If you do only three things to safeguard the computers you use in your organization, make sure you do these three:
- Update your software
- Protect against viruses
- Set up a firewall
They won't keep you completely safe from security risks and productivity loss, but together they give you a powerful first line of defense. 1. Update your software
Hackers like to find and exploit bugs and loopholes in popular software products. Some do it for money, some to make a statement, some simply to cause trouble. And they can cause trouble, exposing confidential public data such as credit card numbers on a Web site, or stealing passwords in a computer. The impact on your organization and the public can be devastating.
Basic steps you can take When Microsoft or another company discovers a bug in its software, it typically releases an update that can be downloaded over the Internet. The update patches the loophole or bug to keep hackers from causing trouble. Over time, however, software products have become more security enhanced. Windows XP Professional, for instance, is inherently more security enhanced than Windows 95. And Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (SP2) provides even stronger security enhancements that help defend against hackers, viruses, and worms. But that doesn't negate the importance of downloading and installing patches as soon as they are released. Installing updates for Windows: Windows XP Professional: Go to the Microsoft Update Web site, click Scan for Updates, and the Web site automatically analyses your PC and determines what updates you need. You can then download and install the patches. You can also make this happen automatically by enabling the Automatic Update feature in Windows XP. When important updates such as SP2 are released, you receive them automatically.
Windows 2000: If you're running Windows 2000 as part of a domain or as a standalone computer, visit the Microsoft Update Web site where you can find the latest service packs, device drivers, application compatibility, and system security updates.
Windows 95 and Windows 98: If you are running one of the older versions of Windows, you should know they have much less security enhancements than newer versions of the operating system, such as Windows XP. Microsoft strongly encourages upgrading to help ensure the highest level of desktop security features. Go to the Windows XP Web site for details. To have updates automatically downloaded and installed to a PC running Windows XP: - Click Start.
- Click Control Panel.
- Click System.
- Select the Automatic Updates tab in the System Properties box (see Figure 1).
- Select Automatic (recommended).
- From the drop-down lists, select the day and time each day to download and install updates.
- Click OK.
Figure 1 Installing updates for Microsoft Office Keep current with security patches for Microsoft Office programs, which are available with other downloadable add-ins at the Microsoft Office Online Web site. 2. Protect against viruses
Viruses (as well as worms and Trojan horses) are malicious programs that run on your computer. Some viruses delete or change files. Others consume computer resources. Some allow outsiders to access your files. One of the more ominous characteristics of viruses is that they can replicate (or copy) themselves. A virus can grab e-mail addresses from a contact list and send itself to those addresses. Virus-infected computers can spread throughout your organization and cause serious downtime and data loss. You also risk infecting computers of the constituents, stakeholders, and citizens that you communicate with via e-mail messages.
Basic steps you can take
1. Install anti-virus software. You should have anti-virus protection on all of your desktop and laptop computers. Anti-virus software works by scanning the contents of incoming e-mail messages (and files already on your computer) to detect virus signatures. If it finds a virus, it deletes or quarantines it. Because hundreds of viruses are released each month, all anti-virus software must be updated regularly with the latest signature definitions so the software can catch the latest viruses. Look for software that automatically downloads the latest definitions and programs from the Internet. Here are links to anti-virus programs from some of the better-known security software makers: 2. Never open suspicious files. Make sure all staff members understand that they should delete (without opening) any files attached to an e-mail message from an unknown, suspicious, or untrustworthy source. 3. Use e-mail security enhancement features. Both Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 and Microsoft Office Outlook Express 6.0 have settings that help detect and reduce potentially infected e-mail messages. Look into upgrading these programs if you don't use them already. To set junk e-mail options in Outlook 2003: - Click the Actions menu.
- Select Junk E-mail, and then click Junk E-Mail Options.
- Select the level of junk e-mail protection you want from the list of choices (see Figure 2).
- Click OK.
Figure 2 Learn more about security enhancements and spam-blocking features in Microsoft Outlook 2003. To upgrade to Outlook Express 6.0, download and install the Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 Internet browser. 3. Set up a firewall
If you have an always-on broadband connection, chances are your organization’s computer network is randomly probed by criminal hackers. Once they stumble on a valid computer address, they try to exploit bugs in software or decipher passwords to gain access to your network, and, ultimately, individual computers and everything on them.
Basic steps you can take
Like a moat around a castle, a firewall can block intruders from gaining access to your supposedly secure databases and network. There are two basic types of firewalls: - Hardware firewalls block all traffic between the Internet and your network that isn't explicitly allowed. For instance, you might want to configure the firewall to accept certain kinds of e-mail messages and Web traffic, but reject all other types. These firewalls can also hide the addresses of the computers behind your firewall, making individual computers on your network invisible to the outside. A firewall can be integrated into the router or DSL/cable modem supplied by your ISP
- Software firewalls, such as the Windows Firewall built into Windows XP Professional with Service Pack (SP2). With Windows XP with SP2, the firewall is enabled by default. This means that, by default, all the connections, including LAN (wired and wireless), dial-up, and virtual private network (VPN) connections are protected by the Windows Firewall.
If you don't have Windows XP, you can acquire a commercial software firewall. ZoneLabs, McAfee, and Symantec all sell firewall products. Read more about it | |
