Physical Security is often forgotten,
although your insurance policy will probably cover a replacement PC or
notebook, it can't replace the data stored on the hard drive. A good
first line of security is to secure the the machine physically,
there are several manufactures that provide strong steel cables that
attach to the case of the PC or to the security slot of a notebook and
then loop around something heavy or attach to a specially installed anchor
point. There are also heavy duty enclosures or cages for the desktop PC
that can be anchored and locked.
Authorised Access to your PC or
system should be controlled by security mechanisms everything cyber
requires a username and password today and yet a majority or users
don't bother to password protect their own PC. Use a strong password,
one that is not easy to guess, if your operating system supports
user accounts utilise it, there is also still an option in the BIOS
to set a password before the operating system even starts. Even a
password protected screensaver can give a limited form of protection
when leaving a computer unattended. Technology changes rapidly and
fingerprint scanners are becoming readily available for use with PC
card readers and USB connections. All these things might be a
source of irritation, however worthy of some serious food for thought.
Unauthorised Access via networks
is now more common place with the increasing availability of DSL or
broadband as it is commonly known as. Remote access of a PC can
be initiated by a virus, a trojan, a bug in the operating
system.... the list goes on, permanently on connections are great but
also increase the risk of attack. Firewalls reduce this threat by
controlling the traffic in and out of your computer they are the
equivalent of a night club "bouncer", a hardware firewall is very
reliable but can be tricky and frustrating to set up, the alternative
being a software driven firewall which is more understanding
and easier to configure. We use McAfee Firewall software from
www.mcafee.com.
Anti-Virus software is essential even if
there is not a permanent internet or network connection involved,
an infected storage device such as a CD or memory stick
along with the obvious email attachment can cause just as much damage. The
anti-virus protection should be on permanently and updated automatically.
Beware the hoaxes, there are more hoaxers than hackers "VIRUS WARNING -
please forward this to all your friend and family - classified by
Microsoft as the most destructive virus ever!" or not as the case may be.
These emails are intended to clog up email servers and can cause
unnecessary deletion of files check one of the Anti-virus developer sites
first before taking any action. We use McAfee Anti Virus software click on
the links on this page for more information.
Spyware is also commonplace now
installing itself on your hard drive and tracking your every move
and delivering ads based on your surfing habits, these are common in file
sharing applications, pop ads can also exploit security flaws in
browser security so keeping products up to date is crucial. There are
many anti-spyware programs available for free and to buy, even
Microsoft have produced one. We use Lavasoft Ad Aware from
www.lavasoft.de.
Spam or un-solicited email is a major
source of irritation and virus infections. This is a difficult area,
spam filters have to be configured regularly, carry a massive
database of ever changing filters and spammers and their automated
software are clever and seem to be one step ahead. If you lock down the
configuration too tightly you may well lose some genuine mail. My advice
would be to check mail daily at least and delete without opening any
unfamiliar senders.
Encryption is a way of scrambling data
so that is can only be read by the authorised individuals who know the
'password/key' to unlock the data. Thus data is secure from prying eyes.
The Regular Updating of operating
systems and all security software is of paramount importance,
without this process the battle is lost. Microsoft is the main
culprit when it comes to security flaws however other operating systems
and browsers are far from perfect in the world of cyber security.
Searching the internet will generate a long list of
software to deal with all these issues, circumstances do vary however the
software we use is ideal for us but may not be for you.
Data Recovery, Backups and Secure Deletion are also an important part of computer security this is
dealt with in our Disaster Recovery section of the site.
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