 Welcome
to my hot flashes!
Hope your holidays were spectacular
and your computers trouble free!! With the appearance of the "MyDoom/Novarg"
worm in the past weeks, it is important you all understand how to
protect yourselves from these things and other "baddies."
This month's Hot Flash concerns internet abuse
and gives you some tips on how to stay safe in cyberspace. Actually,
I guess I have been ranting a lot about this lately but, when the
flashes hit, I must rant. We are seeing a lot of "tricks"
to get various account information and people capitalizing on operating
system and browser vulnerabilities to hijack accounts, increased
virus infections, malware....the list goes on.
Most of us use the internet for good intentions - research, education,
entertainment, communication and shopping, but not everyone out
there is honest and you must protect yourselves, as best you can
with the technology available, against the actions of these people.
Abuse on the internet can range from annoyances
to vandalism to outright theft. You lock the door of your home to
protect yourself from thieves and vandals, so you need to "lock"
your virtual door on your PC.
Below are some tips to help you make your PC more
secure, so that you have a pleasant on-line experience, not a nightmare:
1. Get An Anti-Virus Program
If you value your data and your PC, be sure that you have reputable
anti-virus software installed on your PC with the very latest signature
files so that viruses/worms can be detected before they infect your
computer. Finding a virus/worm after it has executed is like shutting
the barn door after the horse has bolted. Keep in mind that there
is a lead time between the discovery of a new virus and the updating
of the signatures, so you are never 100% protected.
Your best bet is to hold any questionable files
for a few weeks to give your anti-virus program provider time to
catch up, then scan them. (This is especially true for file sharers
out there - hold anything you download for a few weeks). Even if
you receive an e-mail from someone you know, DON'T OPEN THE ATTACHMENT
unless, you are expecting it. Many viruses/worms will use an e-mail
address known to you. If you don't know the sender, delete the message
and empty the trash folder, even if you are dying to know because
the subject sounds interesting. Remember, curiosity killed the cat
and it can kill your PC.
2. Protect Your Username/Passwords
Never divulge your username and password. If you want an analogy
on this, think of your username as an ATM card and your password
as the PIN number for that card. Guard this information as you would
your card information. If someone has this information, they have
a "free" internet connection (that you pay for, of course).
Or, could have access to your on-line bank account. Well, you get
the idea.....
3. Play It Safe With Email
If you receive a form attached to an e-mail wanting bank, credit
card, PayPal, or any other personal or financial information, be
very suspicious, Check the validity of the e-mail and the form.
There are lots of these "baddies" out there and they can
cause a lot of damage and grief. Most times, executing the attachment
will drop a keystroke logger or some other piece of trash on your
PC, so you must be careful.
4. Install A Firewall
Install and use a firewall. There are both hardware and software
firewalls available and they DO work...as long as you take the time
to learn how to use it properly. Not having a firewall can allow
the bad guys to "see" you on the internet and you want
to avoid this as much as you can. A good firewall should "Stealth"
you from prying port scans. To test this out, go to the GRC website:
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2
You may be surprised and/or shocked at the results.
You must get a firewall that blocks outgoing as well as incoming
connection attempts. This is especially vital for systems with a
permanent cable or ADSL connection. It's a fact..unprotected Windows
XP machines on a permanent cable connection will be hacked within
8 hours.
5. Update, update, update!!!
This means your operating system, your virus software, your firewall
software, your adware/malware scanning software. Patches, critical
updates, service packs, etc. are issued regularly (some daily) and
if you do not keep current, you will have problems. It is only a
matter of time.
6. Kill The Messenger
If you are running either XP Home or XP Pro, turn off the Messenger
service. (If you are on a corporate network, check with your alpha
geek [the system administrator] before you do this.) This is NOT
related to Instant Messenger. It is a service to be used by the
system administrator on a network to send out notices, but spammers
have figured out a way to use this service to annoy the heck out
of you with ads. It's probably only a matter of time before more
sinister uses are dreamed up, so turn that Messenger off! You can
do this by going to the GRC site, downloading and using Mr.Gibson's
"Shoot the Messenger" program or you can do it manually.
For the novice, I recommend this program...it is easy, quick and
gets the job done... no fuss.
http://www.grc.com
Tip:
If you want to "geek" it, yourself, below is what you
need to do to turn off the Messenger service in XP:
- Click "Start" and then click "Control
Panel"
- Click "Performance & Maintenance"
- Click "Administrative Tools"
- Double-click "Services"
- Double-click "Messenger"
- In the "Startup Type" list, choose "Disabled"
- Click the "Apply" button on the bottom right of window
- Click "Stop", and then wait for the service to stop
- Click "OK"
Whew, glad that flash has passed. Hope this information
is useful to you. Happy surfing and watch out for the cyber-sharks!!
9 February 2004
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