Several tools available for Windows and Linux desktops allow you to securely delete files containing sensitive information.

By Max Hetrick

In the past, I wrote a tip on how to securely erase an entire hard drive and also mentioned that the best way to dispose of a dead or dying hard drive is to physically destroy it. This method of destroying sensitive information is perfect if you're actually disposing of the hardware, but it doesn't solve the problem of securely destroying information at a file level within a working file system.

Using a random-number generator, however, can give you an unbreakable password.

By Chris Smith

I've been writing for the past few weeks about security and encryption and ways to take care of yourself and your computer in the face of some pretty--shall we say--"obsessive behavior" by numerous people using the Internet who aren't very nice.

I have to confess that when I thought up my most common password, variations of which I use for just about everything, I imagined a classroom of sixth-graders sitting around trying to guess what it is.

What does the Use adopted authority program attribute do?

By Carol Woodbury

I've told you about adopted authority, which gives users temporary access to objects or additional authorities. I've explained that adopted authority is a program attribute and that to make a program adopt, the User profile parameter needs to be set to *OWNER (rather than the default setting of *USER.) However, I've neglected to explain the Use adopted authority program attribute and its role in the adopted authority flow.