Posted 02/20/09 at 01:10:40 PM by David Murphy

Cuba has debuted a new national Linux-based operating system dubbed "Nova."  As one might expect, Cuba claims that the move will help the country replace proprietary Microsoft software running on the nation's computers.  It almost sounds a little silly, but Cuba makes two noteworthy points as to why it's trying to purge this United States-based software from its networks.  Nor is this the first international body that's sought to replace Microsoft software with an open-source alternative.

According to Cuban officials, the switch is more intended to turn away from United States-backed software as opposed to specifically Microsoft.  They claim that governmental agencies would be able to infiltrate Cuban systems because they would could to pressure Microsoft to give up its "codes."  It's unclear whether Cuba expects U.S. officials to actually hack into Cuban databases, break through encryption measures, or any combination of nefarious activities.  Cuban officials also suggest that importing Microsoft software violates the U.S. trade embargo, an explanation for why Microsoft operating systems are allegedly more difficult to acquire for the island nation.

Grab your cigar and click the link to find out just how much Linux adoption Cuba expects to have within five years!

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Posted 12/23/08 at 05:16:56 PM by Andy Salisbury

It looks like here in the good ol’ U.S. of A. we’ve got one more thing to add to the “we’re good at this” list, and that one thing is hosting malware on our websites.

A recent study by ars technica that tested what countries are hosting malware has the United States in first place, hosting a whopping 37% of the world’s malware infected sights, followed by China in second place with only 28% of the world’s malicious sites. Every other country fell under 10% individually.

Considering that we here in the U.S. have some of the most advanced technologies when it comes to combating malware, it seems a little sad that we’re in first place (with room to spare) on this list. And considering that just recently we came in first for spam email just a little over a year ago, it’s disappointing too.

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