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At first I thought this was a good idea. Let's face it, if we could guarantee that the person using a computer was the person supposed to be using that computer then we might actually have a handhold in the battle against spam and illegal hacking.

The theory is that by using a smart card and PIN, the PC user authenticates their identity and this makes it far more difficult for hackers to impersonate them -- and easier to identify spam carrying spoofed addresses.

Well all this would be true -- if it weren't for the fact that so many PCs are little more than an open door on the Net.

There are now a huge number of viruses and worms on the Net which install back-door software on unsuspecting users' PCs. Once such a back-door is installed, any spammer or hacker can "own" the computer and thereby take on the identity of the user.

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In such cases, the use of a card and PIN would be absolutely useless. In fact it's worse than that... By hacking into a computer being used by an "authenticated user" the hacker would effectively become that user.

No, I'm afraid that such security mechanisms are going to be almost completely useless until people start using operating systems that are significantly more robust than Windows.

A keycard/PIN system is a great idea and a very effective method of providing security for a stand-alone PC, but I fear that it's not going to help one little bit when you're talking about an regular home PC running Windows and logged into the Net.

Right now, I can't see a single reason why anyone would want to use a physical authentication system on such a system. Perhaps that's why the ANZ's ZED card failed to gather any following -- even though they were *giving away* a free card reader to PC users.

Lighten Up
Do you have a teenage daughter? A wife who strays from time to time? Well this is the website for you (use the menu on the left of the page).

If you think your kids are doing poorly at school, just check out this idiot's exam paper

Surely the manual [PDF file] for this Timex watch must win the price for "the most dumbed-down user documentation".

Footnote
This week (like last week) has turned to custard in a big way. I've lost three days to TV crews and that's meant that much the content I'd prepared for the new site was out of date before I had a chance to launch it :-(

Drop in later today or tomorrow though, you might be surprised (he says with a glint of hope in his eye).

New Forums!
Yes folks, good news. The grotty ezboard forums have been replaced with a new phpBBS-based system that won't assault you with a myriad of pop-ups and other flotsam.

A big thanks to Managed Internet Solutions for offering to provide this service.

You can access the new forums over at aardvarkforums.co.nz

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