As news outlets create headlines such as "A Cloud & A Prayer," "The Cloud Is the Computer," and "Leveraging Clouds to Make You More Efficient," many readers have been left with cloud confusion. Many definitions exist for cloud computing, and a uniform definition is hard to find. In its most basic form, cloud…

Two computer viruses that have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage over the past four years are the Melissa and the Sasser virus. In March of 1999, the Melissa virus first appeared on the Internet and spread rapidly throughout computer systems in the United States and Europe. The virus made its way through 1.2 million computers in the…

Recently, attempts have been made to use Weblogs and other personal webpublishing technologies to support individual and social reflection in higher education. Weblogs can be highly individual and reflective in nature, and students' experiences and perceptions of the technology and practice are of primary importance in furthering educational use.…

EDUCAUSE presents the top-ten IT-related issues in terms of strategic importance to the higher education institution, as revealed by the ninth annual EDUCAUSE Current Issues Survey. This year, "Security" moves back to the top of the list. (Contains 20 notes.)

Just as many people log onto a Web mail site (Gmail, Yahoo, MSN, etc.) to read, write and store their email, there are Web sites out there with word processing, database, and a myriad of other software applications that are not downloadable but used on the site through a Web browser. The user does not have to download the applications to a…

Over the next several decades, libraries will face the potential loss of all the e-journals, ebooks, electronic theses, local digital collections, and other "e-stuff" curated for the public good. A solution to this problem is LOCKSS ("Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe"), a free, open-source digital-preservation software from Stanford University that…

Schools can protect themselves against massive loss of computer data by taking action. Lists steps to plan a disaster recovery program, focus efforts to install it, and see that all bases are covered when it is in place. (MLF)

Presents a temporal access control model that provides for decentralized administration of authorizations. The model permits the specification of rules based on four temporal operators, to derive additional authorizations from the presence or absence of other authorizations. Also, the model provides flexibility and several protection requirements…

As business relies less on "fortress" style central computers and more on distributed systems, the risk of disruption increases because of inadequate physical security, support services, and site monitoring. This article discusses information security and why protection is required on the Internet, presents a best practice firewall, and…

Examines the Internet's potential for becoming an information highway. Highlights include definitions of the information highway and the Internet; the infrastructure of an information highway; capacity; connectivity; simultaneity; network protocols; applications; interactivity; openness; mobility and remote access; universal access; affordable…

Risk management training cannot prevent hazards, but can help students learn to deal with them more efficiently. A risk-assessment and risk-communication approach to dealing with computer problems can be applied in the business classroom. (JOW)

Discusses the security of computerized test files based on a survey of collegiate educators and offers recommendations to make tests more secure. Highlights include passwords; firewalls; keeping test files offline rather than on a hard drive; encryption; and using software to write over files rather than just deleting them. (LRW)

Identity theft via bogus e-mail links, or "phishing," is escalating, with criminals becoming ever more brazen and sophisticated in their online schemes to trick people into revealing their personal information. People do get scammed. Phishing messages that appear to be sent by trusted companies dupe 3 percent of the people who receive…

"Sleazeware" is the authors' term for spyware, adware, malware, trackware, foistware, trojans, and other programs that sleaze into computers, either as a hidden component or by tricking someone into downloading them. Once in the machine, the program phones home for purposes ranging from simply reporting where people browse to downloading…

Many people still have not heard about the many ways identity theft via bogus e-mail links, or "phishing," is escalating, with criminals becoming ever more brazen and sophisticated in their online schemes to trick people into revealing their personal information. The tricksters are getting trickier. One of the newest scares involves…