> > The Winderz is now at Amazon (with the latest Data Center version). > We have > > to run QuickBooks - hence the Winderz requirement. > > Wow, thats really pushing it IMHO. Not only using a cloud for financial > purposes, but then also a windows platform. I am no security expert or > guru, but that really seems like a fair amount of risk on the line. Way > more risk that I would be comfortable undertaking. >
What's the security risk difference between having this software on the aforementioned server in a virtual machine sitting in a rack downtown versus having this software on a virtual machine hosted by Amazon? I had a COTS firewall. They have a professional-grade, beefy enterprise firewall (that I would never be able to afford or maintain) for which I have quite a bit of control over who gets in where and when. Then there's the Winderz software firewall. This isn't 1999 anymore - it's quite okay now. The final kicker ... even the VM itself is running on RHEL! Couple that with QB accounting (no pun intended) for about 85% of the small business market share, of which 90% of all business conducted in America is 'small business'. We all must be snorting pixie dust apparently. Note that this is likely just a temporary arrangement also, as the technology evolves and the price comes down, Intuit will be hosting the application (SaaS) without the need for a VM host. Security boils down to common sense. Lock your doors when you're out. Keep the ports closed when not in use, and monitor when they are. That's my .11 cents per hour. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Archive http://marc.info/?l=jaxlug-list&r=1&w=2 RSS Feed http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/maillist.xml Unsubscribe [email protected]
