geoff.mollyandgeoff.com

In response to criticism from “I.T. Managers,” Microsoft has apparently removed the newest addition to their download site. Private folders was a nifty little utility users could download that would allow them to encrypt some of their private data such that other users of a system could not read it. Obviously, there’s nothing groundbreaking about this functionality. Free utilities that perform just as well abound; anyone who’d like to keep their data private has many options. The strange thing about this whole affair is that some “I.T. Managers” felt the need to gripe to Microsoft about the matter. Moreover, they were loud enough that Microsoft caved and removed the download!

I hate to knock hard-working I.T. folks. Managing a company’s systems is fraught with challenges. Sometimes it’s difficult just to keep the lights on. But any “I.T. Manager” who complained to Microsoft about this utility is surely not doing his or her job. Microsoft has provided I.T. departments with facilities to control who can and can’t install software for many years now. These facilities are actually pretty good in Windows XP, which is required for Private Folder. The fact is, if a user cannot be trusted not to expose your business to increased risk of data loss by installing and running this utility, that user should be prohibited from installing software on your systems and you should refuse to install this software on them. End of story. Any manager who allows this type of user to install software is neglecting to manage their infrastructure.

Before we got a DVR, I’d have told you I didn’t watch TV. I still don’t, really. But if it weren’t for the DVR, I’d never have caught two shows that have proven immensely interesting.

• Hustle – It’s a collaboration betwen AMC and BBC about a group of con artists and how they pull their scams. This is easily some of the best non-sports TV you can find right now, but the schedule is so irregular I’d never catch it without the DVR. I’d say this is the only show I watch where I’m routinely caught by surprise at the end.
• Mythbusters – It’s almost like science, but not quite. These guys experiment with urban folklore in a very entertaining way. My favorite test to date: Can foods containing poppy seeds really cause you to fail a drug test? They’ve also tested whether alcohol or cell phones diminish your driving skills more and whether there was really an epidemic of spontaneous combustion in 1930s-era farmers’ trousers.

Neither show comes on at a convenient time for me to watch, and I think I’d be sorry if I missed either. I seldom say that about television unless the Red Sox are involved.

Anyone who’s been paying attention has seen this coming for some time.

Now, I’ve never been opposed to reasonable police powers. If the cops can convince a judge that a warrant is justified, they should certainly be able to obtain the wiretaps they need to perform their duty. That’s not disturbing in the least. But coupled with stories of “designated free-speech areas” and people being arrested and/or harrassed for such things as t-shirts advocating peace, the notion that backdoors should be built into every piece of communications equipment gives me pause. In particular when the regulation requiring the backdoor includes provisions for activation without a warrant. I opposed this crap during the previous administration and opppose it now.

So my big question about the proposed regulation is: will my activities now be criminal? See, my needs aren’t served by the communications equipment on the mass market. I’m presently building my own communications equipment to service my requirements. My build includes:

• A Soekris single board computer
• Two wireless cards: one for my own secured communications, and one for the convenience of passerby, as a public service
• Firewall, VPN and routing software developed in Switzerland
• A hardware cryptographic accelerator developed in Taiwan

Now, it’s a real safe bet that neither the crypto accelerator nor the firewall software will ever include the backdoor the feds mandate. Frankly, if they did, I’d write my own firewall and do my crypto in software I’ve personally audited for holes before I’d consider using them. It’s absolutely impossible to design a backdoor such that authorized police agencies can access it and no one else can. Any assertions to the contrary are over-optimistic, disingenuous or both.

Do they honestly plan to make the use or distribution of this correctly functioning equipment illegal? That sounds unthinkable to me, but apparently I’m an exception in this regard. I’m patriotic. I have no intention of doing anything harmful or illegal. But this really rubs me the wrong way. Am I the only one?