Software Industry Announcements and News
Software Industry Conference in Dallas in July, 2010
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.27.10 under ASP Member Companies
The 20th Annual Software Industry Conference (SIC) will be held on July 15 – 17, 2010 in Dallas, Texas at the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel.
The Software Industry Conference is a three day event that culminates with a Networking Gala Dinner that gives software developers and publishers an opportunity to form partnerships and alliances. The conference also includes dozens of informative, educational breakout sessions covering a wide variety of topics that are critical to the success of Independent Software Developers (ISVs).
The conference includes more than forty educational seminars and presentations that are designed to help developers sell more software. Presentations by industry experts include topics such as profiting from Google Adwords, marketing more effectively, providing income-producing customer support, working with translation and localization services, sending press releases, developing Software as a Service (SaaS) applications, avoiding legal pitfalls, reducing chargebacks, and creating affiliate networks.
The conference allows plenty of time to network with other software developers and software industry service providers. The conveniently-located daily breakfasts in the Hyatt Regency DFW Hotel make it easy for conference attendees to meet and socialize with fellow industry members. You can even attend the annual meetings and luncheons of two industry trade associations, ESC and ASP.
The casual SIC conferences are known for their family-friendly atmosphere. Many software developers turn their trips to SIC into mini-vacations.
As always, the conference will present awards to honor developers in several key software categories. SIC’s Exhibit Night features the best software development products and services from leading industry vendors.
Registration at the door costs $299(US), or costs $249 if you register online http://www.sic.org/register.asp by July 13. Deeply discounted hotel rooms at the Hyatt Regency DFW are available to all conference attendees.
About SIC
The annual Software Industry Conference has been presented continuously since 1991. Each year, the conference focuses attention on the try-before-you-buy software development industry, its people, and the many fine applications that come from it.
The conference has grown dramatically since in recent years. In addition, the conference honors software developers with a series of annual awards, recognizing new and innovative software products created and marketed by smaller development companies.
Current sponsors for the 2010 SIC include Alta Web Works, asknet AG, Association of Software Professionals, Avangate, Inc., cleverbridge, Digital River, DP Directory, Inc., Elfring Fonts, Inc., Emurasoft, Inc., K Software, Lincoln Beach Software, NotePage, Inc., Paypro Global, Inc., Plimus, SoftCity, Software Promotions Ltd., The Utility Factory, and TRIUS, Inc.
For more information about SIC 2010, visit http://www.sic.org/
AutoPlay Media Studio 8 Enables Visual Software Development
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.26.10 under ASP Member Companies, Development
(WINNIPEG – May 26, 2010) – Indigo Rose Software announces the immediate availability of AutoPlay Media Studio 8 for Windows. A mainstay in the software development industry for developing user-friendly autorun CD, DVD and USB menus, version 8 takes the product line in a bold new direction.
AutoPlay Media Studio 8 now gives software developers the ability to create full-featured software applications using a visual drag-and-drop development environment. What would normally take days or weeks to build using traditional software development tools (e.g. C, C++, Java) can now be created in record time, and by just about anyone.
Featuring a WYSIWYG (“what you see is what you get”) development environment and a powerful, yet easy-to-use scripting language, even beginners can create professional Windows software, complete with features like web interaction, database connectivity, dialog boxes, data visualization and multimedia audio and video playback.
“We weren’t satisfied with AutoPlay Media Studio just being the industry-standard tool for developing autorun CD/DVD interfaces,” says Indigo Rose Software President Colin Adams. “We recognized that if we extended the product with a number of significant new features, AutoPlay Media Studio 8 would be ideally suited for creating interactive multimedia software applications. We’re really pleased with the results.”
AutoPlay Media Studio 8 includes 21 built-in interface objects such as buttons, images, menu bars, web browsers, QuickTime video, data grids, PDF viewers, checkboxes and more. Developers simply drop the objects onto a page or dialog box, and are able to edit and customize the objects’ properties and events any way they want.
Over 865 easy-to-use scripting actions include everything from XML parsing and database queries to web server interaction, internet file transfers and much more. It’s also easy to expand the language with plugins and code modules. Additionally, the professional script editor features color syntax highlighting, code completion, function highlighting, as-you-type action prototypes, function listings, and context-sensitive help.
Developers who aren’t ready to use the scripting language can turn to the Action Wizard, which automatically writes scripts for them. Developers simply choose an action from a categorized list and fill in the requested information fields. The Action Wizard does the rest, eliminating the need for any scripting or programming experience.
Other highlights of AutoPlay Media Studio 8 include Blu-ray disc burning, Lua 5.1 scripting engine, application styles/skinning, integrated database access (MySQL, SQLite3, ODBC, Oracle), improved debugging features, rolling code data security, and dozens more.
AutoPlay Media Studio 8 is compatible with Microsoft Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP. The software sells for $295 (USD) per developer (or $995 for the 5 developer Team Pack) and can be purchased from most software development tools vendors or online at http://www.indigorose.com. A free trial version is available for download.
Additionally, a ‘Personal Edition’ of AutoPlay Media Studio 8 is available free of charge for non-commercial applications, such as students, hobbyists and people writing public domain and open source software. It can be downloaded directly from http://www.autoplay.org.
About Indigo Rose Software Design Corporation
Privately held, Indigo Rose Software has been developing innovative software products and multimedia authoring tools since 1991 that are used by thousands of corporate, government and ISV customers around the world. Indigo Rose is headquartered in Winnipeg, Canada, and can be found on the Internet at http://www.indigorose.com.
SharewareRadio.com interviews W3i
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.22.10 under ASP Member Companies, Network & Internet
SharewareRadio.com interviews W3is Ryan Weber
News Reports:
Digital River buys fatfoogoo for $10M
Google tweaks search pages and logo
U.S. to push for new broadband rules
Adobe CTO slams Apple as anti-internet
Google readies its E-Book plan
The Kiss My Butt Award of the Week
This week it goes again to Rupert Murdoch.
This week’s Interview
This week’s guest is Ryan Weber. Ryan is CMO & Co-Founder of W3i.
This interview was held in Boston at SIC.
DOJ Fights IP Crimes
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.22.10 under Government News
Department of Justice Announces New Assistant United States Attorneys and FBI Agents to Combat Intellectual Property Crimes
As part of the Department of Justice’s ongoing initiative to confront intellectual property (IP) crimes, Acting Deputy Attorney General Gary G. Grindler announced today the appointment of 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) positions and 20 FBI Special Agents to be dedicated to combating domestic and international IP crimes.
These new positions – announced on the 10th annual World Intellectual Property Day – are part of the department’s continued commitment to combat the growing number of IP crimes here at home, and abroad. The new AUSA positions will be part of the department’s Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) program.
“Intellectual property law enforcement is central to protecting our nation’s ability to remain at the forefront of technological advancement, business development and job creation,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler. “The department, along with its federal partners throughout the Administration, will remain ever vigilant in this pursuit as American entrepreneurs and businesses continue to develop, innovate and create.”
The 15 new Assistant U.S. Attorneys will work closely with the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) to aggressively pursue high tech crime, including computer crime and intellectual property offenses. The new positions will be located in California, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
The 20 new FBI Special Agents announced today will be deployed to specifically augment four geographic areas with intellectual property squads, and increase investigative capacity in other locations around the country where IP crimes are of particular concern. The four squads will be located in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and the District of Columbia. The squads will allow for more focused efforts in particular hot spot areas and increased contact and coordination with our state and local law enforcement partners. The 20 new agents will join the 31 agents devoted to investigating IP crimes who have already been deployed to field offices around the country.
“Theft of intellectual property – from inventions to trademarks and copyrights, to industrial designs and trade secrets – is a worldwide problem. It affects individuals and corporations financially and can threaten public safety. The additional FBI agents will significantly strengthen the efforts of our squads investigating intellectual property rights violations and help bring to justice those who seek to profit from intellectual property theft,” said Assistant Director Gordon M. Snow of the FBI Cyber Division.
Acting Deputy Attorney General Grindler serves as chair of the department’s Task Force on Intellectual Property , which was established earlier this year by Attorney General Eric Holder to coordinate the department’s efforts on IP crimes. The task force focuses on strengthening efforts to combat intellectual property crimes through close coordination with state and local law enforcement partners as well as international counterparts. As part of its mission, the task force works together with the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC), housed in the Executive Office of the President, to implement an Administration-wide strategic plan on intellectual property.
The task force includes representatives from the offices of the Attorney General, the Deputy Attorney General, and the Associate Attorney General; the Criminal Division; the Civil Division; the Antitrust Division; the Office of Legal Policy; the Office of Justice Programs; the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee; the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys and the FBI.
World Intellectual Property Day was established by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) to recognize the importance of protecting intellectual property rights and enforcing their laws. Each year on April 26th, WIPO and its member states seek to increase public understanding of intellectual property through activities, events and campaigns.
Microsoft Investigators Uncover Emerging Form of Click Fraud
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.19.10 under Business, Security & Privacy
REDMOND, Wash. — May 19, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. has filed two lawsuits this week in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington detailing evidence of an emerging form of click fraud in online advertising the company has dubbed “click laundering.” One lawsuit is a John Doe suit alleging that unidentified defendants engaged in this activity; the other lawsuit names Web publisher RedOrbit Inc. and its president, Eric Ralls, as defendants. Click laundering, a previously unknown form of pay-per-click (PPC) advertising fraud, was uncovered by Microsoft investigators following dramatic and irregular growth in click traffic on two sites within its Microsoft adCenter network. Investigators believe that had the click laundering scheme gone undetected, the perpetrators could have defrauded advertisers of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“Online ad fraud is evolving in sophistication all the time. Fighting it demands vigilance and dedication to an honest and secure online marketplace. We believe that a trusted marketplace is critical to Internet commerce, and Microsoft will continue to take aggressive action working with industry and law enforcement to protect our platforms, customers and advertisers,” said Brad Smith, senior vice president and general counsel for Microsoft.
PPC fraud, also known as click fraud, is a type of Internet fraud in online advertising that occurs when a person, automated script or computer program imitates a legitimate website visitor by clicking on an ad to generate a charge-per-click without having actual interest in the target of the ad’s link. Microsoft adCenter monitors click traffic carefully to prevent advertisers from being charged for non-valid clicks, and Microsoft has been active in investigating and taking action against click fraud when found, including taking legal action where necessary.
Click laundering is a newly uncovered form of click fraud in which technical measures are used to make invalid ad clicks appear to originate from legitimate sources. It is analogous to money laundering in which the origin of illegal profits is disguised as legitimate. Click laundering attempts to avoid fraud detection systems that have been put in place by the ad platform — in this case, Microsoft adCenter — to protect online advertisers. Through various means, including malware programs, fraudsters are able to trick innocent Internet users into visiting websites where they unknowingly click on advertisements. Click launderers also can further disguise the origin of those invalid clicks by using scripts and other methods to alter information that is sent to the ad platform.
Microsoft is filing these lawsuits to help protect its ad platform and promote the integrity of online advertising for the benefit of all legitimate advertisers, to stop the fraudulent behavior, and to recover the damages caused by the click laundering. These actions are part of an ongoing effort by Microsoft Advertising and the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit to work with others across the industry to identify and address emerging threats to the integrity of the online advertising ecosystem through technical and legal means. This week, Microsoft closed another lawsuit the company filed in 2009 regarding click fraud in auto insurance verticals and World of Warcraft, following a successful settlement with defendant Eric Lam. Terms of the settlement are confidential, but the lawsuit successfully brought the click fraud activities described in the complaint to an end and helped Microsoft further refine and evolve its approach to combating click fraud. Such cases demonstrate the evolving nature of fraud in online advertising and the need for ongoing investments across the industry to maintain a healthy Internet marketplace.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
FTC Permanently Shuts Down Notorious Rogue Internet Service Provider
[ Comments Off ] Posted on 05.19.10 under Government News, Security & Privacy
3FN Service Specialized in Hosting Spam-Spewing Botnets, Phishing Websites, Child Pornography, and Other Illegal, Malicious Web Content
At the Federal Trade Commission’s request, a district court judge has permanently shut down a rogue Internet Service Provider that recruited, hosted, and actively participated in the distribution of spam, spyware, child pornography, and other malicious and illegal content. The ISP’s computer servers and other assets have been seized and will be sold by a court-appointed receiver, and the operation has been ordered to turn over $1.08 million in ill-gotten gains to the FTC.
In June 2009, the FTC charged that 3FN, which does business under a variety of names, actively recruited and colluded with criminals to distribute harmful electronic content including spyware, viruses, trojan horses, phishing schemes, botnet command-and-control servers, and pornography featuring children, violence, bestiality, and incest. The FTC alleged that the defendant advertised its services in the darkest corners of the Internet, including a chat room for spammers.
The FTC complaint alleged that 3FN actively shielded its criminal clientele by either ignoring take-down requests issued by the online security community, or shifting its criminal elements to other Internet protocol addresses it controlled to evade detection.
The FTC also alleged that 3FN deployed and operated botnets – large networks of computers that have been compromised and enslaved by the originator of the botnet, known as a “bot herder.” Botnets can be used for a variety of illicit purposes, including sending spam and launching denial-of- service attacks. According to the FTC, the defendant recruited bot herders and hosted the command-and-control servers – the computers that relay commands from the bot herders to the compromised computers known as “zombie drones.”
Transcripts of instant-message logs filed with the district court show the defendants’ senior employees discussing the configuration of botnets with bot herders. And, in filings with the district court, the FTC alleged that more than 4,500 malicious software programs were controlled by command-and-control servers hosted by 3FN. This malware included programs capable of keystroke logging, password stealing, and data theft, programs with hidden backdoor remote control activity, and programs involved in spam distribution.
The FTC charged that 3FN’s distribution of illegal, malicious, and harmful content and deployment of botnets that compromised thousands of computers, harmed consumers and was an unfair practice, in violation of federal law.
On June 15, 2009 the court issued a preliminary injunction to prohibit 3FN’s illegal activities and require its upstream Internet providers and data centers to stop providing services to 3FN.
The court has now ordered a permanent bar on the illegal activities of 3FN and its agents and has appointed a receiver and instructed him to liquidate the operation’s assets.
The defendants named in the FTC’s complaint are Pricewert LLC, also doing business as 3FN.net, Triple Fiber Network, APS Telecom, APX Telecom, APS Communications, and APS Communication.
This case was brought with the invaluable assistance of NASA’s Office of Inspector General, Computer Crime Division; Gary Warner, Director of Research in Computer Forensics, University of Alabama at Birmingham; The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children; The Shadowserver Foundation; Symantec Corporation; and The Spamhaus Project.
The Federal Trade Commission works for consumers to prevent fraudulent, deceptive, and unfair business practices and to provide information to help spot, stop, and avoid them. To file a complaint in English or Spanish, visit the FTC’s online Complaint Assistant or call 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). The FTC enters complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to more than 1,800 civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad. The FTC’s Web site provides free information on a variety of consumer topics.