Data Integrity – The Unknown Threat

Much of the attention commanded by computer security issues focuses on threats from external sources. Firewalls and perimeter defense tools are deployed to deny unauthorised entry to the network. Experts look for vulnerabilities and ways to ensure that the perimeter cannot be breached. Administrators monitor network traffic for unusual activities and anomalies, and it is common for users to be warned against suspicious email attachments. Read more.

Review: Pine Vs Mozilla ThunderBird

I had been an avid user of Pine for almost five years. Recently, I decided to move to a greener posture. I dumped my good old Pine and settled with a graphical client. Although, sometime I miss the simple, fast, text based interface, the new relationship is shaping up to be an exciting one. We have our bad times, but overall I am happy with the switch.

Can GNU ever be Unix?

When AT&T balkanized its Unix holdings in 1993, two different companies ended up walking away with pieces of the original Unix. Novell originally bought it all, then decided to keep the Unix source code and sell the Unix trademark -- the name, in other words -- and the Single Unix Specification standards to the X/Open Company. The Open Group, as it is now called, has since learned to use these assets profitably by offering qualification testing and certification for operating systems. If your OS meets certain requirements, passes the qualification tests, and you pay the fees, you get to call it Unix. Should GNU/Linux get certified?

Indigo: The end of the rainbow

When it finally ships, the Longhorn release of Windows will include a number of interesting new technologies. But it is the technology currently code-named “Indigo” that stands out as the most important product for anyone who cares about how diverse systems are glued together. To understand Indigo, however, there are four points you need to get your mind around. Elsewhere, .NET luminaries discuss themselves, their technology expertise, and whatever else comes to mind, released twice a month. Elsewhere, the Longhorn Driver Kit is a fully integrated driver development system for Windows.

Video Production with Linux Part 2

In my first article I tried out various audio/video apps to see what Linux had to offer for video production. For the most part I was pretty disappointed with the whole experiment. Several months have passed so I decided to take another look to what has progressed since then. There were two programs that I left out because they were either not realized or it was to soon to try it out.

Four alternative Linux window managers

KDE and GNOME combine window managers with suites of applications to create comprehensive work environments. As complete as they are, it's easy to forget that there are other graphical ways to work on a Linux desktop. Sometimes a lighter-weight window manager is in order, such as for laptop usage, children's use, or quick startup applications. Here are four "alternative" window managers that are mature, fast, and functional. My Take: Should we also add *Box, WindowMaker and XFce to the mix?

Secure programming with the OpenSSL API

Learning how to use the API for OpenSSL -- the best-known open library for secure communication -- can be intimidating, because the documentation is incomplete. Fill in the gaps, and tame the API, with the tips in this article. After setting up a basic connection, see how to use OpenSSL's BIO library to set up both a secured and unsecured connection. And learn a bit about error detection as well.