IBM Computer, Laptops and Servers

So the good folks at PGP asked me to write an independent column about security technology and its practical applications. This is the first of many columns that will run periodically here. And just because they are paying me to do this, I will still give you incisive commentary and opinions based on years of testing and using hundreds of different PC products. laptop battery

Okay, back to my laptop. Unlike the one that was returned this week in the New York State situation mentioned above, I didn t have any sensitive information on it, unless you count my unpublished drafts. Also, it was owned by my employer and covered by their insurance, so I wasn t out of pocket anything. And I had made backups, which is a good thing too. thinkpad

Now, I am paranoid: I don t leave my current laptop anywhere that I am not, and even go so far as to lock it to the desk when I leave it in my hotel room with a Kensington security cable: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00080CWM6/sr=1-20/qid=1153769820/ microsoft

But that just takes care of the physical security. What about protecting your files You have several choices. One alternative is to just store all your data on a special USB drive that comes with some kind of password protection. Sandisk makes one model, called the U3 Titanium, and the 1 GB size starts at $50. The USB drive comes with all sorts of software that you can replicate lots of things from your desktop (provided you are running Windows, because the U3 programs don t run on Macs), including a password to protect the entire contents. There are also USB drives that have built-in fingerprint scanners from a number of vendors such as index-security.com. laptop computers

These special USB drives are better than ones that don t have these features, but chances are you don t want to just store your data just on a thumb drive, or you have more data than the drives can hold. So you will want to have something to protect this data once it touches your laptop or desktop s hard drive. I also found the fingerprint scanners somewhat temperamental, which isn t a good thing if you are futzing around with them when you are trying to read your files. laptop computer

So you could consider one of the freeware encryption utilities -The problem with both the freeware utilities and the U3 USB drives is that they both use a simple password to protect the data, and eventually if someone wants that data badly enough, these passwords can be broken. It is a much better alternative to use an encryption product that s based something more secure than just a password. There are also freeware products that use stronger encryption approaches, but I would be reluctant to encrypt my files with something that I couldn t get supported by a vendor, especially files that I depend on to run my business. desktop computer

The trouble with many of these products though is that the extra steps needed to encrypt the files are a hassle. You wouldn t think so, but unless you have a stolen laptop or USB drive to motivate you, you will eventually take the path of least resistance and just save your files on something without any encryption. notebooks

There is a better way, and I recommend PGP Desktop or Whole Disk Encryption products. While these products cost you real cash money, neither of them is all that expensive. The Whole Disk product is $149, and Desktop is $99 for home users and starts at $79 for professionals. The nice thing about both products is that they are available for both Windows and Mac users -- most of their competition just runs on Windows. lenovo

It is worth the dough. The Desktop product has a bunch of useful tools in it along with the ability to encrypt your entire hard disk, or smaller portions that you can copy to removable media like USB thumb drives. You can also use PGP Desktop to encrypt AOL Instant Messenger conversations, for example, as well as email messages. hard drive

The Desktop program is very simple to use. You can automatically mount these encrypted volumes when you start up Windows (once you enter a special password), and you add new volumes as easily as clicking on a few buttons. travelstar

If you want something even higher on the cost and paranoia scale, then I recommend one of the laptops that come with built-in fingerprint scanners, such as those from Lenovo/IBM. These can tie all of your passwords to your fingerprint such as network sign-on and Web site passwords. But the software isn t as easy to use as PGP Desktop. gateway

Don t let another day go by before trying one of these strategies. You don t want to be like me, thinking about all your data sitting in someone else s hands. David Strom lives in St Louis and can be reached at david@strom.com, and maintains the blogs strominator.com and yourpersonalgeek.tv. Return to Store Home Page 2002-2008 PGP Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Company | Privacy Statement | Legal Notices laptop parts

PGP Desktop Single Incident Support Email a friend about this product PGP Desktop Single Incident Support Stock: Yes Sale Price 41.00 /td QTY: Description PGP Support offers Prepaid Incident Support for users of PGP Desktop Home and other PGP Desktop client applications. A PGP Support incident is a single, specific technical issue-based request for support. Customers can expect a response from a PGP Support Engineer within 24 hours of the receipt of the request during the normal business week. software

A PGP support incident is closed when the issue is resolved. PGP Corporation will use all reasonable efforts to escalate and resolve an issue within a predefined period, depending on the type of incident support being provided. An incident is considered closed when any of the following resolutions occur: hard drives

• The issue is a feature of the PGP product in question and may involve customer education or training. electronics

• There is functional clarification related to the use of the PGP product in question. canon

• A workaround process or procedure is available that addresses the immediate customer/user need. desktop pc

• The issue is one of functionality and will/will not be addressed in a future PGP software release. desktop computers

Customers purchasing PGP Prepaid Incident Support can contact PGP Support by telephone Call Me Back, email, or the Web during normal business hours. Customers also have full access to the PGP Support Portal, including the PGP KnowledgeBase, FAQ and Tutorials, and the PGP User Forums. think pad

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2002-2008 PGP Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Company | Privacy Statement | Legal Notices repair

GeoTrust Certificate Products Email a friend about this product Geotrust QuickSSL 1-Year Premium Certificate 4 add to cart Description QuickSSL Premium certificates enable true 128-bit SSL security while authenticating your server to your customers and business partners. These certificates are compatible with all web browsers supported by PGP Universal. GeoTrust QuickSSL Premium Certificates can also be used with other products employing SSL, such as web servers. data recovery

Within 48 hours of placing your order, you will receive an email from GeoTrust with instructions on how to complete your order. What is This Select Product: Select Product Geotrust QuickSSL 1-Year Premium Certificate 2002-2008 PGP Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Company | Privacy Statement | Legal Notices cisco

PGP Command Line Email a friend about this product Select a license type below to begin configuring your command line purchase. Description What s New Features Tech Specs For organizations that need to securely exchange large volumes of information, PGP Command Line can protect business-critical data easily and with little impact on existing systems. PGP Command Line is easily integrated into script-driven business processes. Once deployed, PGP Command Line automatically encrypts and decrypts data on-the-fly. keyboard

PGP Command Line

is available in configurations that support multiple processor platforms, functionality and either limited or unlimited keys. For detail on which version is right for you Computer . Note: When ordering versions of PGP Command Line that support multiple CPUs, Dual-Core processors each count as two CPUs. monitor

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*Orders including unlimited keys require Send and Receive functionality. What is This Select License Type: License Type Annual Subscription Perpetual with Software Insurance 2002-2008 PGP Corporation. All Rights Reserved. Company | Privacy Statement | Legal Notices averatec

PGP Desktop Email 9.7 Email a friend about this product PGP Desktop Email 9.7 for Windows - Perpetual License 41 PGP Desktop Email 9.7 for Windows - Subscription License 9 PGP Desktop Email 9.7 for OS X - Perpetual License 41 PGP Desktop Email 9.7 for OS X - Subscription License 9 PGP Desktop Produkte in Deutsch finden Sie hier. hardware

PGP Desktop Email 9.7 Description What s New Features Tech Specs Product Packages

feature comparison PGP Desktop Email automatically and transparently encrypts and signs outgoing messages and decrypts and verifies incoming messages. With PGP Desktop Email, individuals and organizations can minimize the risk of data breach and comply with partner and regulatory mandates for information security and privacy. For recipients without email security, senders can encrypt documents into a bundle using PGP Zip or PGP Self-Decrypting Archive and send the protected file as a standard email attachment. dual xeon

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block cipher A symmetric cipher operating on blocks of plain text and cipher text, usually 64 or 128 bits. Blowfish A 64-bit block symmetric cipher consisting of key expansion and data encryption. A fast, simple, and compact algorithm in the public domain written by Bruce Schneier. cache A portion of memory that holds recently accessed data; designed to speed up subsequent access to the same data. CAST A 64-bit block cipher using a 64-bit key, six S-boxes with 8-bit input and 32-bit output, developed in Canada by Carlisle Adams and Stafford Tavares. certificate An electronic document attached to a public key by a trusted third party, which provides proof that the public key belongs to a legitimate owner and has not been compromised. Certificate Authority (CA) A trusted third party that creates certificates consisting of assertions on various attributes and binds them to an entity and/or to a public key. Certificate Revocation List (CRL) An online, up-to-date list of previously issued certificates that are no longer valid. certification Endorsement of information by a trusted entity. ciphertext Plaintext converted into a secretive format through the use of an encryption algorithm. An encryption key can unlock the original plaintext from ciphertext. clear-signed message Messages that are digitally signed, but not encrypted. cluster Two or more PGP Universal Servers working together in an organization where users, keys, managed domains, and policies are synchronized between Primary and one or more Secondary servers. Clustering provides security, scalability, and reliability for the servers in the cluster. Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) Security clearinghouse that promotes security awareness. CERT provides 24-hour technical assistance for computer and network security incidents. CERT is located at the Software Engineering Institute at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. conventional encryption Encryption that relies on a common passphrase instead of public key cryptography. The file is encrypted using a session key, which encrypts using a passphrase the individual is asked to choose. Corporate Signing Key (CSK) A public key that is designated by the security officer of a corporation as the system-wide key that all corporate users trust to sign other keys. cryptanalysis The reverse of cryptography, cryptanalysis is the art and science of breaking ciphers, ciphertexts, or keys. crypto API (CAPI) Microsoft"s crypto API for Windows-based operating systems and applications. cryptography The art and science of creating messages that have some combination of being private, signed, and unmodified with non-repudiation. CRYPTOKI Also known as PKCS#11, this is a standard API for using cryptographic tokens including smart cards and accelerators. cryptosystem A system composed of cryptographic algorithms, all possible plaintext, ciphertext, and keys. Data Encryption Standard (DES) A 64-bit block cipher, symmetric algorithm also known as Data Encryption Algorithm (DEA) by ANSI and DEA-1 by ISO. Widely used for over 20 years; adopted in 1976 as FIPS 46. data integrity A method of ensuring information has not been altered by unauthorized or unknown means. decryption The process of unscrambling encrypted information so that it becomes legible again. The recipient"s private key is used for decryption. demilitarized zone (DMZ) A subnetwork that sits between a trusted internal network, such as a corporate private LAN, and an untrusted external network, such as the Internet. dictionary attack A calculated brute force attack to reveal a password by trying obvious and logical combinations of words. Diffie-Hellman The first public key algorithm, invented in 1976, using discrete logarithms in a finite field. digital signature An electronic identification of a person or thing created by using a public key algorithm. Intended to verify to a recipient the integrity of data and identity of the sender of the data. Digital Signature Algorithm (DSA) The signing-only public key algorithm used in the Digital Signature Standard. DSA is a variant of the Elgamal (q.v.) algorithm. Digital Signature Standard (DSS) A U.S. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) for digital signatures, using DSA and SHA-1. direct trust An establishment of peer-to-peer confidence. domain A subnetwork composed of a group of clients and servers under the control of one security database. Dividing LANs into domains improves performance and security. domain name An organization"s unique name on the Internet. For example, example.com is a domain name. Domain Name System (DNS) An Internet service that translated domain names into the corresponding IP address. Humans like domain names because they are easier to remember. For the Internet to work, however, the actual IP address must be known. Hence, the need for the translation from domain name to IP address. DNS server A server on the Internet that translates domain names into the corresponding IP address. Elliptic Curve Cryptosystem (ECC) Variants of the Diffie-Hellman family of public key algorithms, these operate on other sets than the integers and give smaller keys faster execution. Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) The direct, standardized computer-to-computer exchange of business documents (purchase orders, invoices, payments, inventory analyses, and others) between an organization and its suppliers and customers. Elgamal A variant of Diffie-Hellman that permits public key encryption similar to RSA encryption. The Diffie-Hellman keys in PGP software are Elgamal keys. email Short for electronic mail. email address A name in a specific format that identifies a particular user on a particular email system. On the Internet, email addresses use the following syntax: user@domain name ; for example, jsmith@example.com . Email addresses must be unique. encryption The process of disguising a message in such a way as to hide its substance. Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) A U.S. government standard published by the National Institute of Standards Technology (NIST). File Transfer Protocol (FTP) An Internet protocol used for transferring files. fingerprint A unique identifier for a key that is obtained by hashing specific portions of the key data. firewall A software or hardware/software combination that protects the perimeter of a network against unauthorized access to that network. FTP server A server that supports the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) fully qualified domain name The full name of a system, consisting of its local hostname and its domain name, including a top-level domain (com and edu are top-level domains). For example, server.example.com is a fully qualified domain name; server is the local hostname, example is the domain name, and com is the top-level domain. gateway A device on a network that serves as an entrance to another network. In an enterprise, the gateway is a computer that routes data from the computers inside the local network to destinations outside the local network. For people connecting from their homes via an Internet Service Provider (ISP), an ISP computer is their gateway to the Internet. hash function A one-way function that takes an input message of arbitrary length and produces a fixed-length digest. hierarchical trust A graded series of entities that distribute trust in an organized fashion, commonly used in ANSI X.509 issuing certifying authorities. HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) A protocol commonly used on the World Wide Web for the exchange of HyperText Markup Language (HTML) documents. identity certificate A signed statement that binds a key to the name of an individual and has the intended meaning of delegating authority from that named individual to the public key. implicit trust Implicit trust is reserved for keypairs located on an individual"s local keyring. If the private portion of a keypair is found on a keyring. PGP solutions assume that the individual is the owner of the keypair and that he/she implicitly trusts himself/herself. integrity Assurance that data is not modified (by unauthorized persons) during storage or transmittal. International Data Encryption Standard (IDEA) A 64-bit block symmetric cipher using 128-bit keys based on mixing operations from different algebraic groups. Considered one of the strongest algorithms. International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Responsible for a wide range of standards such as the Open System Interconnection (OSI) model and international relationship with the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on X.509. Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) The main standards organization for the Internet. The IETF is an open, international community of network designers, operators, vendors, and researchers who coordinate the operation, management, and evolution of the Internet. They also resolve short- and mid-range protocol and architectural issues and are a major source of proposals for protocol standards. Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) An Internet protocol for retrieving email that is stored on an email server. A newer protocol than POP. Internet Protocol (IP) address An identifying number for a computer or other device on a TCP/IP network. The format of an IP address is a 32-bit numeric address written as four numbers separated by periods. Each number can be zero to 255. For example, 192.168.1.1 could be an IP address. introducer A person or organization allowed to vouch for the authenticity of someone"s public key. An individual designates introducers by signing their public key. key A digital code used to encrypt and sign and decrypt and verify messages and files. Keys come in keypairs and are stored on keyrings. key escrow A key recovery mechanism that works by simply keeping copies of keys. key exchange A scheme for two or more nodes to transfer a secret session key across an unsecured channel. key length The number of bits representing the key size; the longer the key, the stronger it is. key management The process and procedure for safely storing and distributing accurate cryptographic keys; the overall process of generating and distributing cryptographic key to authorized recipients in a secure manner. keypair A public key and its complementary private key. In public-key cryptosystems, such as the PGP system, each user has at least one keypair. key recovery A mechanism for retrieving cryptographic keys with the ultimate intent of decrypting ciphertext with them. keyring A set of keys. Each user has two types of keyrings: a private keyring and a public keyring. keyserver A repository for keys and certificates. Some keyservers, such as keyserver.pgp.com, are available to the public. Many enterprises also have keyservers that are available only to members of the enterprise. key splitting monebaggasse