Security by Frank Wickham: Be Secure!

I just received a brand new Sun Ray 270 thin client.  I have been using one at home since January 2007.   I have had one on my desk since 2000 and have used them in many of the Sun Offices across the US.   The purpose of this new unit is to replace an aging Sun Ray 150 which had been used for years to show off Sun Microsystems thin client technology at various marketing events.   We also use a  Sun Ray 150 in our conference room for customer meetings and product briefings.

--Frank

Was looking for something else on YouTube and I came across several interesting videos on virtualization.   Specificly what Sun is doing with virtualization.  This video shows how Sun Microsystems' technologies let you virtualize your datacenters.

Dr. James Baty, Chief Technology Officer with Sun Microsystems, discusses the challenges and approaches to addressing a virtualization strategy.

-- Frank

A friend of mine has pointed out that if you are using an older version of the browser Mozilla or Fire Fox you have the ability to save the page you are viewing as postscript. Then with any old text editor you can go into the postscript file and change the information as you see fit.

In the case of online airline check in, a security hole has been brought to my attention. Someone can display and print a boarding pass. They also can save it to a file and edit it. Changing the flight number, date and time this allows someone with a questionable background access beyond the airport security check points. Of course if an airline is using some type of scanning as part of their boarding process they should not get access to the plane.

-- Frank 

I was asked to assist someone with a "computer" problem they were having recently. As soon as I sat down in front of their personal computer I noticed their personal firewall was "disabled". I questioned why it was disabled. They replied that some application they had attempted to use did not work. So they turned it off. I asked how long had it been disabled? They indicated a few days. While fixing their original problem I updated their virus protection software with the latest files. It had been many months since their virus definitions had been updated. So "Keep Your Guard Up"!

-- Frank 

I have been asked this question several times this past week so I will formalize my response as a Christmas Gift to you all.

Well you are now on your second or third generation digital camera. You have 3000 to 5000 photos on the hard disk of you home computer or laptop. If you are like myself you have been taking digital photos since the late 1990's. You now have a digital camera built into you phone. Sure hope all of these priceless photos are backed up someplace!

My recommendation to you all is to go out and get some high quality write once CD-ROM media that can be found at places like CompUSA or Wal-Mart. Divide your photos into some logical grouping. I like filing by year and then by activity or event. If I don't have a specific activity or event but have several disparate photos, I just file them in a directory/folder named month_year, like Feb_06 (usually a slow month). This way I can archive an entire year at a time. So far I have not hit the maxium size of a CD-ROM in a given year.

I burn two copies. One I keep in my computer CD-ROM collection at home. The other I put in a safe place such as a bank safety deposit box or fire proof safe. Preferably someplace other than where you are keeping your first copy. I archive my photos yearly. I backup my photos on hard disk every few weeks.

Now for a great Christmas gift for that owner of that digital camera. Get them a USB thumb drive or memory card/stick to keep their most recent photos on. This will allow them to bring their most recent photos with them to show off at family gatherings and other various social events that typically take place here in the United States at this time of the year.

Happy Holidays! --Frank

Was in lower Manhattan yesterday between customer meetings. Walking across Cedar Street to Broadway very near Wall Street. I passed a FedEX truck with the rear door open. A stack of boxes sitting on the sidewalk. All unattended. As I passed I noticed one of the boxes was clearly marked in bold lettering Iron Mountain. I got to the end of the block before thinking of getting a photo if they were still there. So I returned to get this snapshot, the boxes still unattended.

Do you think this customer entended to have their data or backup tapes out on display for all to see on Cedar Street?  Do you think they were protected in some way?

I sure hope my personal information isn't on these tapes.

-- Frank