What do you want to learn about Clerk PC Security?

[Mikerowaved]

Are there future plans to encrypt the entire hard drive to prevent confidential data exposure in the event of theft?

The MLS data is currently encrypted and (using information from aebrown's link) there is not supposed to be any other sensitive data stored on the hard drive.

[rbeede]

We recently realized that since every Windows account was admin we couldn't store MLS pdf printouts on the hard disk anymore. We moved them to a USB drive we lock in a cabinet.

What about temporary files though like ones created when you open a Word document or other things? Encryption might still be nice in the future maybe when FDE drives become cheaper.

[scotthamilton57]

Thanks to everyone for these intelligent questions! Keep asking away!

[aebrown]

There are a variety of reasons a clerk or leader might want remote access to a clerk PC. It could be used for diagnostic purposes (e.g., an STS wants to help a clerk in a building 50 miles away diagnose and fix a problem) or simply for convenience (a clerk wants to do some MLS work in the evening without having to travel to the meetinghouse).

Software such as Logmein, GoToMyPC, etc. could be used for this purpose. There certainly may be policy concerns with remote access, but what about the technical issues? Are there software firewall problems? What about the question of leaving the PC on for many hours at a time when no one is in the clerk's office? Are there any solutions in this realm that are recommended? Any that are discouraged or prohibited? Or is this whole question pointless because of policy?

[aebrown]

Ward Tools has the ability to sync with iPhones and the like using software that includes Bonjour and a wireless network. That can certainly be done on a clerk or leader's home computer as long as they take the MLS export files home with them.

But there's certainly some convenience in doing this on a clerk PC -- that's where the MLS export files are generated, and once it is set up, multiple clerks and leaders can update their data from the single installation. As far as I know, making this work requires certain exceptions to be made in the Sophos software firewall.

Are such exceptions prohibited? discouraged? allowed?