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Nov. 20, 2009
Rabbi David Aaron: How to make every second of your life come first
Caroline B. Glick: Whither American Jewry
Nov. 19, 2009
Binyamin L. Jolkovsky: Please Listen to this Godcast (5 minutes)
Jonathan Tobin: ADL Crosses the Line with Report Bashing Obama Critics
Nov. 18, 2009
Rabbi Yonason Goldson: What Judaism has to say about the secret of the Mona Lisa's smile
JWisdom.com: The (Jewish) Dating Game with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (8 minutes)
Nov. 17, 2009
Steven Emerson: How Does the 4th Amendment Impact Terror Finance Investigations?
JWisdom.com: If Frank Sinatra married Edith Piaf with Rabbi Y.Y. Rubinstein (2 minutes) Life lessons from what would be regarded as the most inappropriate lyrics ever sung
Nov. 16, 2009
The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir : When borrowing is stealing
JWisdom.com: Deconstructing faith with Rabbi Warren Goldstein (9 minutes)
Nov. 13, 2009
JWisdom.com Sarah's subjective reality with Rabbi Sroy Levitansky ( 6 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick: Obama's failure, Netanyahu's opportunity
Nov. 12, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet By Marialisa Calta : A sweet sweet potato treat
JWisdom.com Does God get tired? with Rabbi Harvey Belovski ( 5 minutes)
Nov. 11, 2009
Rabbi Avi Shafran: Jews and money: When anti-Semitism isn't
JWisdom.com Marriages are not made in Heaven with Rabbi Lawrence Hajioff (VERY fast 15 minutes)
Nov. 10, 2009
Michael Doyle: Author of book exposing CAIR ordered to remove supporting documents from Web
JWisdom.com If the creation so loudly shouts the existence of the Creator, why aren't more people believers? with Rabbi Naftali Brawer (9 minutes)
Nov. 9, 2009
Mark Steyn: Shooter exposes hole in U.S. terror strategy
JWisdom.com It's never too late to have a happy childhood with Sarah Chana Radcliffe (5 minutes)
Nov. 6, 2009
Rabbi Berel Wein: Choosing to hear
JWisdom.com Zero to 1/60th: How to Empower An Hour with Gavriel Aryeh Sande (7 minutes)
Caroline B. Glick The mullahs' big week
Suzanne Fields A Fallen Wall for Fallen Man
Nov. 5, 2009
The Kosher Gourmet: Three scrumptious -- but simple -- butternut squash dishes
JWisdom.com Hidden Hints: Unlocking Faith & Prayer with Rabbi Jay Yaacov Schwartz (10 minutes)
Nov. 4, 2009
Tom Hamburger and Kim Geiger: Should prayers be covered?
JWisdom.com When God played peacemaker With Rabbi Sroy Levitansky (5 minutes)
Nov. 3, 2009
Martin Peretz: Beware, Barack. Beware, Rahm. Beware, Axelrod
JWisdom.com Are you are closet idolater? With Sara Yoheved Rigler (10 minutes)
Nov. 2, 2009
Paul Greenberg: The Holocaust is now on Facebook
JWisdom.com Abraham's Strange Change With Rabbi Yitzchok Fingerer (5 minutes)
Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review July 14, 2006 / 18 Tamuz, 5766

Keeping your Notebook Secure

By Mark Kellner

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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | EPHESUS, TURKEY — The azure waters of the Aegean Sea lap against the shore, 11 stories below my room. A gentle breeze wafts in through the balcony door. The staff at the Suermeli Resort Hotel seem friendly and cheerful. Why should I have any cares on my mind?


Well, I have a computer with me, that's why. And since it's not only a portable, but a borrowed one at that, I want to make sure that it returns home with me, so that I can return it to its owner, Apple Computer.


As was demonstrated by the theft (and later recovery) of a Hewlett-Packard notebook computer owned by the Department of Veterans' Affairs, keeping your notebook safe is more than a trivial matter. Beyond the not-always-insignificant cost of replacing hardware, the truly valuable part of any computer is its data: work that can't be easily replaced, or even confidential items that shouldn't be in general circulation.


How then to provide physical security? It begins with awareness. It's easy to misplace or forget many things, and computers are among them. Always keep in mind that you have something of value with you. For me, that generally involves keeping the computer with me — which is something I should do at the conference I'm attending in any case. At the meetings, I keep it in a small case along with other essential items, and that enables me to be focused on its location.


At the same time, a small package is a tempting target. A portable alarm, such as the Targus DEFCON-1 Ultra Notebook Computer Security System, $39.95 at http://www.targus.com and other retailers, is a good on-the-go solution; the motion-sensitive device will sound when the device's security cable is severed or when motion sensor is armed and triggered.


Another good device to buy is a wire lock such as a Kensington MicroSaver (stet), around $40 in stores, which fastens a small lock to the eponymous "Kensington slot" on most notebooks. the cable, which can wrap around a table leg or other stationary object, is made of a steel composite cable with reinforced Kevlar that cannot be easily cut. The cable is similar to that of the DEFCON-1, but is designed for longer-term usage, as when leaving your notebook in a hotel room for a while.


Despite whatever devices you might use to protect a notebook, your five senses — plus a little common sense — are most important. Vigilance, vigilance and more vigilance are what's required.


Keeping the physical data safe is also a challenge, but one that can be met. Security devices built into notebooks — smart card and fingerprint readers, for example — can provide additional security. If a thief can't get to your data conventionally, if a security device blocks them, your notebook's information may be safe.


Full disk encryption, mentioned last week, is also vital. But here I need to make a correction: Paul Henry, the security expert quoted here, wrote to say he was referring to the "free" software version of PGP, or Pretty Good Privacy, as not featuring full disk encryption. The commercial version has it, Mr. Henry says, and that should be noted.


WI-FI EVERYWHERE: Ephesus is known to many as a Biblical city where the Apostle Paul once labored, departing from the Aegean shores. You might not imagine that Ephesus would have a developed Wi-Fi system, but my hotel does, thanks to TT-winet, the local wireless Internet provider. Speeds are excellent and a reminder that even in once-ancient cities, high tech has some reach!

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Mark Kellner has reported on technology for industry newspapers and magazines since 1983, and has been the computer columnist for The Washington Times since 1991.Comment by clicking here.

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© 2006, News World Communications, Inc. Reprinted with permission of The Washington Times. Visit the paper at http://www.washingtontimes.com

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