While most of the articles on OfficeMedic.com dealing with security focus on threats from outside your network, this article points out the danger from within. For example, how do you protect against the unauthorized copying of data on your computers—particularly as a business owner—when the user is allowed to access that data? iPods and flash drives are commonplace; how do you keep your employees or the night-time janitorial staff from plugging one in and downloading your financials or marketing plans?

A recent article on PCMag.com reviews several “endpoint security” products—software that restricts access not just to your USB ports, but also Firewire, serial, and parallel ports; CD, DVD, and Zip drives; WiFi, Bluetooth, and infrared ports; and more. If you’d like to skip the write-up and go directly to the Editor’s Choice, this link will take you to DeviceLock. The software is $35 for a single computer (Windows Vista not available at this time) and a free, thirty-day trial is available.

Sorry for the alphabet soup but what you need to know is if you’re using the older WEP encryption for your wireless network connection, it’s just about as bad as not using encryption at all. As this article explains, a network “protected” by WEP can be cracked in as little as one minute.

OfficeMedic recommends that you immediately switch to WPA encryption which, when used with a sufficiently strong password, is not vulnerable to hackers. You may need a new wireless router or access point to enable WPA; OfficeMedic can recommend an appropriate unit and we provide installation as well.

This cute 3-1/2 year-old boy is my nephew, Timothy. You can’t tell from the picture, but he was born at 25 weeks, weighing just 1 lb. 10 oz. Timothy has been through quite a lot in the last three-and-a-half years, but with the help of some dedicated doctors and nurses —and a lot of help from God!—Timothy has grown into a vibrant, loving little boy who brings joy to his family every moment.

However, every day in the Inland Empire, 3 babies like Timothy are born very preterm, that is, under 32 weeks. Another 18 babies are born under 37 weeks. Prematurity is the leading killer of America’s newborns. Those who survive often have lifelong problems.

The March of Dimes has taken on this devastating problem. The March of Dimes has established two goals for their Prematurity Campaign: first, to raise awareness of the problem and, second, to reduce the rate of premature births in the U.S. from 12.1% in 2002 to 7.6% in 2010.

The Prematurity Campaign has funded research, awarded grants to communities, educated thousands of women, trained health professionals, and helped NICU families—they even paid for the surfactant therapy for Timothy’s lungs.

On Sunday, May 6, I will be participating in WalkAmerica 2007 to raise money for the March of Dimes Prematurity Campaign. Team Timothy will be walking at Loma Linda University—and you can support us by joining us or by sponsoring us.

If the causes of premature birth can be better understood, then new ways to prevent it can be developed. With help from people like you, the March of Dimes can fund more research and help more babies like Timothy.

Sponsor me
Timothy’s blog