Yesterday, its shares rose 0.2% in Taipei to close at NT$53.30.
Not everyone is enthusiastic about Quanta shares, but even some skeptics
have become more optimistic. Tony Tseng, an analyst who covers the company for
Merrill Lynch in Taipei, published a report in late August in which he cut his
estimates for Quanta earnings per share by 17% for 2006 and by 11% for 2007,
citing continued margin pressure and concerns about the pace of its product
diversification.
In a report Nov. 1, Mr. Tseng raised his EPS estimates by 11% this year and
by 7% for 2007, saying "Quanta's efforts in product diversification beyond PCs
have finally started to pay back." Mr. Tseng said he still had doubts about
those efforts, however, and kept a "neutral" rating on the stock.
Some Quanta bulls find reason for longer-term optimism in its participation
in a project led by Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Nicholas
Negroponte to develop ultracheap notebook PCs to sell to governments in
developing countries for distribution to schoolchildren. The initiative,
called One Laptop Per Child, aims to make the computers for just around $100.
It is a risky venture for Quanta -- profits are hard enough to come by making
machines that sell for several times that amount.
Quanta President Michael Wang recently suggested the company could use the
techniques it has developed on the project to cut production costs for its
other products. And Mr. Pu of SinoPac says the project could boost Quanta's
total sales enough to offset the risks.
One business Quanta has gotten out of, even as it enters others, is making
the liquid-crystal-display panels used in TVs and computer monitors. The
LCD-panel sector is notoriously volatile, and Quanta's LCD operation was too
small to compete with big players such as Samsung Electronics and AU
Optronics. In April, Quanta agreed to sell its LCD-panel operation to AU
Optronics, and starting in the current quarter it will no longer book that
unit on its financial reports.
Richard Wang, a fund manager at National Investment Trust in Taiwan, said
the sale will help the company report "much stronger profit" in the current
quarter and the first quarter of next year. He says he will keep buying Quanta
shares until the price gets to the NT$58 to NT$60 range.
New Wave, re: Seagate
That "few dollars per" comment is obviously in addition to whatever the end user pays upon activation, right?
FM
Hey Jas
I'm out of my element here, but let me ask you a question:
Exactly WHAT is preventing the consumer side from kicking in prior to the enterprise side (and really, who's to say they can't have some parallel adoption curve?)? I really don't know the answer to that question.
If secure delivery of digital content can be made to be profitable on consumer devices, wouldn't the providers push the standard?? Haven't we already seen that on a more cumbersome, less-user-friendly scale with the iPods?
I wouldn't think it would be TPM manufacturer capacity constraints... this is WINTEL... they'd allocate resources.
It obviously isn't content. What, exactly, is it then that would hold up the consumer side until, as you have suggested, 2008-2009?
thanks,
FM
barge, I'm not getting something....
From my reading your posts and links, you seem to have a great argument on the consumer-led TPM revenue train (Frankly, I don't care; I just want to see the up-slope). You had a lot of opposition prior to Michael Sprague's interview but it seems, after that, POOF.
Now, obviously, the argument of consumer vs. enterprise still stands, but a thought did occur to me about the activation rates. That thought is simply which is easier to accomplish: one customer trying to activate millions of TPMs or millions of customers trying to activate a single TPM?
TPMs are a Wintel standard, so we now know they're going to be everywhere. If you are correct about the consumer side (and I gotta believe DRM and digital distribution as a revenue driver in the private sector is more immediate than HSPD in the public sector) this could be GIGANTIC in very short order.
Thanks for plugging along and piquing our interest.
Do I Need the Trusted Platform Module in my Tablet PC?
(click on link to see graphics)
http://www.tabletpcreview.com/default.asp?newsID=621
This is a question many have probably asked as they pondered the purchase of a new Tablet PC. Most of the major Tablet PC manufacturers, Dell, HP, IBM, Toshiba, and Fujitsu, Gateway and Acer, already have models with the TPM inside or plan to release models with the TPM in the not-too-distant future. Industry analysts believe the chip may be in almost every computer by the end of the decade.
So what exactly is the TPM? Put simply, the TPM is a small chip that provides an encrypted environment to store passwords and other security and authentication information. The TPM in conjunction with software provides validation of authentication information such as biometrics and passwords ensuring that only authorized users have access to the data contained on the Tablet PC.
The TPM was developed by a standards organization known as the Trusted Computing Group and is not based on any one company's proprietary hardware or software.
What the TPM brings to the party is security based in hardware not just software (which can be easily cracked). The module has special features which make it unaccessible to hackers or unauthenticated users.
As an example, before the advent of the TPM (Trusted Platform Module) Windows based Tablet PCs had a gaping security hole -- the password used to access a password protected Tablet PC was stored in clear text on the machine which made it very easy for a hacker to gain access to the machine. With TPM the password can be stored in an encrypted format in the TPM making it virtually impossible for an unauthorized user to derive the password.
Passwords are the most widely used form of authentication but often one of the weakest because people use passwords that are too weak or leave them static for too long. The TPM in conjunction with a software program can help the user create a robust password and ensure that the password is replaced at regular intervals. The TPM can also allow for multi-factor authentication such as password and biometric together.
Another example would be if you were using encryption software to encrypt certain data on your Tablet PC. While this provides you with a certain level of security, the key to the encrypted data is still being stored on the machine with the data and is therefore vulnerable to being cracked should your Tablet PC be lost or stolen. With a TPM the encryption key would be stored in encrypted format on the chip itself making it virtually impossible to crack.
A TPM capable Tablet PC can also simplify logging into websites or applications by automatically saving and providing secure complex passwords. The passwords are protected by the TPM which provides a high level of security.
The TPM chip is only one side of the security equation though. Without complementary software the chip's functionality is useless. Independent software vendors are developing software based on standards that is optimized for the TPM platform. Most manufacturers that offer the TPM chip in their machines also bundle software to go with it.
The whole concept of the TPM is still in its infancy and no one yet knows how it will develope. Industry experts foresee the TPM making its way into all manner of devices such as USB drives, tape drives, and cell phones.
So to answer our question posed in the title- in a nutshell, yes. If you're a corporate Tablet PC user chances are your IT department has already equipped you with TPM Tablets. If you're a home user, well with identity theft on the rise, these days it's not just rocket scientists and captains of industry that need to keep their data secure.
A TPM module usually adds little to the retail price of a computer. Considering the security gains you get it's almost always worth the few extra dollars. However the important thing to remember is that security requires an active user. Just buying a Tablet PC with TPM inside won't keep you secure unless you use the included software and follow good security practices.
ahhh, barge............
this damned dial-up !!!LOL
Rachel, inciteful vs. insightful? e/
Dig, it is in the semantics...........
PIPEs are a form of private placement. Similar to PPs, they are sold to accredited individuals, institutions, and funds, as opposed to a secondary or public offering.
However, the shares Wave just sold under the shelf were not done as a PIPE. There were no warrants; no options; no 20% discount to the market, which are the primary distinctions. It was done at the previous day's closing bid. Had it been a PIPE, it would have been priced at $2.73 X whatever discount the buyers could have negotiated.
PIPE buyers are also concerned with float/liquidity as they tend to sell the position quickly. They're also looking for ways to hedge near the bid.
I believe the institutions that participated in the last PP have a much longer view of Wave.
Mao, I owe you an apology,
for my less-than-nice treatment here, but epecially the PM.
Why my sudden change of heart? Because after extensive investigation, I believe you are the nurse that took care of a certain retired army major named David who was recuperating from back surgery a couple months ago.
Am I correct???
WowMao,
You sure seem to meet a lot of people ...........
dig, re PIPEs..............
In a PIPE, a company that is already publicly traded sells newly issued but unregistered shares to sophisticated investors in a private transaction. Once the sale is completed, the company registers the shares with the Securities and Exchange Commission so they can then be traded like any other stock. That reverses the process of a normal secondary offering, where a company first registers the shares, then sells them.
The advantage of doing it backwards with a PIPE? For the investor, it's price. Most PIPEs are priced at a significant discount to the price that already-issued shares fetch on the stock market. The average discount is 13 percent.
Investors often get other sweeteners. Depending on how the PIPE is structured, these can include dividend payments or warrants that allow the investor to buy more shares at a fixed price.
The issuer enjoys some advantages, too.
For starters, a PIPE can be cheaper and faster than a normal stock sale because the issuing company doesn't have to file all the expensive paperwork with the SEC until after the deal is done. Even then, it's only required to file an S-3 statement, which is shorter and cheaper to produce than the S-1 statement that is required in public offerings.
PIPEs are also very, very private.
There's a good reason for this. If the company trying to raise money with a PIPE approaches more than about two dozen investors, the law says the sale stops being a private placement and becomes a general solicitation, requiring the filing of
an S-1.
As a result, most PIPEs only get pitched to a handful of would-be investors in one-on-one meetings.
This requirement for stealth has the added benefit of protecting the company's reputation in the event the offering flops -- a development that is not unusual.
PIPES do present risks. When the deals aren't structured properly, they can be company killers, especially if the investors who buy into the offering turn out to be short sellers who bet that a company's stock price will fall.
That's what happened with eToys. It sold a PIPE that had a provision that compensated PIPE investors if the stock price went down by giving them even more shares of the company. That so-called "floorless conversion" feature actually encouraged some investors to short eToys because the lower the shares went, the more of the company they owned. Eventually, however, they drove the company's shares to zero -- and the company out of business.
Roth said the industry has learned from the example of eToys and other bad deals and now structures PIPES so they are "win-win or lose- lose" propositions for both parties.
HOTTREND LIST OF MOST ABNORMALLY TRADED STOCKS
DATE: 10/31/06
COUNTRY: US
EXCHANGE: NASDAQ
TIME PERIOD: 9:30-3:30
LAST CHANGE %CHANGE
RANK COMPANY NAME TICKER PRICE ON DAY ON DAY
1 SIRNA THERAPEUTICS RNAI 12.64 6.19 95.97
2 RACKABLE SYS INC RACK 31.09 2.20 7.62
3 UNDER ARMOUR INC C UARM 47.04 .30 .64
4 AVANIR PHARMACEUTI AVNR 4.07 -3.33 -45.00
5 BAIDU COM INC SPON BIDU 87.91 -8.09 -8.43
6 MTR GAMING GROUP I MNTG 10.70 .65 6.47
7 ALNYLAM PHARMACEUT ALNY 20.00 3.40 20.48
8 MARCHEX INC CL B MCHX 14.20 -1.79 -11.19
9 I2 TECHNOLOGIES IN ITWO 20.21 1.01 5.26
10 WAVE SYSTEMS CORP WAVX 3.12 -.07 -2.19
11 LUMERA CORP LMRA 8.42 2.07 32.60
12 INTEVAC INC IVAC 20.78 3.94 23.40
13 NCO GROUP INC NCOG 26.93 -.16 -.59
14 INSITUFORM TECHNOL INSU 23.41 -3.14 -11.83
15 FARO TECHNOLOGIES FARO 19.31 2.38 14.06
dig, re the last "PIPE"
It wasn't a PIPE at all. No discount, no warrants. It was done under the existing shelf, priced at the previous day's close as a private placement.
I thought you left the board in a fit.........
but, it is good to see you posting again.
FM
cosign, you're not going to get away
from the reverse-split. It is what it is.
Collectively, we still have a pre-split-mentality;
"I bought stock at $1.01. I'm even at $3.03";
"I own this at $5, when it was on the way down, now I need $15."
I find myself being somewhat sanguine about the price; happy that it is at the high for the year but realizing what the pre-split equivalent is.
Here's the good news.........
The market is about two things, really, earnings and supply of stock.
Let's assume we start to post profits in the third quarter next year. When it comes to earnings-per-share, you're dividing that profit by a third of the stock (due to the reverse-split) that you had at the same time last year. Now, apply some PE ratio to that and you'll see why the reverse-split helps the share price when companies are profitable.
So, now the EPS is great, investors (mom and pop and institutions) start to buy, but... there's only a third of the stock outstanding now, well, supply vs. demand is our friend.
Hummer, what a great endorsement !!
I think somewhere in all the bickering is the fact that
there is an estimate of $25 dollars per password re-set. I know I'm guilty; I must cost my firm at LEAST $75 per year. As SKS says (and I'm paraphrasing) "can you imagine the savings for the General Motors Retirement Plan?" It obvious to me that Wave's solution represents a huge cost benefit. Thanks for sharing a real-world example. The market needs more of this !
http://www.wavesys.com/solutions/password_management.html
from iHub's 2leelake:
What an outstanding reference chart ! Thanks 2leelake !
(note: this was originally created in spreadsheet format)
Wave’s Trusted Computing Partners
Company, Trusted Computing Products, and Wave’s Involvement
a la mode, inc. Managing secure real estate and mortgage transactions online. Has contracted to use Wave’s eSign Transaction Management Suite (eTMS)
Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) The No. 2 chip and processor Mfg. Plans are to provide chipsets with TPM’s.
Apple Computer A supplier of Macintosh computers using MAC Operating System (OS). Starting in 2007, Apple will provide Macintosh computers using Intel microprocessors. By using Intel processors, Microsoft’s future version of Vista will be able to run on Macintosh computers Rumor has that one of the reason Apple in planning on using Intel processors is so MAC computers with TPM’s can be made available. If so, Wave’s EMBASSY line of products can be used to provide security solutions for Macintosh computers.
ARM Connected Community Is a global network of companies aligned to provide a complete solution for advanced trusted computing applications and services for all open trusted platforms. As part of the ARM Connected Community, Wave has access to a full range of resources to help it market innovative solutions (EMBASSY products) associated with ARM TrustZone technology. Together, EMBASSY and TrustZone architectures provide security solutions for PCs, cell phones and PDAs.
Atmel (ATML) Mfg’s 1.1 and 1.2 Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses NTRU’s Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). Atmel is one of five TPM chip vendors. Atmel has a licensing agreement with Wave Systems to use EMBASSY Security Center (ESC) to provide the secure software for the TPM. The software package includes the Wave’s cryptographic support utility (CSP).
Broadcom (BRCM) Mfg’s 1.1 and 1.2 Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses Infineon Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). BRCM is one of five TPM chip vendors. On 4/5/06 Wave signed an OEM Software Distribution agreement with Broadcom permitting the distribution of Wave’s EMBASSY products and are available to customers for use with BRCM TPM.
CSS Laboratories A global manufacturer and supplier of PC-based hardware platforms for corporate, industrial, government and military applications. Offers Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS) software and infrastructure to government and enterprises interested in secure and trusted computing solutions.
Cisco Systems (CSCO) Engages in the manufacture and sale of networking and communications products worldwide. The company provides routers and switching systems for transporting data, voice, and video within buildings and across campuses. July, 2006, Cisco announced the purchase of Meetinghouse to bolster its security portolio with Meetinghouse’s client-side wireless security software. Meetinghouse and Wave have worked together using Wave’s Embassy Endpoint Enforcer and Meetinghouse’s Aegis SecureConnect 4.0 on PC’s with TPMs’.
Dell (DELL) Mfg’s and markets computers with Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Dell uses Broadcom (BRCM) 1.1 TPM’s and ST Microelectronics (STM) 1.2 TPM’s.
Dell is providing customers with 1.1 and 1.2 TPM computers using Wave’s EMBASSY ETS, Dell Edition 1.0 software. Envoy Data Corp. is the reseller of the EMBASSY ETS to Dell. Starting in March, 2006 all Latitude computers with 1.2 TPM will be preloaded and bundled with Wave’s EMBASSY ETS.
Diebold A global leader in the manufacturer of self-service terminals and ATM networks. Using Intel motherboards and Wave software, Diebold is the first to deploy ATM’s utilizing TPM’s.
Electronic Data Systems (EDS) A leading global technology servces company delivering solutions to business and governments. EDS is one of the worlds two largest systems integrators. Wave Systems works with EDS to provide EDS customers trusted computing solutions.
Envoy Data Corp A distributor, integrator and aggregator of IT products for use in the Network Security and Secure Data Storage industry. Envoy is a major reseller of Dell computers to the government. Envoy Data Corp resells and distributes Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS) software and infrastructure to enterprises and government interested in advanced trusted computing solutions. Provides Wave’s EMBASSY ETS, Dell Edition 1.0 software to Dell Inc.
Gateway Mfg’s and markets computers with Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Gateway uses Broadcom (BRCM) 1.2 TPM’s.
Gateway has a license agreement with Wave for a custom version of Embassy Trust Suite security software. Gateway recommends the purchase of ETS when purchasing a computer with a 1.2 TPM.
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D)
A German Company G&D is a technology leader in the field of smart cards, and a leading producer of banknotes, security documents and currency automation. G&D and Wave formed a strategic alliance to leverage the combination of smart card technology and TPM software to offer security solutions to clients in industry and government.
Hewlett Packard (HP/Compaq) (HPQ) Mfg’s computers with Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses Infineon 1.1 and 1.2 Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) and Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). Infineon software is rebranded as HP’s ProtectTools software. HP recommends Wave’s EMBASSY products be used by customers to enhance HP’s ProtectTools Embedded Security Software.
IBM Mfg’s Computers with TPM’s. Uses NSM’s Super I/O Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). IBM’s uses its own Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). In 2005 IBM sold its PC business to Lenovo, a Chinese Company. Wave’s Cryptographic IP is in every NSM TPM shipped. Wave’s EMBASSY products are available for customers to use with NSM TPM.
ICT Economic Impact, Ltd. (ICT, A United Kingdom and German Company) Provides enterprises with information and communications technology infrastructure systems. Rumor is that ICT, Intel and Wave are working on an all inclusive security solution where computer security functions are preinstalled (ETS full) to distribute to companies that want a fully functional solution out of the box.
Infineon Technologies (IFX) Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) and Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). Considered a competitor to Wave Systems. Infineon software is not interoperable with other TPM’s, while Wave’s software works with all TPM’s. IFX is one of five TPM chip vendors. Has demoed their TPM using Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite Professional 4.0 (ETS).
Intel (INTC) Mfg’s chipsets and TPM motherboards. TPM 1.1 motherboards manufactured with the Infineon TPM and Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). TPM 1.2 motherboards manufactured with ST Micro’s TPM and Wave’s Software. Intel is the No. 1 chip mfg. Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite 4.3 (ESC) is bundled with Intel’s TPM motherboards. Late April, 2005, Intel announced the availability of 1.2 TPM motherboards using ST Micro TPM’s and Wave’s ESC software for TPM management/take ownership. Intel recommends the purchase of Wave’s ETS 4.3 or 5.0 software for advanced security features when protecting documents, securing passwords, generating digital certificates, encrypting email, logging on to Windows, managing security preferences, and other security applications. Wave ETS products can be purchased from Intel.
Itronix (A General Dynamics Company) Makes a rugged line of General Dynamics brand industrial notebook computers. In August, 2006 announced a new line of notebook computers call GoBook XR-1 that includes Wave Systems’ Embassy Security Center software.
Lenovo Group (A Chinese Company) In 2005 Lenovo purchased IBM’s PC line of computers. Assumes Lenovo continues to use Wave’s Cryptographic IP and NSM TPM. Wave’s EMBASSY products are available for customers to use with the NSM TPM.
Microsoft (MSFT) Provides computer operating systems (OS) software such as Windows XP and Microsoft Office. Longhorn (NGSCB compliant) is the next release to replace Windows, scheduled for 2006. The Longhorn name has been changed to Windows Vista and will be available in November of 2006. Wave’s EMBASSY products are compliant with Microsoft’s crypto-API specifications and work in the Microsoft Office environment. Vista, the next Windows XP release will require a computer with a 1.2 TPM.
National Semiconductor (NSM)
Super I/O Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses IBM’s Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). March, 2005, NSM announced the sale of their TPM business to Winbond Electronics. The sale was completed in the 4th Quarter of 2005. Wave’s Cryptographic IP is in every Super I/O TPM shipped.
NTT Data Corp A Japanese Company providing the Japanese government and businesses with quality secure solutions in the trusted computing environment. NTT Data is one of the worlds two largest systems integrators. In January, 2006, NTT Data and Wave Systems signed an Alliance MOU (memorandum of understanding) to resell and support Wave’s Embassy secure software technology in the Japanese enterprise trusted computing markets. In July, 2006, the contract was signed.
NTRU Cryptosystems Provides Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS) 1.1 and 1.2 to Trusted Platform Modules (TPM) manufacturers. Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite Professional 4.0 (ETS) is provided by NTRU to its TPM manufacturers and PC OEM’s as a complete software solution package.
RSA Security Develops and sells security solutions to e-businesses. Wave joined the RSA Security Partner Program to provide trusted identity and access management between Wave’s eSign Transaction Management Suite (eTMS) and RSA Keon digital certificate management software.
Seagate Technology Is the world wide leader in the design, manufacturing and marketing of hard disc drives used in many types of devices such as computers, mobile phones, MP3 players and PDA’s. Seagate has developed a new line of “encryption on disk” secure data protection hard disc drives. The Momentus FDE line of trusted products uses Intel motherboards and features Wave’s Trusted Device Manager, which is a collection of security tools that provides users with advanced security features.
SmartAxis Is a value added reseller to system integrators, consultants and OEMs in Greece, Turkey, Cyprus and Balkan Countries. SmartAxis distributes Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS) software.
ST Microelectronics (STM)
Mfg’s Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses NTRU’s Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). STM is one of five TPM chip vendors. STM is licensed to use Wave’s EMBASSY Security Center (ESC) and Wave’s TCG Cryptographic Service Provider (CSP) as part of their security solution for trusted PC’s. STM uses ARM TrustZone and EMBASSY to enhance security in mobile handheld wireless devices (e.g. cell phone, PDAs). Late April, 2005, STM announced the availability of 1.2 TPM’s using Wave’s ESC. STM has the design win for Dell’s 1.2 TPM’s scheduled for June, 2005 deployment.
TechScaler Reseller of secure IT solutions to small business, enterprise and government sectors. TechScaler resells and distributes Wave’s EMBASSY Trust Suite (ETS) software to enterprises interested in advanced trusted computing solutions.
Tumbleweed Communications
(TMWD) Provides secure Internet messaging software products for enterprises and the government. Together, Tumbleweed and Wave offer an integrated solution for secure access from unclassified to classified (secret) networks.
WidePoint Corp (WDPT)
And Operation Research Consultants, Inc. (ORC) WidePoint specializes in providing systems engineering, integration and information technology services to the government sector and commercial markets. Also, provides identity management solutions to federal, state and local governments through its wholly owned subsidiary Operation Research Consultants (ORC). The partnership agreement combines ORC’s federal government authorized External Certificate Authority (ECA) and Access Certificates for Electronic Services (ACES) capabilities with Wave’s EMBASSY ETS technology for use with federal compliant public key infrastructures. Its solution is designed to allow the private key for ACES and ECA certificates to be automatically generated and protected by the PC’s TPM. ORC and Wave have the only ACES/ECA solution that is compliant with FIPS 140-2, for both hardware and software modules.
Winbond Electronic Corp Mfg’s Super I/O Trusted Platform Modules (TPM). Uses IBM’s Core TCG Software Stack (CTSS). March, 2005, Winbond purchased the TPM business from NSM. Winbond is one of five TPM chip vendors. Wave’s Cryptographic IP is in every Super I/O TPM shipped. In April, 2006 Wave announced it had signed a software agreement with Winbond permitting the distribution of Wave’s ESC and CSP software technology.
Dell Face-0ff
SmartMoney(11/1) Face-Off: Dell
(From SMARTMONEY)
By Reshma Kapadia
Can Dell Restart, or Is the Stock Headed for a Crash?
YES: "It is still the largest and most efficient company. What's ailing Dell
is short term and fixable. Beyond that, there's nothing wrong; Dell's
franchise has a lot of value in it."
-- Mark Lanyon, technology hardware analyst, Morningstar
YES: Dell is not just a PC company; it's transitioning away from being king
of the hill of notebooks to helping customers with services. Those services,
such as data storage, are growing quickly and are more profitable than its
core PC business.
YES: Dell has one of the largest installed hardware bases and can sell
additional services -- like server installation and desktop upgrades -- to
those customers, making it into a decently profitable transaction.
YES: Dell hit the wrong market with its aggressive pricing; the corporate
sector is not wooed by discounts as easily as consumers. But I think it has
gotten religion. More intelligent pricing practices will have an immediate
impact on gross margins.
YES: Dell is making strides, shoring up its customer service, as well as
repositioning overseas -- it now has the No. 2 market share in China.
---
NO: "Dell has a long list of things against it and nothing for it. Some say
it's a great company, but that's not going to work this time. Dell is one of
the best shorts in the hardware group."
-- Eric Ross, director of technology research, ThinkEquity Partners
NO: You have the [Sony] recall of its batteries, which affects 40 percent of
Dell laptops expected to ship this year. And then there is the SEC
investigation into revenue recognition issues; that's another can of worms.
Dell is particularly weak in an already bad market.
NO: The growth in other businesses will help, but its main business is PCs.
We've seen a slowdown in consumer buying and are now seeing a slowdown in
corporate buying.
NO: Management is having a difficult time reacting to the PC slowdown and
renewed competitiveness from the likes of Hewlett-Packard, which has gained
meaningful share in the consumer notebook market. Dell's growth is slowing,
and margins are declining. It is no longer a value play for investors.
NO: It has struggled to retain market share by essentially buying it -- in
other words, aggressive pricing that has cut into profit.
Housing Bubble ............
10:56 (Dow Jones) "The hissing sound you hear is that of the bursting of the
U.S. property bubble -- drawing into serious question the wisdom the
asset-backed savings strategies that have taken America by storm over the past
decade," says Morgan Stanley's Stephen Roach. He's "still a believer in the
notion that -- lower oil prices or not -- the bursting of the housing bubble
is likely to take a meaningful toll on the seemingly unflappable American
consumer." (JCC)
thanks, Scorpio... e/
okay iHubbers, I need your help, please ....
Do you see the Momentus offered here?:
http://www.macupgrades.co.uk/store/product_info.php?products_id=248
Is this "our" FDE??
I've seen listings for Momentus, Momentus FDE, Momentus 5400, 5400.2, 5400.3, 5400 FDE.2, and Momentus 5400.3 FDE....
I'm stinkin' confused.......... if the drive from the link above is an FDE drive, then has Apple really gone to TPM'd Intel boards?
doma, Ramsey, Sheldon, (maybe even greg_s!!) ..??
Always fun to see ......................
http://www.8080.net/pics/20058/82417113636.jpg
US housing slowdown continues
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/c6ac0e82-4c9b-11db-b03c-0000779e2340.html
By Daniel Pimlott and Michael Mackenzie in New York
Published: September 25 2006 16:05 | Last updated: September 25 2006 16:05
Prices of existing homes fell for the first time in 11 years and the backlog of available homes for sale was at its highest since current measures began, underlining the significant slowdown in the housing market.
Existing-home sales slipped 0.5 per cent to an annual rate of 6.30m units in August from a level of 6.33m July, according to the National Association of Realtors. They were 12.6 per cent down on the year before
Economists had expected a fall in sales to 6.2m, following a sharp 4.1 per cent decline in sales in July.
“The housing market continues to weaken, but the deterioration in this report was relatively modest,” said John Ryding, economist at Bear Stearns.
The Federal Reserve has recently justified its pause in interest rate rises by saying that weakness in the housing sector will put the brakes on growth and help slow down inflation. The latest numbers suggest that the central bank may soon start lowering rates.
‘’Housing is in trouble, the economy is a lot weaker than people think and the Fed will ease policy much faster than what is currently priced by markets,’’ said Michael Kastner, head of fixed income at SterlingStamos.
The housing data pulled the yield on the two-year Treasury note down to about 4.65 per cent, its lowest level since March.
David Lereah, the NAR’s chief economist, said home sales appeared to be levelling out after a sharp drop in July. “After a stronger-than-expected drop in July, the fairly even sales numbers in August tell us the market is at a more sustainable pace,” he said.
The decline follows weak data on housing starts and building permits in August.
The median existing home price was $225,000 in August, down 1.7 per cent from a year earlier - the first price fall since 1995 and the second biggest decline on record . “This is the price correction we’ve been expecting – with sales stabilising, we should go back to positive price growth early next year,” Mr Lereah said.
Housing inventory levels rose 1.5 per cent to a 7.5 month supply at the current sales pace, compared with 6.3 months in July, and 4.7 months at this time last year. The inventory was at its highest since since condominiums were added to the survey in 1999.
Existing home sales account for about 85 per cent of the housing market. They have fallen every month since March.
I think Vacationhouse missed one!!
Soon You Can Trust Your Handset
http://www.commsdesign.com/news/insights/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193002427
Soon you can trust your handset
By Richard Nass
Mobile Handset DesignLine
Sep 18, 2006
The Trusted Computing Group's Mobile Phone Work Group has been hard at work creating an industry-wide approach to securing data, transactions, and content, for mobile handsets. They recently reached critical mass and have completed the development of a draft Mobile Trusted Module specification. The specification enables the development of stronger security, enhanced privacy, and reduced risk of loss and theft for both handset users and OEMs.
The Mobile Trusted Module (MTM) specification assumes the implementation of a mobile phone as a set of trusted engines, or places that manipulate data, within the device. Each engine can be trusted to report accurately its state so its trustworthiness can be established. The spec envisions that phones will include multiple trusted engines, each addressing specific functions including the device, cellular service, applications and user services.
Great TCG article:
http://www.ddj.com/dept/security/193000021
Group Releases Spec For Cellphone Security
By Rick Merritt
The Trusted Computing Group officially rolls out its standard for cellphone security, a specification three years in the making.
SAN JOSE, Calif. — The Trusted Computing Group (TCG) officially rolls out its standard for cellphone security Wednesday (Sept. 13), a specification three years in the making. The spec is intended to help make it easier to protect mobile data and applications, although several hurdles lay ahead for broadly adopting it.
Nearly 50 companies helped define the Mobile Trusted Module (MTM) spec to be posted and available free of charge starting September 13 at the TCG Web site. However, two of the largest cellphone chip makers—Texas Instruments and Qualcomm—did not participate in developing the spec. Indeed, the only carriers involved in the work were from Europe: Vodaphone and France Telecom.
The PC-oriented TCG kicked off the cellphone effort in 2003 and spent much of the first year recruiting stakeholders from the mobile world. The group coalesced in 2004 when it spent most of the year hammering out applications. Last year, its focus was on how to extend the group's PC security spec to the cellphone environment with its multiple stakeholders including users, carriers, OEMs and content providers.
To support those different parties, the MTM spec allows multiple roots of trust. A root of trust is a key or certificate typically expressed as a number that can only be obtained by a calculaiton using information private to a system or user. Local roots of trust can support multiple users of a single handset. Remote roots of trust can allow a carrier, OEM or application provider to prove they are trusted enough to modify or "reimage" the handset's operating system or other key software.
Like the existing PC spec, the MTM can use protected memory to store digital keys, certificates and passwords and support integrity checks of the device to measure its health and whether its state has changed.
Those tasks are handled with the same underlying RSA key cryptography for verifying digital certificates and the SHA-1 hashing algorithm employed by the existing PC spec. However, the spec uses those techniques differently to support multiple roots of trust locally and remotely.
Separately, the TCG is evaluating plans to migrate to the SHA-256 algorithm in light of cracks that have shown SHA-1 was more vulnerable than previously thought.
The spec allows for any sort of compliant implementation that supports its basic commands and control structures. Today, many chip sets already support RSA and SHA-1 for local security. That means they might only need to update their software to comply with the spec, said Mark Redman, a principal staff engineer in security for Freescale Semiconductor who worked on the spec.
"The standard is targeted at being design neutral," Redman said. "For many people that work will be more software intensive," he added.
Sometime in 2007, the group plans to release a broader platform security architecture showing carriers and application developers how the MTM can be employed. In parallel, the TCG is developing protection profiles for the cellphone it hopes will be ratified as part of the Common Criteria in 2007.
TCG said the new spec works with existing cellphone security schemes that use SIM and UICC cards. It also co-exists with separate security specs published by groups including 3GPP, Open Mobile Alliance, Open Mobile Terminal Platform and the Mobile Industry Processor Interface Alliance.
"The [TCG] member companies, which include handset makers, service providers, silicon makers and others, have worked closely to create an open specification that provides a high level of security and trust for the mobile phone and that can be widely deployed industry-wide, Janne Uusilehto, chairman of TCG's Mobile Phone Work Group and Nokia's head of product security, said in a statement.
TCG's mobile working group also includes representatives from Agere Systems, ARM, Atmel, Broadcom, Ericsson, Hewlett Packard, IBM, Infineon, Intel, Microsoft, Motorola, Nortel, Philips, Renesas Technology, Seagate Technology, Sony and STMicroelectronics.
According to a market research survey of 503 mobile workers employed in large U.S. companies, the cellphone is by far the most common wireless device used by businesses. It is used more than twice as widely as laptops with Wi-Fi or other Internet connections. Users identified authentication, encryption and secure data transmission to corporate networks as their top mobile security issues.
Intel cuckolded by Dell
http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=7064
News
September 13, 2006
Intel cuckolded by Dell
AMD chips for desktop PCs
Ben Ames
Dell has taken a step away from long-time supplier Intel, launching one desktop that spurns the chipmaker's vPro business bundle and two others that use processors from chipmaking competitor AMD.
Dell will still build its new Dimension E520 and XPS 210 desktop PCs with a choice of Intel's Pentium D or Core 2 Duo processors, the company said yesterday. But for the first time, Dell will offer a choice of AMD's Athlon and Sempron chips in the new Dimension E521 and C521 models.
For its new OptiPlex 745 business desktop, Dell said it developed its own bundle of business-friendly technologies instead of using Intel's vPro platform. Intel has seen strong sales in recent years for bundles of software and hardware such as its Centrino package for wireless notebook PCs. The company launched vPro in September as an effort to extend that strategy to business desktops.
The company did not rule out the chance that it might add Intel's bundle to future desktops, but said vPro had to mature first.
"We'll continue to work with Intel to help it refine the technology," said Dell's chief technology officer, Kevin Kettler. He spoke during the company's annual Technology Day meeting in New York. "There's still work to be done to drive that technology as a fundamental, strong value for our customers."
He compared the current vPro bundle with early iterations of hardware-based security in TPM (Trusted Platform Module) chips. "Dell was a slow adopter of TPM, and that's not because we didn't know about them or forgot to ask about them. There are some cases where we've ultimately used a technology but waited for it to mature a little bit before adopting it," Kettler said.
Courtesy of awk:
Wave and ETS highlighted!
http://www.intel.com/reseller/pdf/solutions/vpro/Security_Solution_Recipe.pdf
Key Technology
This solution recipe combines a carefully chosen combination of
software and hardware components that deliver a complete security
solution. Customers can rest assured that these components have
been tested and validated to work together, ensuring the highest level
of performance.
Hardware platform. Security applications consume a great deal of
a PC’s processor cycles monitoring the flow of bits. But, with
powerful new Intel Core 2 Duo processors, Intel vPro technology
delivers a significant increase in computing power over previous
Intel technology—and that means better performance for
end-user applications.
Trusted Platform Module (TPM). This microcontroller stores keys,
passwords, and digital certificates. Built into the motherboard, TPM
provides secure storage and key generation capabilities, so it can be
used to create and/or store both user and platform identity credentials
for use in authentication. Critical applications and capabilities such
as secure e-mail, secure Web access, and local protection of data are
made much more secure using a TPM.
Anti-virus. Applications, like Symantec Norton AntiVirus 2006*, can
be included on end-user PCs and Symantec AntiVirus 10.0* for servers
to automatic detection of viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware,
and adware.
Firewall. Keep hackers out and control inbound and outbound traffic
with powerful applications like Symantec Norton Personal Firewall*
software (included as part of Symantec Norton Internet Security 2006*).
Virtual Private Network (VPN). VPN Client software allows end-user PCs
remote access to the company network. NETGEAR ProSafe VPN Firewall*
hardware is available for strong encryption and authentication and setting
up the VPN Tunnels into the corporate network.
Intel® Virtualization Technology (Intel® VT). This hardware-enhanced
virtualization technology from Intel permits one computer or server to
run multiple operating systems and applications on the same machine in
independent partitions or “containers.” This allows IT to run critical security
applications in one virtual partition while end users continue working
uninterrupted in the user partition.
TPM management. Key products offer tools to address TPM management.
For example, Wave Systems* EMBASSY Trust Suite 5.1* can help IT manage
TPM security settings, provides strong authentication tools, robust password
management, and TPM key archive capabilities.
Biometrics. An optional USB Biometric Fingerprint Reader can create
additional layers of security for end users. The USB Biometric Fingerprint
reader from APC* is one example, and provides a simple, secure way to
manage passwords—with this fingerprint reader, the user’s fingerprint
becomes the password.
http://cache-www.intel.com/cd/00/00/25/98/259848_259848.pdf
Intek vProტ Technology Poised to Redefine Business PCs
New Desktop PCs with Intek Cord⃢2 Duo Processors Offer Energy-Efficient Performance, Strengthen Security, Lower Ownership Costs
SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 7, 2006 - Intel Corporation today introduced Intel vPrnᄢ technology, a package of hardware and software that marks a major change in what businesses can expect from their PCs, providing IT workers with unprecedented levels of computing performance and more proactive control of security and costs. Intel also said early trials with select Fortune 500 companies showed an average potential cost savings of 40 percent.
Major computer makers around the world today began introducing new desktop PCs with Intel vPro technology for the mainstream business market with more systems available in the coming weeks and months from all leading manufacturers.
"Very simply, vPro is a change of course in the way businesses and IT managers view and use PCs," said Robert Crooke, vice president and general manager of Intel's Business Client Group. "We are packing in features that address what plagues businesses mosssecurity threats, cost of ownership, resource allocation, asset management and uptimdနinto a single platform that is powered by the greatest multi-core processor in the world."
The widely acclaimed Intel Cordᄢ2 Duo processor is at the heart of Intel vPro technology delivering up to a 40 percent increase in performance and a 40 percent increase in energy efficiency.
Intel vPro technology also includes the second generation of Intek® Active Management Technology (Intek AMT), Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT), the new Intel Q965 Express chipset and the Intel 82566DM Gigabit Network Connection. Combined with industry-enabled software, these breakthrough features offer superior manageability and strengthened security to large and small businesses as analysts project businesses will purchase more than 100 million PCs this year.
Businesses are already recognizing significant potential cost savings from Intel vPro technology's manageability features. Intel is releasing more than 20 unique case studies representing trials from large and small businesses, IT service outsourcers and managed service providers. The outcomes point to expected PC maintenance and labor cost savings that range from 7 percent to 95 percent, resulting from reductions in IT deskside visits. Companies that participated in the early tests include BMW and ING and more information is available at www.intel.com/business/vpro/casestudies.
Top enterprise-class software companies from around the world are offering products optimized for Intel vPro technology. Solutions are available today and will continue to arrive to market in the coming months from companies such as Adobe, Altiris, CA, Check Point, Cisco, HP OpenView, LANDesk, Lenovo, Microsoft, StarSoftComm, Symantec, Trend Micro and Zenith. In addition, some of the world's largest IT services outsourcers, including Atos Origin, EDS and Siemens Business Services, will incorporate Intel vPro technology to enhance their offerings.
Intel vPro technology is also part of the highly successful Intel Stable Image Platform (Intek SIPP) program that offers more consistent and predictable PC platform transitions. The program guarantees Intel software stack and driver availability for a longer period from the time of a product's launch. The program also allows IT managers to test and qualify a PC once, instead of being forced to requalify the system due to multiple software or hardware changerနleading to faster deployments and lower ownership costs.
Intel vPro-based PCs include Intel's latest integrated graphics, which meet all current Microsoft requirements for the upcoming Windows Vista* Premium hardware logo.
In 2007, a new Intel Centrinn® Duo mobile technology platform, codenamed Santa Rosa, will extend these enhanced IT manageability and PC fleet security benefits to laptops.
Today, businesses can purchase laptops with the recently introduced Intel Centrino Duo mobile technology with Intek Coreტ2 Duo processor, offering increased connectivity, battery performance and overall system performance.
Intel Corporation
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Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom
Why are Intel Cordᄢ2 Duo processors the worlcမs best processors? Please visit www.intel.com/core2duo
Intel, the Intel logo, Intel Viiv, Intel Centrino and Intel vPro are trademarks or registered trademarks of Intel Corporation or its subsidiaries in the United States and other countries.
*Other names and brands may be claimed as the property of others.
*Average expected cost savings in PC maintenance and labor costs from trials of Intek Active Management technology. Full case studies can be found at www.intel.com/business/vpro/casestudies.
Intek® Active Management Technology requires the platform to have an Intek AMT-enabled chipset, network hardware and software, connection with a power source, and a network connection.
Intek Virtualization Technology requires a computer system with an enabled Intek processor, BIOS, virtual machine monitor (VMM), and for some uses, certain platform software enabled for it. Functionality, performance, or other benefits will vary depending on hardware and software configurations and may require a BIOS update. Software applications may not be compatible with all operating systems. Please check with your application vendor.