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On Thu, 17 May 2007 16:29:57 +0100 Tom Potts <tompotts@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: > > I still fail to understand the push from Google and Microsoft, as well as > > others, to introduce web based office apps. Firstly, the poor quality of > > broadband (or worse, dial up) in many areas of the UK and indeed the USA, > > make this kind of thing virtually unusable. Secondly, would I want my data > > stored on someone elses servers? Depends on the kind of data. Generally, I only put application-type data on servers when I would share that data anyway. Online banking is different but that's not a web application either. (I wouldn't use it if it was.) > This is where a lot of people go 'wrong' on web stuff. > Imagine you travel the world and you have all your data on your laptop. > Your laptop gets nicked - all your data is gone, your whole office security is > at risk. Standard security methods: encrypt what is genuinely sensitive, don't copy onto the laptop stuff that you don't need at the time and, optionally, provide some form of SSH connection to your main box in case you find that you need something later. Then standard GnuPG behaviour: create a secondary key for use on the laptop that you can revoke without having to also revoke your main key that always stays at home. No security is completely impenetrable, it's just a case of using sensible and reasonable precautions. Web2.0 is not a sensible risk, IMHO. > Now if you have a web accessible 'office' that you can securely access over > the web, then the chances are you can work from anywhere in the world. So trusting the server (over which you have no control) is preferable to trusting your own laptop? Who has root access to the servers that you use - do you know? > The 'office' package can also be loaded onto a laptop and then synchronised > with the central server when connections allow. So if the laptop gets stolen, you've STILL lost data and put your office security at risk! > As for bandwidth - a decent web app may take a little time to load but since > your working locally there should be little working bandwidth. ? So Web2.0 is actually intranet 2.0 ? No, the whole point is lost if it's only a local network. -- Neil Williams ============= http://www.data-freedom.org/ http://www.nosoftwarepatents.com/ http://www.linux.codehelp.co.uk/
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