The Security Mentor

I wrote about security guru Bruce Schneier's advice for home computer security. Since then his readers have sent in some feedback you should see.

Last time around I should have cautioned you about his advice to dispose of confidential CDs by microwaving them. Reader Charlie Brooks sent in a warning about the fumes which come off, which I can boil down to a single excerpt:

we all recovered after a couple of weeks

You could look for an expensive paper shredder that eats CDs (it'll say so on the package if it does), or you could use a $45 CD Destroyer from the Cyberguys catalog which leaves the CD in one piece but ruins the surface.

Are electronic voting machines adequately safe if they create paper trails but still have secret inner workings? Paper output would have saved the day in the disputed North Carolina Agriculture Commissioner election. David Jefferson says no and explains why. He points out that a crooked vendor could program the machine so that a few percent of voters get the wrong result the first time. Some of them will catch the error and try again but some won't notice. All the paper recounts will come out right, but that kind of trick could swing a close election.

If your state or county is going to use electronic voting machines, demand that the programming be published for security reviews.