privacy policy
How many times have you been to an internet café and found 6 months of other peoples documents, browsing history (and even login details) left on the machine for all to see?...
...not to mention old, broken or dirty equipment, and out of date application versions, or browser plugins which are not installed.
All too often we've seen it on our travels as well! As a result, when we set up the m@trix, we resolved to be different...
...and to provide a safe and secure environment, so our visitors didn't have to be concerned about checking their email, doing their banking, or buying tickets online!
Here's how we do it...
System Updates
The very first thing we did when setting up our workstations was to try and anticipate the types of applications our visitors would be looking for... and to provide a choice wherever possible.
For example, for browsing the web we have Mozilla Firefox, Safari, Opera, Netscape Navigator, AOL Browser and [even] Internet Explorer, all available.
Similarly, for messaging & chat we have Windows Live (MSN) Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, ICQ, AIM, Trillian and Gadu-Gadu. Not to mention Skype.
Even with office applications we provide a choice, with both Microsoft Office Professional 2003 and OpenOffice.org 2.2 installed.
In addition, we continually review the applications installed with a view to adding new or requested applications & add-ons, or removing those that have become obsolete (or are no longer supported by their authors).
To ensure that we remain up to date, we subscribe to services such as VersionTracker.com, in addition to checking author homepages, to ensure we are aware of the latest upgrades, patches and security fixes.
Of course we also check Microsoft Update... and we apply the updates [for all our software] at least weekly.
Once installed, we then
check the application's own settings, to turn-off all history
logging and similar behaviour (as a first line of defence), clean-up all install logs and temp files,
run anti-spyware and anti-virus scans... and then lock down our system.
In-Session Protection
A large part of ensuring that the privacy of our visitors is protected, is knowing what applications and plugins are installed [and where they keep any logged data - so we can erase it]. Accordingly, the installation of software and ActiveX controls during a session is blocked, by settings on individual workstations and on our server.
If you need access to specialised software, or a particular ActiveX control (to access your workplace network, for instance) please let us know... we may be able to arrange the installation for you (or even have an alternative available).
In addition, anti-spyware
and anti-virus scanners plus phishing filters [where
available] are enabled... and access to warez and game cheat sites are restricted (as
they are notorious sources of keyloggers, trojans and viruses).
End-of-Session Clean-up
When your session ends, a series of routines are automatically run in the background to clear all private data from your workstation.
A consequence of this action is that you can't save anything on our workstations to
continue working with at a later time. Once you press finish... it's gone!
Please talk to us about your options... if you do need to save something.
The primary tool we use is an application called
Window Washer.
This comes with a series of pre-defined routines, designed to clear both browser history and other private
data for a range of applications, as well as traces left behind in Windows XP itself (e.g. recent file lists).
In addition, we have defined our own custom routines, to erase data not catered for by those already built-in to Window Washer.
Some examples of the data deleted, include...
- Browser cache, cookies, address bar & history of sites visited
- AutoComplete & Form data
- Downloaded or saved files
- Username & Password lists
- Temporary files, including AutoRecovery files & settings
- Windows Registry data & settings
- Both Windows & application recent activity logs
Note: If we've missed something and you find anything that hasn't been wiped clean from an earlier session... please let us know!
Please note, while our server logs session start and end times, and any charges incurred, no other data is retained. And even our session logs are cleared nightly.
Last Line of Defence
As good as the work performed by Window Washer, and the other forms of protection mentioned are... almost inevitably there will be a time when something slips through the net.
To protect against just such an eventuality, all our workstations have disk management software called Deep Freeze installed.
Deep Freeze uses a unique method of disk protection that preserves the exact system configuration on our workstations. No matter what changes a user makes to a workstation, a simple reboot eradicates all changes and resets the workstation to its original state... right down to the last byte!
The result is, an assurance that all your data is kept private... and that all our workstations are truly protected and completely free of harmful viruses and unwanted programs.
We hope you enjoy your visit, knowing that [at the m@trix] your private data is both Safe and Secure!
