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Zhonka
Hosts Leadership Training Group - posted Nov. 28, 2005
This
November, Zhonka hosted a group of participants from "LEAD,"
a charitable program of the Thurston County Chamber Foundation
aimed at building community networks and leadership skills for
up-and-coming leaders from both public and private sectors.
Zhonka
founders, Jacob Stewart and Dave Olson were asked to address
a variety of topics including sustainability, regulatory struggles,
community involvement, and personal background. The participants
- who spanned industries from banking to government work - asked
specific questions about critical business development topics
and Internet-industry veterans Stewart and Olson provided a
colorful history while showing the group around the Olympia
data-center.
In
this the second year of participation, LEAD Program Coordinator
Betsy Pozzanghera sent along a card of thanks and included some
comments from program participants:
Dear
Dave, Jay et al,
Thanks again! Great, great experience for our small group of
up-and-coming leaders. Your business visit scored the highest
possible - 5.00! here is some specific and general feedback
; " [Zhonka] Loved these guys!" and, "I really
liked the computer dudes. They were passionate about what they
do and were very open to discussing all aspects of their business."
Also a good take-home is, "The businesses seem to be more
concerned about the community themed would have guessed."
Thanks Much - Betsy
Contact:
Dave Olson, Minister of Marketing Affairs, Zhonka Broadband
- 360-515-3334,
Betsy Pozzanghera, 360.357.8515, LTC@ThurstonChamber.com
##
Internet
Users Better Protected With Two New Bills - Press Release –
May 20, 2005
House Bill
1012 signing ceremony - L to R: Dave Olson, Zhonka Broadband;
Jacob Stewart, Washington Association of ISPs, Governor Christine
Gregiore; Kevin Miller, Zhonka Broadband Intern, Unidentified,
Hunter Goodman, Assistant Attorney General -Photo purchased
from House of Representatives
Many
misleading e-mails and malicious attachments are now illegal
after Governor Christine Gregoire signed two House bills designed
to eliminate "Spyware" and "Phishing."
New
guidelines for distributing and installing software in hopes
of decreasing Spyware are specified in HB1021, signed into law
on May 17th. Often delivered as e-mail attachments or installed
along with free software, these malicious software programs
are secretly installed on unprotected computers. Once installed,
Spyware inundates the victim’s computer with pornographic
pop-up ads and windows with bogus security warnings, without
any means to remove or de-activate the ads.
In
other scenarios, “Malware” programs perform more
nefarious activities such as installing a “Trojan”
program, by which the intruder gains control of the infected
computer. The compromised computer is then used as a "zombie"
to deliver infected e-mail or propagating the Spyware through
Trojan and Worms. Alternatively, the infected computers may
host Phishing sites or even participate in denial of service
attacks against other websites.
HB1888,
signed May 5th, prohibits sending e-mail soliciting personal
information using fraudulent means such as misrepresentation.
In a practice commonly called Phishing, a fraudster sends massive
quantities of e-mail purporting to be from major bank, well-known
websites, or credit card providers seeking account "clarifications"
or "updates." Unsuspecting users who respond to the
invalid inquiries are taken to spoofed websites that may look
identical to legitimate sites. Once they reveal sensitive information,
they easily fall victim to identity theft and credit card fraud,
often without knowledge how they’ve been duped.
With
the two laws, the Attorney General’s office will have
a new tool to combat this sophisticated fraud. Hunter Goodman,
Assistant Attorney General and Director of Legislative Affairs
points out, "Spyware and phishing are two of the most destructive
tactics used by thieves to obtain private personal information
from citizens online, and these two new laws will be a tremendous
help in our efforts to protect the public from online fraud."
This
cycle of junk-mail and computer compromise is a burden on Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) who process the excess junk e-mail
and experience increased customer support. Dave Olson, of Olympia's
Zhonka Broadband, points out, "In some cases, we need to
contact customers who are unwittingly sending out junk mail
from an infected computer - they are usually surprised and then
frustrated about the clean up work." Olson also says that
Zhonka encourages a proactive approach to computer protection
and maintains a list of prevention resources on the company's
website.
Washington
Association of Internet Service Providers' Jacob Stewart applauds
the law saying, "This is a great step in providing relief
for Internet users beleaguered by junk mail and mal-ware."
But Stewart also offers a practical word of caution, "Due
to the de-centralized nature of the Internet, the Washington
State law may face enforcement and jurisdiction issues hence
users need to continue to use vigilance in protecting their
networks.”
Additional
Information:
Honeynet Project and Research Alliance, “Know your Enemy:
Phishing; Behind the Scenes of Phishing Attacks” http://www.honeynet.org/papers/phishing/
House Bill 1888 signing ceremony - L to R: Dave Olson, Zhonka
Broadband; Governor Christine Gregiore; Jacob Stewart, Washington
Association of ISPs; Hunter Goodman, Assistant Attorney General
Photo purchased from House of Representatives
SEATTLE
AND OLYMPIA NAMED MOST CONNECTED CITIES - 5/2/2005
Popular Science magazine’s recent list of in a list of
Top Hi-Tech Cities ranked Seattle and Olympia number one and
two respectively in the “Connected Citizenry” category.
Read full press release or download
.pdf.
NEW
BILL KEEPS THE INTERNET TAX-FREE - 4/30/04
During the recent Legislative session, local Internet businesses
and industry groups supported a bill to keep Internet services
tax-free, in Washington at least. Read
full press release or download
.pdf.
SB 6259
bill signing on March 26 2004
(L to R:
Dave Olson of Zhonka Broadband; Governor Gary Locke; Jacob Stewart
& Gary Gardner, Washington Association of Internet Service Providers
(WAISP))
Download large uncompressed
.jpg (340K) or B&W
version (344K)
FREE
WI-FI IS THE "SOUP DU JOUR" FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES - 4/6/04
As part of Zhonka Broadband`s unique "Surfbreak" program, innovative
businesses around the Puget Sound are serving up free wireless
Internet access for customers. Read
full press release or download
.pdf.
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also: News
Articles
