iPhone 5S to debut at Rs 54,000; 5C @ Rs 42,000

Leading telecom operators Bharti Airtel and Reliance Communications will start selling Apple's iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C smartphones from November 1. 

Airtel has started pre-bookings for the latest iPhones which saw record sales in the first three days of launch in the US market. 

"Interested customers can visit select Airtel Retail Store for pre-registration," Airtel said in a statement. 

RCom said it will offer the iPhones "to customers beginning on November 1, 2013." 

iPhone 5C would be available at price starting from about Rs 42,000 and iPhone 5S at Rs 54,000, market sources said. 

A contract-free and unlocked 16GB version of the iPhone 5C is available for $549 (about Rs 34,700) in the US, while an unlocked and contract-free iPhone 5S can be bought for $649 (about Rs 41,000). 

iPhone 5C will be a choice for consumers evaluating Apple's 16GB model of iPhone 5 while iPhone 5S can be an option for customers looking for an alternate option to 64GB model of iPhone 5. 

The 16GB variant of iPhone 5 is available in the country for around Rs 45,000 and 64GB variant of the smartphone is available for around Rs 59,000. 

Apple last week announced that iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C would be available in more than a dozen countries on November 1, including India, without revealing their prices. 

Apple has timed the release of latest iPhones in India before Diwali, which is on November 3. Apple products have previously hit the Indian markets in the last fortnight of November or the first fortnight of December.

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Beware! Fakes, grey market imports of reputed brands flourishing in India’s booming online retail market

Before you click on the 'buy' button on a great online deal, make sure the product is genuine, because it turns out that fakes and grey market imports of reputed brands are flourishing in India's booming online retail market.

Brands such as Lacoste, Puma, Benetton, Canon and Nikon have initiated moves ranging from taking legal actions and warning customers to negotiating with top retail portals to deal with the menace.

 

 Besides the loss of potential sales for marketers, online listing of fake and refurbished products impacts their brand equity as well as the overall credibility of online retail industry. "While there is certain proportion of loss of sales due to such fraudulent listing, it also jeopardises the brand name that matters to us," Rajesh Jain, director & CEO at Lacoste India, says.

Lacoste doesn't sell its wares online at all, but fakes of its polo T-shirt is available anywhere between Rs 600 and Rs 1,200 online against the original ones priced about Rs 3,000 a piece in the stores.

Sanjeev Mohanty, MD, Benetton India, says, "Most of these online websites tend to be run by fly-by-night operators without even proper offices. But we still take legal action against those who try to erode our brand equity." The Italian fashion brand sends at least one legal notice every month, while shoe and apparel maker Woodland sends out 5-6 legal notices every month, according to its MD Harkirat Singh.

While fashion brands are worried about fakes, consumer electronics and gadgets makers are concerned about parallel imports and refurbished products sold as new. Not every online shopping site is involved in such activities even though some of the bigger ones have been sent notices in recent past. Darshan Mehta, CEO of Reliance Brands, which represents several international brands in the country, says the company has received complaints from consumers who have bought, say, a fake Diesel jeans or a Quiksilver shirt. "But we have never faced such a scenario in the big online shopping sites," he says.

Big online retailers are as much worried about such fake sales as the impacted brands are. "Fakes are more relevant in the apparel category and do pose a danger towards the image of online retail," Saurabh Malik, business head at Indiatimes Shopping, says.

A recent report by Google said that building consumer trust will be the key to sustained growth of the e-commerce market, which is estimated at Rs 62,967 crore in India after growing 128 per cent in 2012.

To ensure that fakes are not sold through its platform, Indiatimes Shopping has forged direct relationships with almost all known brands in the country and every product that has risk of fakes comes with a certificate of authentication from the brand, Malik says. Some other big online shopping sites such as Flipkart, Myntra and Snapdeal, too, say they have started extensive screening of products sold as well as sellers using their platform, to ensure they are not illegal.

Myntra chief operating officer Ganesh Subramanian says the website has developed a fool-proof system to ensure that only authentic products are sold and hence does not sell categories like perfumes, which are more prone to fakes, and sell products at full price.

But experts say it's not easy to make a fool-proof system because several online websites have their back-end servers located outside the country in places such as China where cyber laws and IPR regulations are not strong. "Hence the onus, primarily, to put such products or content is on person or entity who shall be liable for placing counterfeits of copyrighted works," Advait Sethna, an advocate and counsel specialising in IP Laws, says.

Some firms such as smartphone brand BlackBerry and camera brand Canon have, meanwhile, initiated talks with leading retail portals to bring them under authorised online partner programme. "We have developed a digitally signed authorisation certificate for the products sold through online sellers to ensure the products are not refurbished or grey import," Alok Bharadwaj, executive vice-president at Canon India, says. "This also became necessary since the online sellers were not strictly following our trade terms, running their own promotions or schemes, which were not as per our norms," he adds.

Most marketers say online pricing is a headache for them. Japanese camera brand Nikon has issued an advisory for customers on its website that Flipkart and Snapdeal are not its authorised partners or dealers in India. Nikon India VP Sajjan Kumar says this was because these sites were selling at price points not fair for the market. While a Snapdeal spokesperson said pricing depends on the sellers who are licensed dealers, a Flipkart spokesperson said all Nikon products sold at the site are genuine.

German sports and lifestyle brand Puma, too, has voiced concern about pricing. Rajiv Mehta, managing director (South Asia) at Puma, says the brand monitors online pricing of its current season products. "If they blatantly discount it, we ask them to remove it. Since we are the biggest brand for leading online retailers in terms of sportswear, they listen to us," he says.

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Google Now, Siri not working? Here are a few tips

If used properly, Siri (Or Google Now, or any other voice assistant) can be incredibly helpful. The problem is that you need to know how to speak to them and they rarely come with instruction manuals. In some cases this is just getting used to what you can say, but you can also improve the chances it'll understand you with a few simple tricks. Here's what you can do.

Speak quickly without long pauses
Voice assistants aren't people so you can't talk to them like they are. While you can typically use natural language like "show me my calendar for tomorrow" as opposed to something more robotic like "show calendar for October 12 2013," you still want to keep your sentences short and to the point. So, quit stalling mid-sentence, asking multiple questions at once, or saying please and thank you.

You also want to speak quickly. It's a natural tendency to speak to your voice recognition apps in the same way you would a puppy: slow and methodically. But as we've pointed out before, it's actually best to speak quickly. Speak naturally and clearly, but don't strain to enunciate your words or speak incredibly slowly.

Correct it when it makes a mistake
You can also correct some things they get wrong to improve their understanding of you. On Android, you just need to add in an entry for a phonetic name so it pronounces it correctly. Head into Menu > Edit, and scroll down to Add Another Field to choose a phonetic name. With Siri, you have a couple options for this. You can tap any part of the speech bubble and type a correction so it learns what you're saying, or for improperly spoken names say, "That's not how you pronounce 'name'" and then follow the instructions.

Learn all the correct commands



Each type of speech recognition software has its own set of commands and the quicker you learn those commands the better it'll understand what you want. Once you know what you can ask, you'll be able to do things a lot quicker.

We've shown you a few of these commands. If you're using an Apple device, this list of Siri commands is plenty to get you started, and this Google Voice list is just a small sample of everything Google Now can do. The trick is learning what you can say to your voice assistant and how to say it. When you get the hang of it, they're a lot easier to use and they'll understand you more often.

Get the hang of using punctuation
While communicating with the assistant part of a virtual assistant is tough enough as it is, using the dictation function is even trickier if you don't know what you're doing. Thankfully, once you learn a few basic commands it's pretty easy.

For most dictation software, you only need to know a few different basic commands:

* "All caps" turns everything into capital letters.
* "Cap" capitalizes the word you speak next.
* Get punctuation by just saying it, "comma," "period," "exclamation point" all work how you'd expect.

You can also dictate emoticons by just saying things like "smiley" or "winkey" on the iPhone. On Android, you can do the same thing, but you need to add "face," so say "smiley face," or "winkey face."

It's a little awkward at first, but after you get used to it your dictation software will understand you a lot better.

Use a mic when you can


Finally, one of the reasons that your voice assistant of choice might not understand is the simple fact that it might not be hearing you correctly. If you're in a noisy place or it's just not picking up your audio correctly it's not going to know what you want it to do. If a mic's not around, just hold the phone's mic close to your mouth.

That's really it. Voice assistants like Siri and Google Now exist on servers so they're constantly being updated (which is also why you'll get faster results over Wi-Fi) to work better. Even still, provided you speak clearly and know what to say, they work really well.

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‘Indian firms to spend Rs 25cr on IT security in 2013‘

Faced with rise in malicious cyber attacks that try to steal critical data, Indian firms will spend over Rs 25 crore on average on information security this year, a study by global consulting firm PwC revealed. 

According to Pricewaterhouse Coopers' (PwC) the State of Information Security Survey 2014, spending by companies marks a 100 per cent increase compared to 2012. 

"Indian companies are spending more than Rs 25 crore on information security as they are reporting an increase in security incidents. This marks a 100 per cent increase in firms spending above this amount, compared to 2012," it said. 

The survey, PwC's sixth in India, was conducted as part of Global State of Information Security Survey 2014 by PwC, CIO Magazine and CSO Magazine. It covered 624 CEOs and senior management from across 17 industry sectors in India, it added. 

There has been 98 per cent increase in the number of information security incidents in May-June 2013 compared to the same time in 2012, when 2,989 such incidents were reported by the respondents, it said. 

PwC's evaluation, based on criteria like effectiveness of strategy, evaluation of security events and so on revealed that only 38 per cent of respondents covered can be considered as having advanced security system in place, the report revealed. 

"Survey results show that focus on emerging technologies and safeguards is the route to improvement. Organisations must identify most valuable assets and prioritise protection," PwC India Leader (Information Technology Risk Management) Sivarama Krishan told PTI. 

Security incidents should be seen as a critical business risk that may not always be preventable, but can be managed to acceptable levels, he added. 

Compared to global figures, India is playing catch-up in deploying safeguards like behavioural profiling, monitoring, security information and event management technologies and threat intelligence, the report said. 

Globally, China has the advantage in implementation of technology safeguards to protect against today's dynamic threats, it added. 

While, Russia also shows solid progress in deployment of safeguards that monitor data and assets, it is the US which leads the tally, it said. 

"Companies used traditional safeguards like firewall, etc, but now they are also using analytics to analyse the threats. However, India is still behind in the use to such techniques to check intrusions," Krishan said. 

Enterprise mobility and cloud services are gaining greater traction with organisations in India. Yet information security for mobile devices and cloud services lags behind adoption rates, the survey said. 

"Less than 50 per cent of respondents claim that their organisations have fundamental information security controls for mobile security and even less than 20 per cent have policies addressing use of mobile phones," it added.

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Video games can help adults be active: Study

Researchers have revealed that old adults can live not only longer but also healthy and active by playing video games. 

The report observed that people are living longer, but not necessarily living healthier and now they hope to accomplish that goal by using video games to promote fitness and encouraging older adults to get active. 

Jennifer Margrett, an associate professor of human development and family studies and director of the gerontology program said that their program is focused on whole-person wellness, and they want to include that socialization aspect with the physical activity. 

Margrett said that by socializing and doing interactive games, older adults are also exercising their brains, building relationships, and so it helps in more than one way. 

High school and college-age trainers led the eight-week exergaming program that combines strength-building exercises with video games, like tennis or bowling. The trainers teach older adults, who may be intimidated by the technology, how to use the gaming systems so they can continue with the program after the initial eight weeks. 

Researchers measured physical activity levels before and after the eight-week fitness program. Nearly half of the participants- all 60 years of age or older - initially described themselves as inactive. But by the end of the program, 52 percent of those inactive adults had increased their activity levels. 

The study is published in the Journal of Aging and Physical Activity.

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Why internet is different in South Korea

South Korea is one of the world's most digitally advanced countries. It has ubiquitous broadband, running at speeds that many Americans can only envy. Its Internet is also one of the most quirky in the world. 

A curfew restricts school-age children from playing online games at night; adults wanting to do so need to provide their resident registration numbers to prove that they are of age. 

Until last year, commenters on the Web were legally required to use their real names. A simple Web search in Korean can be a fruitless experience, because the operators of many sites, including some government ministries, bar search engines from indexing their pages. 

Travelers who want to go from Gimpo International Airport to the Gangnam neighborhood of Seoul cannot rely on Google Maps. Google Maps can provide directions only for public transport, not for driving, to any place in Korea. Anyone crazy enough to try the journey on bicycle or on foot, directions for which Google Maps provides elsewhere, will be similarly stymied. 

The highly regulated Internet comes as a surprise to many people, Koreans included, because South Korea is a strong democracy with a vibrant economy seemingly ready for the digital information age. South Koreans were early adopters of Internet games and smartphones. It has world-beating electronics companies like Samsung and LG. But here the Internet is just different. 

The Korean government has its reasons, most of them well-intentioned. The curfew, for example, was put in place two years ago to deal with concerns about game addiction among teenagers. 

South Korean security restrictions that were put in place more than half a century ago after the Korean War limit Google's maps, the company says. The export of map data is barred, ostensibly to prevent it from falling into the hands of South Korea's foe to the north, across the world's most heavily fortified border. Google and other foreign Internet companies say the rule also prevents them from providing online mapping services, like navigation, that travelers have come to rely on in much of the rest of the world. 

The Korea Communications Standards Commission, a regulatory panel, blocks material on the Web that it deems objectionable. This can include pornography, the production of which is technically illegal in South Korea. 

"It's ironic, in a country that is widely recognized for its advanced digital infrastructure, that there are so many restrictions on the Internet in Korea," said Kim Keechang, a professor at Korea University who is writing a book on Internet regulation in South Korea. 

Foreign Internet companies say the country's rules prevent them from competing against domestic rivals because they cannot provide the same services they do elsewhere. South Korea is one of the few major markets where Google is not the leading search engine. A South Korean rival, Naver, has the most users. 

But domestic criticism of the Korean approach to Internet regulation is growing. Civil liberties advocates successfully challenged the rule requiring users of Internet discussion groups to provide their real names, verified by a national identity registration system. A court last year struck down the measure, which was introduced in 2007 to try to curb online bullying after a rash of suicides. 

Now the government of President Park Geun-hye is moving to ease some of the Internet regulations that previous administrations put in place. Park wants to encourage creativity in the South Korean high-technology industry, which is very good at developing hardware like smartphones and television sets but not as good at exporting software and services. Critics say the different rules that South Korean companies have to play by at home and abroad limit their ability to think in a worldly fashion.

 

 In September, the government promised to ease the restrictions on online mapping services. The National Geographic Information Institute, part of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said it would make an official English-language digital map available to Internet companies, beginning this month for companies based in South Korea. The ministry said it was changing its policy to help foreign Internet companies and to clear up uncertainties over Korean place names. 

The move comes at the same time as a new flare-up in a longstanding dispute over a group of islets between South Korea and Japan that are known variously as the Dokdo in Korea, the Takeshima in Japan and the Liancourt Rocks in some other places. (The islands are either in the Sea of Japan or the East Sea, which is another naming dispute.) For Google and other foreign companies, there is a hitch. They will be permitted to use the map as of next year, on a case-by-case basis. Now, Google adapts its English-language maps of South Korea from the government's Korean-language maps. Google is permitted to provide directions using public transit systems like the Seoul subway, because train and bus routes and schedules are available through public records. 

But Google says other sophisticated map enhancements, like driving directions, traffic information, three-dimensional modeling of cities and indoor floor plans of airports and shopping centers, require the company to process the data at its servers outside South Korea. This would constitute an export of the map data, which has been forbidden until now. 

Google says the policy change announced by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport does not go far enough. That is because the scale of the new official, English-language map is limited to 1:25,000, which the company says is insufficient to provide details that Google Maps users take for granted elsewhere. 

"Maps at the lower resolution don't have accurate enough information to guide people and cars through intersections, sidewalks, bike lanes, pedestrian overpasses and many points of interest," the company said in a statement. 

Google maintains that the rules are unfair because domestic Internet companies like Naver are able to provide online navigation and other mapping services, even to users outside the country. That is because Naver's servers are housed in South Korea. For many foreign visitors, though, Naver's maps are of limited use, because they are available only in Korean. 

"We just think any services should be carried out within the framework of the law," Google said. "The same laws should apply to all providers of Web map services, domestic or foreign."

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Facebook says it‘s opening first office in Israel

Facebook says it is acquiring an Israeli mobile technology startup and opening its first office in Israel. 

Facebook said in a statement Monday that Israeli mobile utility application developer Onavo would help the social media giant create better mobile products and help connect more people around the world to the Internet. 

Onavo was founded three years ago and produces technology that compresses content so mobile users can use more data. The Tel Aviv-based company also has an office in California. 

Israeli media reported that Facebook is buying the company for more than $100 million and that it was Facebook's largest acquisition of an Israeli company. Facebook declined comment. 

Facebook has bought two Israeli companies in recent years, but employees were transferred to Facebook's US headquarters.

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Monendra Sahu, Raipur‘s ethical hacker in Google‘s ‘security hall of fame‘

He hacked some of the most secured internet networks existing on world wide web and got rewarded by his targets. Monendra Sahu, a young mining engineer from National Institute of Technology (NIT-Raipur) has the distinction of hacking websites of Microsoft, Google, Nokia, Blackberry, Yahoo and many others and is now listed in the " Security Hall of Fame". 

Under the on-going Bug-bounty programme being run by various social networking sites, search engines and other websites, hackers are encouraged to look for security vulnerability of their websites. Ethical hackers such as Sahu are rewarded by enlisting them in the hall of fame. Google in its current quarter list has ranked this Raipurian on the 11th spot in world. 

Sahu has been rewarded by some of these websites, which have paid him sums of $100 to $20000. 

Advising caution to internet users, Sahu said, "There are websites which are highly vulnerable and can easily be hacked. I informed them about the loopholes in their security systems. After they verified my claims, they included me in the list." 

Monendra, who is currently involved in network research also imparts training to the state police personnel on handling cybercrimes. "I have been training state police for the last two years. Their cybercell is not up to the mark and needs upgradation, as cyber crimes have increased'', he added. 

On privacy measures that are recommended by various websites, Monendra said, "Indian websites are highly vulnerable. In fact, big names like Gmail and Facebook are also witnessing frequent security breaches." 

"It's important to create awareness among people for security of their Gmail IDs, Facebook passwords, etc. Hacking is now a big business and with an increase in the number of cybercrimes and cyberwars, one should take serious note of the security tips advised by websites. Try shopping only from trusted web portals," said the hall of fame member. 

"Online banking is a big threat, as it makes things easier for hackers. Algorithm science makes it easy for them to trace your ATM card number or password. During online transactions, one is often asked to provide credit card details, which can be traced by a hacker. I would suggest internet users, to lessen their number of logins to avoid such misuse", he added. 

On vulnerability of wireless networks like wi-fi, Sahu said, "Wi-fi networks available for public use in places such as colleges, offices etc are more vulnerable." 

Types of hackers 

White Hat: Hacks website and tells the owner, works judiciously. 

Black Hat: hacks website for his personal benefit. 

Grey Hat: Intentions aren't clear. May or may not inform owner. 

Steps to prevent possible cyberattacks 

Use complex passwords; alphanumeric with special characters. 

Avail mobile notification. 

Password should not be easy. 

Never add unknown people to your connection. 

Minimize use of Facebook apps. 

Remove useless posts from your Facebook timeline.

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Over 50% of internet users are mobile-only

Fuelled by the increasing penetration of smartphones and a whole host of mobile-only content to go with it, the Indian mobile advertising market is estimated to reach Rs 2,800 crore by 2016 from a mere Rs 180 crore that it is worth today. 

What is significant is that India could currently have as much as 50% or more mobile-only internet users — possibly the highest worldwide compared to 20-25 % across developed countries — according to a report from Mumbai-based financial advisory firm Avendus Capital. 

Keeping in mind that these mobile internet users are typically young and are highly engaged with their mobile phones, it will be imperative to create content that is very relevant and engaging for these consumers to monetize this medium, says the report titled India's Mobile Internet. 

"Until recently, the only revenues generated through mobile in the digital space came from 'on-deck' services offered by telcos through their portals, popularly known as mobile value added services (MVAS). Globally, the trend has shifted towards growth of 'offdeck' services that are offered by content developers directly to consumers without going through telecom operators. 

This has been largely driven by the advent of smartphones and third party app stores like iOS and Google Play," says Aashish Bhinde, executive director at Avendus Capital. 

Although the paid app market is small in India currently, the gaming and apps market — which is also drawing its share of growth from the frenetic use of smartphones — is expected to become Rs 2,000 crore worth by 2016, the report estimates. 

The real surprise package though is the paid-content market, the Avendus report says. MVAS was the only channel through which consumers paid for digital content. 

Now with smartphone adoption gathering pace, consumption of off-deck content is beginning to scale. Though still small currently, the paid app market from the iOS app store and Google Play in India crossed Rs 150 crore in 2012. 

"From an advertiser's point of view, we have seen the likes of FMCG players such as Hindustan UnileverBSE -0.94 % actively embracing the mobile platform over the last one year. The allocation of ad dollars by advertisers across sectors — including telecom and e-commerce — has grown anywhere between four and ten times. 

Marketers today cannot possibly ignore approximately 150 million mobile data users," says Dippak Khurana, CEO & co-founder of VServ.mobi, a mobile advertising network. 

Earlier, the PC-internet segment saw monetization through three revenue models — advertising, paid content and commerce. All three models are beginning to witness meaningful traction on mobile, according to the Avendus report. Mobile advertising is beginning to grow at a fast pace and m-commerce is witnessing early signs of adoption. 

Movie and event ticketing portal Bookmyshow and online travel aggregator Cleartrip have seen revenue through mobile devices grow to more than 25% and 12%, respectively, of their total revenue within a short span of time. 

E-tailer Myntra has also seen revenues through mobile devices scale rapidly and expects it to grow to more than 20% of their total revenues by the end of 2013.

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Internet should be regulation, policing free: Manish Tewari

The Internet should be free of policing and regulation but there should be an agreed global rules of engagements in this new media space, I&B Minister Manish Tewari today suggested. 

"We do not believe that there should be a regulation or policing of the Internet but simultaneously we believe that just as common rules of engagement have emerged in various spheres, they need to emerge in the new media space also because it is a virtual civilisation also which has its own dynamics," he said. 

"My personal view is that it is extremely important that an agreed global rules of engagement emerge as quickly as possible," he said in his speech on 'freedom of expression in Internet age' at a function here. 

According to him, the rules of engagement are important because hardware responsible for dissemination of information over the Internet may not be under the control of a state at whom it is targeted. 

He said this as he noted that though cyber world enables grass-root democratisation, it is also having the potential of inflicted destruction. 

Tewari highlighted the mass exodus of people hailing from the northeast from southern states last year after rumours of attack on them spread like wild fire to drive home his point. 

He also referred to the recent riots in Muzaffarnagar, stating that a video posted on Youtube had flared up the entire incident. 

"What the government do when people are fanning violence. Should not the government have the legal and technological way to stop such activity," he sought to know. 

Tewari said the time is ripe to distinguish between right to privacy and right to anonymity. 

He felt that the difficulty in policing freedom of speech and expression is where to draw the line. 

"The dilemma is should freedom of speech or expression be policed at all. But juxtaposed with that is also the reality that freedom of speech is an expression at times can create situation which lead to potential law and order issues where state and law machineries need to step in," he said.

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Poaching hits cybersecurity sector

For the governments and corporations facing increasing computer attacks, the biggest challenge is finding the right cyberwarriors to fight back.

Hostile computer activity from spies, saboteurs, competitors and criminals has spawned a growing industry of corporate defenders who can attract the best talent from government cyberunits.

The US military's Cyber Command is due to quadruple in size by 2015 with 4,000 new personnel while Britain announced a new Joint Cyber Reserve last month. From Brazil to Indonesia, similar forces have been set up.

But demand for specialists has far outpaced the number of those qualified to do the job, leading to a staffing crunch as talent is poached by competitors offering big salaries.

"As with anything, it really comes down to human capital and there simply isn't enough of it," says Chris Finan, White House director for cybersecurity from 2011-12, who is now a senior fellow at the Truman National Security Project and working for a startup in Silicon Valley.

"They will choose where they work based on salary, lifestyle and the lack of an interfering bureaucracy and that makes it particularly hard to get them into government."

Cyberattacks can be expensive: one unidentified London-listed company incurred losses of 800 million pounds ($1.29 billion) in a cyberattack several years ago, according to the British security services.

Global losses are in the range of $80 billion to $400 billion a year, according to research by the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies that was sponsored by Intel's McAfee anti-virus division.

There is a whole range of attacks. Some involve simply transferring money, but more often clients' credit card details are stolen. There is also intellectual property theft or theft of commercially sensitive information for business advantage.

Victims can also suffer a "hacktivist" attack, such as a directed denial of service to bring a website down, which can cost a lot of money to fix.

Quantifying the exact damage is almost impossible, especially when secrets and money are not the only targets.

While no government has taken responsibility for the Stuxnet computer virus that destroyed centrifuges at Iran's Natanz uranium enrichment facility, it was widely reported to have been a US-Israeli project.

Britain says it blocked 400,000 advanced cyberthreats to the government's secure intranet last year while a virus unleashed against Saudi Arabia's energy group Aramco, likely to be the world's most valuable company, destroyed data on thousands of computers and put an image of a burning American flag onto screens.

Going viral?

Most cyberexpertise remains in the private sector where companies are seeing an steep increase in spending on security products and services.

Depending on the cyberthreat, a variety of firms are bidding for cybertalent. Google is currently advertising 129 IT security jobs, while defense companies such as Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems are looking to hire in this area.

Anti-virus maker Symantec is also doing good business. "The threat environment is exploding," chief executive Steve Bennett told Reuters in an interview in July.

The perception of an increased threat, has also led to explosive demand for the best talent.

The US Bureau of Labour Statistics says the number of Information Technology security roles in the US will increase by some 22% in the decade to 2020, creating 65,700 new jobs. Experts say it is a similar situation globally, with salaries often rising 5-7% a year.

"Recruitment and retention in cyber is a challenge for everybody working in this area," says Mike Bradshaw, head of security and smart systems at Finmeccanica IT unit Selex. "It's an area where demand exceeds supply ... it's going to take a while for supply to catch up."

A growing number of security firms - such as UK-based Protection Group International (PGI) - now also offer cyberservices. PGI started out providing armed guards to protect merchant ships against pirates but has now hired former staff from Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping agency.

Country or cash?

A graduate with a good computer studies degree can walk into a $100,000 salary with a similar amount upfront as a golden handshake, several times what the US National Security Agency would be likely to offer.

Western universities turn out far too few graduates with the necessary computer skills while some students complain that many of the courses on offer are too theoretical for the challenges of cyberwarfare.

But applicants need not have a computer science degree to get lucrative jobs as long as they can do the hardest-to-fill jobs such as finding bugs in software, identifying elusive infections and reverse engineering computer viruses that are found on computers, said Alan Paller, founder of the non-profit SANS Institute in Washington.

SANS has worked with officials in Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey and other states to sponsor hacking contests that test skills in those and other areas. Educational background does not necessarily help in these contests.

Those who have "very good" skills in the most-needed areas can earn $110,000 to $140,000, while the very top get paid as much as $200,000 in private sector jobs, according to Paller.

While the private sector offers big cash, the government is still able to retain some talent by appealing to people's sense of public service and patriotism.

"I want to serve my country. What I am doing is important," one hacker who conducts classified research for the US military told Reuters at the Def Con hacking conference in July. He declined to provide his name because he was not authorized to speak to the press.

There is also an expectation that government workers can move to more lucrative jobs in the private sector after several years in public service.

But some senior officers in Western militaries still fear they may struggle to attract the requisite talent, citing both cultural and administrative problems.

General Keith Alexander, head of both the NSA and Cyber Command, told Reuters earlier this year finding the right talent was a priority. He has attended events such as the Def Con hacker conference, trading his uniform for a black T-shirt.

Hiring outsiders has long been thought to be a tactic employed by the United States as well as China and Russia.

Western security officials believe Russia, China and other emerging cyber powers such as Iran and North Korea have cut deals with their own criminal hacker community to borrow their expertise to assist with attacks.

Russia and China, which have been accused by the West of mounting repeated attacks on government and commercial interests, deny direct involvement in hacking.

"We are at the very beginning of this process and we are building it brick by brick," says Colonel Gregory Conti, head of the cyberSecurity Department at the US Military Academy, West Point. "It's going to be like the creation of the air force - a process of several decades getting the right people and structures."

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Windows Phone update brings new features

Microsoft is updating its Windows software for cellphones to accommodate larger devices and make it easier for motorists to reduce distractions while driving. 

It's the third update to Windows Phone 8 software since the system's release a year ago. Devices with this update will start appearing in the coming weeks, and older phones will be eligible for a free upgrade, too. 

Something that may appeal to motorists: a new Driving Mode will automatically silence incoming calls and texts so that you can focus on the road. You also can configure the feature to automatically send out a reply to say that you're driving. 

It can be activated automatically when the phone is linked wirelessly with a Bluetooth device in the car, such as a headset. Apple has a Do Not Disturb feature for iPhones, but that needs to be turned on manually. 

What the Driving Mode won't do, however, is block outgoing calls or texts. And there will be ways to override it. The feature won't stop a teenager from texting while driving, but it will help reduce distractions for those who want that, says Greg Sullivan, director for Microsoft's Windows Phone business. 

The new update also will allow for better resolution to accommodate larger phones. Currently, the system supports a maximum resolution of 1280 pixels by 768 pixels, which is adequate for phones with screens no larger than 5 inches on the diagonal. But video and image quality degrades when stretched out on larger phones, such as a 6.3-inch Android phone from Samsung Electronics. 

The layout for larger phones also will change. Phones may now sport a third column of tiles, for instance. Contact lists and other features will be able to fit in more information. That's a contrast to Android, where text and images simply get bigger with larger screens, without actually fitting in more content. 

Microsoft's Windows Phone software holds a distant third place behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android, with a worldwide market share of 3.7% in the second quarter, according to research firm IDC. But shipments of Windows Phone devices grew 78% to 8.7 million in the April-to-June period, compared with the same time a year ago. The tile-based layout in Windows Phone is the inspiration for the Windows 8 software powering tablets and personal computers. 

There are a few ways Microsoft will catch up to the iPhone and Android phones with the new update. 

For the first time, Windows phones will have a rotation lock function, so that the screen won't switch back and forth between horizontal and vertical mode while you're curled up in bed. There also will be a central way to close open apps. Before, you had to go into each open app and press and hold the back button. 

And Microsoft is launching a program to give app developers early access to the new software. Apple has had a similar program for the iOS software behind iPhones and iPads, while Google often has worked with selected developers on unreleased features.

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ZigWheels.com launches iOS and Android app for Automobile enthusiasts

New Delhi ,September 03,2013 :ZigWheels.com, India's leading automobile portal, has launched an app to help consumers make informed choices while buying cars and bikes. With an easy access to on-road prices, tech specs along with reviews and detailed photo galleries, the ZigWheels app simplifies and empowers the user with information, ahead of a car purchase.

By providing detailed information on a wide variety of topics such as product specifications, photos, reviews, price quote and colours, the app simplifies the buying process which otherwise is not only tedious and confusing but also cumbersome for the consumers.What’s more, the users can also narrow down searches using filters such as price, fuel type, body type and model and read about new and upcoming launches. The readers will also be able to access to get quick insights and ratings from ZigWheels auto experts.

Speaking on the launch of this app, Satyan Gajwani, CEO, Times Internet said, “The launch of the app is our way of ensuring that we continuously engage with our readers and give them latest news and updates on their mobiles. As shoppers are always on look out for instant, on-the-go information, ZigWheels app will continue to offer car/bike shoppers a variety of tools to make an informed decision.”

While ZigWheels is already available on Windows 8 for Laptops and Tablets, it is now being launched on Android and iOS, making it widely accessible to nearly every mobile user in India.

*The app is available for free mobile download on http://m.ZigWheels.com/apps. It can also be accessed from website http://ZigWheels.com/apps or on the iTunes App Store - https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zigwheels-new-cars-used-cars/id704453976?ls=1&mt=8 and Google Play Store -https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.til.zigwheels.

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