Happy Holidays

Dear Partners, A special greeting at Christmas time to express to you our sincere appreciation for your confidence and loyalty. We are deeply thankful and extend to you our best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season. Feliz Navidad from the ESET NOD32 Solutions fraternity. Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a happy new year...

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10 highly sought-after technology skills in 2014

With the International Monetary Fund (IMF) stating in a report in October this year that output in sub-Saharan Africa is expected to “expand by 6% in 2014″, academics and technology specialists have agreed that the projected growth will also fuel demand for skills. The ICT skills shortage experienced internationally, including South Africa, has also increasingly been experienced by countries in Africa.According to Professor Andre Calitz of the Department of Computing Sciences at The Nelson Mandela...

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Kenya: CCK double-checks on service quality

The Communications Commission of Kenya (CCK) has announced this week that it will initiate an audit of the quality of non-voice services to consumers. CCK Director General Francis Wangusi The regulator has confirmed that it is scouting for consultants to assist with a comprehensive Quality of Service (QoS) measurement to scrutinise the quality of text, data and social media services. Local media reports suggest the Regulator has undertaken the exercise in recognition of the general move by...

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Kenya looking to Big Data, Cloud to stay ahead

Recent research conducted by IDG Connect suggests that there is a definite move towards big data projects in Kenya and Nigeria. According to this research, 64% of respondents are at planning, pilot scheme or live stage of Projects. It is indicative of the increasing level of interest in big data, big data analytics and the relevance of the cloud to enhance operations and accelerate growth in the enterprise. For many years, businesses have been making decisions based mainly on transactional...

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RIP THATHA - Nelson Mandela dies, social media reacts

“Our nation has lost its greatest son. Our people have lost a father,” said South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma late on Thursday night. The President made the tearful announcement that former President Nelson Mandela has passed away at his house in Houghton on 5 December. The Late Nelson Mandela The news announcement, which was broadcast on all of South Africa’s SABC channels, evoked a huge response on social networks, with people from all walks of life sharing memories, sending condolences to...

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Users urged to register .africa now

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) plans to launch some 1900 new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLD’s). This new system will allow for the registration of generic words, geographic names and brand names as top level names, for example .lawyer, .africa, .zulu, .google and .clothing, and ICANN has established a so-called ‘Trademark Clearinghouse’, which came into effect on 26 March 2013. “If you register with the Trademark Clearinghouse (TMCH) you will be entitled to register...

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Festive season alert

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 ...

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The weakest link in cyber security

Newspaper headlines that the international space station might have been compromised by a computer virus might be sensational and grab much attention, but seem far removed from everyday organsations and businesses most of us work for and with. Graham Welch, EMEA Managing Director But the reality is that while this sort of high profile attack grabs media headlines, the majority of businesses around the world also face cyberattack and their networks will be compromised – either by professional...

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Why Internet users in Arusha are smiling

An open air market in Arusha, Tanzania This week, Smile Communications Tanzania (Smile) launches its Fourth Generation Long Term Evolution (4G LTE) services in Arusha, bringing the high speed internet revolution to businesses, organizations and residents in and around Arusha city. LTE (Long Term Evolution) also known as 4G LTE enables ultra-high-speed internet access because it is the cutting-edge fourth-generation (4G) mobile technology standard and represents a step change in evolution...

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94% of Organizations Are Still Running Windows XP

Windows XP remains the world’s second most popular operating system, even though Microsoft plans to officially retire it on April 8, 2014, and only a few companies have actually made the move to newer software. A research conducted by VMware in October reveals that no less than 94 percent of the organizations on Windows XP are still running the aging platform, with only 34 percent of them actually planning to migrate. At the same time, 36 percent of the IT managers admit that the transition...

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Key security incidents that shaped the threat landscape in 2013

Some of the revelations of the past year raised questions about the way we use the Internet nowadays and the type of risks we face. In 2013 advanced threat actors have continued large-scale operations, and cyber-mercenaries, specialist APT groups “for hire” which focus on hit-and-run operations emerged. Hacktivists were constantly in the news, together with the term “leak”, which is sure to put fear into the heart of any serious sys-admin out there. In the meantime, cybercriminals were busy devising...

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Local content quickens pace of broadband service delivery in East Africa

The increasing availability of affordable customer premise equipment (CPE) and smartphones in East Africa is driving the broadband services market in the region. Greater demand for access to social media platforms, especially on mobile devices, sustains broadband penetration. The laying of undersea cables, too, has helped enhance the reliability of networks, aiding market development. New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, East African Broadband Market, finds that the market earned revenues...

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Kenyan firms join the fight against cyber crime

Technology firm, ESET NOD32 Solutions, has joined in the fight against cybercrime in the country. The action comes in the wake of the problem reaching unprecedented levels and stakeholders in the information and communications technology sector calling upon the government to institute legislative measures to curb the menace. The Managing Director for ESET NOD32 Solutions, Geoffrey Ombachi, said that the company had been disseminating information about the looming problem through its blog (www.esetkenya.blogspot.com). He...

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Kenya wins big at World Travel Awards

Kenya has scooped the World’s Leading Safari Destination Award at the 20th World Travel Awards (WTA) grand finale in Doha, Qatar.The Kenya Tourism Board(KTB) disclosed on Monday that the country received the most votes from travel agents worldwide at the auspicious ceremony held on 30th November 2013 to beat other competing destinations. The award comes barely a month after the country’s tourism marketing agency Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) was voted Africa’s leading Tourism Board in Africa by WTA...

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Is your company’s software legit?

The use of business software, in any sector, has become an integral part of an organisation’s ability to perform tasks with a greater degree of efficiency, accuracy and ease. In fact, the most successful companies in every industry build their business processes around the functionality found in today’s software programs based on best-practice methodologies, industry standards and regulatory compliance. However, many companies in South Africa still use illegal copies of software, be it at user...

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Liquid Telecom SA pours broadband into education

Liquid Telecom South Africa today announced that it has provided broadband to forty schools on behalf of the Foundation for Internet Development working for the Department of Education and the Coza Cares Foundation which enables sustainable ICT environments in under-resourced South African schools through collaboration and partnerships. The schools are all located in rural parts of the North West Province. Liquid Telecom South Africa has allocated a dedicated channel on its satellite service...

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Addis Ababa eagerly awaits 4G rollout

Following a $1.6 billion deal between Huawei Technologies, Ethiopia’s state-run Ethio Telecom and ZTE, an eight month project to bolster local connectivity services throughout Ethiopia will be spearheaded by the rollout of 4G connectivity services in the country’s capital. A high speed 4G network, scheduled to be implemented by Huawei, forms a crucial part of the joint venture to expand mobile phone infrastructure nationally. Abdurahim Ahmed, head of communications at Ethio Telecom, has been...

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TEAMs player Safaricom acquires more bandwidth

Kenyan mobile service provider Safaricom has acquired mobile operator Essar’s 10% stake in the undersea fibre optic The East Africa Marine system (TEAMs). The value of the deal has not yet been made known, but Safaricom now owns 32.5% of the cable. “The stake was sold to Safaricom in September at undisclosed figure, and the finances from this sale went towards yuMobile’s operations. It was an investment made by Essar, which was not being used for operations. This bandwidth had always been idle...

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What Kenya’s communications regulator wants to achieve

From Nairobi, local media have reported on targets that the country’s communications regulator, the CCK, has set – including the objective to increase the current rate of mobile money service use from 58.9% to 70% in the next five years. In a strategic plan for the period 2013 – 2018, the CCK has mentioned its intention to up levels of TV broadcast coverage from what it is today, at 55%, to at least 80%. Director General of the regulatory body, Francis Wangusi, has confirmed the organisation’s...

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Meet Microsoft’s first female country manager in Africa

Microsoft has announced the appointment of Otema Yirenkyi as the company’s first country manager for Ghana. As the company shifts its global focus to a devices and services offering, Ghana remains one of Microsoft’s critical investment markets in Africa. Otema Yirenkyi Otema, a native Ghanaian with over 14 years of ICT experience, will take the helm of its increasing investment in the country. Otema is Microsoft’s first female country manager on the African continent and holds a BSc degree in...

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