August 26, 2002

Monday, August 26, 2002

Symposium honours chem eng prof
Consultant will teach computer privacy
Monday news and notes

Editor:
Chris Redmond
credmond@uwaterloo.ca

Symposium honours chem eng prof

The department of chemical engineering is hosting an international scientific symposium September 6 and 7 in honour of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Murray Moo-Young.

Moo-Young (right), considered "a founder of biochemical engineering in Canada" took mandatory retirement on July 1, 2001, after nearly "four decades of a distinguished and productive career," notes chemical engineering colleague Bill Anderson.

Biotechnology and Bioengineering: Challenges in the New Millennium will explore current and future research trends and challenges in the field through a program of invited lectures by senior researchers, together with poster presentations from around the world.

Following registration and a reception at the Waterloo Inn on Thursday evening, the symposium will run Friday and Saturday in Davis Centre rooms 1301 and 1302.

Moo-Young remains active on campus, holding the NSERC Research Chair in Biochemical Engineering and serving as director of the UNESCO Microbial Resource Centre. He is best known for his bioprocessing expertise in the bioproduction and bioremediation industries.

Consultant will teach computer privacy

"The only secure computer is one that is turned off, locked in a vault, and the door welded shut," says Stephen Markan of UW's information systems and technology department. "And even that may not be secure enough!"

To explore the dangers, and some solutions to them, he will teach a three-hour course on "Computer Privacy and Security" next month as part of the non-credit program of UW's continuing education office. His course is scheduled for the night of Thursday, September 26.

What's the security issue? "Browsing the Internet often gives the casual user a feeling of anonymity," Markan explains. "But most sites track who has loaded a page via the computer's IP address.

"Think of the IP address as your licence plate to cruise the Information Highway, and consider that everyone has a virtual photo-radar. Now you'll understand why it is so easy to find out who might have been driving on the Information Highway.

"As you make a few stops here and there on the Internet you may decide to register for an 'enhanced' service. The information visitors provide is then used to build a profile on the visitors to a site -- including the possibility of tracking what other sites that IP address has visited. If the site that collects that information is particularly careless or particularly greedy, that information may in turn be shared with a larger audience.

"Protecting your identity, and your private information, is directly related to your system's security. Potentially on your computer are many items that provide private details of your identity. Financial information (such as credit cards, bank card numbers, bank accounts), personal information (such as e-mail, schedule, resumés, cover letters, maybe even personal diaries) and identity information (such as SIN numbers, account IDs, passwords). If someone can gain access to your system, they can steal your identity. With your identity they can apply for credit cards or loans -- and then walk away with the cash and leave you the debt."

In next month's course, topics that will be discussed and demonstrated include Internet privacy issues including cookies, ICQ, firewalls, home connections, security auditing, secure transactions, data encryption, e-mail, and protecting a computer from intruders.

Markan's course is just one of dozens that will be offered by continuing ed this fall -- not just about computing but also in the categories of professional devleopment, personal development, and communication and languages. Among courses being offered for the first time are "Stress Solutions for You," "Harassment in the Workplace," "French Pronunciation," and "Fireworks MX for the Web."

Monday news and notes

Plant operations sends word that the Burt Matthews Hall elevator will shut down beginning today, and will remain out of service until Monday, September 16 to allow for repairs. Also beginning today, a new sidewalk is being installed outside the main entrance to the GSC (facing the Davis Centre). Until this work is finished, the preferred entrance to the GSC is the back entrance -- at the inner parking area of the complex.

Mary Thompson, statistics professor and UW's representative ("academic colleague") to the Council of Ontario Universities, is still seeking responses for her survey on the quality of education. "I've received two responses, both excellent," she says, but she will gladly hear other thoughts on the matter. Thompson will be synthesizing UW's responses, and taking them to a COU retreat on August 30.

Avvey Peters

TODAY IN UW HISTORY
August 26, 1985: Bruce Springsteen plays Exhibition Stadium in Toronto, and some of his audience are people who slept overnight in the Humanities building lobby to make sure of getting tickets through the UW box office the first morning they went on sale.