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Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Why Update? Why Not!
Technological changes in the medical industry are simply a part of life. Sometimes it’s due to security concerns and other times it’s to upgrade on the current situation. But security consists of many things. When an employee leaves the company, are locks and security codes changed? User names and passwords? These issues must be acted on and dealt with immediately and has nothing to do with the existing hardware or software. The hardware and software would work just fine if no changes had occurred with the employment status. If a disgruntled employee leaves, are they taking personal or valuable information with them that should be left in the office? With the advent of PIPEDA, otherwise known as the Privacy Act, greater care must be taken to secure information from leaking into the public domain.
With the computer, the public domain can be a two way street which can also be accessed through your computer if you have access to the Internet. As most of you know, “www”, stands for “World Wide Web”. You can surf the web and look for just about any information you wish. However, an astute computer “intruder” can send out signals, similar to sonar, and if they get signals back, that’s a hint that somebody out there may not be properly protected. This “intruder” may then try a number of ways to force their way into your computer and see what’s available. That’s why there are a number of companies that produce security software and peripheral hardware to prevent it. Anti-virus “Suite” programs may now include firewalls and other protectants like spam filters, incoming/outgoing e-mail scans, and script blocking. As technology forges ahead, everyone will get caught up in it’s crest and be forced to move along especially if one of the leaders like Microsoft moves forward. Working in conjunction with other leaders in the software and hardware industries, companies are constantly looking to improve their products. Security with Microsoft is no different.
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