Stories by Brian Fonseca

FedEx Eyes Package Return Gains

Federal Express Corp. lifted the covers off its revamped FedEx NetReturn system on Monday, promising the package-return upgrade will be available to customers for an early November release -- just in time to help users avoid the pitfalls of post-holiday online sales returns.

CA's InterBiz leads ASP drive

In an effort to equip aspiring application service providers (ASPs) with what they need to compete in the crowded ASP market, Computer Asso-ciates International's (CA) applications division interBiz has launched its Online Group at NetWorld+Interop 2000.

Candle CEO Envisions 'Ecosystem' Network

ASPs (application service providers) are barreling toward a future where their specialized services will evolve from smaller enterprise markets to play a bigger role in an integrated e-business "ecosystem" network comprised of trading exchanges and commerce providers, said Aubrey Chernick, CEO of network infrastructure and management Candle Corp.

Security Vendors out in Force at N+I

An assortment of methods to prevent Web hacks and network breaches will litter the NetWorld+Interop 2000 floor this week as security companies offer their latest products to safeguard users.

Intrusion Detection Tuned to Customer Needs

Security companies will offer their latest and greatest products to safeguard users at the NetWorld+ Interop 2000 show next week. They will be spreading around an assortment of methods created to prevent Web hacks and network breaches as efficiently as possible.

Palm Trojan looks lame

A Trojan horse capable of wiping out applications on Palm devices has reared its head but was downplayed by security experts as a nonthreat to Palm OS users at this time.
But the Liberty Trojan horse, which may come to be known as the first true PDA (personal digital assistant) malicious code, will probably invite a bevy of copycats to try their hand at thwarting security on these devices, security experts said.

Fleet Unveils First Visa Smart Card

FleetBoston Corp. credit card customers can start applying for the company's new Fusion smart Visa card beginning on Monday, company officials said Friday.

Visa Touts 'Smart Visa' Card Platform

In an effort to help banks and financial institutions pull smart-card technology from the slow-to-adopt quagmire of the U.S. market, Visa USA launched its "smart Visa" card platform this week.

HP World 2000 Opens with a Whimper

With an army of press amassed in New York to inspect Hewlett-Packard's much-hyped "Superdome" server on Tuesday, the company's user and partner conference happening simultaneously in Philadelphia played second fiddle.

RSA Releases Patent Early

Developers wanting to incorporate PKI (public key infrastructure) technology into their applications soon will have more options, following last week's news that the RSA key encryption algorithm is now in the public domain.

Government Invests in Security

Network Associates Inc. announced on Tuesday that it is receiving $11 million in contract funds to develop new technologies for information system security.

Palm Trojan Horse Emerges

A Trojan Horse capable of wiping out applications on Palm Inc. devices reared its head this week but was downplayed by security experts as a nonthreat to Palm OS users at this time.

Web Performance Tools Get Upgrade

Mercury Interactive giving customers greater geographic flexibility and metrics for monitoring Web site performance and user experience by bolstering the root-cause analysis and "points of presence on-demand" capabilities of the company's Topaz ActiveWatch software.

NaviSite Navigates Service-Level Agreements

Expanding in an arena now fraught with management and accountability issues, managed application hoster NaviSite Inc. this week will unveil two new types of SLAs (service-level agreements) for its dot-com, ASP (application service provider), and enterprise customers.

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