Irish spam rate is on the rise

The rate of spam email hitting Irish inboxes grew significantly in March, according to the latest figures from hosting firm IE Internet. Nearly half of all email filtered by IE Internet last month was unsolicited and unwanted spam - 48.12 percent to be exact. This is the highest spam rate the firm has seen in the past 12 months. The US is still the main source of spam at 32 percent, but this is down from February's figures. Meanwhile, South Korea's share is up to 9 percent, while China comes in at 5 percent. IE Internet also reported that 21 percent of emails intercepted last month were infected with a virus, with the Netsky, Bagle, and Mytob viruses topping the list. For more on this story read ElectricNews.Net.

B&B owners to get internet training

Failte Ireland is organising a series of computer training courses for bed & breakfast operators, to counteract the falling popularity of home-based tourist accommodation. The Irish tourism development authority is to target 1,000 B&B owners to encourage them to participate in 29 one-day workshops that are being held around the country. The workshops are designed to help B&Bs get online, and to secure bookings directly from visitors all over the world. The programme is part of Failte Ireland's strategy to secure the future for the B&B sector, which has suffered in recent years due to the increased number of budget hotels, a rising cost base, regional imbalance and the rising age profile of operators. For more on this story read ElectricNews.Net.

Mobile professionals demand mobile email

Over 70 percent of mobile professionals expect mobile email to "liberate" them, according to new research conducted by US firm RONIN Corporation. A survey revealed a demand for mobile email among 80 percent of respondents, indicating that they expect the flexibility of mobile email to help them achieve an equal work/life balance. Almost 70 percent also believe that they would be more productive through being increasingly mobile. The research was carried out among over 300 mobile professionals in all sizes of business across the United States, United Kingdom and Italy. For more information on the research visit Yahoo.

Security concerns hamper wireless rollouts

Some 60 percent of firms are delaying rolling out wireless and remote devices to staff because of security concerns, according to a global survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, published by Symantec. In addition, over 75 percent believe the damage from virus attacks would be the same or greater on a mobile network than on a fixed network, and only one in 10 companies had a comprehensive security strategy that included mobile devices. User education is vital for mobile security, according to Ollie Whitehouse of security firm Symantec. "By using the features available on many devices, such as password lock-outs and the ability to wipe data remotely from lost devices, 90 percent of the risks associated with users can be mitigated," said Whitehouse. For more on this story read Vnunet.com.

The business of podcasting

Search engine marketing: pay per click

Case study: Commergy

Utility computing

Utility computing refers to companies' ability to purchase computing power when and if they need it. Service providers make computing resources available over a network and then charge users on a pay-per-use basis, meaning that rather than having to pay a flat rate for such services, firms are only charged for what they actually use. Not only is this more cost-effective, it also offers flexibility because companies can avail of extra computing power during busy periods. This business model is called utility computing because of the fact that it operates in a similar fashion to paying for commodities such as electricity or water. It is also sometimes referred to as 'on-demand computing'.

20 April, Lyrath Estate Hotel, Kilkenny
The Irish Internet Association (IIA) and Kilkenny County Enterprise Board host this half-day seminar on maximising the return on your website. The seminar, which is aimed at web designers, marketing managers and website owners, intends to show attendees how to develop content designed to appeal to users and search engines. Among those due to speak at the event are David Jesse from eBay, Aidan Coonan from Event Ireland, and Colm Lyon from the IIA.

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