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Welcome to the Viruswarning forums. All your original content has been ported to the new forums as well as new content and additional opportunities to interact with the authors of Viruswarn.com. You can always access old content at www.leedrake.com/forum . You may find some formatting was lost in the conversion and the older versions of the posts to be more readable....
But at least it's all here.
Enjoy!
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Viruswarn Forums
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Lee Drake
Posts:238
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| 01/06/2004 5:02 PM |
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| I know that you haven't heard from us in a while - but there has been precious little to report in December. Microsoft didn't release any patches, and - though a number of vulnerabilities have been revealed - no new ones have been exploited in the wild as yet - nor is there much you can do preventively to avoid them. All the new viruses have exploited tired old problems that most readers of this newsletter have eliminated. Expect a rash of patches in January to make up for the deficit.
Every new year the Viruswarning crew releases this letter, to thank all the folks that subscribe to viruswarning. In it we typically provide some tips on security for the new year and an overall review of our current security recommendations. This year I'm also going to include (and there really IS a valid attachment on this message) an article I wrote for Business Strategies Magazine on how to stop pop-ups. Business Strategies has a "Geekspeak" column that I've been writing articles for in the last few months. This one was featured in the December, 2003 issue. Please don't re-post this article without my permission. You can see Business Strategies website at www.bizstrat.com. Consider it my holiday gift to you!
If you'd like I have 2 other articles - Lowering the TCO of your website, and Tips for Not-For-Profits for saving money on IT. Just drop me an email and I'll send them to you.
So - it's a new year with new tools, new opportunities and new threats! Our recommendations for you for your new years IT resolutions are as follows:
Install and have properly configured an antivirus product that updates signatures regularly. We recommend the Symantec and McAfee products. Other good choices are Trend Micro, Computer Associates and Sophos. Check your software regularly to be sure that it's automatically downloading it's signatures - or download signatures on a regular basis if they require manual update (We don't recommend virus products that require a manual update). From time to time run the liveupdate feature manually to be sure there aren't any program patches required that aren't loaded by the normal signature download. In a corporate environment we recommend similar products for servers.
Install and configure a hardware firewall between you and your broadband connection. For those with cable modems hardware firewalls such as the linksys, D-link and others are really a requirement. At a cost of under $100 you can protect yourself from many of the threats that hit computers in the past year - and add a hub that allows multiple computers to connect. These firewalls are easy to install, secure by default, and will help increase your security for very little cost. You may want to consider adding wireless capability to your hardware router if buying a new one - even if you don't use it yet. Most new computers (especially laptops) will be coming out with built in wireless connections within the next year or so. If you do add wireless be sure to configure it securely (see note below).
Install personal firewall software on your computer. These can range anywhere from the simple firewall built into Windows XP to something as complete as ZoneAlarm or Symantec/McAfee's internet security products. Take the time to learn and understand how the more complex products work, since you'll need to authorize each program for whether it can access the internet.
Install ad, pop-up and spybot blocking software which include those mentioned in the attached article (Spybot Search and Destroy and Google Toolbar). Protecting your privacy has become more and more difficult on the web. Having the correct internet explorer cookie and scripting settings, preventing the installation of spybot add-ons and keeping your computer clear of trojans are key factors in helping to prevent the inadvertent release of information.
Use common sense and treat every single email as suspicious. More and more security risks come from social engineering instead of computer engineering. Viruses tempt you to install them by disguising themselves as patches. Websites disguise their true location and get you to enter key account information into a website set up to collect that data and distribute it to criminals. Read everything that comes to you in email and on the web with a grain of suspicion. If you're suspicious of an email - don't click a link - type the link into your browser bar, or go to the link from your favorites instead. If it's an attachment be totally sure that the information was purposefully sent to you by the original email sender. If you get a links saying "help me update my links - go to this website and enter personal information and it's FREE!" be suspicious - there must be a business model there that supports that infrastructure - do you really want to send your "updated personal information" to that site?
Don't pass along urban legends - check www.snopes.com or consult with a computer professional before passing along that tip or warning that you heard from someone who heard it from someone. At best these sorts of emails can be a waste of time - at worst they can damage your computer.
If you're a wireless user be sure to use WEP encryption at the very least. You may want to additionally configure your wireless network to only accept connections from the wireless modems you use using their MAC address. If you don't know how to do this, or don't know what it means, get a computer professional to help set you up. This applies even if you're not using the gateway yet - if it's on someone else can use it easily to access your other computers or use your internet connection. It should only take a few minutes to set it up correctly.
Be sure to download and install critical updates for both your operating system and main applications software products on a regular basis. If the "world" icon is down in your system tray right now - double click it and let it install the updates it's already downloaded. If it appears again or you get that little balloon saying that there's updates waiting to install - don't just dismiss it.
If you have an older machine running windows ME or Windows 9X seriously consider replacing it with a new one. The total cost of ownership of these older machines is increasing almost daily. New software that's coming out doesn't support the older architecture and Microsoft is in the process of putting an end to the life of the Windows 9X/NT lines. If you're a business and you have these machines - consider targeting them for replacement this year. We estimate that a modern machine with Windows XP and Office System 2003 on it will more than half your total cost of ownership in a year. This means in many cases you can pay back the cost of the new machine in savings on time and tech support in 18 months or less. If a machine of that age goes down - its almost always more cost effective to replace than to fix.
If you're buying a new machine, consider replacing it with a name brand business class machine - even if you're a home user. Business class machines are made to a higher standard of reliability than your typical "home" machine or whitebox. With computers becoming a commodity you can get good machines from HP, Dell, Sony, Toshiba, Panasonic - any number of sources - just choose the "small business" machines instead of the "home" machines. These machines come with long term warranties, and frequently you can purchase an extended warranty to give you even more coverage.
Consider replacing your machine with a laptop. Portability has become a keyword these days, and the new laptops allow you to attach inexpensive USB keyboards, mice, hard drives, cameras, and other attachments easily. When you do want to go away from your home base a laptop with a wireless connection, modem and Ethernet port give you the ability to connect pretty much no matter where you are or what you're doing. Laptops have become considerably more powerful and rugged, while at the same time becoming cheaper and cheaper. When you price them consider that you're getting a 15" LCD monitor along with the computer and you'll find they're not all that much more expensive than desktops.
Be sure that you have a disaster recovery plan - are you backing up your computer? Are you storing key files offsite? Do you have a backup for your email, your contact list, your essential documents? Are you storing key passwords or other information in a manner that makes it difficult to steal, but accessible when you need it? If you have a mission critical machine or server is it being backed up daily and are all your re-installation disks and license keys available and in a single location? DVD writer drives can store up to 4GB on a disk and cost under $170 these days - consider those or at least a CDRW for a backup medium. 200GB external USB/Firewire drives are less than $400. One of these solutions should be the right size and price for your needs. They're much less expensive than other methods of attempting to recover or replace the lost data. We still recommend tape for large servers and enterprise level systems.
Be sure that you're using your computer legally, that you have the correct licenses, and you're not downloading or serving illegal music. Settlements by the RIAA are numbering in the tens of thousands of dollars, and the inconvenience and business loss of losing your computer may damage you even if you're not held responsible. Why risk it? Business owners, individuals, parents and CIOs should be sure that they understand that they may be personally held responsible for copyright violations that occur on their networks.
If this is all overwhelming? Consider getting help with your IT needs from a professional that can handle these problems for you, help you plan and help you be sure to keep your networks safe and secure and useful. Aztek, P6 Consulting or Periwinkle consulting would be happy to help you with your needs.
www.azcomputer.net
www.p6c.com
www.toto.com
Have a happy and safe 2004 ! And thank you for being a viruswarning subscriber!
Cheers,
Lee Drake
Aztek Computer Solutions, Inc.
274 N. Goodman St. Ste B269
Rochester, NY 14607
the human side of computing
Email: ldrake@azcomputer.net
Web: www.azcomputer.net Office Phone: 585-242-2060
Fax number: 585-242-9441
(As always - to unsubscribe to this newsletter simply chose reply, clear out anything in the subject and body and put the words "Unsubscribe Viruswarning" in both the body and header. If you still cannot get unsubscribed write me and I'll do it manually for you. |
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