Four Patching Best Practices How to cut down troubleshooting issues by Meryl K. Evans, Editor, The Remediator Security Digest For better or worse, patching is a fact of IT life. On the plus side, patching fixes problems, plugs security holes and keeps the network healthy. On the down side, patching can make things worse — causing the system to fail altogether or introducing conflicts that prevent normal operation.

Editorial Corner

Power patching best practices ... Stop little gadgets from doing big damage ... Nudging users to stay safe Happy New Year! Welcome to first 2007 issue of The Security Remediator Digest. We hope everyone had a grand time over the holidays and not much patching work to do. Alas, no IT department is free of patching duties, but it can do less by following the four best practices covered in this month's feature story. It's too easy for employees to bring in thumb drives, handheld devices and minicams and plug them into their PCs. Should we stop them? Or do we have to accept their infiltration as a fact of work life? Readers share their thoughts. Your company can have the best security process and policies, but it will never be 100 percent safe, even if it has perfect security. Why? Users can still do damage. So what can IT staff do to encourage practicing safe computing? Let us know your thoughts. We want to ensure you have a great '07 with help from the information in this newsletter. So please let us know what you'd like to see in future issues by completing the super-fast reader survey. We read every reply, and to thank you, we enter your name into a virtual box for a drawing where you could win a 256MB MP3 player. Best, Meryl K. Evans Editor, The Remediator Security Digest To unsubscribe instantly or change your preferences, see links at the bottom

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Last Issue's Security Dilemma: How do you stay secure with portables? They're everywhere! USB drives, digital cameras, music players and other portables are coming into the office. Sure, you can ban them — but people will get away with having them. Besides, isn't it better for people to listen to music on their portable players instead of on their computers? Well, unless they're downloading the music from their work PCs. How do you handle such gadgets for security's sake? — Mohinder, Tech Specialist Read the best advice from readers of The Remediator Digest   This Issue's Security Dilemma: How do you motivate users to practice safe security? More security and computer-related problems stem from users doing dumb things than from intense external attacks. How do you inspire your users/clients to practice "safe security?" — Meredith, IT Specialist Can You Help? Share your experience. You could win a 256 MB MP3 Player. Congratulations to this quarter's winner: Jason James, IT consultant — James IT Solutions.

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