Software Industry Announcements and News


Spyware Seller Settles FTC Charges; Order Bars Marketing of Keylogger Software for Illegal Uses

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 06.02.10 under Government News, Security & Privacy

The Federal Trade Commission has put the brakes on the business practices of an operation that was selling spyware and showing customers how to remotely install it on other people’s computers without their knowledge or consent.

The FTC is announcing a settlement that bars the sellers of the “RemoteSpy” keylogger from advertising that the spyware can be disguised and installed on someone else’s computer without the owner’s knowledge. It requires that the software provide notice that the program has been downloaded and obtain consent from computer owners before the software can be installed.

In 2008, the FTC filed suit against CyberSpy Software, LLC and its owner, Tracer R. Spence, alleging they were violating the law by advertising and selling RemoteSpy, a keylogger software program that the defendants touted as a “100% undetectable” way to “Spy on Anyone. From Anywhere.” According to papers filed with the court, the defendants provided their clients with detailed instructions explaining how to disguise the spyware as an innocuous file, such as a photo, attached to an e-mail. When the e-mail recipient clicked on the attachment, the RemoteSpy program was downloaded and installed without the victim’s knowledge. The spyware recorded every keystroke typed on an infected computer; captured images of the computer screen; obtained passwords, and recorded Web sites visited. To access the information gathered and organized by the spyware, RemoteSpy clients logged into a Web site maintained by the defendants.

The final Order bars the defendants from providing purchasers with the means to disguise the product as an innocent file or e-mail attachment. It also requires that they inform purchasers that improper use of the software may violate state or federal law. The final Order also requires the defendants to take measures to reduce the risk that their spyware is misused, encrypt data transmitted over the Internet, police their affiliates to ensure they comply with the order, and remove legacy versions of the software from computers on which it was previously installed.

The Commission vote to accept the final settlement Order was 5-0. The Order was entered in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

C-Photo Recovery: Recover Your Pieces of Photo Art

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 06.01.10 under Desktop Publishing, Graphic Apps

Carpov Data Recovery company announces the major update of C-photo Recovery, a tool for digital photographers recovery. Developed for restoring lost and corrupt digital pictures, the solution has now increased in efficiency due to Power Search technology. Even if a memory card or a hard disk drive is completely unreadable, C-photo Recovery is still able to find and recover necessary files.

Though memory cards that are used in up-to-date models of digital cameras are much more reliable than photographic film, sometimes certain digital pictures get damaged, and whole memory cards can get absolutely unreadable. No photographer would put up with loss of his pictures, be that real pieces of art or just happy memories of a vacation. Of course, there is a variety of recovery tools, but C-photo Recovery is intended for photos recovery only – and that is why it works more thoroughly, recovering maximum possible number of images in all popular formats.

The most recovery tools work as follows: they search for records of recently deleted files in the file system and try to recover them on the basis of such information. But what if the file system is corrupt? The secret of efficiency of C-photo Recovery lies in the special Power Search technology used when scanning memory cards or hard drives. The solution detects signatures marking the beginning and the end of digital pictures and uses the results of the scanning together with file system records, performing comprehensive recovery even in case of hard drive or memory card corruption.

Besides compact-size digital cameras, a considerable number of people use SLR ones to use more sophisticated settings and to get pictures of higher quality. Shooting in .RAW format contributes to the convenience of processing and increases image quality, but such images are not supported by common recovery solutions. However, C-photo Recovery is able to recognize and recover SLR .RAW files, which is a really rare feature.

C-Photo Recovery at a Glance:

- Power Search technology for comprehensive recovery;
- Support for SLR .RAW (Canon, Nikon, Pentax, Samsung, SONY and Adobe DNG .RAW files)
- Support for all popular graphic formats (.JPEG, .GIF, .PNG, .BMP, etc.);

Pricing and Availability

C-photo Recovery is compatible with Windows 98ME/NT/XP/2000/2003/Vista. A single-user license of C-photo Recovery costs 39.95 USD. Further information on the product, as well as its free trial edition, is available from http://c-datarecovery.com

About Carpov Data Recovery

Carpov Data Recovery is a software development company specializing in thorough and reliable recovery tools. Its major product is C-photo Recovery, an advanced tool for recovery of digital pictures. For more information on the company and its products please visit http://c-datarecovery.com

Adobe Unveils Digital Viewer Technology for Magazines

[ Comments Off ] Posted on 06.01.10 under Desktop Publishing

Revolutionary WIRED Reader Application Delivered Through New Adobe Digital Publishing Technologies

SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) has unveiled a new digital viewer technology that enables print publishers to bring stunning digital versions of their magazines to life. This new publishing software was developed with input from Condé Nast’s WIRED magazine, a publication that recently debuted a digital edition for Apple iPad, utilizing the new digital viewer technology. WIRED’s June issue Reader application, now available through the Apple iTunes App Store, is built using Adobe’s digital viewer software.

Read the rest of this entry…

Next Entries »