THE WHATIS.COM WORD-OF-THE-DAY April 23, 2004 Chameleon Card
_____________ SPONSORED BY: PC Lifecycle Info Center Visit the new PC Lifecycle Info Center on SearchCIO.com. You'll find news, tips, webcasts, white papers and targeted Web resources focused on all aspects of managing the PC lifecycle - from purchase to retirement. Get valuable advice and insight on how your IT organization can make smart PC investment decisions. Topics covered include PC replacement cycles, patch management, ROI, mobile workforce management, desktop security, data backup, wireless LAN -- and much more! http://searchcio.techtarget.com/infoCenter/0,294261,sid19,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480815&ad=480815 ______________________ TODAY'S WORD: Chameleon Card See our complete definition with hyperlinks at http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci960262,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 The Chameleon Card is a programmable card in development at Chameleon Network that can represent each of the owner's credit, debit, and customer cards as required, making it unnecessary to carry all of the aforementioned. Working in conjunction with a small handheld device called the Pocket Vault, the Chameleon Card has security features that guard against identity theft, physical theft of cards, and theft of credit card information over the Internet. The device also has built in radio frequency identification (RFID) technology and the capacity to display a user's photo. Here's how it works: The Pocket Vault reads and stores the information from your cards in a secure Internet session while docked to a computer. After reading the information from a card, it displays an icon for it on its touch screen. To make a transaction, you must identify yourself through fingerscanning authentication and select the card you want to use. When you make your selection, the Pocket Vault programs the appropriate information into the card and emits it for use. The usual information, such as a credit card number and expiration date, appear on the card's display area. You just swipe the card in the usual way and a transducer under the card's black strip works with the magnetic card reader. Although the idea of only carrying a single card (rather than the dozen or more in the typical person's wallet) is appealing, the security features may be a more compelling reason to purchase the device. Because the Pocket Vault requires secure biometric authentication, it won't work for anyone but the legitimate user. If your wallet is stolen, the thief has no access to information that could be used to assume your identity. Furthermore, even if someone steals the card while it's activated, the potential harm is limited -- after 10 minutes, the information on the card is rendered unreadable, and the transducer stops working. The device docks to your computer for online transactions, which means that your information need never be stored on your computer or on a Web site's customer database, thus thwarting would-be thieves phishing for credit card information over the Internet. ______________________ RELATED TERMS: identity theft http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci801871,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 RFID http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci805987,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 fingerscanning http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci957086,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 transducer http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci213215,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 biometrics http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci211666,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 phishing http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci916037,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 ______________________ SELECTED LINKS: Chameleon Network provides more information. http://www.chameleonnetwork.com/ A Wired.com news article is called "Chameleon Card Changes Stripes." http://www.wired.com/news/business/0,1367,62545,00.html Slashdot has a long debate about the Chameleon Card, with more information from the vendor. http://slashdot.org/articles/04/03/05/2144242.shtml _____________________ TODAY'S TECH NEWS: LATEST NETSKY INFECTS VIA MICROSOFT FLAW Antivirus experts recommend that Microsoft Windows users immediately apply security patches to protect their systems from the latest worm threat. Unlike its many predecessors, Netsky-V spreads without using e-mail attachments to infect users. http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid14_gci959943,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190 REPORT: OFFSHORE OUTSOURCING HELPS U.S. JOB MARKET A new report finds that offshore outsourcing allows companies to create new jobs within U.S. borders. But many IT professionals and workers rights activists stand firm in their belief that sending work to foreign countries is ultimately bad for business. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid19_gci959840,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190 BUSINESSES TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF NUMBER PORTABILITY Analyst firm In-Stat/MDR says the high churn rates that were expected during the first few months of wireless local number portability (LNP) haven't materialized, but they're coming soon, especially among enterprise customers. http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/originalContent/0,289142,sid40_gci959643,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190 >> Catch up on all the latest IT news at http://searchtechtarget.techtarget.com?track=NL-34&ad=481291 ______________________ FAST GUIDE | Spring cleaning -- IT Style Winter is over and it's time to clean out your car, your closets and yes -- your computer. We've gathered information to help you organize your files, clear the clutter from your hard drive and physically clean your hardware. http://searchcio.techtarget.com/infoCenter/tip/0,294276,sid19_gci958666_tax296044,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 ______________________ SECRET WORD-OF-THE-DAY | What is IT? A new term for a new phenomenon: a group of strangers organized by electronic media, who gather together in a public place, behave in a pre-determined (and often silly) manner for a pre-determined amount of time, and quickly disperse. Do you think you know the Secret Word? Click to see if you're right! http://searchmobilecomputing.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid40_gci916705,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291 ______________________ HOROSCOPES FOR GEEKS | April Find out what the stars have in store for you this month! http://searchcio.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid19_gci919205,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 ______________________ DO YOU SPEAK GEEK? | Database II Take a quick quiz and see how many database-related terms you know! http://searchdatabase.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid13_gci768715,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 ______________________ CAREER CENTER | Dice.com Looking for a new job? Visit the WhatIs.com Career Center powered by Dice and find over 37,000 tech positions to choose from. And get the career resources you need to set yourself apart from other job seekers. Find training and certification resources, get help with your resume and more. Visit today! http://whatis.techtarget.com/dice/0,294542,sid9,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967&Offer=dicewhssrp34 ______________________________ RECENT ADDITIONS AND UPDATES (1) broadcast flag http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/0,,sid9_gci959980,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 (2) virtual desktop manager http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci959452,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 (3) false acceptance http://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid14_gci959444,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 (4) point-of-presence http://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid7_gci212802,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 (5) paid inclusion http://searchwebservices.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci958057,00.html?track=NL-34&ad=481291&ad=481190&ad=480967 ____________________________________________________________________ ::::::::::::::::::: WHATIS.COM CONTACTS ::::::::::::::::::: MARGARET ROUSE, Site Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) IVY WIGMORE, Consulting Editor ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) LOWELL THING, Consulting Editor and Founder ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) GABRIELLE DERUSSY, Advertising ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) ::::::::::::::::::::: ABOUT THIS NEWSLETTER :::::::::::::::::::::: This e-newsletter is published by WhatIs.com, a targeted Web site from TechTarget, the most targeted IT media and events company. 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