David Coursey

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Microsoft chairman Bill Gates says hes never had a computer virus, but that adware and malware have him ticked off enough that Microsoft plans to do something about them. Precisely what that might be Gates didnt say, although the figure “hundreds of millions” of dollars was mentioned. Speaking Friday at the Computer History […]

In previous columns, Ive expressed my admiration for PeopleSoft as one of the “good guys.” So while it pains me to say its over for PeopleSoft, it appears that Oracles relentlessness seems to have paid off. With CEO Craig Conway gone, Founder and Chairman Dave Duffield and the PeopleSoft board are now positioned to sue […]

Theres been a debate going on in the industry about whether its right for companies to charge for “premium” security-threat information. Me, Ive got my feet firmly planted on both sides of the issue, hoping they dont slide too far apart. This discussion reminds me of something an open-source proponent once told me: “Information should […]

The European Court of First Instance must recognize that any delay in sanctions against Microsoft could result in no meaningful sanctions at all. At the same time, Microsoft is entitled to an appeal of the rulings that would fine the company $613 million and require it to offer a stripped-down Windows and open its server […]

Browser security is a big problem. To you and me. And particularly, to Microsoft. Now, according to folks up in Redmond (and contrary to the expectations of many) it wont release the XP SP2 security fixes for earlier browsers and versions of its operating system. The only way Microsoft says it can secure Internet Explorer […]

If the members of the Internet Engineering Task Force are unable to put aside partisan squabbling and carry out their mission, perhaps we should give the IETF and other industry groups some competition. Private-industry folks always talk about the wonders of competition, even if they dont really like it much. Im betting well get better […]

Which do we need more: VOIP or the ability to wiretap terrorists and criminals? Given that weve lived this long without VOIP (voice over IP) while wiretap evidence has proven its value in nailing bad guys over and over, I have to come out in favor of law enforcement. Yes, I know this will cause […]

In my first column on this subject, I introduced a set of seven guidelines for IT departments when considering the forensic investigation of a suspect computer system. In part two, Ill offer seven more best practices and recommended steps to be used in conducting the actual examination. These columns started as a conversation with John […]

Investigating the contents of someones system, files and e-mail is a serious thing, not to be taken lightly. IT professionals who are unprepared for the techniques and challenges of conducting a forensic computer investigation can easily ruin the suspects data and make a case impossible to prosecute. They might even find themselves subject of an […]

In a previous column, I wrote about life in a Microsoft Office-free world. Readers responded that the Office alternatives, WordPerfect Office and StarOffice/OpenOffice, lack important features they need to get their work done each day. This is a plan for providing those features, at least for WordPerfect customers. Many of these ideas were inspired or […]