EDITOR'S NOTES
Security Blanket
by Kathy Dempsey
Many
of us remember having a security blanket when we were
little. It may not have even been a blanket
per se; it might have been a certain toy or object
that made us feel safe. As we grew older, "security" came
to mean different things, which inevitably became more
complicated and more expensive along the way. We might
have progressed from a security blanket to, say, a
favorite backpack to a lucky pair of shoes to a particular
piece of jewelry to a home safety system to a sizable
nest egg. I think, too, that as the world has changed
over the last 50 years or so, that feeling of security
has become harder to achieve at any age. For instance,
is there anyone left who doesn't lock their doors at
night? Notice all the parents waiting at bus stops
with their kids, even in good neighborhoods? The feeling
of really being secure is becoming more and more elusive.
In technology, security is a double-edged sword.
For instance, now you can have a security system
in your car, but it can be set off at the slightest
provocation, so the public pays little attention
to car alarms these days. Given that, do they really
make you any safer? Likewise, you can have an electronic
home security system installed, but it can be circumvented
by thieves with the right information, access, and
tools. So it is with computer networks. You have
some firewall software and a password policy, so
you think your data is protected, right? Probably
not.
As shown in the examples above, a few bytes of
fancy electronics are not necessarily all you need
to be fully protected. You also need an understanding
of the possible attackers and their abilities, some
high-level software, and a huge dose of common sense,
coupled with patience and savvy. Of course this issue
provides it all. To learn more or to refresh your
memory on basic "attackers" and "protectors," check
our handy chart on pages 24—25. To find a way
to keep your operating system software patched against
the latest threats, learn the trick on pages 22—23.
To draw the line between healthy security precautions
and overdosing on panic, read our clearly written
cover story, which starts on page 12. And if you
think you've covered all the bases, prepare to be
scared as you discover the secrets of "spyware" on
page 16. Our columnists did an extra-good job covering
this topic too; you can learn from their interesting
experiences and viewpoints.
Computer network horror stories might make for
juicy cocktail-party conversations, but you don't
want to actually live through them if you can help
it. If you keep your knowledge up-to-date and do
everything you can to secure the fort, then you and
your network users can get a lot closer to that safe
feeling of the security blanket once again.
Correction: I'd like to correct a sentence
I printed in the March issue in Joe Williams' feature, "Taming
the Wireless Frontier: PDAs, Tablets, and Laptops
at Home on the Range." On page 62, the second sentenceunder
the "Free-Range Computing: Three Wireless Projects" subheading
should have read: "Here are the three projects underway
at TAMU." I apologize for the original misstatement.
 Kathleen L. Dempsey is the Editor
of Computers in Libraries. Her email address
is: kdempsey@infotoday.com |
