Because it is based on the established iOS mobile operating system — and because it is relatively cheap and increases productivity — the iPad has found uncharacteristically quick approval from many information-technology managers at U.S. corporations.

Highlighting the success of the iPad in the business world, The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday noted that while many companies would not approve the iPhone for corporate use when it debuted in 2007, the iPad has quickly found acceptance with IT departments at companies. Part of that is because the iOS mobile operating system, previously only available for the iPhone and iPod touch, has been updated with business-friendly features such as Exchange e-mail and remote erase capabilities.

“Apple has addressed these and other issues, including the ability for companies to encrypt information on iPhones and set up secure ways for employees to connect to corporate networks,” author Ben Worthen wrote. “The latest version of the operating system used by the iPhone and iPad adds features that make the devices easier for a tech department to manage, including the ability for businesses to distribute internally developed apps without going through Apple’s App Store.”

The report noted that more than 500 of the more than 11,000 applications currently available for the iPad are business-oriented. One free application from Citrix, which allows employees to access corporate programs on the iPad, has seen more than 145,000 downloads.

Other advantages to the iPad: its $499 starting price makes it less expensive than a traditional business laptop, and more functional for activities like working standing up or giving a presentation.

The paper recalled that Mercedes-Benz dealers have been equipping employees with iPads to help them sell cars. The car maker began using the iPad at 40 dealerships in May, and earlier this summer said it was considering using the iPad at all 350 of its U.S. locations.

Other specific corporate uses of the iPad mentioned in the Journal’s report include:

• Baush & Lomb Inc., maker of eye-care products, had about 50 employees using an iPad soon after its launch. The company built its own application for salespeople. The company likes the fact that the device starts quickly and has a long battery life.
• Kaiser Permanente, an Oakland, Calif., health-care organization, has been testing the iPad in a 37,000-square-foot technology lab for viewing medical images such as X-rays and CT scans.
• Though Chicago law firm Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP banned the iPhone when it first came out, it preordered 10 iPads before it was released. The company now has more than 50 attorneys equipped with iPads, and plans to issue them as an alternative to laptops next year.

Earlier this summer, Apple revealed that the iPad is at use in more than 50 percent of Fortune 100 companies. Companies such as SAP and Wells Fargo.

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Microsoft Manage and grow your business with Microsoft Office 2008 for Mac Business Edition More about Microsoft released version 1.0 of Microsoft Security Essentials, a free basic anti-malware service from Redmond, on Tuesday.

This replaces Microsoft’s discontinued Live OneCare Security-as-a-Service offering.

Live OneCare customers can move to Microsoft Security Essentials once their subscriptions expire.
About MSE

Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) is a lightweight application that runs in the background and takes up few CPU and memory resources, the vendor said.

It is the first Microsoft security product to use the company’s new Dynamic Signature Service, which ensures users are protected by the most current virus definitions available. Most other antivirus applications download the latest virus signatures one or more times daily.

MSE will run on Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2) or SP3, Windows Vista, and Windows 7.

Only users of genuine versions of these Windows operating systems will be able to install MSE. The application will be available in eight languages and in 19 countries including the United States; Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore.

Technical Stuff

MSE monitors the file, registry, network and kernel mode actions taken by unknown programs to look for suspicious behavior, according Microsoft. When a program initiates unexpected network connections, tries to modify privileged parts of the system, or downloads known malicious content, this triggers MSE to request updates from the Dynamic Signature Service.

Further, MSE uses the Microsoft SpyNet telemetry system to monitor the quality of definition updates. When users detect and remove malicious files, information on that is sent to Microsoft in real time, and that information is used to identify abnormal patterns and assess the potential impact of an incorrect or misbehaving signature.

If a false positive is detected, the Dynamic Signature Service fixes the signature in real time and prevents users from being affected, according to the company.

Despite this, MSE lacks the personal firewall, backup and PC tuning features offered in Windows Live OneCare, which it replaces. “Microsoft Security Essentials is a no-cost core antimalware service that provides real-time protection to address the ongoing security needs of a genuine Windows PC,” Microsoft spokesperson Mac Brown told TechNewsWorld.

The Nitty-Gritty

MSE may be lightweight, but it does what it’s supposed to do, Directions on Microsoft analyst Michael Cherry said. “I’ve been using Security Essentials for the past little while,” he told TechNewsWorld. “It’s a base-level antimalware tool that gets antivirus signature files updated and runs very efficiently.”

Windows Live OneCare subscribers have to go to the MSE Web page and download the application once their subscriptions expire.

MSE is essentially targeted at users who don’t really pay attention to security but do want some basic form of defensive line. “We still see far too many consumers worldwide that do not have up-to-date protection either because they cannot afford it, are concerned about the impact the suites will have on the performance of their PCs, or because they simply do not realize their AV (antivirus) software is not up to date,” Microsoft’s Brown explained. MSE will help them because it’s free, consumes few systems resources and updates itself automatically, he said.

New computers often have antivirus software pre-installed, so is this argument valid? “Most preloaded antivirus applications are trial offers that run out after 30, 60 or 90 days, or perhaps after a year,” Directions on Microsoft’s Cherry said. “A surprisingly high number of people don’t pay to have them renewed after that because they don’t understand why they have to pay for it, and don’t understand that, even though it’s still running, it’s not updating the virus signatures.”

With MSE, Microsoft joins the ranks of vendors like AVG in offering free, basic antivirus software. AVG also sells more advanced security packages.

Users do need to do some work. The MSE help page has videos on how to install the application; how to scan for viruses on demand; and how to fix a threat once it’s been detected. After that, they’re on their own, though Microsoft’s Brown said MSE users can get free community and e-mail support.

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