Forgot your password?
typodupeerror

Comment Effective IT policy takes experience (Score 1) 555

The other poster that suggested 'foreign' computers should be put on a DMZ is absolutely right. Your IT department installing the encryption software on 'foreign' computers is a clear indication of lack of experience in setting effective IT policy. Even if you encrypt a home computer spyware or other forms of software could still release the information they are worried about. People want dirt cheap IT. Well you get what you pay for. Hiring at least one experienced IT person who truly understands security could save this hospital millions. Locking down email is necessary since there are unfortunate examples of 'protected' information getting out that way. Since they have already made their security measures completely ineffective one thing you could do is this: 1. Take a ghost image of your home machine. 2. Let them install the software they want. 3. Take another ghost image of the system. 4. Reload the original image without the offending software. 5. If necessary run the image with their software in a virtual machine. That way their problems will not be yours.
Censorship

Submission + - South Park Censored (southparkstudios.com) 1

penguinman1337 writes: Apparently, all is not well over at comedy central. The heavily censored version of "201" that aired last night has a lot of people angry, including the show's creators. Apparently its ok to make fun of a religion as long as its followers don't carry AK-47's and plastic explosive.
IT

Submission + - Twitter and the Rise of Data Platforms (infoworld.com)

snydeq writes: "Fatal Exception's Neil McAllister sees Twitter's latest move — to develop 'analytical products' based on Twitter data and to encourage third-party developers to do the same — as part of a growing trend toward a new kind of software platform. 'In the past, tool vendors have offered developers languages and code libraries that gave them access to computing functions in simple, standardized ways. In this new paradigm, however, a platform consists of more than just frameworks and APIs. It also comes prepackaged with a complete, rich data set, and often that data is the platform's most valuable aspect. These new "data platforms" are creating exciting new opportunities for developers, though they are not without their challenges.' Chief among these issues are privacy and security, as evidenced by a recent letter to Google from government regulators and activist tools such as PleaseRobMe. But for developers, the challenges also include livelihood. 'Even more than mobile platforms such as Apple's iPhone, a data platform like Twitter's is a walled garden. If Twitter cuts off a developer's access to its data sources for any reason, that developer's business is sunk.' Even those who develop 'cloud middleware' around such data platforms stand to gain little from their efforts, as doing so pits them in competition with their data platform vendors, which are in a far better position to reach potential customers."
Privacy

Submission + - Google Street View logs WiFi networks, Mac address (theregister.co.uk)

An anonymous reader writes: There's a story over at The Register about how Google is collecting more than just images when they drive around for the Street View service. "Google's roving Street View spycam may blur your face, but it's got your number. The Street View service is under fire in Germany for scanning private WLAN networks, and recording users' unique Mac (Media Access Control) addresses, as the car trundles along."

There's a choice quote at the end, "Google CEO Eric Schmidt recently said internet users shouldn't worry about privacy unless they have something to hide. "

Power

Submission + - Reverse-engineering the Netherlands dyke system (www.nrc.nl)

vikingpower writes: "Built in reaction upon a major flood that killed 1800 in the '50s of the last century, the Dutch system of dykes, sluices, surge barriers and dams has been dubbed "one of the seven wonders of the modern world" by the American Society of Engineers. Now, there are proposals to use the system differently, e.g. as tidal power plants by punching holes in them. Any civil engineer will probably be mouth-watering when thinking of the mega-projects this could give rise to."

Slashdot Top Deals

There are two major products that come out of Berkeley: LSD and UNIX. We don't believe this to be a coincidence. -- Jeremy S. Anderson

Working...