Fast forward >>>> I was evaluating DMS and it seems like OpenKM did change the code, as it appears to not require any client-side java anymore.

https://demo.openkm.com/OpenKM/login

Exactly.

That is why I was always curious about the argument.

Are "they" trying to make the argument that generally VPNs are developed using better security coding practices than Microsoft's development of RDP?

Interesting topic.

I have wondered about this myself many times.

Would the VPN have mitigated these security exposures listed here:

https://blog.rapid7.com/2017/08/09/remote-desktop-protocol-exposure/

I believe that is "tax season" affecting my communication skills.... :winking_face:

@jaredbusch lol, the "garbage" was my deliberate editing of the original pdf layer. (albeit not very pretty) However, I could of just annotated the pdf in another layer, keeping the original layer intact.

I was demonstrating that I could edit a pdf. Using Form 1040, which the IRS created originally, I can delete text, move it, or change it to whatever I want using the edit feature in Tracker's PDFedit

Try the "Edit" feature in the Tracker product I post above. For example, on an existing PDF you can edit, move or delete things:

I have found 2 solutions which work well for our CPA firm.
For the past few years we have been happy with:
https://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-editor
Also, for another pdf editing option, which includes some DMS like features is:
https://www.lucion.com/filecenter-overview.html
However, neither is open-source, but you can license the Tracker solution code for dev purposes. Actually that is that the "File Center product does, and add other bells and whistles on it.

Youtube Video

My question with it, is the reliability of long-term storage of value in current cryptography. As others have alluded to, the future is uncertain pertaining to computational complexity theory. It would seem reasonable, that current “NP-complete” type problems will be solvable in polynomial time at some time in the future. Which means current cryptography does not work anymore. Then, what happens to the stored value, when denominated and validated in a computation which is has lost its previous inherent strength.

For transactional systems, this is not a big deal, because you would just update to the latest crypto standard moving forward with new transactions.

In addition to the typical layers, I have set the software restriction policy with a default deny policy, then allowed accordingly.
Like in:
http://mechbgon.com/srp/

Would need some more information on requirements, but Wave and Xero are rational places to take a peek. For example, what industry, any confidentiality requirements, SAAS vs on-premise opinion, do they need inventory module, payroll, job costing, any current CRM integrations or a need for one.

You are correct, it seems there are way too many of these types of software which want admin rights for a user to utilize the software. However, I do believe that is correct to require admin rights to install it.

At my firm we follow the principle of least privilege. It is a pain, but a layer of our security model. Many of these common Accounting/Tax applications privilege issues must be debugged to run in a limited user account. I have used Systinternals Process Monitor to help find directories or registry keys for the offending software to allow the limited user access to those objects. Usually the problem can be sorted out this way, however, back in the XP days, I remember some software would just refuse to work unless using an admin account, then I would have to implement a “run as” link.

Few thoughts on the subject:

I think cyrpto currencies and blockchain tech is super interesting, and has many exciting use cases. However, forget the history of the tulip mania and the south sea bubble, I hesitate from the idea of investing in currency exchange speculation or storing value with cryto currencies, because for me, the economic risk-weighted-return may not be worth it. Crypto currencies have a benefit, such as, a tech in a decentralized transactional system, but as a vehicle to store value, not so sure.

It could be problematic treating tech as an investing commodity like this, because the commodity itself is based on abstractions of current knowledge. The problem with storing long-term value in abstractions of current knowledge, is what do you do when new knowledge in or new solutions are found?

For example, in computational complexity theory, if the problem of “P vs NP” were solved, there would be huge issues for encryption as we know it. Transactional systems could just change to other methods to secure the transactions, however, static monetary value, validated with encryption, may have much more serious issues once the math used no longer can be relied upon.

Just a thought...

I thought this was interesting... ( It is long, but gives historical and informational reference to the issue.)
Youtube Video

I just got a UniFi Video Camera G3 Dome for my household. Seems like decent bang for the buck, however, will need to put it through various real world tests to see how it performs. But yes, you would need to run Ethernet for PoE.

The vendor trend is moving to SAAS, however, there are still some clients who do not/or cannot trust SAAS providers for whatever reason. Maybe they prefer air-gaped systems.

Sage still has some on premise solutions, like the re-branded MAS line-up like Sage 50. A lesser known on premise solution worth considering could be PostBooks - https://xtuple.com/products/postbooks/get-started-with-postbooks

I think what was meant possibly was "FreshBooks". More similar in functionality to Wave.

@mike-davis I wish I had a good universal answer for that. Not until you analyze business needs, budget, personnel, environment, etc can you arrive at a conceivable solution. And even then, the most difficult variable is the personnel. The CFO or accountant of company could be top of their class at accounting, financial management and strategic planning, but if they are uncomfortable with their tool (accounting software) their productivity could decline. And if the company is paying the CFO or accountant a good salary to make critical decisions, they will get the tool they like, even if the tools is, from a technology point of view, inferior. It seems there is usually a comprise, but not always.

I hate to say, but as annoying as QuickBooks can be, it is the comprise in many situations I have dealt with. On the other-hand, there are many accountants who also despise QuickBooks, but for accounting type reasons, but prefer another solution with an entire different host of problems. For example, a few years ago, a couple clients where still using Accpac Plus. Accpac Plus has been unsupported for at least a decade, maybe two, and a wayyyyyy outdated DOS based accounting package. Nonetheless, some old-school accountants insisted on keeping it. The old-school accountants where masters at using it, and were superb at their job, albeit using an inferior outdated tool. I tend to think larger enterprises do not have this dynamic as small business do.

I will add, QuickBooks Online, does seem to be like the “gateway drug” which can pull some off of QuickBooks on the Desktop, and open eyes to the possibilities, but seems to be more effective with a younger group and only sometimes.

You are most likely correct about lag/latency issues, that this can be solved, as it has here. It is my experience thus far, that the popular small business SAAS products are not consistently there yet. It is not just the SAAS providers fault either. Because end to end, the entire stack is involved, there could be many different problems here, and some not immediately solvable yet because of location, ISP service availability, etc. For example, recently for a client, I had to deal with an issue with data entry lag in a freight carrier system, which was caused by an ISP peering issue between Verizon and AT&T. Owners of the business were livid, because there was nothing we could do, but wait until Verizon and AT&T fixed the peering point packet loss.