Continued Protection

Continued Protection

Now that you’ve set up the initial protection for your system, you have to continue to protect the system. You wouldn’t lock your car, and then leave the keys sitting on the hood of the car. You wouldn’t lock your house, and then leave the key hanging out of the door knob (not on purpose anyway). Having the protection isn’t enough – you have to help that protection to protect you.

Continued protection isn’t nearly as complicated, or as time consuming, as getting the initial protection set up was. The problem is reminding yourself to do what needs to be done. This is where the task scheduler on your system comes in handy.

You can use the task scheduler to run your virus program, your spyware remover program, your backups, or any other types of jobs such as this. You simply start up the task manager, tell it what programs you want it to run, and when you want them to run. It is ideal to set these things up to run when they won’t interfere with work that you want or need to do on the computer – but your computer will need to be turned on for this to happen.

When downloading files, make sure that the file is coming from a trusted source – and then don’t trust it anyway. When the download window pops up, you have the choice to save the program to a disk, or run it. Always choose to save it to your disk. This way, you can scan it with your virus protection before opening it.

When you start to install downloaded programs, make sure you read the license agreement. The license agreement won’t always tell you if there is spyware or adware included with the program, but most times, it will. Read it carefully, and make sure you understand what you are reading before you allow the program to install on your system. When in doubt – don’t.

There is nothing that you can do about the security on another person’s system. You can only control the protection on your own system. Therefore, if possible, avoid file sharing of all types. Never allow anyone to have remote access to your computer, unless it is technical support at your computer manufacturers company, and the remote access is initiated with your permission.

When people upload files to a server for the purpose of sharing the file with you, make sure that you scan it with your up-to-date virus protection before you open it. Pictures are nice, and people like to send pictures to other people – either through email or instant messengers. However, there are sites, such as WebShots at http://www.webshots.com that will allow you to post your pictures on the Internet – which is much safer. You can control who sees your pictures by making them private. Only those that you invite can see the pictures, and you don’t have to worry about sending or receiving viruses.

Avoid malicious websites. A large majority of pornographic and hacker websites contain malicious scripts that are meant to either damage your system, or collect information about you. Learn how to use your browsers security zone feature. Your browser should warn you if you are trying to go to an unsafe or untrusted website. Pay attention to the warnings. Avoid sites that are known for their malicious content, such as pornographic sites, hacking sites, and game cheat sites.

Turn your computer off. When you are not using the system, log out, and turn the system off. Of course, if you have tasks that are scheduled to run, please note that your system will need to be turned on during that time – but other than this, simply turn it off. If you are using the computer, but your work does not require you to be connected to the Internet, log off. If you are using a DSL connection, turn off the DSL modem as well. Make sure that you are completely disconnected from the Internet during times that you are unable to monitor your computer.

Finally, use the check list below each week to ensure that your system remains secure:

_____ Make sure your virus scan is up-to-date. Run a virus scan.

_____ Make sure your spyware removal software is up-to-date, and run it to remove adware and spyware.

_____ If you use anti-Trojan software, make sure it is up-to-date, and run it to check for Trojan horses.

_____ Make sure your operating system is up-to-date.

_____ Make sure your browser is up-to-date.

_____ Make sure other software you use, such as instant messengers, is up-to-date.

_____ Using your browser, empty the history, cookies, saved passwords, and cache.

_____ Back up your files and documents, after you know that your system is clean.

_____ Change your computer’s password frequently, never allowing anyone the chance to figure out what it is.

Keep in mind that the software that you have can only do so much to protect your system without your help. You need to make sure that you are taking the necessary steps to help protect your computer on a regular basis.

If a virus, worm, or Trojan horse somehow creeps past all of your systems defenses, don’t panic. You have a couple of different options to deal with it. First, you can reformat your hard drive. In most cases, this is just a matter of reinstalling your operating system from the original disk, such as the Window’s XP installation disk. However, this means that you will lose all of the information that you currently have on your computer. If you have backups that were made before you got the virus, worm, or Trojan horse, this should not be a problem, however, once you have a virus, do not backup your information, and then put those files back on the system once you’ve cleaned it up – that will defeat the purpose. When reinstalling programs or files from backup disks, make sure you use your virus scanner to scan the disks for problems first.

The other option is to clean the virus, worm, or Trojan horse. You can find directions for getting rid of all of these things at: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/vinfodb.html . Here, you can find information on all of the known viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. However, the directions for removing the problems do require some technical knowledge. If you read the directions carefully, and do a little research, you should be able to clean up the problem yourself. The important thing is that you avoid visiting your banks website, or other websites where personal information or banking information comes into play, while the problem is on your system. The best thing you can do is visit the site, look up the information for removing the problem, and then log off the Internet.

Once you think you’ve removed the problem, proceed with caution until you are sure. Completely shut down your system, wait at least one minute, and then restart your computer. Pay close attention and make sure that it is operating as it was before you got the virus, worm, or Trojan horse. Then, connect to the Internet, and visit sites that do not require login information. Make sure that your system is running properly, and that all problems are gone before attempting to do anything that would allow a program or a person to obtain your personal information. Run your virus scan, anti-Trojan software, and spyware remover again to make sure that the infection is completely gone.

It is important to note that programs that detect and remove viruses are not written and included in virus definition updates until a virus actually exists. The writers of such programs do not notify the virus protection software companies before distributing the virus. Obviously, it is possible to have a virus on your system that your virus protection software cannot detect, or remove. You have to pay attention to your system, and know what is normal, and what is not normal – just like you know what normal behavior or noises for your automobile are – and what is not normal. In the case of brand new viruses, you have to identify what is different about your system, and how the changes occurred.

This is a lot easier said than done, and may require the help of a professional technical support person. However, there is a program called an integrity monitor that would be quite useful in this situation. This type of program tells you what files have changed, making it easier to figure out what has happened to your system. You can download a free integrity monitor called GFI LANguard System Integrity Monitor from: http://www.gfi.com/lanselm/lanselmfreeware.htm . This software detects intruders on a system, gathers evidence, finds the source of the intrusion, logs which files have changed, and can even be set up to monitor your website, if you have one. This will allow you to change files back to their original state, should your system become compromised.

If you are unable to detect what changes have been made to your system, you have two choices. You can reformat your hard drive, and start all over, or you can wait until the virus definitions for your virus scanning software are updated with detection and removal capabilities of the new virus that you are infected with. Waiting it out could be dangerous, and is not recommended.

You should also strongly consider purchasing computer locks, to literally lock your computer down. If someone breaks into your home, they will pick up your computer and leave with it. Using computer locks may or may not prevent this, but using the locks will definitely slow them down. In most cases they simply want to sell the computer for cash, but in many instances, they aren’t interested in the system, they are interested in the information on the system, and by picking it up and walking out with it, they will have the time necessary to crack all of your system passwords, and gain access to the information that will net them a much larger profit than simply selling the computer system.