Dear Bob ...I found it ironic, that just as you are suggesting a new way of looking at the PC (in "The portal," Keep the Joint Running, 2/25/2008), Microsoft is making it even easier to look at it the old way.I received from InfoWorld a letter: A long, long look at Windows Server 2008. This is Tom Yager's review of Windows Server 2008.In the email, it states: "Tom notes the strength of the security features, esp Dear Bob …I found it ironic, that just as you are suggesting a new way of looking at the PC (in “The portal,” Keep the Joint Running, 2/25/2008), Microsoft is making it even easier to look at it the old way.I received from InfoWorld a letter: A long, long look at Windows Server 2008. This is Tom Yager’s review of Windows Server 2008. In the email, it states: “Tom notes the strength of the security features, especially the ease with which administrators can lock down clients on and off the network. “/article/08/02/25/09TC-windows-server-2008_1.htmlWhile the individual may look at the computer as a portal, business apparently can not be so lax. After all, look at how much trouble has been caused because an individual downloaded a database to his laptop so he or she could continue work on a project at home, and then when the laptop is lost or stolen, a few gigabytes of customer information gets released. My view of the corporate computer is a world away from my view of my personal computer. But maybe that’s because I was brought up in the days of the Teletype, paper tape, punch cards and the VT220 terminal.– Pondering the ironyDear Pondering … I’m not the first to ask the question of why any business user ever would need credit card or social security numbers in any kind of personal file for any reason at all. The subject is usually folded into this debate. It shouldn’t be: Look at the PCI specification and you’ll find all credit card numbers should be encrypted in all databases if they are stored. Period. I’d say the same basic prudence should be applied to social security numbers, too.If you run an operation where business users routinely have sensitive information in their files, use one of the many available products that encrypt the contents of the hard drive. Use biometrics (now cheap) instead of password protection.There are solutions to most of these challenges other than locking everything down. Of course, it is also true that nothing fits every situation. I’m sure there are contexts in which total lockdown is the only appropriate solution. That this is true doesn’t mean it’s therefore the right answer for all of the other contexts.– Bob Technology Industry