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December 10, 2012

News for software and services professionals

Today's Software Buzz

Mobile Internet is increasingly the target of malware
The growing number of people accessing the Internet on smartphones and tablet computers is attracting attention from developers of malicious software, and a number of Chinese companies are banding together to provide better security measures for the mobile Internet, Gao Yuan writes. "The threats are becoming more sophisticated as an increasing number of mobile devices are introduced to the market. We are in urgent need of beefing up the Internet security team to protect the company's 700 million users," said Zeng Yu of Tencent Holdings. China Daily (Beijing) (12/10)

Cloud Computing

The benefits of combining database-as-a-service and PaaS
The combination of database-as-a-service and platform-as-a-service offerings can help software developers work better with operations, Xeround CEO Razi Sharir writes. "Developers and operations are running off the same framework and sharing the same infrastructure in the cloud. Because of this, it is of the utmost importance that developers and operations be on the same page and learn to work together," Sharir writes. Wired.com (12/7)

Google Apps for Business is no longer free for new users
Enterprises that adopt Google Apps for Business will have to pay $50 per user each year as Google says it will no longer offer the free version for new customers. Existing users of Drive, Gmail and other cloud-based applications won't have to pay to continue using those tools, Google says. TechCrunch (12/7)

SAP deploys cloud-based tools for SMBs
SAP says it has developed two cloud services aimed at helping small to midsized manufacturers. One tool is designed to help collect detailed data on what's in a product, while the other helps develop and generate regulatory-documentation materials. ChannelProSMB.com (12/10)

Mobile & Wireless

AppGratis: The Craigslist of mobile applications
The AppGratis guide to mobile applications, which can help drive hundreds of thousands of downloads for an app it recommends, is now available in the U.S. "It started like [Craigslist] ... a daily newsletter every morning with my picks," says AppGratis founder Simon Dawlat, adding, "I knew a lot of developers, and offered some deals." VentureBeat (12/7)

Mobile devices are at heart of new round of browser wars
Cloud computing has returned to a version of the bruising Web browser battles from the 1990s, with a twist: Companies are fighting for control of the mobile-device market. "Mobile is a whole new level of reinvention, so it feels like we're in the most fertile time of invention since the early '90s," said Marc Andreessen, a co-founder of Netscape and a backer of browser startup Rockmelt. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (12/9)

Security & Privacy

Botnet taps Tor network for stealth attacks
A botnet operator is taking advantage of an anonymity feature called Tor Hidden Services for distributed-denial-of-service attacks, Rapid7 says. "There is no technical way neither to trace and definitely neither to take down the Hidden Services used for [command and control]," Rapid7's Claudio Guarnieri says. Network World/IDG News Service (12/7)

Online-shopping and phishing scams target PayPal users
PayPal users are being targeted with phishing e-mails as online holiday shopping shifts into high gear. "Attackers don't need high rates of success, as phishing is just like handing out leaflets in the mall. If one gets two or three customers out of every 100, mission accomplished," BitDefender's Catalin Cosoi says. CSO (12/7)

Government IT

Air Force drops logistics-software program after spending $1B
The Air Force's Expeditionary Combat Support System program, which was supposed to use Oracle software to manage logistics, is being discontinued after six years and $1 billion in expenditures. The Air Force pulled the plug when it estimated it would cost another $1 billion to bring a fraction of the anticipated software into use. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (12/8)

SIIA News

Critical success factors for an enterprise mobile strategy
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