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Security
When speaking of
computer systems, never use the word "secure."
Use this
information in order to protect yourself This guide is made only for
educational purposes...
For greater
security, run a "firewall" -- special software that actively
works to protect you. You can run firewall software on your own computer:
(Not all firewalls
are created equal (i.e., some firewalls are better than others)
( Internet user
will be better prepared with the knowledge and tools needed not be
fooled by the following hacker
tricks )
Potentially any
file you introduce to your system - whether it's taken from a CD or floppy
disk, downloaded from the internet or attached to
an e-mail message - could contain a virus.For
greater security, run a "firewall" The software can be run in the
background, scanning new files a they are introduced...Computer security is
now big news. The media regularly carries stories of new viruses and their
impact. But although email viruses are the most hypd aspect of computer
security the threat of a virus attack isjust the
tip of the iceberg. And, since 11 September, terrorist attackstoo, must be
taken seriously..
If you use a
computer, regardless of whether or not it is connected to the internet, you
are in danger. You've spent some money on a nice system and it's proven to
be very valuable. You've got lots of financial data (at least your
checkbook), your graphics, scanned photos and lord knows what else stored
safely on your hard drive.
You think you are
safe? Think again.
Before you do
anything else, make sure you have a backup and recovery plan for your
computer system. Invest in some kind of backup device (a tape drive, zip
drive or whatever) and a good backup program (Backup Exec is good) and do
regular backups. At the very least, back up your critical data files. You
MUST do backups if you want a secure system ... if something gets through
your defenses you can rebuild if you have a backup. Otherwise, you are
stuck ... system destroyed an no backup means you
lose all of your data.
Your first and most
significant danger is from nasty little viruses. Your system is in danger
if it has any contact of any kind with an outside computer. This includes
an internet connection, a network link or even a floppy disk. What do you
do about it? Spend the money and buy the best antivirus software that you
can find ... I prefer Norton Antivirus because of it's
ease of use and automatic updating features. There are plenty of products
to choose from, but be sure you can get regular, easily and automatically
installed virus updates. Norton is good because it also comes with an email
module which scans incoming messages and removes viruses automatically.
The next thing I
would recommend is to check out your email program. Microsoft's email
programs are wonderful, but they are so powerful that they allow a
multitude of malicious programs to damage your computer. If you are using
Outlook Express, consider switching to Eudora or a similar program. If you
are using Outlook, I would suggest you check out the security upgrade from
Microsoft which effectively disables many scripting features and the
opening of executable files. This will prevent email viruses, more properly
called Trojan Horses, from infecting your system.
Once you are
protected from viruses and email Trojan Horses, it's time to protect
yourself from people attempting to break into your system. Even if you are
using a dialup connection, it is a good idea to get yourself a firewall. If
you can afford it, purchase a hardware firewall such as the SonicWall. You can also get a nice software firewall
such as Zone Alarm (you can install the free version). A hardware firewall
is far superior to the software versions.
You may also want
to use an anonymous proxy service to cloak your TCP/IP address from others.
An anonymous remailer is good to keep your email address confidential,
although you can use several free web-based email accounts to perform a
similar function.
Now if you really
want to be secure invest in AdSubtract Pro (there is also a free version)
and configure the cookie and referrer protection. This allows you to
selectively enable or disable cookies and referrers (and some other things)
based upon web site address. It's very useful and easy to configure.
Also remember to
configure AdSubtract to remove advertisements and web bugs, and you've got
yourself a pretty secure system.
Now you want to stay
secure ... you've got to understand that there is a war going on right now
as we speak. This is the war between hackers and the rest of the world.
Hackers are constantly testing the limits of computer systems, and find new
holes and vulnerabilities all of the time. Thus, in order to keep your
system really, really safe, you need to sat on top
of the most current security information.
A good place to
start to become educated is the Microsoft Safe Internet: Privacy and
Security Fundamentals site. Another good site is the ZDnet Security Resource Center. Read through both of these (keeping in mind they are very
technical sometimes) and review the sites occasionally and you will be
relatively up-to-date on security issues.
Read up on other
threats to your privacy so you can be more careful online. Be especially
wary of scams and other attempts to defraud you. If you've got kids, but in
place adequate safeguards to protect them. This is very important if you
don't want them getting themselves, and you, into danger.
Finally, be
cautious about installing any new programs, spreadsheets or documents
(specifically Word documents). If you download a program off the internet,
make sure it is from a very trusted source. Downloading that game from the
cool site that you found last night is probably not a good idea - no
telling what is in the program, waiting to cause havoc on your computer.
As you can see,
keeping your system secure is a lot of work. But if you do not do it, you
will no be happy with the results. At the very least, make sure you have a
good backup. In fact, if you can only do one thing, spend the time on your
backups. That way you can always recover.
Share Level Access
How to protect
yourself from NetBus
NetBus Detective
detects all incoming NetBus activity and sends a configurable message to
the hacker. It will trace the NetBus 1.53, 1.60, 1.70, and 2.0 Pro hacking
tools and remove all kinds of Trojan horses that are made for NetBus.
NetBus Detective will also listen for hacking attempts and log all of them
to a list that can be printed. This program can be password-protected and
configured with sound alerts and personal colors. Support for more types of
Trojan horses has been added in this version. Also, files will be removed
from removed links.
If you have a local
area network (LAN) and you want to share file(s) and/or printer(s), or if
you otherwise enable Microsoft Networking, then you may inadvertently
expose "shares" (file and printer resources that have been
enabled for sharing) to the Internet. This most commonly happens
when "shares" are created with weak passwords (e.g.,
"password") or no passwords at all. When you are connected to the
Internet, anyone on the Internet may then not only access but also change
or destroy material on your computers. (Your risks might include other
passwords, social security numbers, credit card number, bank account
numbers, etc.)UPDATE (10/10/2000)Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me Share Level Password
Vulnerability
("Increasing
NetBIOS Security with Scope ID")Increasing NetBIOS Security with Scope
ID
If you need or want
to run NetBIOS File and Printer Sharing over TCP/IP, a strong Scope ID is a
good way to protect against outside intrusion. This is because computers
running NetBIOS over TCP/IP with Scope ID are invisible to other computers
that do not have the same Scope ID. (Scope ID is not set by default, so
normally such computers are visible to everyone.) Think of Scope ID as a
kind of overall NetBIOS protection that hides the lock if you don't have the
right key. Scope ID even prevents the Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me Share
Level Password Vulnerability
CMOS reset
Most MBs have a
CMOS reset (3 prong - jp 1-2 = normal operation; jp 2-3 =
CMOS reset)
1. Power down PC
2. Find CMOS reset Jumper & set to
2-3
3. Power on PC (you will not see or
hear anything) & leave on for at
least 30 seconds no
more the 1 minute
4. Power down PC
5. Put CMOS Jumper back to 1-2
6. Power up PC & Access CMOS..
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