Asset Management

Don MacVittie replies: For the purposes of our tests, we invited only vendors whose systems were capable of tracking both hardware and software, on multiple platforms. Our thinking was that IT's numerous assets--for example, SAN gear, switches, routers and hubs--can't be adequately tracked if only Windows is supported.

Configuresoft's ECM doesn't support any operating system other than Windows.

Not That Secure

In "Improve Security With Wireless" (Oct. 14, 2004), columnist David Willis does a great job defending the security of wireless networking. He is correct, of course, in pointing out that wireless security has improved substantially as a result of better encryption, endpoint authentication and other technologies that help prevent unwanted access.However, Willis overstates his case (and potentially confuses the issue) by attributing a litany of bad practices to wired networks while failing to acknowledge that the vulnerabilities described also exist in wireless networks. Install a wireless network and the unattended stations, USB flash drives, Post-It passwords and other problems will be just as dangerous.

Although it's fair to say that wireless networks are no less secure than wired ones, to insist they're more secure is a bit of a stretch.

Marc Thornsbury
IS Manager
Company name and e-mail address withheld by request

Sign, but VerifyOverall, Sean Doherty's "Making E-Signatures Count" (Aug. 19, 2004) is a fine article. However, I have some quibbles.

First, an "I Agree" button alone does not make a legal electronic signature, primarily because there's no record of the matter agreed upon. Such a button can show intent to sign, but e-signatures require other capabilities to ensure that what was agreed to is "locked down" and then shared with all parties.

Second, digitized signatures shouldn't be considered complex. On the contrary, they're easy to create, and you can copy and paste them in all sorts of documents. Hence, they're easy to counterfeit. Only trusted software can verify an electronic signature; you can't tell with the naked eye if it's authentic.

Third, as a founder of Yozons, I was dismayed that Doherty didn't mention our e-signature company, citing only AlphaTrust, DocuSign, nCipher and Silanis Technology. At Yozons, we let customers use an outsourced signature process via our hosted ASP, or license our technology as a package for installation on their own servers.

We've seen a dramatic increase in business in 2004. People will surely become more familiar with e-signature technologies in the near future as the economy regains strength and businesses continue to improve their efficiencies with faster, paperless transactions.David A.E. Wall
Chief Software Architect
Yozons

E-mail address withheld by request

Tell Us How You Really Feel

Send e-mail to [email protected], fax to (516) 562-7293 or mail letters to Network Computing, 600 Community Drive, Manhasset, NY 11030. Include your name, title, company name, e-mail address and phone number. All correspondence becomes the property of Network Computing.