Trusted Stripe

In Trusted CDE, the trusted stripe appears in a reserved area at the bottom of the screen in all Trusted Extensions sessions. In Trusted JDS, the trusted stripe appears at the top of the screen.

The purpose of the trusted stripe is to give you a visual confirmation that you are in a legitimate Trusted Extensions session. The stripe indicates when you are interacting with the trusted computing base (TCB). The stripe also displays the labels of your current workspace and current window. The trusted stripe cannot be moved or obscured by other windows or dialog boxes.

In Trusted CDE, the trusted stripe has two elements:

• The trusted symbol – Displays when the screen focus is security-related.

• The window label – Optional. Displays the label of the active window.

Figure 4–3 PUBLIC Window Label in the Trusted Stripe

In Trusted JDS, the trusted stripe has two additional elements:

• The current account name – At the right of the trusted symbol, displays the name of the owner of new processes in the workspace. If the account is a role account, a hat icon precedes the role name.

• Labeled windows – Displays the labels of all windows in the workspace.

Figure 4–4 Trusted Stripe on the Trusted JDS Desktop

Trusted Symbol

Whenever you access any portion of the TCB, the trusted symbol appears at the left of the trusted stripe area. If your configuration suppresses labels, then the trusted symbol appears with the trusted stripe. In Trusted CDE, the symbol appears to the left of the Front Panel. In Trusted JDS, the symbol appears at the left of the trusted stripe.

The trusted symbol is not displayed when the pointer is focused in a window or area of the screen that does not affect security. The trusted symbol cannot be forged. If you see the symbol, you can be sure that you are safely interacting with the TCB.

If the trusted stripe is missing from your workspace, contact the security administrator. The problem with your system could be serious.

The trusted stripe should not appear during login, or when you lock your screen. If the trusted stripe shows, contact the administrator immediately.

Window Label Indicator

The Window Label indicator displays the label of the active window. In a multilevel session, the indicator can help identify windows with different labels in the same workspace. The indicator can also show that you are interacting with the TCB. For example, when you change your password, the Trusted Path indicator displays in the trusted stripe.

Figure 4–5 Trusted Path Indicator in the Trusted Stripe