2002-09-26_PWETC_AgendaPacket - Laserfiche WebLink

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1',/ ,,I' ,};,~ . cussion. The meetings begin with a salutt, to the f].lg ;:md a roll call, lhen minutes are taken by the public works department secretmy. The items taken up arc very much like the ones thut used to come to the city council. On a recent agenda, the commission considered moving a stop sign farther into the sight of lines of on~ coming drivers; creating a four-way stop 011 an ;.trterial dose to a new business; and sening aside a new disabled space in a downtown parking lot. Maybe not the stuff of dreams, but these are the kinds of things that people "1re about Clnd want to do right, which is to say fairly and equitably. 1~1lking about them seems to make everyone feel like it player. Whatever the rcason, the commission is a hit with the public. Peo~ pie who come to its meetings always comment on how interesting they art' and how much they have learned. In dty governmt'nt, it doesn't get any better Ihan thaI! eil)' staff members are happy, too, They collle to the commission table with a wealth of information they are happy to contribute to discussions. Because they have a place at the table with the public and council members, stafr mel11~ bel'S tell LIS they are able to see more about how the political side of things works, Since the P&T Commission began, it has not had one shaky voice or boil" ing temper impeding its forward progress. There is something calming about the roundtable approach. per- haps the eye contact it requires. Sonora has found that people seem more able to listen to each other and more likt.!y to consider 'ideas that differ from their own. Let us just emphasize that Sonora's commission is for all the peo- ple and not just for the squeaky wheels of this world. Come to think of it, we don't hear much from those folks any~ marc. I wonder why. DiD Liz B(ISS is the mayor of SO/10m, CalUor- Ilia, and Greg Applegate is thl' city admill- istmtor there. 22 3,,(\""1; . -~ PM Mobile Code Threats: Seven Suggestions for Safeguarding Your Organization If you browse the Web, will your com pUler get hit by malicious lava? If you surf an unknown Web site, will an ActiveX component send your spreadsheets to Bulgaria! The terms may sound unfamiliar, but the risk is real. Some of the mohile code lechnologies now emerging are riddled with security holes. At any time. even hostile companies or foreign nations could decide to use mobile code as an offensive medium. In the future, virus experts expect that the number of stationary mobile code threats can only grow. Is your local government prepared? Here are seven increasingly secure (and obtrusive) security suggestions for protection against malicious mobile code: 1. Run anti-malware software on all desktops, servers, and gateways. 2. Install URI.-blocking software at the gatewall or the desktop. 3. Only allow ActiveX from a limited set of authenlicated providers. 4. Configure Web browsers to reject automatically all Java applets that request' additional access to the local computer, or configure the major browsers to allow only properly signed Java apple" from a set of trusted partners of your local government. 5_ Configure your desktop browser software, first, to prevent it from aUowing users to add additional trusted signatures on their own and. second, to deny automatically all requests by JavaScript, VBScript. etc" to access the local machine resources. . 6. Obtain the latest patches from your Web browser and e-mail products. 7. Install software to filter executable files/strip macros from incoming e-mail and "http" traffic. Glossary of Terms ActlveX: A scripting technology that allows full access to the Windows operat- ing system. ActiveX enables software components to interact with one another in a networked environment. For example, ActiveX technologies allow a user to view Word documents within an Internet Explorer Web browser. Mobile code: Scripting technologies used in Web programming language. Mobile code uses legitimate technologies as pathways for introducing malicious code, which may destroy programs and compromise system integrity. Anti-malware: Software that works against destructive programs (malware). VBScript: Visual basic scripting (VBS) is a scripting language for Web design, like JavaScript. Gateway: [n networking, the linking point between a private network and a public network (Internet). Firewall: A security tool designed to prevent unauthorized access to or from a private network. fircwalls arc frequently used to prevent unauthorized Internet users from accessing private networks connected to the Internet. All messages entering or leaving a protected network pass through the fi~wan, which exam~ ines each message and blocks those that do not meet the specified security cri- teria. It is almost like an invisible barrier that protects a network or computer. Executable content: A program or series of commands that is designed to "run" itself (an "exe" file). Heuristics: Self-learning programs that search your computer for unusual processes that might be virus related. -Rob Clyde, Chief Technologist Symanrec Enterprise Solutions Division, Cupertino. California NOVEMBER 2001 .