ISME tells firms to beware of fraudsters

The Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) has warned companies to be vigilant about international fraudsters. The organisation said it was concerned about several new scams, including email phishing, bogus bank account verification, entries in business directories and confirmation of 'winnings' in international lotteries. ISME said small firms in particular are being inundated with spurious invoices and sham deliveries. Mark Fielding, chief executive of ISME, warned companies to be wary of any correspondence received in relation to non-existent professional guides and internet directories. For more on this story visit the Irish Examiner.

Business use of instant messaging flourishes

Over 28 million business users worldwide access instant messaging (IM) accounts every day. That's according to web security firm ScanSafe, which estimates that enterprise users running IM clock up 1 billion messages a day. The growth in usage is noteworthy considering that the number of IT departments blocking the use of IM programs grew 600 percent last year, ScanSafe said. IM has become an integral part of businesses communications, but ScanSafe warns that enterprises need to have control over all employee communication channels in order to protect against security threats. For more on this story see Vnunet.com.

Internet telephony set for massive growth: study

Revenues from VoIP (voice over internet protocol) services in the business sector look set to reach USD18 billion by 2010, according to a new study by Juniper Research. The report says the growth in internet telephony will be driven by the replacement of existing business circuit switched connectivity; the lower cost of calls; businesses reaping the efficiencies of carrying voice and data traffic over one network; the realisation that integrating voice functionality into business-critical IT applications can improve business productivity; and massive growth in the Chinese telecoms market. For more on this story read the press release.

Antivirus update wreaks havoc for users

McAfee customers were left bewildered recently when their antivirus program began attacking legitimate third-party applications as malware. The problem was caused by an update that McAfee issued for its popular antivirus software, with hundreds of executables wrongly flagged as W95/CTX - low-risk Windows 95 malware. Among the applications affected were Microsoft Excel, Flash, Google Toolbar and Adaptec drivers. Operating systems across the board were affected by the mistake. Although a second update was swiftly issued by McAfee, many users had already quarantined or deleted the "offending" files from their PCs, causing varying degrees of problems. For more on this story read ElectricNews.Net.

Enterprise Ireland launches guide to eBusiness law

Enterprise Ireland has launched a free eBusiness legal guide for small and medium-sized enterprises, entitled "eBusiness Law: a Practical Guide for Irish Companies". The publication provides practical advice to help SMEs comply with complex legislation governing everything from data protection and intellectual property to online payments and taxation. The guide advises SMEs on the legal and financial risks they face if they fail to monitor, respond to and control the online activities of their employees. "SMEs are often unaware of the legal risks they face from emails their employees are writing and sending, and from what they are downloading from websites," said Karen Hynes, manager of Enterprise Ireland's eBusiness Unit. "Many SMEs need to review their staff's online activities and take the necessary steps to reduce the risks." The guide, which was launched by Minister for Trade and Commerce Michael Ahern, is available online at www.openup.ie.

Search engine marketing: boosting your visibility

Case study: Datacare Software Group

Free up your disk space

7 April, Guinness Storehouse, Dublin 8
This free event, hosted by MJ Flood Technology, is aimed at SMEs who are looking for guidance on how to make the right technology investment decisions. Attendees will learn how to reduce network administration overheads, while offering enhanced application access to office-based and mobile employees. The relevance of IP telephony for smaller companies will be explored in detail and information on protecting critical business data and deploying best practice disaster recovery will also be provided. Representatives from a number of IT firms will speak at the event, including CheckPoint Software, SurfControl, Computer Associates and Citrix, and the session will be conducted in a roundtable format.

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