Clint Boulton

USB tokens are the perfect vectors for two-factor authentication, where two types of identification are required to give a user access to a Web site. But they need help to work. They need readers, drivers and sundry middleware that enable the token to connect to a Web server to enable users’ access to Web sites. […]

Symantec  and McAfee , in their quests to compete for dollars in the market for security technology, are both using the assets they gleaned from acquisitions in key product releases at the RSA Conference 2007 in San Francisco today. Symantec, whose CEO John Thompson will give a keynote speech at the show tomorrow, has issued […]

Last year, the computing world reached a flashpoint. A prevalence of data breaches, lost and stolen laptops and zero-day attacks ushered in new and ominous threats to Web users’ personal information. What’s a security vendor to do? Take advantage of this free publicity wave and ride it, which is what the vendors will aim to […]

It’s just a few days before the RSA Conference 2007, and some vendors refuse to let themselves get lost in the glut of news from companies that scramble for everyone’s attention at the show. Take SPI Dynamics, for example. The Web application security provider earlier this week unveiled the fruits of a three-year endeavor, dubbed […]

When it comes to security software, Oracle  in the past would not have rated near Symantec , McAfee  or even IBM. The times they are a changin’; the company has beefed up its security software portfolio and is ready to take the RSA Conference 2007 show in San Francisco by storm next week. “Oracle has […]

Microsoft may still be the dominant software power in the world, but the company isn’t above using a piece of hardware every now and then, especially when it comes to fortifying its security portfolio. The software maker released today its Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) virtual private network (VPN) appliance, an integral piece of the company’s […]

UPDATED: Michael Dell is taking back his troubled company. Dell’s  founder and chairman took back the CEO role today, with Kevin Rollins resigning after a tumultuous period in which the company posted lackluster sales and failed to file earnings for consecutive quarters. The computing systems maker also said in a statement that it expects its […]

Analysis: Symantec’s $830 million purchase of IT management software maker Altiris is yet another message to rival Microsoft that it intends to be more than just a top security software maker. Symantec  is positioning for a bigger piece of the software market for managing, patching and configuring laptops, desktops, servers and storage devices. Microsoft , […]

Mention Web application security to an IT administrator at most companies and you may elicit a grimace. The growing tangle of dynamic Web 2.0 applications make it almost impossible for traditional bug scanners to catch most Web vulnerabilities. Recognizing this architectural challenge, SPI Dynamics created Phoenix, a new Web application security architecture to analyze Web […]

Symantec Corp.  today took a bigger step in the IT management software market, agreeing to acquire Altiris, Inc. for $830 million in cash. Altiris stockholders will receive $33 per share of Altiris common stock in cash, a 22 percent premium over Friday’s closing price of $27.14. The deal will close in Symantec’s second quarter. Purchasing […]

One of Oracle’s biggest challenges these days is integrating the new products from its numerous acquisitions with its existing software. Oracle  just finished one such undertaking, incorporating the analytics software it acquired in the Siebel Systems purchase as the base for its business intelligence software. Oracle Business Intelligence Suite Enterprise Edition 10g Release 3 features […]

It may not have the cache of some of the cooler consumer-oriented technologies, but the nascent market for IT management process automation is gathering momentum and could snowball in 2007. Also known as run-book automation, such software automates processes and applies the correct resources to changes that arise in computer systems. Theoretically, run-book automation will […]