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BOSTON, MA – March 23, 2009 – Core Security Technologies, provider of CORE IMPACT solutions for comprehensive enterprise security testing, today issued an advisory disclosing multiple vulnerabilities that could affect millions of organizations using HP’s OpenView systems and network management software.

An engineer from CoreLabs, the research arm of Core Security, determined that a trio of vulnerabilities in HP OpenView Network Node Manager (NNM) can be exploited remotely via buffer overflow to compromise mission-critical servers within an organization using the software. Upon making the discovery, CoreLabs immediately alerted HP’s Software Security Response Team to the vulnerabilities and the two companies have since coordinated efforts to ensure that a patch could be created and made available to protect users of the program.

CoreLabs experts uncovered the trio of reported vulnerabilities in HP OpenView NNM, which offers remote network system event and performance monitoring, while investigating other previously reported flaws in the software, and an HP-issued security patch meant to address those issues.

HP OpenView NNM is one of the most widely-deployed remote network management technologies used throughout enterprise organizations today, allowing network managers to monitor their physical networks, virtual network services and the relationships between those assets. The software aims to help administrators identify, diagnose and predict potential problems before they affect network performance and availability.

“While remote network management technologies offer substantial value in terms of allowing organizations to maintain constant vigilance and control over their networks, the flipside is that attackers can potentially use available vulnerabilities in these systems to wreak havoc on internal infrastructure,” said Ivan Arce, chief technology officer at Core Security. “It is vitally important for remote systems management solution providers to minimize these easily exploitable security flaws that can allow for remote system compromise.”

Successful exploitation of the vulnerabilities requires that attackers send specially crafted HTTP requests to HP OpenView’s…

Adoption of Microsoft’s new Internet Explorer Web browser appeared to be leveling off Monday after peaking at 2.58 percent of all Internet users over the weekend, reports Net Applications. IE8′s share of the global market was down to 2.02 percent on Monday at noon, equivalent to the new browser’s adoption rate at 5 p.m. Friday — the first full business day after its release.

Microsoft’s relatively quiet rollout of IE8 stands in stark contrast to the excitement that Mozilla generated when it released Firefox 3 to great fanfare on June 17. By the start of the following month, Mozilla’s new browser had already captured a 4.34 percent share of the global browser market.

One reason for IE8′s slow adoption is clearly due to Internet Explorer’s enduring strength as the Web platform of choice among enterprises, which are always cautious when it comes to adopting a new browser, noted Gartner Research Vice President and Distinguished Analyst Michael Silver. “While the promise of browser-based applications was that migration would not be necessary, some applications are still written to specific browsers,” Silver said.

Enterprise Caution

This helps explain why IE6, which was introduced in 2001, still has 18.85 percent of the global browser market, just behind the 19.11 percent share held by Firefox 3. “IE6 seems to be a particular problem, with many IE6 applications not working properly on IE7 or IE8,” Silver said.

“This has prevented many organizations from upgrading beyond IE6 and has even delayed some Vista migrations,” Silver said. “This is likely to continue being a problem in the Windows 7 time frame as, again, IE6 cannot be run on that platform.”

On the consumer side, IE8′s slow gallop out the starting gate suggests that Microsoft hasn’t made a good case for why users should upgrade from previous Internet Explorer releases or switch from…

The Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco will be beeping and buzzing this week as video-game fans, employees and developers gather for Think Services’ annual Game Developers Conference. The GDC, which is expected to attract just under 18,000 attendees, opened Monday and runs through Friday.

According to Director Meggan Scavio, the GDC serves as a barometer for the health of the video-game industry. “The strength and spirit of the industry,” Scavio said, “is reflected here in these five days where the community gathers together to continue to network and learn from one another and to directly challenge current global economic conditions by finding and creating new opportunities.”

Attendees can choose from among 500 lectures, panels, tutorials and roundtable discussions, and will have a chance to hear a keynote address by Satoru Iwata, president of Nintendo, on Wednesday.

Strong Sales

According to sales figures sent out last week by David Riley, senior manager for NPD Group, GDC attendees should be in a pretty good mood. Year-to-date sales for the video-game industry hit a remarkable $2.81 billion at the end of February, a solid 11 percent increase from the same period in 2008.

Hardware vendors received particularly good news as their sector surged over the previous year by 14 percent, compared with 13 percent for accessories and 10 percent for software.

There will be plenty of opportunity to talk over developments as the GDC hosts a variety of summit meetings. Among the events scheduled are the AI Summit, the Casual Games Summit, the Game Outsourcing Summit, the IGDA Education Summit, the Independent Games Summit, the Localization Summit, the Serious Games Summit, and the Worlds in Motion Summit.

Warning Signs?

Despite the fact that the video-game industry is bucking economic trends so far, there are some warning signs of potentially difficult times ahead. Thanks in part to steadily rising development costs,…

There have been dozens of amateur videos of Beyonce’s popular song, Single Ladies, on the video-sharing Web site YouTube. Links to several renditions of the music video have made their way throughout the Internet, linking people back to YouTube.

And while Beyonce, Britney Spears and other music artists from Sony BMG can still be found on the Web site, other videos — including amateur videos — that feature music by Warner Music Group artists have been pulled or muted.

The silence comes after failed attempts between Warner and YouTube’s parent company, Google, to come to an agreement regarding music videos being viewed and shared on YouTube. The companies could not come to a financial agreement.

The match between Warner and Google has been ongoing, and artists, including Neil Young, have come out in defense of the music powerhouse, saying the company needs to protect the rights of artists, and that artists and Warner need to be compensated.

The list of artists under Warner and its labels is long and includes AC/DC, Motley Crue, Madonna, Phil Collins, and Missy Elliott.

Fans Not Happy

Fans and amateur video makers are posting clips expressing their disappointment with both Google and Warner on YouTube.

“A lot of music you want to use as background music, you can’t,” said one video poster who goes by the name of TygerWDR.

The not-so-happy fan asked others to join him in a war against the two companies and posted Google’s and Warner Music Group’s fax numbers and addresses. TygerWDR asked fans to send faxes and make calls to Warner and Google to express their disappointment.

Another user, who goes by the name JulietOriginals, said a video clip of her singing a Christmas song was pulled from the site because Warner owned the rights to the carol. In a video where she discussed her disappointment…

Covering Apple’s corporate activities is similar to watching the Vatican cardinals select a new pope. You’re reasonably certainly something is happening, but it’s hard to know exactly what or when.

One of the consequences of Apple’s notorious secrecy is that the slightest change to its Web site can spark rampant speculation about future developments. A good example is the latest microscopically examined (and microscopically sized) event: With little fanfare, Apple put an electronic discontinued sticker on Web sales of its Bluetooth headset for the iPhone.

The news that the $99 accessory (which originally debuted for $129) has been taken off the shelf has raised speculation that Apple is planning to do one of two things: Get out of the Bluetooth market altogether or introduce a new stereo version of the Bluetooth headset with the upcoming iPhone OS 3.0.

Mixed Reviews

When the Apple Bluetooth headset first debuted a couple of years ago, it received only mixed reviews. Some praised its hallmark Apple design elements of simplicity and elegance, its lack of garish lighting, and a thoughtful charger design that allowed both an iPhone and the headset to be charged at the same time. Others, however, complained that the device had poor battery life and range, and lacked controls for voice dial and volume.

The lackluster performance demonstrated by Apple’s headset created a great opportunity for third-party manufacturers, who were able to step in with lower-cost products that offered better performance and more features. Those manufacturers may be playing catch-up this summer if Apple does release a new model with stereo capability.

Michael Gartenberg, vice president at Interpret, said the Bluetooth headset is an example of Apple’s periodic efforts to enter the accessories market, and the discontinuation has more to do with software changes than a disinterest in selling add-ons.

“Given the new BT capabilities in iPhone 3.0,”…

DocPoint Solutions, (www.docpointsolutions.com), a subsidiary of Quality Associates, Inc., focused on providing Microsoft SharePoint to organizations that are looking to expand employee collaboration and increase the exchange of information, today announced its status as an authorized provider of Microsoft SharePoint Deployment Planning Services (SDPS). Now, Microsoft customers throughout the U.S. can redeem their Microsoft Software Assurance (SA) credits to receive up to 15 days of onsite SharePoint technology planning, support, training, and other services from DocPoint Solutions.

Microsoft SharePoint is a server program that is part of the 2007 Microsoft Office system. SharePoint software enables collaboration, improves content management, promotes business process implementation, and enables faster and more powerful access to information via a secure intranet.

Additionally, DocPoint Solutions has recently achieved multiple Microsoft Solutions Competencies. These include Networking Infrastructure and Information Worker Solutions Competencies with the following specializations: Enterprise Content Management and Forms, Portals and Collaboration, and Search. Microsoft Competencies are a recognized level of expertise within a given technical or business area. These credentials mean DocPoint Solutions has earned the specialized knowledge required to deploy various aspects of SharePoint. DocPoint Solutions holds certified status in Microsoft’s Partner Program, which recognizes DocPoint’s expertise and impact in the technology marketplace.

Bob Dickerson, DocPoint Solutions, vice president, said “Many organizations, companies, and government agencies already own microsoft sharepoint on their servers, but they often lack the time and manpower needed to successfully set it up. Fortunately, we’ve found many SharePoint deployments can often be implemented and rolled out across a department or an entire organization quickly, so employees can start benefiting from a shared collaboration portal within a very short timeframe.