Mysterious Briefcase Found Outside Houston Area Post Office

BROOKSIDE VILLAGE -- Police this morning found a black briefcase near the outside dropboxes at the Brookside Village post office. The locked briefcase was examined by bomb squads for more than three hours before it was determined to be non-explosive.

"The bag may not be explosive, but that doesn't mean its discovery isn't," said Sgt. Raymond Edwards. "We've been looking for clues in the case of the Evans Business Solutions data theft, and this could be just the lead we've been seeking," explained Edwards. But when pressed for more detailed information, he points out that "it could also just be an old bag that someone wanted to get rid of. It's really too early to tell."

Whether a key lead or a luggage has-been, the bag caused quite a stir because of its  proximity to the Johnson Space Center. While not right next door, it was still close enough to cause anti-terrorism measures to be set into motion.

Details are being closely guarded by police, but The Houston Record has learned that a number of airline tags were attached to the handle, including one with the letters SFO.

The bag is being transported to an area forensics lab for examination. Police said that they plan to open the bag once it is secured in the lab.

Holiday Donations Down for Third Consecutive Year

NORTH HOUSTON -- Officials report that for the third year running, holiday donations were down. Most agree that the long-running economic slump is most likely responsible for the less generous nature of the community, but others worry that there could be other underlying reasons for hanging on to money.





Many needy families depend upon donations from the public in order to provide any kind of holiday gifts and food for their children.



"We're a country built on helping others," said Sandra Black, a volunteer with Certain Santa, a local organization that helps underprivileged children.

"There has been a noticeable shift in attitudes over the past decade with more and more people taking an insular position," explained Black. "In other words, where people use to watch out for one another and take care of the society as a whole, we're now seeing people stop caring about others and the society. As long as they get what they want [that's] all that counts."

Social experts worry that, as the divide between the "haves" and "have-nots" widens, such attitudes as described by Black could cause irreparable damage to the American social fabric.

Black encourages people to step back and look at those around them with an understanding eye. "You might be surprised at what you see."

Setting an Example
Not all area individuals and business are keeping wallets closed. Many remain generous even in tight times. One such company is Evans Business Solutions, a local software company that is a strong supporter of Certain Santa. This year Evans donated $250,000 to the charity.

"We believe in taking care of the community," said president Tina Evans. "Times are tough all around, but that's when it's more important than ever to make sure everyone is taken care of."

Black said that the annual contribution from Evans is vital to the success of Certain Santa. "We couldn't do it without Evans and other great companies like Pinewood Printing and Great Harvest Food. We're fortunate to have a business community here that gives back to the city."

Certain Santa is only one of many charities that depend on community support to provide services to the needy. Consider giving what you can to help others and show why our city is such a great place to live.

If you do not live in the Houston area, consider looking into various charities in your hometown and do what you can to make certain that the less fortunate in our society are taken care of.

CGI Fights Viruses with StandGuard Anti-Virus

DALLAS, TX -- CGI Group Inc., an international corporation for which data integrity is of highest priority, has fortified its security by installing the world’s first and only server-based virus detection product designed for the IBM iSeries computers. The application, StandGuard Anti-Virus developed by Bytware Inc., integrates with a suite of other Bytware applications that CGI already had been using in its Dallas-area data center, as well as in its Canadian data centers.

CGI, headquartered in Canada, is the fifth largest independent information technology services firm in North America. The firm provides a broad scope of IT and business process management services, including IT strategic planning, finance administration and facilities management— encompassing data and call centers, network administration, and application development, integration and support. CGI works with government agencies and utilities as well as with financial services, telecommunications, manufacturing, retail, distribution and healthcare industries.

CGI relies heavily on security products to maintain the integrity of its client data. All employees in CGI’s Dallas facility have government security clearances.

Bob Allison, senior iSeries AS/400 systems administrator at CGI Inc., says the installation of StandGuard Anti-Virus is a reflection of the company’s commitment to "due diligence" in preventing intrusion and contamination problems.

"The addition of StandGuard Anti-Virus was purely a business decision to help us maintain our edge in the market. We want our clients to be able to trust their data with us and use our services without fear of intrusion," explains Allison.

While virus-induced damage to the AS/400 has never been documented, the iSeries Integrated File System (IFS) theoretically can store viruses and easily spread them to client PCs by virtue of the compatibility between the iSeries and Windows servers. The IFS is routinely used in TCP/IP functions and when running Websphere, Domino, Lotus Notes, and Client Access applications.

Viruses inadvertently can be introduced into the IFS not only through e-mail attachments, but also by an employee downloading a file from the Internet, by someone accessing the network within company facilities using a laptop computer, or through an infected CD, DVD or other removable media. PC-based scanning utilities, unfortunately, don’t protect the IFS.

CGI has eliminated the possibility of virus propagation across the IFS with the addition of StandGuard Anti-Virus, which runs natively on the iSeries. StandGuard Anti-Virus incorporates McAfee’s advanced scanning engine, which detects and cleans macro, script and encrypted viruses as well as worms, “Trojan horses” and other malicious code within compressed files, executable files and OLE compound documents.

Get more information about CGI and its use of StandGuard Anti-Virus.





Other Local Stories

Be sure to uncover all the clues...

Issue 1

Mysterious Briefcase Found Outside Houston Area Post Office
Police this morning found a black briefcase near the outside dropboxes at the Brookside Village post office. The locked briefcase was examined by bomb squads for more than three hours before it was determined to be non-explosive. :: View full story.

Holiday Donations Down for Third Consecutive Year
Officials report that for the third year running, holiday donations were down. Most agree that the long-running economic slump is most likely responsible for the less generous nature of the community. :: View full story.

CGI Fights Viruses with StandGuard Anti-Virus
CGI Group Inc., an international corporation for which data integrity is of highest priority, has fortified its security by installing the world’s first and only server-based virus detection product designed for the IBM iSeries computers. :: View full story.

Issue 2

Area Security Executive Probed in Theft Case
Officers from the Houston police department along with federal agents seized documents this morning from the office of Evans Business Solutions Chief Security Officer, Peter Evans. The seizure comes several weeks after the reported theft of company trade secrets. :: View full story.

Penguins Converge on Texas as COMMON
User Conference Comes to San Antonio
COMMON, the popular semiannual user conference for midrange server professionals, is coming to San Antonio with the latest information on OS/400 V5R3 and a focus on Linux. :: View full story.

Area Educators Gear Up for Local Reality Contest: "The Substitute"
Men and women from all over the Houston area are lining up to put their names in the hat for a local reality contest sponsored by the Board of Education. :: View full story.

Issue 3

Arrest made in Evans Data Theft Case
Houston police sergeant Raymond Edwards announced that an arrest has been made in the data theft case currently under investigation at local software company Evans Business Solutions. :: View full story.

On-Access Virus Scanning Enabled for OS/400 V5R3
Local news affiliates report that Bytware, Inc., the Reno-based iSeries software vendor, announced today that to fill the growing demand for virus protection on the iSeries, On-Access scanning for viruses is now an enabled feature within OS/400 and fully supported by Bytware’s StandGuard Anti-Virus security solution. :: View full story.

Local Coffee House Sets New Price High
Customers at JavaWava Coffee House were shocked Monday morning when they ordered their morning Joe and were asked to dish out double the previous price.
View full story.

Issue 4

Kate Hoffman: IT Superwoman Saves the Day at Evans
It was a hot Texas Saturday just two weekends ago when a computer malfunction at local software developer Evans Business Solutions threatened to create chaos across the company's international network. :: View the full story.

Police Investigate Evidence Found at Evans Offices
Local law enforcement officials are investigating a piece of evidence uncovered earlier this week in the main computer facilities of Evans Business Solutions that could be a turning point in the Evans/Extar case. :: View the full story.

Slash Cleared in Evans Case... For Now Anyway
Hacker and suspect in the Evans data theft case, Slash, has been cleared of involvment in the case said Police Sgt. Raymond Edwards in a statement released yesterday.
View the full story.