WatchGuard Releases Fireware XTM 11.3.5 for e-Series Appliances

WatchGuard is very pleased to announce that Fireware XTM 11.3.5, the latest operating system for our Firebox X e-Series appliances, is now available for download.

Fireware XTM v11.3.5 is the newest operating system software release for Firebox X Peak, Core, and Edge e-Series appliances. Fireware XTM v11.3.5 demonstrates a continuing commitment to WatchGuard Firebox X e-Series customers, with a significant number of bug fixes and enhancements. It is primarily a sustaining release that resolves many known issues.

NOTE: There is no new WatchGuard System Manager release to accompany Fireware XTM v11.3.5. You can either use WatchGuard System Manager v11.4.x-v11.5.x or WatchGuard System Manager v11.3.2 to connect to a Firebox e-Series device that runs Fireware XTM v11.3.5, although you must use WatchGuard System Manager v11.4.1 or higher if you want to use the Mobile VPN with IPSec Shrew Soft VPN client.

Some of XTM v11.3.5′s fixes and enhancements include:

• Various authentication enhancements, which improve Active Directory and Radius authentication support.
• Improved PPPOE support in multi-WAN situations
• Blocked Site entries can now accept a /32 subnet mask
• Various FireCluster Improvements
• Fixed a problem that prevented Gateway AV from scanning passive FTP connections
• Various Mobile VPN with SSL improvements which improve the client’s overall interoperability
•  … and many other fixes — please see the Release Notes for complete details.

If you’re an active e-Series LiveSecurity subscriber, you can upgrade to Fireware XTM 11.3.5 free of charge.

Does This Release Pertain to Me?

Fireware XTM 11.3.5 is a sustaining release that contains a significant number of bug fixes and enhancements. If you have any Firebox e-Series appliances, and wish to take advantage of any of the enhancements listed above, or those mentioned in the Release Notes, you should consider upgrading to version 11.3.5. XTM appliance owners should not install 11.3.5, but rather stick with 11.5.x. Please read the Release Notes before you upgrade, to understand what’s involved.

How Do I Get the Release?

XTM series or Firebox e-Series owners who have a current LiveSecurity Service subscription can obtain this update without additional charge by downloading the applicable packages from the Articles & Support section of WatchGuard’s Support Center, which also includes clear installation instructions. Keep in mind, Fireware XTM 11.3.5 is an e-Series only release, and does not work on more recent XTM appliances. As always, if you need support, please enter a support incident online or call our support staff directly. (When you contact Technical Support, please have your registered Product Serial Number, LiveSecurity Key, or Partner ID available.)

WatchGuard Releases v3.1.2 for WatchGuard SSL 100 and 560

WatchGuard is pleased to announce the release of WatchGuard SSL OS v3.1.2 for the WatchGuard SSL 100 and SSL 560.

The WatchGuard SSL appliances are easy-to-use, all-in-one, secure, remote access solutions for small to medium-sized businesses. WatchGuard SSL 100 supports up to 100 concurrent users to make secure connections. The SSL 560 appliance supports up to 500 concurrent users. The WatchGuard SSL appliances deliver applications directly to the desktop of your remote employees to provide increased productivity—from anywhere, at anytime.

Highlights of the WatchGuard SSL OS v3.1.2 release include:

• Internet Explorer (IE) 9 support. You can now use IE9 to both configure the appliance’s WebUI and to access resources with the Access Client
• The WebUI performs faster on SSL 100 devices
• The Access Client has been improved to provide greater stability
• Corrected various potential security vulnerabilities
• Remote Desktop single sign-on now works with Windows Server 2008
• The Web UI is now more stable, with improved error and exception handling
•  … and many other fixes — please see the Release Notes for complete details.

If you’re an SSL 100 or 560 appliance owner with an active LiveSecurity subscription, you can upgrade to SSL OS v3.1.2 free of charge.

Does This Release Pertain to Me?

SSL OS v3.1.2 is a scheduled maintenance release. If you have an SSL 100 or 560 appliance, and wish to take advantage of any of the enhancements listed above, or those mentioned in the Release Notes, you should consider upgrading to v3.1.2. Please read the Release Notes before you upgrade, to understand what’s involved.

How Do I Get the Release?

WatchGuard SSL 100 and 560 owners who have a current LiveSecurity Service subscription can obtain this update without additional charge by downloading the applicable packages from the Articles & Support section of WatchGuard’s Support Center, which also includes clear installation instructions. As always, if you need support, please enter a support incident online or call our support staff directly. (When you contact Technical Support, please have your registered Product Serial Number, LiveSecurity Key, or Partner ID available.)

Facebook and Tmobile team up to Compete with Gmail Chat

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/04/20/facebook_t_mobile/

Axcient Product Updates

The Axcient release 2.6 has reached General Availability status and all new shipments will contain the new software. Additionally we will be upgrading the software for your current deployments over the upcoming weeks. If you have any questions please contact your Account Manager for assistance.

What’s New in Axcient 2.6 Rev 12 APR 2011

Axcient 2.6 contains the following enhancements and new features:
• Entitlements: Usage entitlements for a subscription to the Axcient data protection service are automatically downloaded from the Axcient cloud and reflected in the appliance UI. These include storage limits and allowed features based on the subscription package, such as Backup, Protect, Fortify, and Fortify-X. If the service entitlements change – for example, to add storage or move to a new package – they are automatically propagated to the appliance.
• Expanded image backups: A server virtualized on XenServer can be treated as a protected device, including backup, failover and restoration to a virtual server. In addition, a Windows 2008 server hosting multiple Hyper-V virtual machines can be backed up and restored as a single image job.
• Performance improvements: Enhancements reduce backup times for a number of common situations. These include improved handling of ACLs and very large files in file backups, better coordination of onsite and offsite mailbox backups to avoid blocked jobs, and packet size optimization for image backups.
• Usability improvements: Updates offer deeper insights into backup activities:
o Logging for file backups provides details on disabled VSS writers, interrupted VSS snapshots, and devices that become unreachable during backup.
o Job sizes reflected in the appliance UI are updated immediately after retention pruning, which gives a more accurate and timely view of storage utilization.
• Agentless security extension: Agentless protection extends to devices that are strictly configured to use only the NTLMv2 challenge-response protocol.

Coincident with the Axcient 2.6 release, the Remote Management Console (RMC) introduces several new features, which are independent of the Axcient release running on an appliance. These include graphical reporting of backup statistics, automatic e-mailing of reports on a regular schedule, indication of appliance availability in the RMC dashboard, and visibility into usage entitlements for each subscription to the Axcient data protection service.

Supposedly Wide-Spread Email Worm Making Headlines

“Here you have” Email contains fake and malicious PDF or WMV links

Severity: Medium

Virus/Worm Summary:

Subject lines to avoid: include “Here you have,” or “Just for you,” and “This is the Free Dowload (sic) Sex Movies, you can find it Here”

Malicious email attachment: contains supposed links to PDF or WMV files, which actually link to malicious .SCR files

Impact: Spreads via your email contacts and through network shares. Infects your computer with various malware, and potentially steals information
What to do: Make sure you are using updated antivirus software, and block .SCR files at your gateway (see below for details)

About the Virus:
Late yesterday, various antivirus (AV) vendors began receiving reports of a new mass-mailing email worm, generally called VBMania, which arrives with various subjects including, “Here you have.” Today, others in the press have jumped on the bandwagon and published many shrill reports [ 1 / 2 / 3 ] that describe this worm as an outbreak and suggest it has flooded inboxes worldwide. While we don’t doubt that attackers have aggressively seeded this malicious email using spamming techniques (and likely a botnet), we haven’t yet seen the worm in our own inbox. There are reports of it affecting some well known companies. However, it doesn’t seem to be as wide-spread as the big worms of the past (Nimba, etc). In fact, most antivirus (AV) companies still only rate this worm as only a medium risk. While you should make yourself, and your users, aware of this new worm, it doesn’t offer reason for panic.

Unfortunately, the lack of coordination among AV vendors’ naming conventions makes it difficult to track these worms. While the media generally refers to this as the “Here you have” worm, AV vendors have given this worm a variety of names including:

Email-Worm.Win32.VBMania.a (Kaspersky)
W32/VBMania@MM (McAfee)
W32.Imsolk.B@mm (Symantec)
Gen:Trojan.Heur.rm0@fnBStPoi (F-Secure)
W32/Autorun-BHO (Sophos)
WORM_MEYLME.B (TrendMicro)
For simplicity sake, we will refer to this worm as VBMania.

Distinguishing Characteristics
Despite the media hype surrounding this new worm, it doesn’t seem to use any new techniques that would allow it spread any more quickly than a typical email worm. In fact it seems to call back to older malicious email techniques, some saying it shares similarities with the older ILoveYou and Anna Kournikova worms from 2000 and 2001. We describe some of VBMania’s distinguishing characteristics below.

VBMania arrives as an email with the following Subject lines:

Here you have
Just for you
This is The Free Dowload Sex Movies,you can find it Here.
The body of the worm contains some text describing either a document or movie. It also includes a link to what appears to be a PDF document or WMV movie file. However, if you actually click the link, it attempts to get you to download a malicious .SCR screensaver file. An example of the malicious SCR file might include:

PDF_Document21_025542010_pdf.scr
If you run the malicious .SCR file it:

Copies itself to the Windows directory as CSRSS.EXE (not to be confused with the real CSRSS.EXE in your Windows system directory) and adds registry entries to make sure it can restart after your next reboot
Sends itself to your email contacts and IM buddies
Copies itself to mapped drives and removable USB media (uses AUTORUN tricks as well)
Tries to lower your computer’s security by disabling many popular security applications
Downloads and installs various malware (likely including a botnet trojan)
Steals sensitive information (including passwords from web browsers)
VBMania doesn’t really use any tricks that you haven’t seen before. You should have no problems distinguishing this worm in your inbox, and avoiding it. However, attackers seem to have spammed this worm very aggressively. If one of your users does accidentally run its malicious file, they could cause a lot of damage to your network. Make sure to inform your users of this new email worm so they know to avoid it. However, you don’t need to panic over this new threat, despite what the media may suggest.

What you can do
As always, remind your users never to open unexpected attachments or click on unexpected web links from any source. Inform them that most modern viruses falsify the “From” field and can appear to come from friends, co-workers, or other trusted parties.

Most major antivirus vendors already have signatures that detect this worm. Check with your vendor for the latest update.

Educate your users by downloading and presenting the new SecurityWise module, “E-mail Safety in the Age of Cybercrime.” This resource is available free of charge, exclusively to LiveSecurity Service subscribers.

AltiGen MaxMobile Blackberry Formally Available

MaxMobile BlackBerry is now available for download!

A portal has been created that will automatically detect the appropriate MaxMobile version for your BlackBerry device.

Please note that MAXCS 6.5 Update 1 (6.5.1.406) or later is required.

In order to install the application, launch your BlackBerry web browser and go to http://m.altigen.com. After downloading the package, follow the prompts to install it, then reboot your device.

From the Home menu icons, select Download – you should now see a MaxMobile icon. Click the icon to launch MaxMobile, and then hit the Menu button to configure the login settings.

Documentation and a Quick Reference Guide can be found at http://www.altigen.com/customers-manuals.shtml.

The following devices have been tested and are supported:

Curve 8520, 8310, 8900
Storm 9530
Storm 2 9550
Bold 9700

Please note that some call control functionality will be limited if using a device or network that
does not support simultaneous voice and data.

AltiGen Annouces End of Life on Three Products

Two AltiGen products are approaching end-of-life and will not be tested or supported in future versions of MAXCS (those versions released after MAXCS 6.5 Update 1):

ALTI-IP600: All models of IP600 VoIP phones
ALTI-TTT1: Older T1/PRI boards (identified by “TT1” in the serial number, for example, (124A5TT1S1752)

MAXCS 6.5 Update 1 is currently the latest version of MAXCS and does fully support the IP600
phone and the older T1/PRI boards

Also, AltiGen is discontinuing the ALTI-OFFICE2G and ALTI-SYSTEM2G series chassis.

The ALTI-MAX2000 and ALTI-OFFICE3G/SYSTEM3G are the recommended chassis upgrade paths.

Bardissi & AltiGen’s MaxMobile for iPhone Helps Sales Productivity During Pennsylvania State of Emergency

SAN JOSE, CA–(Marketwire – April 16, 2010) – AltiGen® Communications, Inc. (OTCQX: ATGN), the leading provider of integrated Microsoft-based Unified Communications solutions, realizes immediate success with its new MaxMobile software for the iPhone now available with the latest VoIP Unified Communications platform — Max Communications Server 6.5 Update 1. Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc. has experienced firsthand the power of bringing business-class PBX functionality to smart phone devices.

In February, Therm-Omega-Tech, Inc., a leading manufacturer of reliable Tempered Water Systems and Automatic Temperature Control Valves for Fluid Management since 1983, found themselves in the middle of the record setting blizzards in Warminster, Pennsylvania. Like most businesses in the area, Therm-Omega-Tech employees were stranded at home for days at a time due to major roadways being shut down during a Pennsylvania state of emergency. Just days before the snowstorms hit, Bardissi Enterprises, a certified partner of AltiGen Communications, deployed the MaxMobile solution for key sales executives at Therm-Omega-Tech as a part of a beta test for the revolutionary new MaxMobile software. When the storms hit, contrary to most business in the area, sales resumed as usual for Therm-Omega-Tech as both national and international calls continued to roll in via the employee’s iPhones, which were running MaxMobile. Inbound callers were unaware of any disruptions in service as the iPhones functioned as normal business extensions with full PBX features.

“Paul Driscoll, Sales Manager for Therm-Omega-Tech, informed me that he received his usual sales calls throughout the day on his iPhone due to the MaxMobile install, which allowed him to quote and close three new deals — even one prospective customer who called in from out of the country,” stated George Bardissi, President of Bardissi Enterprises. “Therm-Omega-Tech is now going to deploy the iPhone MaxMobile Solution for the rest of the company staff. The AltiGen MaxMobile iPhone solution combined with Microsoft SBS 2008 and Exchange 2007 brings all the company resources directly to the palm of your hands, allowing companies to conduct business remotely regardless of storm disasters or any other factors preventing travel to the office.”

“Our latest version of Max Communications Server brings advanced, enterprise class mobile PBX features to the Apple iPhone,” stated Jerry Fleming, AltiGen’s President & COO. “MaxMobile allows smart phones to act as the primary business PBX extension and dynamically redirect all PBX extension calls to the mobile phone — completely transparent to the calling party. With critical business-class PBX functionality, integrated with advanced smart phone features, MaxMobile offers true mobile communications on a single smart phone platform.”

About AltiGen Communications

AltiGen Communications, Inc. (OTCQX: ATGN) is a leading provider of 100 percent Microsoft-based VoIP business phone systems and Unified Communications solutions. Having more than 10,000 customers around the world, AltiGen solutions are designed for high reliability, ease of use, seamless integration to Microsoft infrastructure technologies, and are built on a scalable, open standards platform. AltiGen’s worldwide headquarters is in Silicon Valley, California, with international operations based in Shanghai, China. Local sales, service and support are provided by AltiGen’s worldwide network of over 300 certified partners. For more information, call 1-888-ALTIGEN or visit the web site at www.altigen.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, including, without limitation, statements regarding the continued market acceptance of our 100 percent Microsoft-based business phone systems and Unified Communications solutions, AltiGen’s continuing success with our MAX Communications Server 6.5 which includes the MaxMobile feature for the Apple I Phone, and our ability to continue to provide business-class PBX functionality to mobile phone marketplace. These statements reflect management’s current expectation. However, actual results could differ materially as a result of unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to, risks related to AltiGen’s limited operating history. For a more detailed description of these and other risks and uncertainties affecting AltiGen’s performance, please refer to AltiGen’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2009 and all subsequent current reports on Form 8-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to AltiGen as of the date hereof and AltiGen assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Bardissi Upcoming Events

Check out Bardissi Enterprises’ Upcoming Events. Click here!

AltiGen Communications Releases MaxCommunications Server 6.5 Update 1

AltiGen has just announced the release of MaxCommunications Server 6.5 update 1.

Major Enhancements with this upgrade

1. AltiGen has officially released MaxMobile for the iPhone.

a. AltiGen now supports both the iPhone and Google Android with this pretty cool piece of software that brings the full power of the phone system right to your touch screen. You now can have the ability to transfer calls, put calls on hold with music, dial from your cell phone contact list right through the phone system, and much more!

b. If you are interested in learning more about MaxMobile please go to http://www.bardissi.net/site.php?id=294.

c. You could potential lower your cell phone bills by using MaxMobile to make calls from your cell phone. You could add a telephone number to your Friends and Family (Verizon) or your A-List (AT&T) and make unlimited calls without getting nickle’d and dimed by the cell phone company!

d. If anyone has a Blackberry device and would like to a participate in our Blackberry MaxMobile beta trial please let us know!

2. If any of your may use MaxCommunicator or MaxAgent on your desktop or laptop there have been a few new enhancements to this software:

a. There is now a native client connection to Microsoft’s Office Communicator which is a nice in house all-in-one business instant messaging and presence management software from our friends at Microsoft.

b. There is now the ability to dial any phone number from almost any application that uses Smart Tags or you can also highlight a phone number in an application and use a key combination on your keyboard to dial out from your phone.

3. AltiGen has officially released MaxCall

a. MaxCall is a new AltiGen Application that Allows a person to pre-record a voicemail message to enable that person to speed out outbound calls. The idea is that up to 75% of calls that are being made will be pushed to a voicemail of some kind and this new software will allow you to play the pre-recorded message while moving on to the next call!

4. AltiGen IP Phone Auto Discovery

a. When an AltiGen IP phone boots up, the user only needs to enter extension number and password upon prompted. AltiGen IP phone can discover the MAXCS server IP address from DHCP server option 120. This feature simplifies IP phone deployment process. The user will only need to enter the extension and password to activate the extension.

b. In addition to making initial IP phone setup easier, this feature is also helpful when there is a need to migrate MAXCS to a new IP address. The administrator just needs to update the new MAXCS IP address in the DHCP server and then reboot all Altigen IP phones. The phones will automatically pick up the new MAXCS IP address.

5. Microsoft Active Directory Import Tool

a. This feature allows administrator to import extensions from Microsoft Active Directory. This saves significant time by avoiding re-entering extension information.

6. AltiGen Phrase Management Tool

a. Custom Phrase Manager is a Windows-based application that makes managing custom phrases easy. It displays all custom phrases in a graphical user interface. You can add, delete, play, or modify a phrase by clicking a button. You also can rename an existing phrase to a meaningful name.

b. Note: An AltiGen Client SDK license is required to use this tool.

7. Changes in Automatic Administrative Tasks

a. The configuration backup option under MAXCS Data Management is now turned on by default.

b. In the midnight tasks, reset channel is removed, and MAXCS will no longer reset channels and boards automatically.

c. The administrator is reminded to register hardware – In this update, when MaxAdmin is launched, if it detects that hardware is not registered, it pops up a message box to remind the administrator to register the hardware. The message box is just a reminder. Administer can still log in to MaxAdmin after the dialog box disappears.

Notes

· Too get the full copy of the changes to 6.5 Update 1 please go to http://bardissi.net/upload/files/MAXCS%206.5%20to%206.5%20Update1%20Features%20Summary.pdf