Security

[bsb]

Is it possible to choose the location of the customers database on order manager, I would love to be able to use a memory stick to store the customers card details on, so at the end of the day the stick can be locked away in the safe. The backups can be encrypted using pgp but its just the working file that is vunrable, ps I know I`m paranoid.

[Andy Warner]

good idea. - any joy?

no, its not paranoia! There is a nother post somewhere that talks about future legal requirements for holding cc details (having secure areas with special locks etc) so it will be a real issue in the future (near or far, who knows!)
I suppose you could install to removable media if that media has a drive assigned (i.e. install everything to G:\ where G:\ is your removable media, be it zip, removable HD, or whatever. I might try an install on a memory card..... see how it goes!

[bsb]

zip drives

Hi thanks for your input. Installing everything to a zip won`t work a they tend to be TOO slow (286 would out run it!). I think I will just have to bite the bullet pick up a large memory stick and try it.

[NormanRouxel]

In XP's feature set are encrypted folders (or the whole filesystem).

I've never tried them but they might be enough for now.

Any security experts listening?

Norman

[edwardcyh]

XP security and NTSF are excellent; however, configuration is critical. If you leave out couple settings, you might as well kiss your secured data goodbye...

On the other hand, I would say it's more secured than a memory stick in a safe.

Another thought, how about a removable harddrive bay? Pull it at night and lock it up? You can even turn on a setting so that the harddrive will not work with any other computer!

[bsb]

the idea of the harddrive is attractive, the only concern I have is the physical strength of it, drop a stick and it still works!!. How do you secure a harddrive so it will only work with one computer?

[m@rk.to]

we work in a small office on a peer to peer lan. we have two laptops on the lan, eachwith a business license. at each close of business we take a snapshot from the primary pc and store onto a mapped drive, being a "snapshot" directory on the seconday machine, my laptop. both of us take each laptop home each night so and in the case of one loss, there is always another copy of the snapshot somewhere. so, albeit not answering the 'security' question, the backup question is covered to a degree.

although we have not done it, the idea of pgp encrypting the smapshot folder and / or files is an excellent idea. this would be a very simple and indeed safe solution. i will investigate further.

for finals and as each snapshot is 90MB, i then copy on a weekly basis the youngest snapshot onto the file server here at home and delete all previous snapsots. it would be great to do this over the vpn, but it is bandwith prohibitive with the size of these files.

again, i will consider the pgp option on the file server aswell

[bsb]

biometric usb memory stick

well I think I have just found the answer, more secure than the harddrive option, has anybody tryed a biometric usb memory stick, you simply use your fingerprint on the intergal scanner.
best of all 125mb is only £85.00