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Posted: Wednesday 17 March 2010
LIVE: Business Cards & Networking now in the Cloud
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Support for Business Cards / Networking and other kinds of documents add a new dimension to ReceiptAngel.co.uk

In response to popular demand we have added support for Business Cards and Networking to ReceiptAngel.co.uk months ahead of our planned schedule - not to mention support for 'Other Document' making 'Work to Cloud'  a reality.

This means that a variety of work that could previously only be done in one place can be easily and quickly moved to 'the cloud' and so passed to the most appropriate person - wherever they are.

Not only is this a leap forward for small and virtual enterprises but it's an absolute godsend for the growing army of UK Virtual Assistants (VAs) and their clients who can now outsource admin work and other tasks like never before - leaving entrepreneurs and business owners more time to develop their business.

Free trials are available at www.ReceiptAngel.co.uk for the next month so you can try it all for free.



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Posted: Wednesday 11 November 2009
Software City 2009
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What a day - what an event!  Software City in Liverpool was fabulous this year - thanks Steve Smith and the team!

We had a great reception for TakeCare there with some interesting (and trenchant) questions from the 'Dragons' - Richard Farleigh and Mark Fuller (not to mention David Bundred) making their mark for sure!
Despite the strictures of a tight time-spot strictly policed this year (Steve) I was amazed how well the whole audience of almost 300 seemed to 'get it' - once I'd disentangled myself from a false start with the AV system!

Five mins (I think I did all five in three) is not nearly enough to explain a breakthough like TakeCare and it's implications for Cloud computing as well as email and the whole Internet eco-system (let alone the planet's eco-system if we can save a forest-a-day).

Perhaps that was why I was inundated with questions for the rest if the afternoon and through the evening too! (and completely k****ered by days end).

But I can't fault (and don't want to) such a high quality event with a high quality audience in such an amazing venue!

It was great to be amongst some of the cream of Silicon Valley - a reverse invasion? Looking forward to the return fixture  more than I can say.


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Posted: Tuesday 20 October 2009
Press Release: Electronic Client Confidentiality - A Breakthrough?
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TakeCare eDisc Launches to Acclaim at Law Society Lexel Conference

What is claimed to be the first truly practical solution to maintain client confidentiality when electronic documents are sent, such as medical records transferred between doctors and lawyers, was launched to acclaim this week at the Law Society LEXEL conference.

Previous encryption systems have proved impractical. Partly because they are too complex for most people to handle, but mostly because everyone involved has to have the same system installed.

The TakeCare eDisc gets around this problem by packaging everything up onto a self-burning encrypted CD (or eDisc) which connects itself to a secure web service that generates and delivers the keys to the intended recipient - relieving the user of all complex tasks.

This means that documents and other material can be sent securely to anyone and without anyone needing to put a system in place to either send or receive information securely.

"Using this technology is childs' play, and that gives it the power to be transformational for all of us in the legal profession." commented Dick Jennings, R.D.Y.Jennings & Co, Solicitors

Barry James - the CEO of TakeWare, the company behind the system, for which it holds patents in the UK and internationally said "We are delighted with the response to TakeCare. We know that confidentiality is of paramount importance to both doctors and lawyers and this removes an important obstacle to maintaining that in an increasingly digital environment - and it's very green as well of course".

For more information about TakeCare eDiscs, go to www.TakeWare.com/eDisc



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Posted: Friday 28 August 2009
TakeCare Readies for UK Launch
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TakeCare - a breakthrough product enabling secure transfer for documents and other data without the traditional hassles - readies for launch.

The massive, widely publicised, losses of personal data over the last year or two has meant that there has been a gulf opening up between the need for security and the means to provide it. Since the HMRC lost almost half the population's records on a CD the demands and expectations of the population in general (and the Information Commissioners Office in particular) have gone throught the roof - culminating in what amounts to a new regime - with new powers being put into place for the ICO at present.

But really practical tools, to deliver what is needed and being demanded, have been lacking. I.E. To keep personal information safe - In transit in particular.

TakeCare is a new product that fills the gap using new, patented, technology to make it easy for non technical people to exchange documents and other digital information securely. The breakthrough means that the sender and receiver no longer need to acquire and install the same software. They need just a Windows PC and an Internet Connection. The TakeCare 'eDisc' (encrypted disc) contains the encrypted information and everything that's needed to accees it, while the web is used to provide the 'keys' to just the intended recipient - so keeping the data secure.

Ian Sadler of e-safe Insurance commented.

The actions of the ICO and other regulators over recent months have sent a salutary reminder to all businesses as to the importance of protecting data and the needs for encryption when data is sent or requested via transportable media. Failure to comply with the regulators has clearly been shown to result in substantial sanctions and penalties.

To date actually achieving compliance in an effective manner that is both cost effective and not disruptive of the business information exchange process (especially between businesses that have no formal trading relationships and come into contact with each other only occasionally or even one time only) has been a difficult if not impossible task given the multitude of system incompatibilities that exist between individual organisations and the totally ad-hoc nature of many data exchanges.

TakeCare changes this in a profound and fundamental manner; it is a real and much needed, breakthrough. It makes it practical - for the first time - for non technical staff to use high level encryption to secure documents and data moving between organisations without calling on specialist IT support or having to follow a difficult computer process. In doing this it reduces and minimises the risks and exposure to regulatory problems - and the dangers of regulator sanctions and fines. 

Ian Sadler,  CEO, e-Safe Insurance

For more information or to order call 0844 8844 941



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Posted: Saturday 06 June 2009
Landmark: Publishing Policies is no longer enough
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While many organisation have thought that having a policy and informing staff could be enough to keep them out of trouble a landmark ruling reveals that Information Commissioner now has other ideas.

As we reported a couple of months ago The Information Commission's Office now has teeth and is using them in making regular, high profile, prosecutions - presumably to demonstrate how serious they are in tackling data loss at all levels.

A significant proportion of these prosecutions are NHS Trusts but a recent one against Leicester City Council is particularly revealing. On close inspection it seems that 80 children's home address details were lost from a council run nursery on an unprotected memory stick - apparently due to the carelessness of an (unnamed) temporary worker there.
 
The council had their defence ready: They had policies in place. Staff had been informed. Only council owned memory devices were 'allowed' to be used and there were to be procured only by the IT department and (presumably) encrypted. The Council might be forgiven for thinking 'job done'.
 
When the incident came to light the Information Commissioners Office took a very different view - and completely dismissed this defence in his ruling, saying that the council had not met it's responsibilities under the act and must take immediate remedial action. This to include properly training all staff - including temporary and contract staff.
 
The chief executive was named as responsible and made to sign a legal undertaking which is publicly available here: 
 
The story is publicised on the ICO website and a press release is here:
This is a landmark case - and further evidence of how serious the authorities are about data handling and data protection.


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Posted: Monday 11 May 2009
dMOT - The Future...
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Occasionally as you peer into the future there is a sense of near inevitability about certain things. For me the dMOT is one of these.

When 'motorised vehicles' first appeared on roads designed (if at all) for horse powered transport and driven by engineers and 'early adopters' they were very dangerous indeed. When you consider that the road sense of the typical pedestrian at that time involved little more than a glance over the shoulder when a horse drawn vehicle clattered towards them - with time to spare - then the combination must have become pretty lethal pretty quickly.

 

Optional Driving License

So the driving license was invented. It has an interesting history - it was optional in the early days. It has since become the means by which we ensure that drivers have a minimum level of skill at the wheel of the most ubiquitous machine capable of inadvertently maiming and killing people.

 

A few years back the European Driving License was introduced - on a voluntary basis. The parallel is a weak one at this point - although the ECDL is also voluntary it is, if I understand it correctly, chiefly a means of expanding computer literacy - little or nothing to do with safety. Indeed there is a limited amount of damage you can do with a single PC (short of dropping it on someone's foot) - especially if it's not connected. Crucial distinction of course.

 

If it is connected - especially if it's connected to any sensitive data about people it becomes a different beast altogether - capable of inflicting harm (or worse) in the real world on huge numbers of people - via data loss, identity theft etc. Everyone now knows that what happens in cyberspace can and does have real - even devastating - effects in the real world.

 

dHGV

So there's a case for a kind of ECDL-HGV perhaps? Anyone allowed out on the 'highway' with a payload of information above a certain sensitivity or tonnage needing to be properly trained, approved and their training, attitudes and behaviour monitored and checked. Perhaps that will come.

 

What is certain is that data has become more valuable - and dangerous - than ever. Indeed is now worth hard cash to just about anyone who is prepared to take it and trade it with the well developed underground market I call dBay. This is a mature and fast evolving black market within the Internet that no one knows how to control or even limit. With little risk of detection and less of arrest or conviction no wonder this is seen by some as a career choice in a recession and that it's overtaken drug crime.

 

SMEs at Risk

So where does that leave the average small company (SME) struggling to survive the recession? At risk is where. As the speeds increases and the juggernauts flashed by the vehicles designed in those early pioneering days began to look like death traps in urgent need of proper safety features to avoid becoming a danger not just to those who drive and ride in them - but to everyone else on the road too.

 

The MOT Test

So the invention of the MoT test - like the driving test and the driving license. There to ensure a minimum standard of safety for everyone by ensuring that unsafe vehicles are 'disconnected' from the road network until they are brought up to scratch.

 

Something similar is happening in government circles at present. The NHS pioneered the concept of the 'Code of Connection' some years ago and now central and local government - amongst others - are going through a similar process. Getting certificated for connection (and continued connection) to a highway on which sensitive data travels.

 

Like car owners business owners typically have a locally hired mechanic (or engineer) to look after their business network - keeping it ticking over.

 

Because the relationship is a commercial - albeit a trusted one - there is a natural tendency to regard anything that looks like a non-essential as 'over enthusiasm' on the part of the professionals. Especially when money’s tight.

 

The MOT test is our way of providing an enforced baseline for safety if you are taking 'that thing' onto the roads.

 

dMOT

It seems to me an inevitability that the dataMOT - in some form - will come. For all our safety and peace of mind. Everyone is now sensitised to the dangers of data loss and the public mood is now far from tolerant of the flagrant abuses we keep on seeing in the press (not to mention the Data Police - the Information Commissioners Office - clamping down as hard as they can on accidents as they happen). After the event is better than nothing - but prevention is always better than cure.

 

If we can't remove the problem of dCrime we can at least fight it by employing a modicum of 'crime prevention' measures - to limit the risk and the damage.

 

The IT industry can be compared to both the car industry and the safety industry many decades ago. At a far slower pace we collectively found remedies to what probably seemed intractable problems at the time.

 

Things move faster these days - and we have much to learn from the past - and the sooner the better!

 

(C) Copyright Barry E James May 2009



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Posted: Friday 27 March 2009
Official: Black eEconomy overtakes drug trafficing
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Fuelled by recession, redundancies and under resourcing of the Police and other authorities the Black-eEconomy has already overtaken drugs as the most lucrative ‘crime of choice’ – perhaps because it carries no stigma and little risk.

Recession, redundancies, under resourcing of the Police and other authorities together with Black-eEconomy mean:

 

  • Data can now be exchanged for hard cash – there’s a ready market in the Black-eEconomy
  • eCrime proceeds now officially exceed those from drug trafficking – and are still growing.
  • The likelihood of being caught – much less convicted is so low it can be discounted pretty much altogether.
  • This growth is likely to mushroom further over the next two years or more – law enforcement lacks the skills, procedures, manpower and tools (let alone funding) to even attempt more than token investigations and prosecutions
  • A trend has been identified of redundant workers – often with IT related skills - entering this arena as an easier and more lucrative option than finding another job in a shrinking economy
  • This form of crime carries little or no social stigma (and a certain cache in many circles)
  • Most organisations have personal and other data which is of value and are therefore potential targets.
  • A further trend where employees are ‘planted’ in organisations with intent to take data or existing employees – often under financial pressure in the recession or being made redundant – are being targeted and ‘groomed’ for data.
  • The risks falls on the ‘victim’ organisation – who might also be fined £1m or more by the regulator if personal data is taken – a double whammy.

This Black-eEconomy is a global problem that affects the UK perhaps more than most. In his evidence to a US Senate Commerce Committee Yuval Ben Itzhak, Finjan's Chief Technology Officer, said

 

"In our Q1 2009 report on cybercrime, for example, we revealed that one single rogueware network are raking in $10,800 a day, or $39.42 million a year. If you extrapolate those figures across the many thousands of cybercrime operations that exist on the Internet at any given time, the results easily reach a trillion dollars,"

and: cyber-security threats have increased significantly over the past five years, and have reached the point where they pose a significant threat to all organisations"

 

For more see:

www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=19506

 

Meanwhile the Police’ pleas for more funding are falling on deaf ears:

www.theregister.co.uk/2009/03/26/janet_williams_pceu/

 

It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that this is just the beginning of a epidemic – and the conclusion that the only way to effectively contain it – let alone tackle it – will be with prevention.

 

Perhaps the most vulnerable sector are SMEs – who share the same problems with the corporates but do not have either their financial resilience or access to heavyweight security tools and infrastructures.

 

Clearly a new approach is badly needed.



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Posted: Friday 20 March 2009
Data Watchdog vows to prosecute - and is doing
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 Those responsible for the Data Protection Act are taking a new stance, becoming more vocal and more assertive - and promising to prosecute neglect not just crime.

According to top lawyers: "From an IT and HR point of view, organisations need to be more vigilant about data protection, because there are likely to be a number of prosecutions, and a growing public awareness of privacy issues."

Paula Barrett, a partner at law firm Eversheds, advised firms wanting to vet potential employees to treat recent actions as  "cautionary tales".

 The Information Commission is clearly following through on the pledge he made late last year: "Where encryption software has not been used to protect data (that has been lost) enforcement action will be pursued."

Since this is a public statement placed on the Information Commissioners website ("Our Approach") intended to restate and clarify their ongoing stance it could hardly be clearer that they really do mean business.

More at  www.vnunet.com/vnunet/news/2238014/ico-case-first

 


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Posted: Monday 09 March 2009
Psychology + New Technology = Lowered Risk
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It's time to use Psychology not just Technology to plug the data leaks. Here's how.

Psychology + New Technology = Behaviour change
Humans are the weakest link where security is concerned - ask any security specialist. Or  just look at the news over the past year or so.

Yet we have tended to respond by upping the technology and ignoring the psychology - when we know what is really needed is behaviour change. This of course falls outside the remit of the technologists. It's somebody else's problem. They provided the technology tools - it's up to the human element to follow the guidance and use them as instructed. Despite the fact that it has never worked - and never will outside of a 'command economy'.

Psychology + Different Technology = Reduced Risk
This isn't a magic formula - just a new recipe that combines Psychology's insights with technology in a novel way.

It's long been known that one of the most powerful ways of influencing behaviour is to just introduce an observer. Behaviour changes. This is a big problem in experimental psychology where a huge amount of ingenuity and effort is expended in excluding this powerful effect from experiments about other things.

However it really is just what's needed to persuade people to change their risky behaviours in a sustainable way.

DLP is about People and Policies not Ports
CCTV changes the way people behave the moment they become aware of it. If you know you are likely to be held accountable there's much more of an imperative to avoid the shortcuts and risky behaviour that has caused so much havoc - from the HMRC to memory sticks in pub car parks - and the leakage of millions of peoples personal records. Not to mention valuable and sensitive company data.

Especially if it's supported by reminders - crucially appropriate reminders presented clearly at the right times - which bring to mind the reality of the risks. In this case the risks of exposing personal and commercially sensitive data by carelessness and corner cutting.

Accountability by design
We have brought these two factors together in a new way that goes to the root of this endemic problem - rather than just providing technological sticking plasters. Effectively providing accountability plus very good reasons for the individual to change behaviour sustainably - and so reduce the risks.


All these 'little' risks are borne collectively by the whole organisation and it's management - especially with the changes over the last year and the introduction of SIROs (Senior Information Risk Owners). So it can no longer be left to the IT folks - who have, at best, only part of the solution - and have neither the authority nor the tools to influence the humans involved.

Crossing the boundarys between Management, HR and IT
Up to now manager had the influence and authority but not the information - and the IT folks may have had the information but not the clout to even attempt to modify their colleagues behaviour.

So we have provided a tool for managers - whether in HR or a department or any small company - to provide the accountability for data that you would expect for other key assets - 'Accountability-By-Design'.

A tool that does not require IT skills to install or to use. Clear management information accessible to any manager (HR or elsewhere) about how each staff member is looking after their devices and crucially: the company's information.

A Powerful Tool for SIROs and other Managers
It's often said that "You can't manage what you can't measure". No wonder we have struggled to tackle the problems of data-loss, and the losses have kept on mounting. Sacking is a very blunt instrument - and often the only one available - and that after-the-event.

TakeAView - a part of the new TakeMeasures range - provides the foundation for measuring the risk and providing the information for managing the people - before disaster strikes. It's part of a three step process allowing managers everywhere to TakeAView, TakeAction and TakeControl of the risks that they are responsible for.

It power lays not so much in the technology but in the simplicity of 'Accountability by Design'.

See www.TakeWare.co.uk/tav/compliancereport for a glimpse of the future: Accountability by Design.



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Posted: Wednesday 25 February 2009
Data Loss Protection just got personal
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Powerful New Tools to Change Staff Behaviour are needed. Over the last year or so it's become apparent to most people that the biggest risks come from within - insiders being careless with information, cutting corners, rather than outside hackers and crackers. We have now produced powerful new tools to tackle this problem at it's source, by raising awareness and changing behaviour.

 

Powerful New Tools to Change Staff Behaviour 
 
Over the last year or so it's become apparent to most people that the biggest risks come from within - insiders being careless with information, cutting corners, rather than outside hackers and crackers.
 
Meanwhile the Information Commissioner is making it clear that his organisation now intends to use the existing law, the Data Protection Act, in a new way:

"There have been a number of reports recently of laptop computers, containing personal information which have been stolen from vehicles, dwellings or left in inappropriate places without being protected adequately. The Information Commissioner has formed the view that in future, where such losses occur and where encryption has not been used to protect the data, enforcement action will be pursued
From linkToICO-OurApproach

So whether the organisation or the employee intended to breach the information or not no longer makes a difference to the outcome - with a fine of almost £1m awarded against Nationwide Building society for just such a case recently.
 
We have now produced powerful new tools to tackle this problem at it's source, by raising awareness and changing behaviour.
 
Effortlessly Raising Awareness
Most of the significant data breaches of personal information, and the fines and other crises resulting - i.e. most of the risk for most organisations - happen because staff do something, usually inadvertently. Unencrypted memory sticks and laptops on trains and in pubs spring to mind.
 
From a psychology standpoint the key to raising awareness - and changing perceptions - is relevant messages delivered in a relevant manner at the right time. Watch this space for a powerful new tool that delivers on that. Effortlessly.
 
Effectively Changing Behaviour & Measuring the Results
It's often been noted how that "merely measuring something has this uncanny tendency to improve it". Certainly if an employee is aware that something is being monitored then they'll often take a different attitude to it. People tend to observe the rules and proprieties when they are aware that there's a CCTV camera watching for instance.
 
We employ these powerful principles to permanently change behaviour in measurable and provable ways that are practical to implement and can drastically reduce the risks for many organisations.
 
In March we are set to Launch TakeAView - a set of tools that just 'plug and go' but provide just this kind of awareness combined with a powerful monitoring tool that provides the information you need - on a person by person - basis to reduce your risks and prove that you've done so.
 
Data Loss Protection just got personal. More soon!

 



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Posted: Monday 09 February 2009
Identity Fraud in a recession
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.. or... Sometimes it pays to call back. Is phishing for identity data our fastest growing industry?

While intuitively it does seem likely that fraud and the 'black economy' will grow during a recession - more people in financial need and without access to an income possibly combined with less vigilance and less enforcement (through cut backs). It's very different when it actually touches you personally - as I just found.
 
I have been fortunate twice this last week so have not lost anything (as far as I know - yet) but if I needed the evidence of my own ears and eyes that there is indeed a black economy in information then I got it - in spades.  Not to mention that it knows no borders. In my case an Asian - possibly Indian - call centre, a company based in London (probably - on an 0871 number anyway) and the Spanish 'lottery'.
 
It's not the first time someone's attempted to entice me into the 'Nigeria' / '419' scam but two different scams in three days is a first for me. I can recall only three or four real attempts over a few years - all of those (apart from just the one on the phone) half hearted email / spam attempts.
 
Interestingly a version similar to this one: www.419scam.org/emails/2005-08/04/280739.26.htm 
just arrived by letter - handwritten envelope and signed by hand too - telling me I've won a Spanish lottery I never entered!

Needless so say it took about two minutes to track this one down. Much more expensive than spam (sixty euro cents a pop for the stamp - plus envelope etc, soon adds up) so presumably must have a much better 'hit-rate'.
 
The more interesting one though was the international phone call I received from a company claiming to be working for my bank, about refunding me some overcharged bank charges. My suspicions were raised first because it seemed unlikely that my bank had had such a change of heart that - unasked - it was offering to send me back my money. But mostly becuase the caller knew too much.
 
Telling me I was owed £365 and that they were about to arrange the reclaim for me was just too exact - if they were just another fee-recovery company fair enough - but they couldn't have an accurate figure in that case without my bank divulging the information without permission. When I challenged the chap he said there'd be a £50 fee and then HE quoted to ME my bank details, sort-code, account number and name, address, postcode and my date of birth. All correct. Then told me that all he needed was 'the long number from your card - for confirmation'.
 
I suspect he really wanted the short number from the back (the cvc) and that this was the next question on his script. When I challenged him he became testy but eventuallly gave me the company's UK phone number so that I could call back (this later turned out to be a company in London). And his name - or at least he said it was his name. He then proceeded to try to persuade me all over again that I shouldn't bother with all that - just take the money!

When I made it clear that I was not about to agree to anything until I'd checked this all out - and that I suspected this may be a fraudulent call he again said it was 'your loss' - and anyway there was no point as he could take money from my account anyway! I asked him he was really making this threat? - and he hung up.
 
To my surprise a pleasant and professional sounding chap answered the phone with the company name given when I called the 0871 number. He professed himself genuinely concerned when I related all this to him. He promised to investigate and call back.

Needless to say I'm still waiting and glad I decided not to hold my breath. A simple Google search revealed that the company named and the 0871 number have all been involved in extracting money on a similar basis from the unsuspecting - including an elderly lady suffering from Alzheimer's, to the obvious distress of her family. The tip of an iceberg I suppose - operating happily from London. Who's going to make a big enough fuss to get things done over £50? Just like bank charges really.
 
So - like Jeremy Clarkson - my bank account details are 'out there' - not in my case because I was daft enough to publish them - well not intentionally. Most likely because the trade in personal information we have been hearing about really is international and rife - and has just 'touched home' for me. So far I have been fortunate - and vigilant enough I hope. But too many of my details - too many for comfort - are evidently now an asset for someone. Most probably traded on to many other too, and I have no way of knowing whether any of the recipients have any scruples at all. The fact that they have and are presumably still trading my details tells it's own story though.
 
Scott McNealy famously says 'you have no privacy - get over it'. Looks like he may be right - although I'm far from over it - and I'm not sure I want to be.
 
Meanwhile I can't know for sure whether this kind of fraud and information trading is expanding as fast as it seems to be - my evidence is necessarily anecdotal. But I can't be certain that it isn't and it seems to me that increased vigilance is called for. In short, if in doubt - call back. Don't give your details away unless you know who you're talking to, why they need them and are convinced of both.
 
I suspect I was really a three digit number away from a £50 charge - which only if I was really lucky would have been the end of it. 

That three digit number combined with the other information that Indian sounding chap already had no doubt would have increased it's traded value tenfold or more - and I would have been paying him (more likley his gang or company) for the privilege of being in a position to sell-on an even more valuable asset than he started with - and an open door to my account.

Stay safe!
 
 
Barry E James


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Posted: Saturday 24 January 2009
Taking no prisoners: Home Office Humiliation
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The Government really is getting serious about mobile security - and in an unprescedented move has put the Home Office on 'special measures'.

 
In an unprecdented move the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) have not only publicly censured the Home Office and but have also forced it to sign a deeply humiliating undertaking and sumbit to future scrutiny as a result of recent data losses.
 
"The ICO has required the Home Office to sign a formal Undertaking outlining that the Department will process personal information securely in future. The Undertaking has been signed on behalf of the Home Office by Sir David Normington, the Permanent Secretary." (see below for full report)
 
With immediate effect, all portable and mobile devices used to store and transport personal information must be encrypted. Any organisation processing personal information on behalf of the Home Office must also use encryption and this requirement must be clearly stated in all contracts from now on.
 
While in earlier days mandarins might have hoped to pass the blame on to the contractor and get away with just slapping their wrists - now it's clear that times have changed for good.
The severity of the reprimand is surprising - even to 'Kremlin watchers' - and begs the question of how they will treat breaches outside government in the future.
 


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Posted: Friday 23 January 2009
Alert: Live Worm/Virus ConfickerDownadup/Kido spreads via USB
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While USB Switchblade and USB Hacksaw are certainly scary this new one called variously Conficker, Downadup and Kido is clearly alive and kicking and is causing some real problems - not least here in Sheffield - having infected the hospitals here. Click here for story

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.cfm?newsid=109741&

You may have seen it mentioned on BBC News or Ch4 News. It seems to be enslaving a huge number of drone 'bot' PCs around the world at present - and was up to 9 million the last time I saw a figure quoted a few days ago - and attracting speculation as to what the perpetrators have in mind for them.

 
My son pointed out that copying discs etc isn't computer Piracy - THIS is computer Piracy. Was telling him he was wrong just as I realised he had the better point! ;-)
Prevention
It will use Autorun if it's turned on - and then infect the PC and any other memory device plugged into it after that. So if you haven't turned Autorun off now's a good time to do it! (Note: We could provide a small utility to make this easy / one-click or even to just turn it back on on-demand for a few seconds at a time - let me know if anyone would find this useful?)
 
It's not yet clear if it entices the user to click on it as well - although I wouldn't be surprised as it's reported to be extremely sophisticated and uses just about every trick in the book - including installing it's own set of countermeasures to stop you removing it - even blocking access to security websites , disabling System Restore and some recovery tools etc.
 
While all our schools / offices are protected if you do see it would you please let me know and we will do all we can to help - and it would be instructive to see it close up. Let me know privately if you would prefer to not disclose it publicly and I will treat it as confidential.
 
Do pass this forward to anyone you think might be at risk as I wouldn't want to have to clean this one up myself!
 
If you would like to contact us, please do so via our Contact Page


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Posted: Monday 19 January 2009
1 TeraByte SD card announced
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A new standard for SD cards was announced at the CES show in early January providing for cards of up to 1Tb (1,000 Gb) - many times the capacity of the average laptop today.

This indicates that as we expected the trend towards doubling in capacity and halving in price every year or so is set to continue for the foreseeable future for all such memory devices - not just SD cards - and is great news for TakeWare!



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Posted: Tuesday 25 November 2008
Jack Straw announces tougher powers aimed at 'Data Recklessness'
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As predicted Richard Thomas the Information Commissioner is getting the new powers he’s been calling for.

Justice Secretary Jack Straw announced 24th November that the government will be creating new powers to:

 

  • Impose fines on data controllers for deliberate or reckless loss of data

 

  • Inspect central Government Departments and public authorities' compliance with the Data Protection Act without prior consent

 

  • Serve warrants requiring individuals and companies to provide information needed to confirm compliance with the Data Protection Act

 

  • Impose a deadline for the provision of information needed to assess compliance

 

The will also shortly publish guidance on when organisations should notify the ICO of breaches of the data protection principles and a statutory data sharing Code of Practice to provide practical guidance on sharing personal data.

 

Jack Straw Justice Secretary said:

 

"As new technologies have developed, the secure storage and careful sharing of personal information held by both the public and private sectors has become paramount.

 

"Strong regulation and clear guidance is essential if we are to ensure the effective protection of personal data.

 

"The changes we propose today will strengthen the Information Commissioner's ability to enforce the Data Protection Act and improve the transparency and accountability of organisations dealing with personal information. This is very important if we are to regain public confidence in the handling and sharing of personal information.

 

The Prime Minister and I are very grateful to Professor Mark Walport and Richard Thomas for all their work on the Review, from which these decisions flow."

 

These changes come as we prepare to launch TakeWare® DLPGuard – which will give Data Controllers a powerful new tool to enforce use of encryption across any organisation – and TakeWare® ContractorSafe – which provides an entire working environment which uses strong encryption and can be used to prevent most of the high profile data breaches seen over the last few months.

 

It’s not yet clear but it looks highly likely that this legislative approach will directly affect the new SIROs (Senior Information Risk Owners) created in all organisations – most of whom remain unaware of their newly crystallised responsibilities.

 

 

Contact us direct for more details.

 

Full Story http://www.publictechnology.net/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=18100



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Posted: Wednesday 29 October 2008
An asset and a Toxic Risk
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Data can be an asset or Toxic Risk - depending how it's handled

The Information Commissioner (and the BBC) say it so well here - including pointing out that moving as well as aggregating data creates the greatest risk. I can't add a thing. -

Bosses 'ignore toxic data risk'

Bosses must stop leaving data security to the "IT boys" and other staff and take responsibility themselves, the UK's information watchdog has said.

Many did not understand the risks of storing personal data, said Information Commissioner Richard Thomas.

They had to realise that it could be a "toxic liability" as well as an asset to an organisation, he added.

Mr Thomas is currently investigating 30 "serious" breaches of data protection law by the government and other bodies.

But he said a lot of data losses went unreported and some organisations were not even aware that it had gone missing.

Tighter policies

"It's often said that personal data is an asset for an organisation, we are saying it can be a toxic liability. There are many risks associated with holding information," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"There has been too much sloppiness, too much lack of awareness, of the risks of holding information and we are saying, really this is a matter for the top board, the chief executive of an organisation.

"It's no good saying the IT boys are looking after this, it's no good saying the lawyers are sorting out the policies, it's no good saying human resources are doing the training - it's right across the organisation.

"Computing power is so strong these days that many bosses don't simply understand what are the risks they are facing."

He said organisations should tighten up their policies, encrypt laptops, improve supervision and buy software that prevented large amounts of data can not be downloaded "all at one time".

"Things will inevitably go wrong, therefore you should plan for things going wrong," he told Today.

Giant databases

He said progress was being made but added: "We are still long way from saying we have got a tighter grip on the management of personal data."

In a speech later at the Royal Society of Arts in London, Mr Thomas will urge companies and other organisations to hold the least amount of data possible and warn they should face tougher penalties when any is mishandled.

He will also warn that creating giant databases of personal information would carry "significant risks" for the UK.

The government has recently defended a proposal to create a huge database recording all internet and telephone traffic.

Opposition parties have criticised the plan which could see details of every phone call, e-mail and text message sent in the UK recorded and kept for two years.

'Lose trust'

"The more databases that are set up and the more information exchanged from one place to another, the greater the risk of things going wrong," he will say.

"The more you centralise data collection, the greater the risk of multiple records going missing or wrong decisions about real people being made.

"The more you lose the trust and confidence of customers and the public, the more your prosperity and standing will suffer.

"Put simply, holding huge collections of personal data brings significant risks."

The speech will come as new figures show that reports of data loss are increasing.

About 100 incidents were reported to the commissioner's office in the six months from November last year. The total for the year to date is 277.

The NHS is one of the worst offenders, reporting 65 incidents in total, including 27 computers lost or stolen.

However, the real figures are likely to be much higher, because there is currently no legal obligation to report data losses.

There have been a string of high-profile data losses in recent months.

Earlier this month, a computer hard drive containing the personal details of about 100,000 members of the armed forces was reported missing during an audit carried out by IT contractor EDS.

And last year, HM Revenue and Customs lost a disc containing the names, addressees, dates of birth and bank account details of up to 25 million people claiming child benefit.

From: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7697093.stm

 



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Posted: Friday 03 October 2008
Moles burrow into companies data
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The FSA are warning companies to beware of undercover employees planted to steal data

According to SC Magazine "the activity of placing moles is becoming common".

Others say that the FSA has been quietly warning finance and insurance companies for the last two years of this growing practice.

For more see:
www.scmagazineuk.com/Companies-being-hit-by-moles-who-are-employed-by-gangs-to-steal-data/article/118641/ 

 



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Posted: Monday 04 August 2008
Positive?
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As you may know a 'false positive' is when a test - such as an adware or virus scanner -  raises a 'false alarm' for a problem that doesn't actually exist. Rather like a car alarm that goes off when the wind blows too hard - only even more annoying.

It turns out that BackupGenius has been the subject of such a false positive from some adware scanners recently. We have investigated this very rigorously and it has been confirmed to us how this has come about.

The false alarm is for adware.RABIO (sometimes identified as adware.Generic by some scanners). The authors of this adware - with how we have no connection whatever, and of which we heartily disapprove  - obtained a software component from the same reputable company from which we purchased the same component (which helps to streamline the installation process). Possibly around March. They use this to install their adware.
 
Rather than identifying the actual adware itself - the active ingredient as it were - the false positive is generated when a scanner raises an alarm from this perfectly ordinary component. Sloppy? We think so. Not unlike imprisoning anyone found with a moustache because a terrorist has been found growing one.
 
We are now working with the component supplier and the relevant scanner companies to eradicate this issue and would like to apologise to anyone who has been inconvenienced by this unnecessary scare.
 
Please be assured that we take malware and adware very seriously and we invite you to download BackupGenius for PCAdvisor in the knowledge that it remains free of adware and safe to do so.
 
The TakeWare Team


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Posted: Sunday 5 July 2008
This is the dawning of the Age of Ubiquity?
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Only a few months ago no one seemed to need or want a computer that was larger than a PDA but smaller than a laptop. Then along came the Asus Eee - and took off like a rocket.

In just the kind of way that Tablet PCs had failed to. They were supposed to – but never did, despite the hype and the backing of a huge industry, from Microsoft on down.

 

So it’s the price – right? Well no actually The price levels help but while they are a little cheaper than a laptop they’re not that much cheaper. You can pick up a decent laptop with your groceries from Tesco’s for £299– and shave at least 10% off that with just a quick search online.

 

It’s about technology, portability and most of all psychology. It’s about what people want. Half the world’s addicted to Facebook and most people live at least part of their lives through email and the web.

 

We’ve put up with breaking open the laptop and finding a power socket – or sitting at a desk to do it – only because we had to. WiFi is increasingly everywhere, so with an Eee or - one of a growing league of clones – we don’t have to.

 

These are computers you don’t have to ‘sit at’. Or ‘lug around’. You pick them up – do some stuff – put them down or drop them in a pocket. Sometimes they’re connected – sometimes not.

 

This is a new experience. This is a new kind of freedom: Ubiquity. Take it in the kitchen, even use it in the bath! The day I got my first Eee I stood at the bar waiting for a pint typing away quite comfortably! Try doing that with your laptop.

 

Is it a ‘desktop replacement’? No. These devices will see more of the coffee table, kitchen worktop, the bedroom, the high street and the open spaces than the top of anyone’s desk. Reaching the parts all the other PCs fail to reach – remarkably like your mobile phone.

 

Maybe it started with the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) initiative – maybe it didn’t but the worldwide love affair with ‘netbooks’ marks a sea change – we have a new landscape…. and Microsoft has a problem.

 

Because it’s a change driven entirely by demand. Not just that it’s far outstripped supply, but that it’s setting the direction - and the pace. This idea didn’t come out of the labs and strategies of Microsoft or HP. The established players are all playing catch-up. Indeed Microsoft – caught uncharacteristically on the hop– have changed their product pricing and XP retirement strategy as a result. Twice. A special version for the new little beasties – and a special low price. Restrictions on screen and disc size relaxed within days of their announcement.

 

Vista looking more vulnerable by the day. The only serious attempt to get it onto a Eee class machine – by HP – judged a pretty obvious mistake, that’s hobbling their strategy in this exploding market.

 

Microsoft have had to move fast to stop this getting away form them entire. Linux has taken a hold while most people were looking the other way.

 

The price difference has been more a psychological than a financial or practical factor – that it doesn’t ‘feel’ like buying a PC – so ‘so what’ if it doesn’t have Microsoft Windows on it?  The hardware is beginning to ‘feel’ disposable.

 

Time will tell, but Linux2008 has proved itself here already. It’s now a contender.

 

But it’s early days – and the industry has, it seems, yet to realise how important this all is. Pumping out some clones to capitalise on Asus’s success is one thing… absorbing a shift in the zeitgeist – a new computing paradigm - is quite another.

 

Even before all this more and more people were needing more than one PC – work PC, laptop – home PC…  Now there’s another reason, and the age or ubiquity has silently dawned – while most people were asleep.

 

© Barry E James, June 2008



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Posted: Friday 25 April 2008
FSA Threatens Action on Data Loss
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The Financial Services Authority has warned UK institutions to improve their data security practices after a review uncovered slipshod practices at banks, building societies, insurance companies and financial advisers.

As predicted the ‘light-touch’ approach is changing and where only months ago a breach from an advisor or a corporate would likely have gone unnoticed or resulted in a slap on the wrist the FSA are now clearly threatening – and showing they will take serious action - where firms are now taking precautions themselves to limit the risks.

"It is worrying that despite increased public awareness of the impact that identity theft can have on customers, many firms are still not taking this risk seriously. Customers have a right to be confident that firms are doing everything reasonably possible to keep their personal and financial details safe”. Philip Robinson, FSA director of financial crime and intelligence division is quoted as saying on the FSA’s website. See: www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=18381

With fines already running into millions (Norwich Union £1.26 Million alone – see below - and M&S among the ‘victims’) it’s clear the FSA mean business.

Stop-Loss

Whether it’s for your own organisation or for your clients we’ll be happy to fill you in on how to reduce the risks – as well as close off the risk from lost and stolen laptops for free. As you would expect we have some tools – and a very neat and effortless solution – to help with this. But this advice is genuinely free and something you can apply yourself straight away with no cost to you, no charge at all.

Fill in contact details at www.TakeWare.co.uk/contacts/stoploss and we will respond with the information you need to prevent this becoming a problem.

What have you got to lose?

Related Items from the FSA

  22/04/08  Bank of Ireland reports customer data theft

 08/04/08  Stolen bank details going cheap on the Web

 07/04/08  HSBC customer data lost in transit

 27/03/08  Security experts uncover online supermarket for stolen cards

 25/03/08  Customers don't want authentication devices, says Abbey

 07/03/08  Brits worth £361bn to online fraudsters

 22/02/08  Phishers target HMRC data loss victims

 21/02/08  Lords to follow up cyber crime inquiry

 17/12/07  FSA fines Norwich Union Life £1.26m for slack security

 11/12/07  Data watchdog calls on firms to step up fight against ID fraud

 03/12/07  Unencrypted investor data sent to Revenue and Customs in the post

 06/11/07  Standard Life customer data lost in transit

 10/08/07  Lords presses UK government to introduce bank data security law

 11/07/07  UK data protection watchdog slams firms for security breaches

 04/06/07  Bank of Scotland customer data lost in the post



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Posted: Monday 21 April 2008
Survey: 90% at High Risk - USB memory & Laptops
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Almost 90% of firms - including NHS and public bodies - are still allowing sensitive data to walk out the door unprotected according to the Information Commissioner. His report urges organisations to make newer threats a 'priority'.
The survey of more than 1,000 firms shows that USB memory sticks are now endemic and suggests that almost 90% of firms let staff leave offices with potentially confidential data stored on them. Lost and stolen laptops are also a major concern - with sensitive data left unprotected. Recovery rates are low with just 3 out of 94 cases in the study.
 
Just last year the company/organisation losing such data was as likely as not to be regarded as a victim rather than culpable. That’s changed. Since the recent highly publicised breaches everyone from Gordon Brown and M&S on down are increasingly aware of what a dim view the press, the regulators and soon no doubt the courts will take when the ‘victim’ didn’t take credible precautions - especially in the light of the fact that the tools now exist to make prevention and accountability practical and convenient.


It’s also emerged that not only is there a global established black market in such data – but that it’s undergoing something of a recession itself – with street prices for personal data falling recently because of oversupply, and inbuilt ‘QA’ checks with data ‘vendors’ being blackballed if they supply overused or out of date information. It’s now a fully fledged criminal business.
 
Time was when you could rely on the likelihood that the laptop stolen at the station or left in the taxi would be wiped and resold in some pub within a few days. That’s changed with the new ‘owners’ as aware as we are that the data probably has far more value than the laptop.
 


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Posted: Wednesday 16 April 2008
Stolen Laptops, Lost Data Discs and DLP
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Breaking News – The DLP buzz (That’s ‘Data Loss Prevention’ to me and you)

From a security viewpoint laptops are nothing short of a walking nightmare – not to mention CDs floating around with half the population’s bank account details.

Just back from California and the RSA security conference it’s clear that there’s a shift in the awareness of this issue – in the USA as well as here - and that it’s now a top three issue for many companies – it’s even acquired a name: DLP – “Data Loss Prevention”.

 

The birth of a term

While it’s interesting to see the birth of a new term (try Googling it today and you’ll come up dry, but go back in a couple of weeks or so and it’ll be a different story) this is no new problem. It’s over two years since we started running seminars on this – notably with MERIT in 2006.

 

It’s official – sort of: This dropped into my inbox from California this morning:

“… Data Loss Prevention (DLP) solutions enable business and government organizations to safeguard their most valuable assets — intellectual property, customer data, and other sensitive information. … DLP is a top 3 priority for CIOs in 2008, realize the importance of DLP to demonstrate compliance, reduce risk, safeguard brand and reputation…”

 

Ugly though the term is – and goodness knows we have enough alphabet soup already – the fact that I also heard it mentioned on almost every stand I visited over three days there attests to the fact that it is something we have needed to put a name to for a while now. The language is playing catch-up

 

A new market

It’s emerged that not only is there a black market in such data – but that it’s undergoing something of a recession itself – with street prices for personal data falling recently because of oversupply, and inbuilt ‘QA’ checks with data ‘vendors’ being blackballed if they supply overused or out of date information. It’s now a fully-fledged criminal business - and it’s globalising.

 

Time was when you could rely on the likelihood that the laptop stolen at the station or left in the taxi would be wiped and resold in some pub within a few days. That’s changed with the new ‘owners’ as aware as we are that the data probably has far more value than the laptop.

 

Zeitgeist - a shift in attitudes

Likewise just last year the company/organisation losing such data was as likely as not to be regarded as a victim rather than culpable. That’s changing too – fast. Since the recent highly publicised breaches everyone from Gordon Brown and M&S on down is increasingly aware of what a dim view the press, the regulators and soon no doubt the courts will take when the ‘victim’ didn’t take credible precautions.

 

There will be an answer: DLP (with apologies to Paul McCartney):

There is in fact an answer to the problem of lost and stolen laptops – it’s simple, comprehensive, inexpensive and practical (and no it’s not just encryption – that can only ever be a part of the answer). It can ensure not only that the data isn’t breached – but that it isn’t lost to you either.

 

Stop-Loss

Whether it’s for your own organisation or for your clients we’ll be happy to fill you in on how to close off this risk  – for free. As you would expect we have some tools – and a very neat and effortless solution – to help with this. But this advice is genuinely free and something you can apply yourself straight away with no cost to you, no charge at all.

 

Just go to www.TakeWare.co.uk/contacts/stoploss and leave your phone and email  details and we will respond with the information you need to prevent this becoming a problem. What have you got to lose?

 

© Copyright Barry E James, The TakeWare Company, April 2008 (V1.00)



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Posted: Friday 28 March 2008
BackupGenius FREE DOWNLOAD available now
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BackupGenius™ Personal Edition is now available as a FREE download. CLICK HERE

BM DriveAlong side the FREE download we are pleased to offer to our first 100 customers the chance to get a fully functioning BackupGenius™ device at rock bottom prices:

2GB only £9.99
(around 8GB of compressed data)

4GB only £14.99
(around 16GB of compressed data)

To avoid dissapointment ORDER NOW HERE, this offer is only available to the first 100 orders.

Go to the TakeWare® Store

(UK orders only, international customers please contact us for pricing)



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Posted: Friday 29 February 2008
New sites going live!
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The all new TakeWare site has gone live! BackupMaster is soon to follow with Gatekeeper after that

Watch this space!



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Posted: Friday 15 February 2008
TakeWare's a Contender
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TakeWare has been passed through to the next round of Nokia's innovation contest. See you in San Jose!


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Posted: Tuesday 18 March 2008
Announcing BackupGenius - Personal Edition!!!
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The downloadable 'free for personal use' edition of BackupGenius readies for release

Soon you can download a TakeWare app to your own memory device for the first time - creating your very own Plug&Go appliance!

Watch this space for imminent news!



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