OT: Re-thinking the Internet with security and mobility in mind

[Sam Wormley]

OBSERVATIONS: Re-thinking the Internet with security and mobility in mind
The middle-aged Internet could easily slide into complacency, but the
National Science Foundation might be staving this off with four
multimillion-dollar grants that the agency has recently awarded

http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=re-thinking-the-internet-with-secur-2010-08-31&sc=DD_20100901

[ji...@specsol.spam.sux.com]

Piffle.

Security, or the lack of it, lies at the application level, not the
transport level.

If you want security, the first thing you do is get rid of anything by
Microsoft.

--
Jim Pennino

Using the "Internet" since it was ARPANET and network cable was RG-8 with
vampire taps.

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

[Sam Wormley]

On 9/1/10 7:04 PM, ji...@specsol.spam.sux.com wrote:
> Sam Wormley<swor...@gmail.com> wrote:
>> OBSERVATIONS: Re-thinking the Internet with security and mobility in mind
>> The middle-aged Internet could easily slide into complacency, but the
>> National Science Foundation might be staving this off with four
>> multimillion-dollar grants that the agency has recently awarded
>>
>> http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=re-thinking-the-internet-with-secur-2010-08-31&sc=DD_20100901
>>
>
> Piffle.
>
> Security, or the lack of it, lies at the application level, not the
> transport level.

Application are a problem, but you are naive if you think that the
transportation layers, DNS, etc. are of no concern.

>
> If you want security, the first thing you do is get rid of anything by
> Microsoft.
>

It is not just Microsoft.

Operating System, including Unix, Linux and OS X, and
Cisco, Adobe and open-source applications like Firefox,
etc. all have security problems on an ongoing basis.

Problems continue to be found in operating systems,
applications software, networks and technology. There
is an ongoing battle between the good guys fixing the
problems and the bad guy exploiting the problems.

Your role is important in this ongoing drama!
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html

[ji...@specsol.spam.sux.com]

Sam Wormley <swor...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 9/1/10 7:04 PM, ji...@specsol.spam.sux.com wrote:
>> Sam Wormley<swor...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> OBSERVATIONS: Re-thinking the Internet with security and mobility in mind
>>> The middle-aged Internet could easily slide into complacency, but the
>>> National Science Foundation might be staving this off with four
>>> multimillion-dollar grants that the agency has recently awarded
>>>
>>> http://www.scientificamerican.com/blog/post.cfm?id=re-thinking-the-internet-with-secur-2010-08-31&sc=DD_20100901
>>>
>>
>> Piffle.
>>
>> Security, or the lack of it, lies at the application level, not the
>> transport level.
>
> Application are a problem, but you are naive if you think that the
> transportation layers, DNS, etc. are of no concern.
>
>>
>> If you want security, the first thing you do is get rid of anything by
>> Microsoft.
>>
>
> It is not just Microsoft.
>
> Operating System, including Unix, Linux and OS X, and
> Cisco, Adobe and open-source applications like Firefox,
> etc. all have security problems on an ongoing basis.

Yeah, anything can have a problem, but with Microsoft products, and products
that run under Microsoft OS's, security exploits are a standard feature.

For non-Microsoft products, security issues more often than not are the
result of having a clueless admin who's qualifications consist of a Microsoft
cert.

On *nix systems, if the admin knows what he/she is doing, there is little
chance of the entire system being compromised by user applications, unlike
Windows.

--
Jim Pennino

Remove .spam.sux to reply.

[Sam Wormley]

I will admit that Microsoft gives me the willies... I only had Windows
up long enough to boot up a Linux install disc.

[Surfer]

On Wed, 01 Sep 2010 18:45:16 -0500, Sam Wormley <swor...@gmail.com>
wrote:

News here about software that allows mobile phones to configure
themselves into a distributed network.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20010308-1.html

More information here:
http://www.servalproject.org/

[ji...@specsol.spam.sux.com]

I have to run a couple of Windows machines for business purposes.

They are on a private network behind a very restrictive firewall and don't
do e-mail or web browsing.

I still get nervous about them.