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What you should know in preparation of Cyber Tuesday

SYDNEY November 20, 2012 – Thousands of Australians will shortly want to partake in what has been advertised for weeks as “Australia’s first landmark national online sales event” – the Down Under version of the American Cyber Monday idea, as brought home by Australian Power Retail.

Australians have spent $11.7 billion in online stores last year and the trend is rising, with users having spent more than $12 billion in the e-commerce sphere already by September, according to the National Australia Bank. That is good enough reason for scammers to do their best to piggyback on the upcoming event to make an easy buck.

While retailers in observing countries are stocking their supplies in preparation for increasing demand, and computer users are checking the shopping list once again, scammers put out traps for those who forget about the safety checklist.

Like all online purchases, making payments and choosing the suppliers makes all the difference between a successful online shopping spree that is worth waiting all year for, and a sheer disaster that can leave a bank account completely empty with nothing to show for it.

Here are a few tips and tricks users should know when online shopping today:

  • Avoid purchasing while connected to an unprotected Wi-Fi network. If you need to refresh the web page for the product you want to buy to get the best price, it would be safe to use your phone’s or tablet’s 3G network.
  • Make sure you’re not getting phished. As usual, whenever national events such as Click Frenzy take place, phishers use discounts and coupons as bait to lure unwary users. They steer them towards spoofed web locations that look alike the original site to trick people into disclosing their credit-card details. Since most web shops now have SSL certificates to confirm their identity, a simple glance over the browser’s address bar will reveal whether you are on the right page.
  • Don’t shop from work, library, school lab or other computer not under your complete control. School labs and work computers can be equipped with surveillance mechanisms (i.e. keyloggers) that monitor the current user’s activity as per the fair use policy. You’d better wait till you get home or use your mobile device to place the order and pay for it.
  • Don’t underestimate the power of malware. This year’s most prominent e-threats are banker Trojans and rootkit-based malware. They mostly specialise in intercepting banking information, changing transactions and logging your account details while staying completely undetected. Make sure you run a 60-second QuickScan or a full system scan with your favourite antivirus. If you’re shopping from the family PC, use a secure browser such as the SafePay browser to go through check-out with full confidence that your credentials and transactions are not being manipulated.
  • Never buy products that are advertised through spam, regardless of how tempting the offer may sound.  A legit business cares too much for its image to destroy it with a wave of unsolicited commercial offerings – if you get it, trash it. Or, if you have an antivirus solution with antispam, let it handle potentially unwanted advertisements for you. And always keep your browser, your software and your antivirus updated.
  • Online retailers need to scale the network up in advance. Cyber-criminals are usually exploiting the fact that online sales events are responsible for a significant percentage of yearly sales and target the online sales websites with a DDoS-type attack, as most server resources are already consumed by legit customers.
 
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GET READY FOR A WHITE CHRISTMAS WITH NEW LIMITED EDITION NINTENDO 3DS XL WHITE CONSOLE

20th November 2012

Get ready for a white Christmas as Nintendo brings a new limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL White console as the ultimate Christmas gift this festive season.  A new limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL White pre-installed with Super Mario 3D Land will be available in stores on the 6th of December.

For any Mario lover, there are now two Nintendo 3DS XL White consoles topping the Christmas wishlist this year.  Whether you prefer traditional platforming action or fast-paced, arcade-style racing, the choice is yours.  You can pick from either the limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL White pre-installed with Mario Kart 7 or the limited edition Nintendo 3DS XL White pre-installed with Super Mario 3D Land.  Both become available in stores on the 6th of December.

Both consoles will only be available in limited quantities, so if you’re a Mario fan, make sure you don’t miss out!

 
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FIONA MCINTOSH returns to Morgravia… & Paris.

Australia’s queen of fantasy returns to the world of her epic bestseller Myrren’s Gift

Fiona McIntosh

The Scrivener’s Tale

PRAISE FOR FIONA MCINTOSH:

“Two words on the cover – ‘Fiona McIntosh’ – always let me know I’m in for a good read” ROBIN HOBB

“Fiona McIntosh is a seductress. I have not moved from the sofa in three days” THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

“Fiona McIntosh keeps getting better and better” ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

“Relentless, twisty plotting… compulsively readable” KIRKUS REVIEWS

Fiona McIntosh is one of Australia’s most exciting and prolific authors of popular fantasy. Locally, reviewers have compared her to masters of the genre, including Raymond Feist, Jean M Auel, David Gemmell and Guy Gavriel Kay; internationally, she is also a sensation. Myrren’s Gift, for instance, was Britain’s highest-selling debut for 2005, and it has now been published in all English-speaking markets around the world and translated into several languages.

In fact, it was while swamped with French fans clutching translation copies of these novels during a recent trip to the Paris Book Fair that Fiona decided it was time to finally give in to their pleas that she set another novel in France; and so the seed for THE SCRIVENER’S TALE was sown.

Set in the landscape of Morgravia (a world already familiar to her readers) and inspired by rainy afternoons spent walking the streets of Paris and hours spent rummaging through Shakespeare & Co (one of the city’s most famous bookshops and a mecca for its English-speaking literati), THE SCRIVENER’S TALE is just the kind of gripping, expertly-crafted narrative that fans and critics alike have come to expect from McIntosh.

Despite her skyrocketing writing career, Fiona leads a relatively normal life, dividing her time between Adelaide and Tasmania’s Huon Valley with the occasional research trip to Europe thrown in. A mother of twin sons, she is also a prolific baker and chocolate addict, baking all manner of cakes, brownies and biscuits into the early hours of the morning as her family sleeps. Says Fiona, “I’m sure in the haze of measuring and stirring I’m percolating my complex fantasy tale with a cast of thousands somewhere in the back of my brain!”

 
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A VISIONARY, AN INNOVATOR, A GENIUS, A LEADER.

A VISIONARY, AN INNOVATOR, A GENIUS, A LEADER.

STEVE JOBS 1955-2011 

This December, Anchor Bay Entertainment is set to release an in-depth look at the man who radicalised an industry and changed the way we communicate; Steve Jobs.

Steve Jobs was the modern day Thomas Edison!  From the first Mac to the ground breaking iPhones, iPads and iPods… Jobs altered our communication methods and radicalised the industry by successfully marketing his inventions so that every man, woman and child would be proud to label themselves as an Apple Fanatic.

This documentary delves into the life of Steve Jobs; the man who gave his all but lost the battle.

Steve Jobs was a creative visionary genius…changing and departing this world before his time.  He was a father, husband and a much-loved friend but to the rest of the world he leaves his stamp as one of the greatest innovators and geniuses of all time. 

Steve Jobs iGenius available DVD December 5

iGENIUS

RUNTIME: 54 Mins

SRP: DVD $24.95

RATING: PG

 
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The First Graphic Novel from Bestselling Author Kylie Chan

SMALL SHEN is the amazing story of Gold — a stone spirit and a chronic troublemaker in the court of the great Gods of Chinese mythology.

A mix of Kylie Chan’s brilliant storytelling and Queenie Chan’s beautiful illustrations, SMALL SHEN is a fantastic treat for fans of WHITE TIGER. Readers will be thrilled to discover the events leading up to John Chen and Emma Donahoe’s story in this wonderful prequel told in a unique mix of manga-style illustration and traditional prose.

The story follows Gold’s escapades throughout history, including seducing a dragon princess, attempting to steal one of the Tiger’s wives, making bets with demons, and working for the Blue Dragon of the East.

SMALL SHEN is a collectible piece of art for fans of Kylie Chan to treasure, but also a fantastic introduction to the gripping WHITE TIGER series. 

ABOUT KYLIE:

Kylie was born and raised in a typical Australian family, yet it was her marriage to a Hong Kong national that has had the largest influence on her writing career. Twenty years ago, she was married in a traditional Chinese wedding ceremony in Eastern China, and spent the following years immersing herself in Chinese culture and mythology.

Now living in Brisbane, she is a mother of two and the bestselling author of the Dark Heavens and Journey to Wudang trilogies.

 

ABOUT QUEENIE:

Queenie was born in Hong Kong in 1980, and migrated to Australia when she was six years old. She is a manga illustrator who has collaborated with Dean Koontz on his New York Times bestselling ODD THOMAS series of graphic novels

 

 
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NAMCO BANDAI GAMES BRINGS ADDICTIVE WORLD-FLIPPING PLATFORMER LAZY RAIDERS TO THE APP STORE

Clever New Puzzle/Platformer Title Comes to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – November 19th 2012 – Leading publisher NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S., today announced the release of Lazy Raiders for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. In Lazy Raiders, players must tilt, spin and flip the game world to navigate the lazy and outlandish treasure hunter, Dr. Diggabone, through a challenging set of levels to retrieve the 16 Lost Relics that will grant him instant fame and fortune. Over the course of 60 fun levels, players will journey through increasingly treacherous and clever stages in their quest to become the world’s greatest treasure hunter.

Lazy Raiders challenges gamers to tilt the game world using the built-in accelerometer in the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch to move the lazy Dr. Diggabone through 60 addictive levels set in three different settings: the Seven Cities of Gold, Arctic Caves and Wild West. Along the way, players can collect gems, money and relics to further cement the doctor’s treasure-hunting renown. Dangerous impediments like boulders, minions and thieves litter the game world, making Dr. Diggabone’s treasure seeking all the more challenging and rewarding.

Originally released on Xbox LIVE Arcade, Lazy Raiders brings all the appeal of the big-screen experience to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch including rich graphical detail and intuitive controls. Lazy Raiders also includes Facebook integration allowing players to brag about their successful scavenging scores with all their online friends.

Lazy Raiders is available for $0.99 from the App Store on iPhone, iPad and iPod touch or at https://itunes.apple.com/au/app/lazy-raiders/id550332431?mt=8 . For more information on Lazy Raiders or the lineup of NAMCO BANDAI Games’s mobile titles, please visit http://www.namcobandaigames.eu

 
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NAMCO BANDAI GAMES BRINGS SKY GAMBLERS: AIR SUPREMACY TO THE APP STORE

FORGET EVERYTHING ELSE! THIS IS THE ULTIMATE AIR COMBAT GAME FOR iPHONE AND iPAD!

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – November 19th 2012 – Leading publisher NAMCO BANDAI Games and Revo Solutions have just released an update to Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy, the popular air combat app on iOS that boasts incredible console-quality graphics and fast visceral action.  With the new update, the team has unveiled the new Party Mode that allows up to four friends to engage in four player splitscreen dogfighting skirmishes over AirPlay through the Apple TV. The game also offers a full suite of 12 new levels, posing players against new Drones, Drone Carriers, mysterious UFO vessels and more surprises. Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy is available on the App Store at the following link for $2.99 – https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sky-gamblers-air-supremacy/id505730036

Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy sets a new standard for mobile gaming, taking full advantage of the retina display on new iOS devices for a high resolution gaming experience. The app also utilizes the faster A6 chip in the iPhone 5 and new iPad, allowing for faster, better and even more thrilling combat engagements than ever before. Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy, immerses players in a variety of console-quality, detailed environments, complete with weather effects and an advanced particle system. Flying a variety of modern advanced aircraft, players will lose themselves in the aerial action as bullets hit their plane, rain blurs their windshield, and the sound of chaos surrounds them. Offering an incredible visual and audio experience, Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy is a must-have title for anyone playing games on the new iOS hardware!

For more information on Sky Gamblers: Air Supremacy or the lineup of NAMCO BANDAI Games’s mobile titles, please visit http://www.namcobandaigames.eu

 
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Google Chrome App grabs identities, forges blogs in victims’ name to promote scam

Bitdefender catches Facebook colour scam with both hands in cookie jar 

SYDNEY/AUCKLAND November 19, 2012 – A Google Chrome app that promises to change the colour of Facebook accounts instead nabs authentication cookies and generates dozens of blogs registered to the victims’ Gmail address, in a new scam analysed by Bitdefender, the leading global antivirus company.

Once the malicious app is installed from Google’s Chrome Web Store, it starts displaying a large Google Ads banner redirecting users to a “work from home scam.” When clicking the sign-up link, users are redirected to a fraudulent website.

“Scammers gave a new twist to the old change-your-Facebook-colour scheme that’s been luring users to fraudulent websites to grab credentials and other sensitive data,” says Chief Security Strategist, Catalin Cosoi. “By creating dozens of blogs for a single account, the scam spreads like wildfire among Facebook friends.”

The blogs generating under the email address of the victims, which are used in further disseminating the scam, have registered a large number of hits among users in the US, the UK, Germany, Spain, Romania, and other countries.

The app can also post wall messages on the victims’ account. The messages use friend tagging to convince the victim’s friends to visit the blog domains. Each time the app posts on a users’ timeline, it links to one of the auto-generated blogs as to avoid blacklisting.

Bitdefender encourages users to use an antivirus solution and the free application Safego, which protects Facebook and Twitter accounts from scams, spam, malware and private data exposure.

 

 
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Symantec Envisions Future Clouds as Safe Clouds

Symantec Unveils Solution Portfolios for Safe, Agile and Efficient Clouds

SYDNEY – 19 November 2012 – Symantec Corp. (Nasdaq: SYMC) today announced its vision for safe, agile and efficient clouds. In five years, companies will operate in a converged IT world of cloud, virtualisation and mobile computing where clouds are safe. IT organisations will have better visibility, control and compliance across their private and public clouds. To get there, Symantec extends its security, data storage and information management expertise to help companies transition to safe clouds of the future.

Today, the cloud landscape is rapidly changing. A survey conducted by Symantec has been published showing that between public, private and hybrid deployments, 23 percent of business information globally is being stored in the cloud1. Advanced cyber attacks by governments and crime syndicates will likely target highly profitable data centres and high profile clouds. In the face of these new challenges, organisations of all sizes will need a rigorous cloud approach and industry leading partners to help navigate through cloud complexities. Symantec understands what companies need and will help them successfully migrate into safe clouds.

“Symantec has proven solutions with industry leading technologies to protect companies, information and people,” said Francis deSouza, group president, Enterprise Products and Services, Symantec. “Wherever companies go with clouds, Symantec will provide the protection and control they need across public and private cloud environments.”

“Fujitsu and Symantec share a vision where cloud computing provides the competitive advantages, flexibility and protection our global customers need,” said Cameron McNaught, senior vice president, Cloud and Strategic Solutions, Fujitsu International Business. “Fujitsu recently completed a global survey of cloud decision makers and found 76 percent of respondents had concerns about cloud security.  Symantec and Fujitsu together recognise the current challenges that organisations face when pursuing cloud deployments and together can help them move to the cloud with confidence.”

Symantec Vision for Safe Clouds

  • Explosion      of many interconnected clouds, architectures and cloud-connected devices
    The proliferation of cloud-based applications and services will continue      to grow as information explodes across IT networks, public and private      clouds, mobile devices and other connected endpoints. Companies are      shifting to hybrid cloud environments operating in public and private      clouds, either hosted on premise or off premise. The cloud complexities      increase specifically around protection, data management and control.
  • Clouds      of the future will be safe, agile and efficient
    With safe clouds, companies will transition confidential customer and      sensitive business information to the clouds. They will realise the full      cloud benefits of increased security, data control and availability while      users experience greater productivity and mobile-to-cloud accessibility.      In contrast, clouds will deliver improved scalability, affordability and      compliance as compared to traditional data centres.
  • Clouds      will be the new norm
    IT will build new clouds and infrastructures from the ground up. Important      workloads will shift from on premise to off premise clouds. Companies will      reap cloud benefits, cost savings and advanced protection as new business      models, new use of technologies and new ways to interact with information      become available. As cloud computing advances, a need arises for      specialised skills, policies and architectures. Companies will experience      new demands around IT risk and compliance, governance, data privacy and      regulatory requirements.

 

Symantec’s Role in the New Cloud

To achieve this safe cloud environment, the IT industry needs to enforce rigorous cloud strategies around the protection of policy, information, people and infrastructures. Symantec’s comprehensive portfolio provides companies of all sizes a variety of cloud solutions to address their specific needs and current IT environments.
“Staying competitive and servicing our banking customers is a top priority for Citizens Business Bank,” said Elsa Zavala, executive vice president and chief information officer, Citizens Business Bank. “We see cloud services as a major advantage for our business, associates, partners, and customers. Symantec provides the expertise, cloud training and integrated safe cloud solutions, leveraging our infrastructures, to deliver on our cloud strategies.”

Symantec Cloud Solution Portfolios
 
Symantec breaks down cloud barriers by providing companies with three cloud solution models to best meet their business needs:

  • Businesses      extend their IT to leverage third party clouds
  • Enterprises      build their own clouds
  • Companies      consume hosted cloud services by cloud service      providers

Extend into Clouds Safely
For businesses extending their IT investments to private and public clouds for cloud applications, storage and virtualised environments, Symantec enables organisations to achieve increased protection, visibility and control of their information. This improved information management provides better insight and audit reporting to efficiently meet compliance and data privacy requirements.


Build Efficient and Available Private and Public Clouds

As Symantec envisions a future world of safe clouds, enterprises today seek the powerful combination of agility and efficiency, promised from cloud computing, with the visibility and control inherent to the data centre. Leveraging enterprises current IT investments, Symantec helps organisations accelerate virtualisation and build highly protected and compliant clouds for safe, available and resilient clouds.

Consume Clouds Safely
Businesses of all sizes are increasingly migrating to hosted cloud service providers for the competitive advantages that enable them to avoid expensive and complicated IT build outs and to realise improved cost-savings, IT efficiencies, scalability and market agility. Symantec partners with businesses to achieve their cloud strategies and protect the information and people integral to their business, through our current integrated services:

New Cloud Programmes for Companies and Service Providers
As clouds become more complex, companies will need to expand their IT expertise in order to execute cloud policies and architectures. Symantec introduces two new cloud training programmes.

For more information on the full line of new Symantec cloud-enabled solutions, services and programmes, go to the Symantec Cloud website at: www.symantec.com/cloud.

Analyst Quote

  • Gartner      Research
    “The industry recognises that protection and information management      technologies found in traditional IT are accelerating cloud advancements.      Companies are looking for secure private and public clouds that ensure      their data and people are protected,” according to David Mitchell Smith,      vice president and Gartner Fellow at Gartner Research.

Read more detailed blog posts:

Resources

Connect with Symantec


About Symantec

Symantec protects the world’s information, and is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data centre, to cloud-based systems. Our world-renowned expertise in protecting data, identities and interactions gives our customers confidence in a connected world. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia.

 
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A FRESH AUTODANCE® BY JUST DANCE® MOBILE APP COMES TO AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

A new version of Autodance® by Just Dance®, the free mobile application, is now available in Australia and New Zealand through the App Store for Apple®’s iOS for iPhone® and iPad®. The app of the worldwide phenomenon franchise, released last year, has been downloaded over 7 million times and users have created more than 47 million videos.

With Autodance, anyone can dance! Following the spirit of the Just Dance family of video games, Autodance gives mobile users a chance to star in their own music videos. Through the Autodance app, users record videos of themselves and/or friends showing off their best dance moves and then instantly create Just Dance videos on their smart phone to share with friends, family and the rest of the world. The app records four sequences and then transforms them into a hilarious dance video matching one of the three new Just Dance 4 songs including everyone’s favourite summer hit, Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.”

The new version of the Autodance app also introduces a new fun feature: users can add cool effects to customise the look of their video by selecting themes like “8MM Vintage,” “Thermal Vision,” and “Mosaic.” They can then make their friends dance superstars by sharing their video with the world via Facebook, YouTube, email or on Just Dance TV which is now built right into the app. Just Dance TV lets users browse through videos, take part in themed-videos competitions, give and receive likes and comments, and explore the featured video section for endless hours of entertainment!

For more information about Just Dance 4, please visit: www.justdancegame.com