Cameron Sturdevant

I took an introduction to Intense Schools live-over-the-Internet boot camp training program and found that its a decent alternative to in-person lessons. The program re-created nearly everything a real classroom would have—except the coffee-break chatter and networking that often occurs during in-person classroom instruction. During my test run with instructor Julia Hull, we used interactive […]

WINNER PatchLink Corp.s PatchLink Update 5.0 Last year, IT managers spent a great deal of time stamping out attacks on nearly every desktop and server operating system and most applications. PatchLink Corp.s PatchLink Update 5.0 rose to the top of our pick list, reflecting the growing importance of patch management in enterprise systems. PatchLink Update […]

My March 23 column on RFID hit a nerve with readers, a surprisingly large number of whom told me not to be so concerned about the widespread use of the tracking tags. Readers also questioned my understanding of how RFID technology works. I do understand what RFID tags are: small, inexpensive chips that use radio […]

WINNER Courion Corp.s Courion Identity Management Suite 6.5 When it comes to authentication and user management, 2003 was the worst of times because the rapid escalation of identity theft, along with the emergence of “phishing,” made it clear that organizations must invest in user authentication and management to stay ahead of crackers and hackers. It […]

A denial-of-service attack that almost felled the company firewall prompted Steven Waters, vice president of systems at financial services company Cannex Financial Exchanges Ltd., to evaluate intrusion prevention technology. Cannexs Toronto office, where Waters is based, has 13 employees, about half of whom are involved in automating data analysis. “Our core business is gathering daily […]

The term “security bulletin” is becoming something of a misnomer, as reports of holes, and of worms and viruses taking advantage of those holes, are becoming part of the daily IT routine. Its not enough to be alerted when problems occur; IT managers must find a way to dump problems before they hit the network. […]

TippingPoint Technologies Inc.s UnityOne-1200 ably handled both real and staged attacks on eWEEK Labs test network, attached to the Internet for nearly a week, earning the IPS appliance an Analysts Choice award. However, given the high price of the technology, we recommend that IT managers begin any intrusion prevention system evaluation with a comprehensive vulnerability […]

The chief librarian of the San Francisco Public Library is considering spending almost $1 million over two years to replace bar codes and magnetic strips with RFID tags on books, videos and other library materials. Although I appreciate City Librarian Susan Hildreths desire to streamline the check-in/check-out process, I think using RFID tags is a […]

Clearswifts MailSweeper Business Suite, released last month, is a fine example of how context-based anti-spam tools add brawny features in their efforts to stop junk e-mail. MailSweeper Business Suite is a combination of anti-spam software, secure messaging and e-mail-content-policy enforcement. Its priced at $16,425 for 1,000 licenses and one year of support. The product worked […]

Lumeta Corp.s IPSonar 3.0 neatly expands intrusion and wireless access point detection, and it ferrets out potential information leaks across network boundaries. However, the products $18,000 license fee to monitor 5,000 IP addresses means it is best-suited to high-value networks where IT managers expect substantial changes. IPSonar 3.0, which shipped in January, comes with a […]