And Now For Something Completely Different…

Personal Computer Security

Introduction

• AOL is being the public-spirited mega-corporation and giving away free virus protection to all its users.
• What AOL is inadvertently doing is lulling people into a false sense of security by providing them with free anti-virus software in much that same way that once-upon-a-time CEOs were lulled into an equally false sense of security if they had a firewall.
• What can the personal computer user to make their system safe, or at the very least, safer?

The Five Golden Principles of Security

• As a quick review, here are The Five Golden Principles of Security:
  • Know your system
  • Principle of Least Privilege
  • Defense In Depth
  • Protection is key but detection is a must.
  • Know Your Enemy

Consider the Alternatives

• A fresh install of Windows XP lasted 20 minutes before it was compromised.
• Consider some of the alternative possibilities for operating systems instead of Windows such running Linux or buying an Apple Macintosh running Mac OS X.
• Regardless of which OS you pick, check for updates on a regular basis and evaluate what updates are available for installation before installing anything.
• If you are stuck using a Windows operating system, consider renaming “command.com” and “cmd.exe” to something that is not obvious

Backup and Restore

• One of the most neglected items in security is backups.
• In theory, you should do a backup before applying any software updates or installing or updating a program.
• Select a backup media that fits your situation.
• Keep an off-site backup of your system.
• Keep separate backups of the system-level files and the user data.
• There are many options on Unix/Linux systems (dd, tar, cpio, dump, dar, Kdar), easily obtainable backup solutions for Windows are more problematical, especially where “The Registry” is concerned.
• One way to get around this without resorting to costly backup solutions or uncertain “shareware” programs is using a Linux on-a-CD distribution such as Knoppix (http://www.knoppix.org/)
• The ultimate test of a backup strategy is restoring a file or files.

Browsers

• To paraphrase former First Lady Nancy Reagan, “Just say ‘NO’ to Internet Explorer.
• There are free alternatives to IE such as Firefox (http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/) and Opera (http://www.opera.com).
• Configure your browser to purge cookies and the cache on exit.
• Use the “mouse over” feature of a browser to see where a URL really points before going to it.

Applications

• Keep the installed applications to the absolute minimum. If you don’t need it don’t install it.
• Get rid of applications you haven’t used in some time.
• Check for updates to the applications you do use.

Passwords

• Once upon a time, it was easy to remember passwords because you had one or at most two to remember. That’s not the case anymore.
• Use a program like Password Safe (http://passwordsafe.sourceforge.net/) to keep passwords in a secure vault.
• Password Safe runs on PCs under Windows (95/98/NT/2000/XP). Versions for Unix/Linux are also available.

Email

• If you can get away from Outlook and Outlook express, follow Nike’s advice and “Just do it.”
• Alternatives like Thunderbird (http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/) and Eudora (http://www.eudora.com/) are better alternatives to the Outlook twins.
• If you’re stuck with Outlook here are some things you can do:
• Enable macro virus protection.
• For Office 2000, turn the security level to "high" and don't trust any received files unless you have to.
• Turn off the "hide file extensions for known file types" option.
• Uninstall the Windows Scripting Host if you can live without it.
• If you must have the Windows Scripting Host, change your file associations.

Anti-virus and Anti-spyware

• If you don’t already have anti-virus software, get it and use it. Make it a regular habit to download the updates to the anti-virus signatures.
• Two good, free anti-spyware program are Ad-aware SE (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/) and Spybot Search and Destroy (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html).
• As with anti-virus software, make it a regular habit to check for and download the updates.

Firewalls

• Get a inexpensive firewall/router with NAT (Network Address Translation).
• Use a personal firewall such as the personal edition of ZoneAlarm on Windows systems.
• Use Firestarter on Linux Systems.

Wireless

• Enable WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy)
• Change the default SSID
• Don’t broadcast the SSID
• Select a WEP Key
• Change the default admin password.
• Implement MAC address filtering
• Don’t put the WAP close to an exterior wall.
• Reduce the radiated power
• Do some war walking on you own

Laptops

• Keep the laptop out of site.
• Use a something other than a Targus laptop case to carry it in.
• Treat the laptop like your wallet or purse and keep it close at hand.
• Label and tag just about anything associated with the laptop.
• Hide a few labels and tags in inconspicuous places.
• Set a BIOS password.

General Recommendations

• When it’s not in use, turn it off.
• Plug the PC, monitor, printer, DSL/cable modem, WAP into a power strip.

Conclusion

• None of this stuff is rocket science.
• Some of it takes a bit of work.
• Other parts require training and discipline.