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10/6/2008
Web-search advertising giant Yahoo plans to resolve a password security vulnerability identified in late September in its Zimbra open source e-mail and collaboration software. On Wednesday, a Yahoo spokesperson stated by e-mail that the problem will be addressed in a few weeks' time.
Canadian computer programmer Holden Karau spotted the security problem while participating in Yahoo's University Hack Day. He found that passwords used to log onto Yahoo's e-mail service through the Zimbra client were exposed as clear text, rather than encrypted, as described on his blog.
The Yahoo spokesperson explained that security upgrades and other changes are afoot for the next beta release of Zimbra and "things will be in place in the next few weeks before the service is launched out of beta."
The security fix comes on top of news that Zimbra, which features an AJAX-based client, has achieved compatibility with formats used in other mail programs. The product is now compatible with e-mail, meeting apps, calendars and contact lists used in Microsoft Exchange and Apple Mail, according to a Yahoo announcement issued on Tuesday.
The Zimbra Collaboration Suite now has an "open extension framework" that works with Microsoft Exchange 2003. Yahoo is leaving it up to the marketplace to develop similar mail server extensions, such as for IBM's Lotus Domino or Novell's GroupWise.
Yahoo purchased Zimbra Inc., a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup, in September. Zimbra's software consists of client and server side components, with a free open source version that is currently in the beta testing phase. Yahoo also has a commercially supported edition called Zimbra Network, which has some proprietary code.
Jabulani Leffall is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Financial Times of London, Investor's Business Daily, The Economist and CFO Magazine, among others. You can contact Jabulani at editor@entmag.com.
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New versions of Moodle have been released, bringing the most recent stable build to 1.9.3. The latest round of updates includes a number of bug fixes and security enhancements, as well as improvements to the SCORM module.
Microsoft is rolling out a free antivirus software program for consumers that will compete with products made by Symantec and McAfee. Code-named "Morro," the AV app is expected to be available by the end of 2009.
Microsoft Wednesday previewed the ability to centrally manage applications and resources in the planned upgrade of SQL Server, code-named "Kilimanjaro."
Microsoft exec Stephen Elop on Monday announced two hosted solutions from Microsoft--Exchange Online and SharePoint Online--which are now available to organizations of all sizes in the United States. The software, paid for by annual subscriptions, is hosted on Microsoft's servers and supported by Microsoft's channel partners.
There are, in my experience, six strategies to consider with any use of technology that will guard against rote use of technology and facilitate critical analysis of teaching and learning effectiveness. In this article, I'll share with you the checklist I work with and encourage others to work with in learning about and using new technology.
How can an institution incorporate Web 2.0 learning opportunities for students, and evidence of learning from those opportunities, into existing campus technologies and processes? PlugJam is providing part of the answer.