Securing Your Computer

1. Securing Your Computer 1,2,3 The Basics

2. Just the facts…….. • In 2003, Symantec documented 2,636 new computer vulnerabilities, an average of seven per day. 70% of vulnerabilities were classified as easy to exploit. • Threats to privacy and confidentiality were the fastest growing threat, with 519% growth in volume of submissions within the top ten. • The threats are significantly higher today. • The average un-patched computer lasts less than 20 min. before being compromised

3. The owner of an insecure computer is at risk for Identity Theft, Stalking / Harassment, and legal action for crimes perpetrated by hackers.

4. Understanding and implementing basic security and privacy measures for your home can go a long way towards protecting your family, your finances, and your computer.

5. What if Your Computer is Not Secured? • Your confidential data in the computer will be exposed to the outer world. • Your computer may become the victim of the damaging effect of Malwares, which have the potential to erase all the data in your hard disk.  • Your may become the victim of identity theft and suffer financial losses and legal hardship

6. Major Risks

7. What are computer viruses, Trojans and worms? Simply stated, a virus, Trojan or worm is a small program written to cause harm to one or more computers or networks. A Virus, Worm or Trojan can also be designed to retrieve information from your computer to be delivered to an attacker for future use. For example, credit card information, passwords, and security access codes.

8. Viruses A virus is a parasitic program designed to enter a person's computer clandestinely. The virus attaches itself to files or boot sectors and is self-replicating.

9. Trojans A Trojan or Trojan horse is a malicious program that pretends to be a benign application. It is designed to cause your computer to do something that is unexpected. Since it does not spread (not self-replicating) it is not really a virus.

10. Worms A worm is a parasitic program designed to replicate itself on your computer and then spread to other computers via email (through your address book or contact list).

11. The Most Common Types Of Program To Be Infected by A Virus • exe • com • vbs • mp3 • drv • sys • bin • script files • macros

12. Malware • Malware is a software designed to infiltrate or damage a computer system without the owner's informed consent. • It is a general term used to mean various forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code. • It is a general term used to mean various forms of hostile, intrusive, or annoying software or program code • It includes viruses, worms, trojan horses, spyware, dishonest adware, and other malicious and unwanted software.

13. Spyware & Adware • Spyware is a software that is installed surreptitiously on a computer to intercept or take control over the user's interaction with the computer, without the user's knowledge.  Often, when you download freeware and shareware programs (such as Kazaa or Wild Tangent), you unknowingly trigger adware by accepting an End User License Agreement

14. Spyware Can……. • Collect various types of personal information • Installing additional software, • Redirect Web browser activity, accessing websites that will cause more harmful viruses, diverting advertising revenue to a third party. • Change computer settings, resulting in slow connection speeds, different home pages, and loss of programs. 

15. How Do You Know if You Have Spyware on Your Computer? Your computer may exhibit some or many of these symptoms: • Endless pop-up windows • Your home page has changed • Unfamiliar icons in your taskbar • Your computer is sluggish, and has a hard time opening programs or saving files

16. Protect Yourself Understanding and implementing basic security and privacy measures can go a long way towards protecting your family, your finances, and your computer.

17. **First Things First** Installing A Firewall

18. What is a Firewall? A firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorized access to your computer or network. A network is a connection of two or more computers.

19. Who Needs A Firewall? Anyone who has a computer that will be connected to the Internet or to another computer.

20. What Will a Firewall Do For You? If your firewall is properly configured and updated, it will stop "most" hackers from gaining access to your computer. A hacker breaks into your computer to get personal information like credit card numbers, social security numbers, bank account numbers or to use your computer under their remote control to do things like that to other computers.

21. Remember……… A firewall is not 100% effective. New hacker programs and methods are being developed everyday, which is why firewall applications need to be updated regularly. These types of updates are a must to keep up with the new methods, just like updates to your anti-virus software are necessary to protect you from the latest viruses.

22. So What Else Should You Do? Install An Anti Virus Program

23. Anti Virus Programs Unprotected computers can harbor Trojans, viruses and worms. These sneaky little programs can enlist your computer, without your knowledge, in a DOS attack on websites wreaking havoc and cause loss of revenue to individuals and companies. They can also allow strangers to use YOUR computer to store illegal images and files, or put programs on your computer to record your passwords, credit card numbers or other personal information.

24. You can protect your computer from infection by installing an anti-virus program and keeping it updated. The most important thing to remember is that new viruses are created every day, so it is very important that you keep your program updated. Many programs have either a reminder system or an automatic update feature - take advantage of it! Be sure to scan all files that you load onto your computer, before opening them! Taking these simple precautions will significantly reduce your chances of infection.

25. Install Malware Removers Programs designed to remove or to block malware, as well as various user practices which reduce the chance of getting malware on a system. Common applications are: • Ad-Aware and • Spybot Search & Destroy. • Applications will have different capabilities in terms of what they can detect and remove. Read through the fine print to see what is covered and what is not.

26. Prevent Spyware From Installing On Your Computer • Be wary of free downloads • Always read the End User License Agreement before installing new programs • Don't click on links within pop-up windows (click the "X" icon in the titlebar to close) • Adjust your browser preferences to limit cookies and pop-up windows • Install an Anti-Spyware Program

27. So Remember……. • Only download or accept files from reliable sources. • Use a firewall to block unauthorized access to your computer • Install a good anti-virus program and keep it updated • Scan all e-mail attachments and downloaded files before opening

28. And……Use Common Sense • No security software is foolproof. • Installing software is not a substitute for prudent practices. Some simple precautions that will go a long way: • Do open attachments in e-mails from senders you do not recognize  • Be very cautious when clicking on web site links in emails. • Exercise discretion before disclosing your confidential data over the net or e-mail. • Be very careful when sharing any data in P2P (peer to peer) network