Ruth's Chris helps internet security

I was doing a little bit of looking for a new freeware firewall when I came across an article entitled

The Six Dumbest Ideas in Computer Security

Even for a nontechy like me it is an interesting read, as is this guy's broad histocal view of the techworld. I've included the link on the bottom.

One of his listed dumb ideas is 'Action is Better Than Inaction' which he counters with a fake Sun-Tzu quote of "It is often easier to not do something dumb than it is to do something smart." (This of course reminds me of Mark Twain's line 'Better to keep your mouth shut and be thought a fool than to open it and remove all doubt.)

He then relays the following story:

Several years ago I had a client who was preparing to spend a ton of money on a technology without testing it operationally. I suggested offhandedly to the senior IT manager in charge that he should send one of his team to a relevant conference (in this case, LISA05 ) where it was likely that someone with hands-on experience with the technology would be in attendance. I proposed that the manager have his employee put a message on the "meet and greet" bulletin board that read:"Do you have hands-on experience with xyz from pdq.com? If so, I'm authorized to take you to dinner at Ruth's Chris if you promise to give me the low-down on the product off the record. Contact, etc..." The IT manager later told me that a $200 dinner expense saved them over $400,000 worth of hellish technological trauma.

I thought that was both funny enough and clever enough to share.

http://www.ranum.com/security/computer_security/editorials/dumb/index.html