Comments on: Internet Security

By: Aaron Schaub

Aaron Schaub — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 02:24:48 +0000

I’ve been an information and network security guy for 12 years now and I think you are doing a reasonable thing.

As far as network security goes, an air gap between a system and the Internet is the most secure configuration. No Internet, no network threat, no problem. Just make sure you are not using an unsecured wireless access point/router to support your private network.

I’ve seen in the comments some people think a separate, isolated machine is overkill. In your situation, I don’t think that is the case. How much money will all your intellectual property generate for you over your lifetime? How much of that money could you lose if your production system failed due to an infection? Compare the cost of such a loss with the cost of a dedicated workstation. I suspect strongly that the cost of a separate production workstation is a small fraction of your total intellectual property earning potential. You obviously did the math and made the right decision.

However, the math doesn’t work out the same way for everyone. Someone just storing family snap shots and a couple random Word documents can’t justify the cost of a separate production network.

Other comments talk about back up strategies and that is a valid consideration too. Again, the amount of effort you put into a backup strategy should reflect the value of the data you are trying to protect. Don’t spend $5000 to back up $10 worth of photos.

I could go on for quite some time on this subject, but I’ll spare you all. If you ever want to discuss information and network security as it relates to photography, drop me a line.

By: jan

jan — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 19:11:12 +0000

Good idea. Maybe just a little over the top, but you sure got stuff to lose. I strongly recommend disabling autorun features, I was bitten by it. Plenty of virii spread via usb drives, but disabling autorun will block them. Copying some stuff on a drobo and putting it away to a bank safe might be a god idea too

By: Kim Guerrette

Kim Guerrette — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 15:49:03 +0000

I think it’s a little overkill. But, if it makes you feel more secure without crippling your workflow, then who can complain. The thing I’m more worried about is offsite backups, which I currently don’t do, but am working on. Currently, I’m not very well protected against fire, theft, etc. Are you?

By: Mathew Ballard

Mathew Ballard — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 14:54:19 +0000

I can understand your worries. But, as some who has had to use a PC for most of his life I’d have to say that the only problems that I’ve had were the ones I caused myself. As long as you keep an good Anti Virus up to date and watch what you click on and have FireFox I think your pretty safe. Then again, I don’t have Terabytes worth of data either.

By: at t laptop connect

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By: Val Lane

Val Lane — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:01:12 +0000

Scott, I think you are NOT overreacting. Backing up and securing all important data is critical. The web, as you know, is a great thing, but it’s also poses a danger to our systems. So, I say do what you have to do. It sounds like very good advice to me.

By: adder

adder — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:24:07 +0000

You have to pick a level of acceptable risk that you are comfortable with, and act accordingly. Scott’s level of acceptable risk is obviously low, and he acts accordingly. There is no “right” or “wrong” level.

I don’t want to loose my pictures either, but I have several copies of all pictures on several machines. Everything is “flowing” one way, to ensure that I don’t get nasty stuff into my folders, files or disks. Also, I use Ubuntu – the worlds safest and most reliable OS.