TODAY'S POST BROUGHT TO YOU BY: PimpBurger!

"PimpBurger is now hiring! Employee must be flexible, enjoy long, hard hours and be able to spot an uncover cop better than the last stupid bitch. Join the PimpBurger team today!

PimpBurger! On a street corner near you!"

Well gang... nothing like havin' someone break into your car, steal your stereo and leave you a mess to clean up; to make you think about putting barbed wire around everything, buying a massive weapon of destruction and putting landmines outside your door... with an army of "Amway" salesmen running interference.

But let's talk computer security here in a minute. Keeping with the new format, here's the term of the day first though!

IPSEC (Internet Protocol Security):

TCP/IP Security. IPSEC provides authentication, data encryption as well as L2PT (Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol) for VPNs (Virtually Private Networks).

SECURITY UPDATES:

Okay... so we've all heard about the plethora of security updates for Windows XP, Mcafee/Norton updates against virusi, Zone Alarm against hackers, Firewalls, Gateways, passwords, limited access and more... but today I'd like to cover Physical Security.

SECURITY FOR YOUR WORLD:

The below are examples of things you should consider for your home office, living with sleazy relatives, college dorm, or other situations where your rig could be accessed by another person.

TOP TEN THINGS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER FOR ADDING PHYSICAL SECURITY TO YOUR RIG!

1. Do you ever lock the door to your computer so nobody can get inside the case?

2. Does the room you keep your computer(s) in have a door that locks?

3. Do you run checks to make sure no one has stolen small things that aren't noticable at first? I've heard all kinds of stories of people stealing a single stick of memory, case fans, cables, and even larger things like RAID cards and other expensive stuff. Sometimes a smart thief with even replace parts with lower-quality crap. Would you notice right away if someone traded your high performance PC-2700 with the same amount of value PC-2100 at first?

4. Does the front panel have a door that locks to prevent people from turning on your system when you're not around?

5. Is your computer secured to anything? Can it be carried away? (this is usually only if you live in a really bad neighborhood).

6. Do you keep a lot of peripherals around... stuff like Printers, Scanners, routers, External modems/HDDs/burners, Laptop Docking stations and other stuff that someone could take off with.

7. Do you have things like the serial number of your machine if you have a pre-fab?

8. Flat Screen Monitors usually mid-line in price around 800 bucks for a decent one. Have you secured it down in any way?

9. Can someone access your network wiring cabinet? If they can, they can jack into your network, majorly mess up your day by cutting wires, or other acts of theft/vandalism.

10. Do you keep your back-up media in a place that is safe? If you've got ANY personal or business info like credit cards, social security numbers or the like, the theft of these things can cause you amazing amounts of stress.