Enterprise software provider TechnologyOne has appointed Paul MacRae as general manager for human resources and payroll - not to run those internal functions, but to lead the strategic direction of research and development, customer support, sales, marketing and consulting services across the human resources and payroll business line.

Computer security company AVG has launched an Australian and New Zealand version of its online quiz aimed at getting small and medium businesses to at least start thinking about their online security rather than continue to blithely offer themselves as sacrifices on the altar of computer crime.

Symantec.cloud, the newly branded MessageLabs business, which is gearing up to offer more of its products on a software as a service basis, will offer Australian enterprise users access to a local data centre – for a premium.

Symantec is preparing to launch a social network that will allow the users of its products to share amongst themselves intelligence about emerging computing threats.

If you are in the habit of checking on the Internet to see how your sporting team is performing, or having an occasional online flutter on the horses, or some other gamble while at work, then you may be in for a rude shock.

Spam levels in Australia are going through the roof, increasing by two percent to 92.7 percent of all emails received by business, and higher than the global average.

New botnets are reportedly causing more havoc on the Internet, with botnets now responsible for sending 87.9 percent of all spam, including one of the oldest and largest botnets which has doubled in size in just four months.

Australia has dropped like a stone from its number one spot as the country receiving the most virus-infected emails to number 12 in the world, but our level of spam activity is still above the global average despite Australian spam activity decreasing by two percent this month.

There’s been a huge rise in the use of shortened URLs by spammers which poses a greater security threat to Internet users, including those accessing popular social network sites like Twitter.

Spam levels remain at 90 percent, according to security provider Symantec. But the situation would have worsened if a major botnet hadn't suffered downtime during June.