Cognio's spectrum intelligence technology to enhance, complement Cisco's Unified Wireless Network vision

SAN JOSE, Calif. - September 18, 2007 - Cisco® today announced a definitive agreement to purchase Germantown, MD-based Cognio, Inc., the market leader in wireless spectrum analysis and management for wireless networks.

Cognio's industry-leading spectrum technology enhances performance, reliability and security of wireless networks by detecting, classifying, locating and mitigating sources of radio frequency (RF) interference. The acquisition will provide Cisco with complementary and differentiating technology, intellectual property and a core team to expand Cisco's leadership in unified wireless networking.

Wireless and mobility are becoming mission critical components of today's networks, with businesses viewing the wireless spectrum as a strategic corporate asset. Businesses now require robust, next generation wireless networks to support the unprecedented growth of wireless devices and the increased reliance on mobility applications. Cognio's spectrum intelligence solution enables network managers to proactively manage their wireless spectrum and minimize RF interference for an optimal user experience.

"With a strong product and technology portfolio and consistent innovation from a talented group of engineers, Cognio has emerged as the leader in spectrum intelligence technology," said Brett Galloway, vice president and general manager of the Wireless Networking Business Unit, Cisco. "Wireless spectrum is a strategic asset for our customers, and its management is key to the robust delivery of mobility applications. Cognio's innovation in spectrum intelligence will help ensure Cisco continues to differentiate our ability to deliver our customers rich and dependable end-user mobility experiences."

The Cognio acquisition complements Cisco developed technology as well as expertise from other acquisitions that Cisco has made in the wireless networking space. This acquisition will expedite the delivery of industry-changing capabilities and is consistent with how Cisco uses business development strategies to move into new markets or to gain new technologies. Cisco classifies wireless networking as a Cisco Advanced Technology -- one of six -- with application networking services, home networking, security, storage networking and unified communications being the others.

The Cognio acquisition is subject to various standard closing conditions and is expected to close in the first quarter of Cisco's 2008 fiscal year. Upon the close of the acquisition, Cisco plans to integrate Cognio into its Wireless Networking Business Unit, under the Ethernet and Wireless Technology Group.

The Cognio acquisition will be No. 122 for Cisco and the first one in fiscal year 2008.

Complete Security and Networking Tools

This is what almost computer geek want. 175 Security and network monitoring tools in one package. Good News is its completely Freeware. Yes its freeware i love freeware. imagine if you have to pay fo 175 Software. That coss a lot. So spend your money for your girlfriends. Make she feel happy. Stop mumbling.

Lets take look what inside this freeware called Net Tools.
Net Tools 5.0.70
All-in-one network and system toolkit

1. IP Address Scanner
2. IP Calculator
3. IP Converter
4. Port Listener
5. Port Scanner
6. Ping
7. NetStat (2 ways)
8. Trace Route (2 ways)
9. TCP/IP Configuration
10. Online - Offline Checker
11. Resolve Host & IP
12. Time Sync
13. Whois & MX Lookup
14. Connect0r
15. Connection Analysator and protector
16. Net Sender
17. E-mail seeker
18. Net Pager
19. Active and Passive port scanner
20. Spoofer
21. Hack Trapper
22. HTTP flooder (DoS)
23. Mass Website Visiter
24. Advanced Port Scanner
25. Trojan Hunter (Multi IP)
26. Port Connecter Tool
27. Advanced Spoofer
28. Advanced Anonymous E-mailer
29. Simple Anonymous E-mailer
30. Anonymous E-mailer with Attachment Support
31. Mass E-mailer
32. E-mail Bomber
33. E-mail Spoofer
34. Simple Port Scanner (fast)
35. Advanced Netstat Monitoring
36. X Pinger
37. Web Page Scanner
38. Fast Port Scanner
39. Deep Port Scanner
40. Fastest Host Scanner (UDP)
41. Get Header
42. Open Port Scanner
43. Multi Port Scanner
44. HTTP scanner (Open port 80 subnet scanner)
45. Multi Ping for Cisco Routers
46. TCP Packet Sniffer
47. UDP flooder
48. Resolve and Ping
49. Multi IP ping
50. File Dependency Sniffer
51. EXE-joiner (bind 2 files)
52. Encrypter
53. Advanced Encryption
54. File Difference Engine
55. File Comparasion
56. Mass File Renamer
57. Add Bytes to EXE
58. Variable Encryption
59. Simple File Encryption
60. ASCII to Binary (and Binary to ASCII)
61. Enigma
62. Password Unmasker
63. Credit Card Number Validate and Generate
64. Create Local HTTP Server
65. eXtreme UDP Flooder
66. Web Server Scanner
67. Force Reboot
68. Webpage Info Seeker
69. Bouncer
70. Advanced Packet Sniffer
71. IRC server creater
72. Connection Tester
73. Fake Mail Sender
74. Bandwidth Monitor
75. Remote Desktop Protocol Scanner
76. MX Query
77. Messenger Packet Sniffer
78. API Spy
79. DHCP Restart
80 File Merger
81. E-mail Extractor (crawler / harvester bot)
82. Open FTP Scanner
83. Advanced System Locker
84 Advanced System Information
85. CPU Monitor
86 Windows Startup Manager
87. Process Checker
88. IP String Collecter
89. Mass Auto-Emailer (Database mailer; Spammer)
90. Central Server (Base Server; Echo Server; Time Server; Telnet Server; HTTP Server; FTP Server)
91. Fishing Port Scanner (with named ports)
92. Mouse Record / Play Automation (Macro Tool)
93. Internet / LAN Messenger Chat (Server + Client)
94. Timer Shutdown/Restart/Log Off/Hibernate/Suspend/ Control
95. Hash MD5 Checker
96. Port Connect - Listen tool
97. Internet MAC Address Scanner (Multiple IP)
98. Connection Manager / Monitor
99. Direct Peer Connecter (Send/Receive files + chat)
100. Force Application Termination (against Viruses and Spyware)
101. Easy and Fast Screenshot Maker (also Web Hex Color Picker)
102. COM Detect and Test
103. Create Virtual Drives
104. URL Encoder
105. WEP/WPA Key Generator
106. Sniffer.NET
107. File Shredder
108. Local Access Enumerater
109. Steganographer (Art of hiding secret data in pictures)
110. Subnet Calculater
111. Domain to IP (DNS)
112. Get SNMP Variables
113. Internet Explorer Password Revealer
114. Advanced Multi Port Scanner
115. Port Identification List (+port scanner)
116. Get Quick Net Info
117. Get Remote MAC Address
118. Share Add
119. Net Wanderer
120. WhoIs Console
121. Cookies Analyser
122. Hide Secret Data In Files
123. Packet Generator
124. Secure File Splitting
125. My File Protection (Password Protect Files, File Injections)
126. Dynamic Switch Port Mapper
127. Internet Logger (Log URL)
128. Get Whois Servers
129. File Split&Merge
130. Hide Drive
131. Extract E-mails from Documents
132. Net Tools Mini (Client/Server, Scan, ICMP, Net Statistics, Interactive, Raw Packets, DNS, Whois, ARP, Computer's IP, Wake On LAN)
133. Hook Spy
134. Software Uninstaller
135. Tweak & Clean XP
136. Steganographic Random Byte Encryption
137. NetTools Notepad (encrypt your sensitive data)
138. File Encrypter/Decrypter
139. Quick Proxy Server
140. Connection Redirector (HTTP, IRC, ... All protocols supported)
141. Local E-mail Extractor
142. Recursive E-mail Extractor
143. Outlook Express E-mail Extractor
144. Telnet Client
145. Fast Ip Catcher
146. Monitor Host IP
147. FreeMAC (MAC Address Editor)
148. QuickFTP Server (+user accounts support)
149. NetTools Macro Recorder/Player (Keybord and Mouse Hook)
150. Network Protocol Analyzer
151. Steganographic Tools (Picture, Sounds, ZIP Compression and Misc Methods)
152. WebMirror (Website Ripper)
153. GeoLocate IP
154. Google PageRank Calculator
155. Google Link Crawler (Web Result Grabber)
156. Network Adapter Binder
157. Remote LAN PC Lister
158. Fast Sinusoidal Encryption
159. Software Scanner
160. Fast FTP Client
161. Network Traffic Analysis
162. Network Traffic Visualiser
163. Internet Protocol Scanner
164. Net Meter (Bandwidth Traffic Meter)
165. Net Configuration Switcher
166. Advanced System Hardware Info
167. Live System Information
168. Network Profiler
169. Network Browser
170. Quick Website Maker and Web Gallery Creator
171. Remote PC Shutdown
172. Serial Port Terminal
173. Standard Encryptor
174. Tray Minimizer
175. Extra Tools (Check Out Yourself)

Net Tools requires Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0

Download hereA bunch of tools ha!

Check out yourselfDownload Net Tools

Juniper and Symantec security alliance to challenge Cisco

The recent announcement of an alliance between Juniper Networks Inc and Symantec Corp in the area of security means they will present a united front, particularly against Cisco Systems Inc.

The two Californian companies, Juniper from Sunnyvale and Symantec from Cupertino, recently announced what they call "a broad strategic partnership" in security, involving joint development of unified threat management (UTM) appliances, intrusion-prevention systems, and network access control.

The two are heavyweights in their respective areas, and though they compete today in firewall/VPN, NAC and IDS/IPS, they are both major competitors to Cisco, a factor that clearly forms the backdrop to this alliance.

Depending on the analyst firm, Juniper is either number two or three in the carrier routing market behind Cisco. The other player is Alcatel, which some analysts rank above Juniper whose efforts to break into the enterprise market with its J-Series routers had a tepid reception, so two years ago it adopted a different tack, and spent $4bn to acquire firewall/VPN, SSL VPN and IDS/IPS upstart NetScreen.

Earlier this year it began to move into UTM appliances, which are multi-function security appliances aimed primarily at the branch and remote office environment, adding a routing capability to offer what some analysts are calling a branch-in-a-box, or BiaB, product: its Integrated Security Gateway portfolio. The products compete directly with Cisco's Integrated Services Router and Adaptive Security Appliance product lines, which use some perimeter security functionality from Symantec competitor Trend Micro.

Meanwhile, Symantec last year acquired Sygate, taking the AV heavyweight into endpoint security where Cisco has its Network Admission Control offering and Juniper its Unified Access Control.

However, rather than continuing to compete in isolation against the networking giant, the two are now pooling their NAC technologies and working within the context of the standards-based approach by the Trusted Computing Group, based on its Trusted Network Connect spec, which they both want to drive to avoid Cisco dominance of this emerging space.

Equally, Cisco has just unveiled a collaboration with Microsoft Corp to make its NAC interoperate with the Microsoft's Network Access Protection technology that is due to appear in Vista and Longhorn. This clearly behoves Symantec and Juniper to drive TNC-based NAC harder now before it is rendered irrelevant by a de facto standard represented by the Cisco NAC/Microsoft NAP coupling.

Another recent development that is also a factor here is EMC's June $2.1bn acquisition of authentication vendor RSA. Market rumors suggested EMC swooped on RSA before another major player got there, with Symantec the name most commonly bandied about. Since its merger/acquisition of storage software heavyweight Veritas last year, Symantec has been butting heads directly with EMC's own software division. Industry insiders say that with RSA providing some encryption technology used in EMC's arrays, the prospect of the token authentication vendor falling into the hands of Symantec was unpalatable.

However, that move also left Symantec in edge security (anti-X, content filtering, firewall/VPN, and IDS/IPS) with a play in the core (NAC), but needing to beef up its offering in the latter, which is one of the areas the alliance with Juniper seeks to address.

While Juniper has been getting into UTM this year, Symantec a couple of month ago made a hazy announcement that it was exiting, or at least de-emphasizing the appliance market, a move which the announcement with Juniper throws into a new light. Rather than go it alone on UTM box development, Symantec sees benefits to riding in with its technology on Juniper's hardware, leveraging both their channels to get to market.

On the back end, both companies have research teams sitting in network operation centers around the world, monitoring screens for threats and exploits. Juniper has its J-Security Team and Symantec the Global Intelligence Network, collaboration between which should in theory enable more a comprehensive service of security info feeds to common customers.

Symantec is already a significant security services player, and another recent relevant development is that IBM's Global Services arm recently acquired IDS/IPS pioneer ISS, whose recent business strategy had been all about populating its customer's networks with its Proventia security appliances, then selling the info feeds to them as part of an overall services play.

The Symantec/Juniper partnership looks similar in approach, at least in terms of the U and IPS strains of the announcement, while the NAC part appears to be a way of gaining mindshare and market share to compete with Cisco. Joint developments in all three areas will give the partners a portfolio to rival that of Cisco in security, even though neither company is currently in Ethernet switching, which is still the largest single contributor to the networking giant's $29bn annual revenue. However, there are persistent rumors of a project deep within Juniper to develop a low-cost switching line based on Marvell silicon for launch in the second half of 2007.

Cisco adds NAC to ISR, updates endpoint recognition

Network access control (NAC) has been hyped as the network-based security to end 'em all, but NAC adoption has been somewhat stagnant because, many experts claim, it is quite complex or just too immature.

Cisco, however, hopes to change that. The networking giant announced today that it's releasing a Network Admission Control module for its widely popular Integrated Services Router (ISR) -- which has more than 3 million deployed to date -- in hopes of getting NAC into more locations, namely branch offices.

The Cisco NAC Network Module for ISRs is a modular security solution that is integrated into the network infrastructure. It authenticates, authorizes, evaluates and remediates remote user machines connected via wired or wireless links, prior to granting them access to corporate networks. The NAC module for the ISR, designed for branch offices, thwarts potential threats and vulnerabilities locally before they're sent over the WAN to prevent them from entering the network, said Fred Kost, director of security solutions for Cisco.

The module includes all of the features of the Cisco NAC Appliance Server and is supported by the Cisco 2800 and 3800 Series ISRs. It enforces security policy on networked devices such as Windows, Mac and Linux machines; laptops; desktops; PDAs; printers; and IP phones.

The NAC module works in concert with firewalls, intrusion-prevention systems and VPNs to round out the security offered in the ISR, giving branches a secure infrastructure.

Kost said the module is designed for branches and office locations that don't have the time or resources to manage separate security solutions in addition to the routing infrastructure.

According to Ladi Adefala, security practice manager with systems integrator and Cisco partner World Wide Technologies, adding the NAC module to the ISR has the potential to give branches more bang for their buck when they are working with limited management and financial resources.

"From the administrator standpoint, the user is empowered with that all-in-one solution for the branch office," Adefala said. "You get the same level of security on the endpoints, and you get it with something less complex."

A modular NAC approach eliminates the need to devise new solutions around how to centralize management of security at a time when a lot of enterprises are focusing on centralization, he said.

"Aside from streamlining our management, the NAC ISR module allows us to concentrate our security efforts within the network itself," Adefala said. "It gives us an opportunity to offer our customers more synergy between their network and security as well."

Moreover, he added, eliminating the complexity should make NAC as a whole more marketable and affordable.

"You want to make sure whatever level of security you have at headquarters is carried over to branch offices, and this does that," he said.

Andrew Braunberg, research director with Current Analysis, agreed that putting NAC capabilities in the ISR brings more visibility to the edge, where it's needed most.

"The fact that they're going to be able to push NAC capabilities out to the branch makes sense," he said. "Logically and physically it makes sense to put them together."

Braunberg said he questions whether or not the NAC module for ISR is a step toward or away from Cisco's trying to marry both the NAC appliance and the CNAC framework, which has been rumored to be in the works for more than a year.

Along with the ISR module, Cisco enhanced its NAC Appliance Server by offering the Cisco NAC Profiler, an endpoint-recognition technology that keeps an inventory of networked devices so they can be evaluated before and during sessions on the network. The Profiler boosts the ability of networked devices that aren't associated with particular users to be identified, authenticated and then granted or denied network access. Devices that are unassociated with a particular user include printers, IP phones, wireless access points, sensors and medical devices. The Profiler also performs continuous behavioral assessments for post-admission access control.

"The Cisco NAC Profiler arrives at a time when businesses are supporting growing numbers of devices critical to operations and productivity," said a Cisco statement. "The NAC Profiler addresses the growing complexity of protecting an increasingly diverse array of networked devices by taking an in-depth and automated inventory and enabling actions to be taken based on their behavior."

NAC Profiler, which stems from an OEM agreement with Great Bay Software, consists of a software update on the NAC Appliance Server, and the NAC Profiler Server pulls information from the NAC Appliance Server and sends it to the management console, according to Brendan O'Connell, Cisco's NAC product marketing manager.

"It's about making sure a device is what it claims to be," O'Connell said, adding that in the past, devices like printers, copiers and other IP-addressed devices weren't assessed by NAC tools. "It's gathering information about the networked endpoint to ensure it's doing what it should be doing."

Braunberg agreed. "This does all of the heavy lifting of making sure there's an updated list of these non-responsive hosts," he said. "Since it can look at the behavior from a particular address, you can know what that device is supposed to be and what it's supposed to be doing. That can help considerably."

Huawei constructs All IP Network for QSC in Germany

Carrier deploys Huawei's award-winning Multi-Service Control Gateway ME60


[Berlin, Germany 28 August 2007] Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei), a leader in providing next generation telecommunications network solutions for operators around the world, today announced that it has accomplished the installation of its multi-service control gateways (MSCG) ME60, in the All IP network of German leading telecommunications provider QSC AG.

The ME60 is a next-generation multi-service edge solution designed to meet the challenges in the transformation toward a customer-centric All IP architecture network for multi-play applications. The ME60 offers a perfect QoS mechanism to help QSC deploy services more quickly at highly reliable levels and achieve intensive service operations. It also provides QSC with a unified operation platform for services and applications, reducing the capital and operational expenditure of its broadband network. After a strict test and selection process, QSC chose Huawei as a partner to build up its All IP network.

QSC is one of the leading fixed network carriers in Germany. Its broadband network is accessible nationwide in Germany and offers voice and data services to business- and private customers. QSC also provides other carriers and internet service providers with wholesale services.

In 2006 QSC has founded Plusnet GmbH & Co. KG. This "network manufactory", now a joint venture between QSC and TELE2, plans, builds and operates QSC's next generation network.

"Huawei owns advanced technologies and rich experiences in telecoms market in data communication field, our cooperation with Huawei on MSCG is a good start. We will join hands with Huawei to provide higher-quality service experience for our users." said Mr. Eivind Dugstad, Managing Director Plusnet GmbH & Co KG.

"We are pleased to see Huawei MSCG devices recognized by leading European carriers such as QSC," commented Chen Junhua, president of Huawei's data communications product line. "Huawei's data communications product line has always been devoted to serving the needs of carrier markets by offering its vast technology resources and extensive network construction experience to customers. Huawei will continue to focus on customers' demands and help QSC build up operable, maintainable and manageable broadband networks."

Huawei ME60 was awarded the 2006 InfoVision Award by the International Engineering Consortium for its innovative contribution to the industry. The ME60 has been successfully rolled out across the networks of over 70 carriers in more than 30 countries, such as China Telecom, Vodafone New Zealand, and provides over 60 million users worldwide with communications services.