Computer Security: How to Keep Your Machines Safer Without Breaking the Bank (or Your Brain)
*Note: This was originally written for a newsletter at UNC-Chapel Hill. As such, there are many references to university-specific issues and solutions. Even if you ignore those bits, I feel many readers can glean something useful from this, which is why I'm posting it here. ---------------- It doesn’t matter where I am, what time of day it is, or who I’m talking to; once someone finds out I work in IT security, the first words out of his or her mouth are, “Hey, I’ve got a quick question for you…” Most people would find this irritating. As my wife can attest to, I simply smile and say, “What’s on your mind?” More often than not, the question is, “I’m using XYZ program to keep my data secure. Is it as good as advertised?” The short answer is, “No, not really.” The less cryptic, but more depressing comeback is, “No computer is ever really secure,” and the long, informative explanation is…somewhat more complicated. There are many factors that go into the long, complicated answer, an