Monday, March 18, 2002		Bits & Bytes

Sheepdip: Also known as a footbath, a sheepdip is the process of checking physical media, such as floppy disks or CD ROMs, for viruses before they are used in a computer. Typically, a computer that sheepdips is used only for that process and nothing else and is isolated from the other computers, meaning it is not connected to the network. Most sheepdips use at least two different antivirus programs in order to increase effectiveness. The goal of sheepdipping is to block viruses from entering systems rather than waiting until they manifest on user workstations at which time they will have already done their damage.

Ghost site: A Website that remains live but is no longer updated or maintained or only done so very infrequently. Unlike a site that is no longer available and results in a 404 error message when the user tries to access it, ghost sites can be accessed even though they have not been updated. Websites typically strive for relevant information that is timely and current.