Someday, Alvaro Albarracin may step back and smile when he thinks about how he guided his company through the dot-com implosion of the past two years. Of course, that would require looking back, and Mr. Albarracin prefers looking ahead. He is already focused on the next move for Dialtone Internet Inc., the privately held company he founded in 1998. We want to be the number 1 managed hosting provider in the world, says the 33-year-old entrepreneur. Wed like to merge with or acquire other companies so we can scale faster. That may sound like a tall order for a company that grossed $7.9 million in sales last year, but given Mr. Albarracins track record, it could well prove achievable. He started his company as a one-man virtual Web-hosting firm in the bedroom of his home in suburban Miami. He and his wife, Madelyn, and their two young children had just moved into a four-bedroom home, and he convinced her that the extra bedroom could be an office.

Sun backs Web 2.0 startups

Sun Microsystems has put its weight behind up and coming web 2.0 companies with the launched this week of a new initiative designed to provide UK startups with discounts on Sun technology and services.

"They will also get free technical support – the idea is to help startups make good decisions up front so as their needs go up they can sustain higher traffic," said Sun's Juan Carlos Soto.

Malware writers exploring Software as a Service model

The business of writing, buying, and selling malware has become increasingly commercial over the past few years, but a new report from online security firm Finjan sheds light on just how mainstream the crimeware business has gone. Earlier this month, the company discovered a small, standalone application gathering data on over 8,700 servers, including web sites from 2,500 North American companies and a handful of sites in Alexa's top 100 ranking. Potential buyers were able to log into the malicious server hosting the data-gathering service and evaluate any given web site's size and Google Page Rank to decide whether or not the site's FTP information was worth purchasing or not.

The concept of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) is nothing new, but this is the first time anyone has organized the purchase of FTP login credentials, with additional tools available to help a buyer confirm he's making a smart purchase.

Moniker.com to Hold Premium Domain Name Auction at PubCon Las Vegas ...

POMPANO BEACH, Fla., Nov. 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Moniker, the first and only provider of Domain Asset Management(TM) services, today announced that it will be hosting the first live and online auctions of premium domain names during PubCon Las Vegas 2007, the Search Engine & Internet Marketing Conference, on Wednesday, December 5 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. PubCon Las Vegas 2007 runs December 4 through December 7, 2007 and is the premiere educational conference and industry trade show programmed specifically for web professionals and website owners.

"Moniker.com is excited to bring its premiere live and online domain name auctions to PubCon Las Vegas 2007," said Monte Cahn, co founder and CEO of Moniker.com.

LeaseWeb Launches Windows Express Server

Business hosting provider LeaseWeb, in collaboration with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), has announced a new low-cost dedicated hosting service targeted at small and midsize businesses. LeaseWeb Dedicated Windows Express Server allows customers to be online within 24 hours with a proprietary start-up server and broadband package.

Sun turns to Neil Diamond for Amazon utility 'killer'

Here's Sun Microsystems. Ahead of the curve with utility computing? Check. Interested in gaining the business of today's internet companies? Big check. Full of server-side software skills? Check. Behind Amazon.com of all companies in actually putting these things together as a product or service companies can buy? Yep.

Trend Micro Sees Growth of Underground Cybercrime Economy

CUPERTINO, Calif., Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated TSE: 4704, a global leader in Internet content security, published today its 2007 Threat Report and 2008 Forecast.

An underground malware industry has carved itself a thriving market by exploiting the trust and confidence of Web users. The Russian Business Network, for example, was notorious all year for hosting illegal businesses including child pornography, phishing and malware distribution sites.

The Joy of Commuting and Other Stuff

Why do weather Web sites list the current temperature and then right next to it say "feels like" another temp? And the numbers are usually very close. Do they do this so they can cover their butts if they are way off? Here's what AccuWeather has on its Web site for the temp in NYC right now: 44°F RealFeel® 38°F Weather.com 44 Feels like 39 Does a meterologist stand outside with a thermometer, get a reading and then look to a colleague and say, "I don't know. It says 49, but I really think it feels like 47. What do you think?" If only this scale applied to other situations in life. "Your coffee is $1.75." "But it feels like it should cost $1.57." "The scale says I weigh 143." "But I really feel 129" In case you're wondering, Weather.com says it's currently 77 degrees in Los Angeles and feels like...77! Hmmm.

Vista SP1 still vulnerable to speech recognition ‘analog’ hole

A little more than a year ago, Sebastian Krahmer posted a question on the Dailydave security mailing list whether Vista's speech recognition was exploitable or not via malicious sound files that could be hosted on websites. I was the first to answer his call with some initial skepticism but that turned in to astonishment when I ran some tests that confirmed the vulnerability. Stories ran a few months ago before the finalization of Vista Service Pack 1 that SP1 would close this speech recognition vulnerability but I couldn't get any confirmation or denial from Microsoft after multiple queries. I finally got tired of waiting and decided to test the exploit again with Vista SP1 RTM installed and found that the vulnerability still exists.

The test sound file I created managed to wake Vista speech recognition, highlight all the files on my desktop or all my pictures via Windows Explorer, and invoke the shift-delete command which wipes the files without the ability to undelete from the Recycle Bin.

Culture Calendar

Visit www.elmhurst.edu/calendar.

"pHrenzy": Improvisational show runs at 7:30 p.m. March 12 in the Philip Lynch Theater on Lewis University's main campus on Route 53 in Romeoville. Tickets are $10. Call 815-836-5500.

"Pilobolus": Part acrobatics, part modern dance, the dance troupe will perform at the Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora, at 8 p.m. March 14. Tickets $47 to $57. Call 630-896-6666 or visit theparamounttheatre.com. "Flanagan's Wake": Performances start at 8:30 p.m. Fridays; 6 and 9 p.m. Saturdays; and 2:30 p.m. Sundays, through March 29 at Pheasant Run Resort, 4051 E. Main St., St. Charles. Tickets are $27. Call 630-584-6342 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. Visit www.noblefool.org.

"An Inspector Calls": Performances start at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m.

Rockingham Tweaks Its Redistricting Plans

ELKTON — The Rockingham County School Board will hold yet another hearing on school redistricting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 6, at Montevideo Middle School.

"The new plan reflected the bulk of concerns; they gave the people what they wanted," added Tomasi, whose children would have been shifted from the Montevideo area schools to the new school complex at Elkton, as well as Elkton Middle School.