Beefing up your Computer Security!

[LazyLion]

A friend of mine asked me to give her some advice... so I typed it all out... i thought you guys might like to save a copy of it to send to your online friends... and you can customise it as you wish or make other suggestions... mainly for people who might not be as computer literate as you!

here again is all the info you need on securing your computer!

Most people have some kind of Anti-virus on their computer. If you do not have any, you need to first go look in the mirror and slap yourself, then come back here and read this.
You might have either Norton or McAfee on your computer. I used to be a big fan of McAfee back when their programs were lean, mean and unobtrusive. But unfortunately all these big name anti-virus vendors suffer from the same problem.
Bloat! The programs have become too big, they try to do too much and usually fail at most of them. Norton has gotten a lot of bad press lately... and here is the reason why...
http://www.thepcspy.com/read/what_slows_windows_down/3
Yes, that is right. Norton is one of the biggest memory hogs known to computer users. If your computer is sluggish and unresponsive and you have Norton installed, then there is your evidence! Uninstall it now!... but wait... having problems uninstalling Norton? Yes... that is another problem with Norton Anti-Virus! It just does not want to go away!...you can read about it here...
http://www.pchell.com/virus/uninstallnorton.shtml
Then, when you are ready to get rid of Norton... go here...The nice people at Symantec have made a tool to remove Norton from your computer!
http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039
ok... when you are finally rid of that Hog of a beast... we are now ready to install something else as a Virus Scanner.
Note! You should only ever install ONE virus scanner program. Putting more than one virus Scanner program on your computer can make a big mess and crash your system! This is one case where more is not better!

But wait, before we begin... you ask me... why should I not install an all-in-one Computer Security Suite? Well, because they suffer from the same problems mentioned above.
They are big memory hogs, they take control of your entire computer and cut you out of the loop. Me, I like to be in control of my own computer. And for that reason I prefer to know exactly which programs are doing what on my system.

OK, so... Anti-Virus - you should choose only ONE of these...
AVG or Avast are the highest rated!... I prefer AVG, I have used it for years. It is unobtrusive, low on memory requirements and updates itself on a daily basis.
You must let it do its update thingy. An Anti-Virus program is only as good as its latest update. If you are not going to let it update, then there is no point in having a Virus Scanner on your computer.
Get AVG Free Edition here .... http://free.grisoft.com/ (why the Free Edition? Why not the Pro Edition? There is little difference between the two.. .with the pro version you get more support and faster updates - that is about it!)
Get Avast here... http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html
you can also try NOD32...
http://vidmar.net/weblog/archive/2005/11/02/2362.aspx
or Bitdefender Free....
http://www.bitdefender.com/PRODUCT-14-en--BitDefender-Free-Edition.html

OK, so now you have your virus scanner installed and up to date. One other point about Virus Scanners. Most of them want to run some kind of full system scan once a day or once a week. I usually turn that feature off and run my own scans once a week or when I think necessary. No sense in torturing your hard disk with unnecessary scans. But you MUST do a scan once a month at least or when you suspect you might have picked up a virus. I also prefer to scan all the files I download from the internet manually to check them as they come in! You should also do this with stuff you download from Limewire or other P2P programs! P2P programs are notorious for transmitting viruses! You have been warned!

Now, what about Anti-spyware? You also need one of these... spyware is not the same as viruses although they can be just as malicious! They are little programs that can steal your info and bombard you with advertising.
so... Anti-spyware... (you can use more than one of these)
Ad-Aware...
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/products/ad_aware_free.php
Arovax Anti-Spyware...
http://www.arovaxantispyware.com/
Spyware Doctor is part of the Google Pack... (and you can also get Norton anti-virus with it, but I do not suggest you use Norton - it will slow down and mess with your system).
http://pack.google.com/
Windows Defender from Microsoft...
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

I have all of the above installed on my computer and I use them to scan with once a month or so.

What about Firewalls? If you are using Windows XP or Vista you already have a firewall...
Believe it or not I suggest you stick with your basic Windows Firewall, it is quite sufficient!
But if you have to have a different Firewall... Try one of these... (only one!)

Comodo...
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/
Ashampoo...
http://www2.ashampoo.com/webcache/html/1/product_2_0050__.htm
ZoneAlarm
http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/home.jsp

Now here are some other tools I also suggest you use!

Other Tools...(Can be used in conjunction with the above)
Adblocker and Parasite Blocker...
This little program edits your Windows HOSTS file to block out all advertising from know ad sites. (be aware that it can sometimes cause script errors when it blocks ads - especially in MSN Messenger!) You also might get a warning from one of the other above programs that your HOSTS file has been edited by this program.
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Internet Trail Cleaner and Crap Remover...
http://www.ccleaner.com/
McAfee Site Advisor warns about bad sites...
http://www.siteadvisor.com/
Cert's Home Computer Security Advisory...
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/
Microsoft's Home Security Advisory...
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/default.mspx

And then... make sure you have ALL the latest Windows updates! and updates to all the programs you are using on your computer.
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

 

[LazyLion]

Now, a word about your Internet Habits...

1) Passwords. You should use strong passwords and use a different password for every other program as much as possible!
Do NOT use family member names or pet names or birthdays as passwords!!!! Those are the first things a hacker will guess!
Also do not use words that can be found in any Dictionary as a password. Hackers use full English dictionaries to crack passwords by brute force!
Use a password that is easy to remember and pronounce but is not a normal word. For example...
"kastoredd429" is a word you can pronounce and remember... it is fairly long and has random numbers attached as well.
This site will generate some nice pronounceable passwords for you... but remember to add some numbers to it as well!
http://www.multicians.org/thvv/gpw.html
You can test how strong a password is by going to this site...
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx
or this one...
http://www.securitystats.com/tools/password.php
you will see on that site my password is rated medium to strong.
We can make it even stronger by adding a few other characters...
"k@(store)dd429"
Now my password is super strong!

If you have multiple passwords you might want to use a password manager, the more different passwords you use... the better.
Obviously if you use one password for everything and it is discovered, then all your security is compromised!

Some Windows programs do store your passwords for you, which is fine, unless a hacker can get access to your computer, he can then see all of the passwords stored on your computer!
Also be very careful of using public computers at stores, malls and airports. Avoid them if possible. They can be infested with viruses, spyware, keyloggers etc.!!
Never EVER use a public computer for your Internet Banking! NEVER EVER!!!

Here are some password management programs you can use to keep track of your passwords...
I would avoid using password storage sites, since they can ALL be compromised!

http://www.roboform.com/
http://www.passwordcommander.com/
http://www.keywallet.com/

2) E-mail habits! As you know spam is a massive problem. All of us get unwanted e-mails all the time. You should never ever click on any links in an e-mail which you do not know the sender.
Clicking on links in unknown e-mails is a sure way to get viruses and to have your identity stolen. Also do not forward e-mails that you are not sure of the source and you have not verified yourself!

To check on the legitimacy of an e-mail... use these sites to verify your information...

http://www.hoax-slayer.com/
http://www.snopes.com/
http://urbanlegends.about.com/cs/nethoaxes/ht/emailhoax.htm
http://antivirus.about.com/od/emailhoaxes/Email_Hoaxes.htm
http://www.truthorfiction.com/

Do not forward any so called "Virus warnings" by e-mail! Even if the e-mail tells you to! They are all of them hoaxes, and many of them are created simply to harvest your e-mail address. When a scammer or spammer gets a list back that has been forwarded hundreds of times he has a nice list of thousands of active e-mail addresses all for him to send you some more spam! Don't do it!
By forwarding joke e-mails you risk getting your e-mail harvested by a spammer.
Never ever respond to any e-mails claiming to be from your bank and do not click on any links that are supposed to go to your bank.
Memorize your bank's online address and every time you go to your bank just type the address in by memory!
Do not save your bank's home page to your favourites or bookmarks... when your computer is stolen that is the first place they will go!
Likewise, do not save your home address or bank name into your GPS device! If it stolen they will know where you live and which bank you use!
Do not click on any links to e-cards or postcards online, unless it is from a friend you know and you have verified that they sent you an e-card.
Do not use third party e-mail programs or IM or Chat programs to check your e-mail or your IM. The well known ones are OK - Pidgin, Trillian, Meebo, ebuddy, etc. But never forget that they are third party programs and you are handing over your password to a third party.

3) Kids online... This part is simple... Never EVER let your pre-teen child go on the internet without you being right there looking over their shoulder! In fact... just don't let kids use the internet... period!
If you have a teenager... tell them the rule is you will check their computer once a week to see what they are doing on their computer, which sites they are visiting, etc. Then make random checks to see what they are doing! Of course, then they are going to know that you are checking on them so they will hide their tracks. Make a pact with them that they can monitor you.. .and you can monitor them... try this site...
http://www.naomifilter.org/

 

[proximiti99]

WTH is this?

 

[Glordit]

WTH is this?

My Eyes!!!