Snow Computer Services // In The News
Simple steps for securing work computers against virus, spyware threats06/25/2004Source: Boulder County Business ReportAuthor: Jeff ThomasFor the better part of a decade there have been 10 easy steps to helping keep viruses off your personal computer.
Well, you get the idea. But in today’s world, avoiding attachments is a bit difficult, and besides there are a number of other ways that your computer can be infected, including spyware and intrusion (a hacker, for example). Keeping individual computers clean and protected is an increasing concern for all types of businesses, regardless of whether those computers are networked or not. There are no magic wands for computer security, but there are a number of steps that anyone using their computer for work can take to eliminate much of the danger. For networked computers, there are steps that everyone on the system may have to perform. For home and small businesses operating single computers or peer-to-peer networks, these steps should be tacked to your monitor if they are not already ingrained in your head. For starters, keep your antivirus protection up to date. Many networked systems do this automatically for all users. If the system doesn’t do it, then individual users should be updating their antivirus programs with the newest virus definitions at least once a week, said Dave Snow, president of SnowComputer.com, which has been in downtown Boulder since 1991. “I don’t worry about my clients opening attachments because I know their antivirus programs are up to date,” Snow said. “But people who don’t have that security have to update at least once a week. That’s especially a concern for people on dial-up connections, because it’s often difficult to get the fixes downloaded once they are infected.” Antivirus programs tend to be best at finding actual viruses and e-mail worms, but that’s only part of today’s security concerns. Another problem is keeping computers free of spyware programs. “It is kind of like a Trojan horse in your computer,” said Nate Lovell, lead technician at Louisville’s CADCO Inc. “We’ve seen machines come into the shop that are crippled to the point that they cannot be used on the Internet. Sometimes they won’t even boot up because there are so many conflicts that these programs are creating.” Firewalls and other higher-level security measures are usually effective at keeping out spyware programs, but in some respects keeping spyware off a computer is as simple as keeping Internet file-sharing programs, such as Kazaa and LimeWire, off the computer as well. These programs, created to share video and music files over the Internet, often are loaded with spyware, and in most cases, simply don’t belong on a business computer. “Sometimes as many as 45 percent of the files (available for download) are spyware programs. People just grab it and (automatically) launch it, and it’s like a Trojan horse on your machine.” The first sign that spyware is on your PC is a noticeable increase in pop-up ads while on the Web. In more advanced cases, the Web browser simply won’t navigate where the user wants to go, as the navigation has been totally taken over by a spyware program. Spybot Search & Destroy and Lavasoft’s Ad-aware are two of the most widely used freeware programs for combating spyware, and many computer experts recommend having both. Javacool also produces a number of anti-spyware and anti-tracking tools. Snow said his shop uses Ad-aware, which he has found effective against most all spyware, tracking and Trojan programs. Another routine measure that can be taken is routinely updating Windows programs. Most users connected to the Internet routinely are advised of Windows updates, but a large number of us simply choose to ignore these advisories. “I strongly recommend that people download and install all the critical updates. These are patches and fixes for Windows software that are often made to fix a security hole,” Snow said. “We see a lot of computers that are damaged by hackers or viruses that could have been protected by staying up to date.” Lovell recommends that all businesses with 10 or more computers employ a domain server, which can facilitate using higher-level security features, such as firewalls, to protect all the computers accessing the Internet through that domain server. But even the most basic network, a peer-to-peer network for example, should employ basic security measures, such as using passwords or disabling file-sharing programs. “Usually I go into a peer-to peer environment and try to implement some security and structure,” Lovell said. Use of a domain server means trackable security, but all computers can be enabled to use passwords. “Just last week someone came in and thought a temporary worker had downloaded their entire user catalog,” he said. “But there was no way I could track that for them.” Some experts recommend disabling all the Windows file-sharing and networking capabilities that are not in use (they can always be reinstalled with the operating system disks). These features can be a way for hackers or even worms to attack the system as a whole. Other experts consider disabling those components overkill. However, most recommend disabling one feature of Windows 2000 and Windows XP: the Windows Messenger Service. “In 2000 or XP, the biggest thing is to make sure that file-sharing is turned off, but that’s also the Windows default (off),” Snow said. “But Windows XP and 2000 also have a program called Messenger Service, which can send broadcast messages to other users on your network. Some advertisers have found that they can spam Messenger.” The Messenger Service should not be confused with Windows Messenger, a chat program similar to AOL’s Instant Messenger. In general, avoiding free software also can be a good rule, although we’ve already mentioned a few programs that actually help. But of increasing concern is the browser toolbars that many people download to assist their Web surfing. “Most of these programs are to be avoided,” Snow said. “Except the Google toolbar. We love the Google toolbar here. It prevents most pop-ups and actually enhances security.” 10 ways to secure company networks 1) Patches — Install security patches to correct software vulnerabilities.
Source: Enter-Networks.net |
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