If you're planning to buy a new mobile phone, I recommend to wait 'till June 8 where Apple Worldwide Developers Conference 2009 (WWDC09) will happen on June 8-12 in San Francisco, new technologies will be announce.

At discounted price, you can get your own Enom reseller account from Enom Technology Partner (ETP) NeedName.com for only $99 one time fee.

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If you haven't read my previous post regarding how to resolve the "Report Server is unavailable", please read it here. The article provide step by step procedure to check your Actuate server temp folder.

You maybe wondering why the CircuitCity.com website is back online again. 
"On May 19, 2009, Systemax Inc. purchased the Circuit City brand and website. Systemax Inc. has been in business since 1949. Systemax Inc. is a leading multi-channel retailer of computers, electronics, and industrial products in North America and Europe. Systemax Inc. is a publicly traded company on the NYSE under the symbol SYX." (2009, CircuitCity.com)

Just like other webmasters or publishers, you want to put up your own Privacy Policy to inform your visitor when they browse to your website. For corporate business, they have a legal department to create one for them easy. What about if you are an entrepreneurs or a small business owner managing your ecommerce website?

"Local advertising across newspapers, direct mail, TV, radio, yellow pages, outdoor, magazines and online is expected to slip to $144.4 billion by 2013, down from $155 billion last year, says BIA.

Local ad revenue may hit a low of $135.8 billion in 2010, before climbing a bit in 2011, according to BIA (via Adweek).

Some media, including newspapers, local TV, radio, print yellow pages, and local regional magazines, will need to rethink their traditional business models and look to the internet to find new revenue streams in order to survive. Radio and TV internet revenue will climb to $1.9 billion in 2013, from $805 million last year, according to some estimates.

But other media, including outdoor and direct mail, may be in for a tougher challenge." (2009, Mediabuyerplanner.com)

I have some useful links in my Favorites and I always make a point to keep a copy (backup). Here's a simple procedure to backup Internet Explorer (IE) Favorites.

Our Security Tip of the Week is courtesy of the Department of Homeland Security.

Guest Post:

Vopium has today launched its award winning mobile VoIP application in the Android Market. The application follows the recent launch of Vopium on the iPhone App StoreSM and BlackBerry App World™ and cements Vopium’s commitment to offering mobile users worldwide a cheaper, high quality international communications channel. Attached you will find our official press release, please publish this post on your blog with the minor adjustments as per your requirement.

Copenhagen and London, 18 May, 2009 – Vopium, the leading international mobile communications company, has today launched its award winning mobile VoIP application on the Android Market. The application follows the recent launch of Vopium on the iPhone App StoreSM and BlackBerry App World™ and cements Vopium’s commitment to offering mobile users worldwide a cheaper, high quality international communications channel.

To download the application, users simply search for Vopium in the Android Market. Once downloaded, Vopium seamlessly integrates with the address book and intelligently recognises international numbers, automatically re-routing calls via the Vopium gateway. Using 3G, GSM, and GPRS networks, Vopium ensures that all international calls are made using the cheapest method available while also preserving the highest level of call quality. Users who download and register Vopium from Android Market will receive 30 minutes of free calls and 30 free text messages (SMS).

Vopium CEO, Tanveer Sharif said “Vopium on Android adds another string to our bow and means that even more people across the world can now easily make cheaper international calls whilst also enjoying the same high call quality they are used to experiencing through their operators.”

Vopium: The Key Facts

• Vopium is compatible with more than 500 handsets across Java, Symbian, BlackBerry RIM, and Windows Mobile, as well as offering complete applications for the iPhone App StoreSM , BlackBerry App World™ and Android Market
• Vopium is free to download at www.vopium.com
• Vopium re-routes international calls as a local call to a Vopium gateway and then via global traffic carriers as ordinary voice traffic in order to ensure voice quality
• All new users are given 30 minutes of talk time and 30 international SMS for free
• Calling internationally with Vopium can result in up to 90 percent savings versus traditional carrier rates; for an overview of current pricing, visit: http://vopium.com/tariff
• Calls made through Vopium are always routed using the cheapest method while preserving the highest quality
• Vopium Wi-Fi users can call each other around the world for free
• Vopium users keep their own mobile number and SIM card, and maintain their numeric identity when making calls
• When a user calls from their home country, a local rate may be applied by their operator
• When calling from abroad a roaming charge will be applied by the subscriber’s operator
• Wi-Fi calls made with Vopium will not incur additional charges from a subscriber’s operator

About Vopium:

Vopium is a carrier-grade mobile telephony service designed to offer affordable and reliable international calls from any mobile handset. By using the Vopium application on their mobile to make calls from their home country, consumers and businesses alike can save up to 90% on international mobile and land-line calls. Unlike more restrictive mobile VoIP solutions, Vopium supports hundreds of handsets across Java, Symbian, RIM, Windows Mobile and iPhone. Vopium uses intelligent routing and connection technology which automatically and seamlessly delivers the lowest cost connection for any international call. Vopium has offices in London, Copenhagen, Luxembourg and Pakistan. Vopium was recently awarded the Frost & Sullivan Technology Innovation Award. Vopium is listed on NYSE Euronext (MVLOP). To learn more, visit www.vopium.com

It's good to know Rick Latona highlighted some premiums .TV domain names to be included in Amsterdan auction this coming June 4th Targetted Traffic Conference. Here are the lists (some) of noted domain names up for grab.

On May 14 around 10:30am -11am I can't login to my Google Apps for @KING.NET and cant't access to my blogger page which is also powered by Google. I guess I relied too much in google with my small business infrastructure. I am using Google Apps for email, docs, calendar, and I also use blogspot for my blogs. Just like an old adage, don't put all your eggs in one basket. I hope I got it right.

If you have a Facebook account, you need to read this article. This is another phishing incident that was reported today courtesy by Reuters.com.

"Hackers launched an attack on Facebook's 200 million users on Thursday, successfully gathering passwords from some of them in the latest campaign to prey on members of the popular social networking site.

Facebook spokesman Barry Schnitt said on Thursday that the site was in the process of cleaning up damage from the attack.

He said that Facebook was blocking compromised accounts.

Schnitt declined to say how many accounts had been compromised.

The hackers got passwords through what is known as a phishing attack, breaking into accounts of some Facebook members, then sending e-mails to friends and urging them to click on links to fake websites.

Those sites were designed to look like the Facebook home page. The victims were directed to log back in to the site, but actually logged into the one controlled by the hackers, unwittingly giving away their passwords.

The purpose of such attacks is generally identify theft and to spread spam.

The fake domains include www.151.im, www.121.im and www.123.im. Facebook has deleted all references to those domains." (2009, Reuters.com)

We do automatic update for Microsoft Security Updates on a weekly schedule. This is to minimize risk of exposure against known vulnerability, patching the hole (threat) as soon as possible. Though this is not the perfect approach, well there is no perfect approach to secure your environment anyway.

Again, minimizing risk according to your business acceptable loss. You need to do Risk Assessment first to determine the acceptable loss in ($) dollar value and ask your management "What Business are we in?" then you can create directives on how you can implement countermeasures. As always, countermeasures solution should be below the value of assets that you are trying to protect.

Going back to the subject. After installing KB963027 on April 15, 2009. My customers started complaining not able to connect to some websites they normally visit. A good example, a website that authenticate their credentials to do their daily tasks. Another user, not able to visit Adobe website. Another user, not able to visit Facebook website.

For the Facebook access. I suppose to not assist the user because this is not allowed in the business environment but I'm curious to fix it anyway. I was able to correct it by resetting the IE settings back to "Reset all Zones to default level". Click on Tools, Internet Options, click the Security tab to see the "Reset all Zones to default level" button.

For the first 2 websites problem, I need to remove the KB963027 patch to the workstation to fix the problem. Go to Control Panel, double click on "Add or Remove programs" icon, scroll down and look for the patch you would like to uninstall. After uninstalling the KB963027, they can access the website again.

Other alternative solutions:
- Install the IE 8.0 and trust the website, you should be able to access the website again.
- Using Google Chrome, I have no problem using Google Chrome going these websites.

I am reading this article and I would like to know if my visitors are now part of this change? Read the article for details. 

"In the 1998 box office hit “You’ve Got Mail,” the anonymous screen names of Meg Ryan (Shopgirl) and Tom Hanks (NY152) turned unwitting foes into paramours, giving Americans their first dose of a digital-age romantic comedy.

Early AOL users may chuckle now at that signature dial-up modem din: a strung-out chorus of pings and bleeps interrupted by the fuzz of static and white noise. And these days, handles like Shopgirl and NY152 seem so, well, 1998.

More than 10 years later, Internet handles are practically second to one’s identity. They signal our arrival in e-mail inboxes and can often be the first impression we make. User names of yore-college-era holdovers or an inscrutable series of computer-generated numbers tacked on to one’s login-are increasingly frowned upon as unprofessional and frivolous." (2009, ajc.com)

Righ now, I still use my website for this purpose and I will introduce myself when we have a formal communication e.g. through email or phone conversation. The primary reason is to let our visitors to remember our website address e.g. KING.NET, just like in the making of our business brand.

Here's another interesting information for future use of the Internet and how you will address them now. 

"My wife will kill me for saying this,” he said. “If we ever have kids, I’ll only name them something if the domain name is available.” (2009, ajc.com)

I actually registered all names of my children e.g. firstnamelastname.com. I can't register our lastname as it was taken years ago. So if you have the opportunity to register your lastname or your fullname, do it soon before someone else register the domain name. 

Where to get a low cost maintenance of domain name for your family? Here some of our sponsors.

- NeedName.com - Enom Technology Partner (ETP) that provide low cost and easy management of your domain names.

- Moscom.com - provide 24x7 customer service for your domain names and web hosting.

I have a client that have asked me to assist them fixing their "hacked" website through vulnerabilities of old version of Joomla CMS. I said you should always apply the latest release of Joomla, they are very active in patching security vulnerabilities.

If you are looking to address your business Risk Management Concept Flow, read the Common Criteria of Information Technology Security Evaluation published September 2006.

I've read this news from eweek.com today. I don't see the benefits of changing WGA to another name. Since we are in IT Consulting business, I guess I need to be aware of this change. Continue reading for more info.

Nerd Rock! Check it out.

Based on these random interview, you still have a shot to do business in domain name industry. A lot of opportunity to introduce the domain name as business tool to increase productivity.

"What do regular folks think of the domain industry and domainers? Howard Hits The Street to find out as he grabs a microphone and camera and strolls Las Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, Florida" (2009, Youtube.com)

Why .TV still not dominating the cyberspace? Do you know the answer to this question? Well if not, here's my humble opinion why.

Just in today (actually a couple of days ago, wednesday).  "It was one of those things she never does. But, Wednesday night, when Amory Wooden, 27, received a Facebook message from a friend directing her to a new Web site, she clicked on it. Not only that, once fbstarter.com popped up in her browser, she typed in her Facebook user name and password.

She had no idea she'd been hoaxed until Thursday morning, when messages from Facebook friends started pouring in about how they all fell for it." (2009, abcnews.go.com)