Sperry Software announced their newest add-in, Distribution List Manager for Outlook. This add-in utility for Outlook 2000 or better makes dealing with distribution lists simpler, saving time. In addition to making it easier to add email recipients directly to distribution lists, this add-in will offer to remove a contact from any distribution lists it belongs to when that contact gets deleted. In addition, Reply To All Monitor, an add-in that automatically warns you when you are about to send a reply to everyone on that email, has been upgraded to display a warning when you are about to reply to a message that you’ve been BCC (blind carbon copied) on.

A preliminary report released by the Department of Homeland Security seems to scatter cybersecurity responsibilities across the government and the private sector while sticking to generalities about future plans. In its 175-page draft of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan, or NIPP, the department outlines a broad framework for protecting the nation’s "critical infrastructure" and "key assets"–bureaucratic argot referring to everything from the power grid to dams to computer systems.

Papa John’s has beefed up security for its Web-based email system after the pizza chain learned that internal email and customer data had been exposed. The leak at the pizza chain made internal corporate email and thousands of customer comments available to anyone with a Web browser. The customer comments were submitted between Sept. 29 and Nov. 7 and included names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses of customers.

Check Point Software Technologies announced its new Integrity Anti-Spyware program, becoming the latest major vendor to offer its anti-spyware technology to corporate users. Integrity Anti-Spyware, scheduled to hit the market in November, is designed to detect, automatically quarantine and remove spyware programs. Check Point, primarily a seller of firewalls and virtual private networks, historically has been slow to launch new products. With this move, the company has joined McAfee and Symantec, which introduced enterprise anti-spyware products earlier this year.

A growing number of American chief executives rate blogs high as employee communication tools, though a majority of them remain skeptical about starting their own, a new study shows. About 59 percent of CEOs surveyed said they find Web logs, or blogs, useful for internal communications, while 47 percent see them as tools for communication with external audiences, according to a study conducted by PRWeek and Burson-Marsteller.

Microsoft’s Windows AntiSpyware technology has been renamed Windows Defender and has been expanded to detect and remove rootkits, keystroke loggers, and other forms of malware. The revamped application will be bundled into the Windows Vista operating system, but users will be free to choose a competing spyware protection product from a redesigned Windows Security Center.

In this breakneck information packed world, managing the amount of data coming in is a monumental task. Storing it safely, making it easily accessible and analyzing is critical to the future growth of your organization, but you don’t even know where to begin. As an enterprise organization, your company needs a comprehensive solution that allows for the secure access of information quickly in order to capitalize on sales and service opportunities. Join data management experts and Microsoft for this live, interactive eSeminar. Attend this event and learn how better data management can make your company more efficient and increase sales opportunities, the benefits of business intelligence and how to get the most out of the mounds of data piling into your company, and the steps you need to take to integrate any data management solution into your existing systems.

Microsoft has launched long-awaited updates to its flagship database programs and developer tools. CEO Steve Ballmer officially launched SQL Server 2005 and Visual Studio 2005, along with a new beta version of the company’s BizTalk Server software, at an event at the Moscone West convention center. Ballmer said that the new versions represent major advances, but acknowledged they were "a little bit long in coming." It’s been five years, for example, since Microsoft released the last version of SQL Server.

IdeaBlade announced the 3.0 version of the DevForce Productivity Solution for Microsoft Visual Studio 2005. The new release improves the DevForce tools, components, and blueprints for building data-driven applications. Developers can focus on the business aspects of the application instead of the infrastructure, thus accelerating time to market, reducing cost and improving their chances for success.

Microsoft has emerged as the front-runner in talks surrounding the potential sale of a stake in America Online. Several issues could delay any potential transaction. The New York Times reports one issue is whether such an alliance would be another risky partnership for Time Warner Inc. The company is also looking at whether a new partner at AOL could help Time Warner navigate the digital world. Microsoft approached AOL several months ago to discuss joint ventures, but any agreement is still likely weeks away.