All suppliers have vested interests. Even the biggest names in the business can not be relied upon to provide unbiased advice. After all, their main objective is to maximise their profits, depite what they may say to the contrary.
On the other hand, some organisations will provide help without expecting you to pay. Only you can decide whether such help is worth more than the price. At ComPage, we value highly the services and tools provided free of charge by Gibson Research Corporation (GRC) and there are links below to some of them.
We recommend that, as an absolute minimum, you should take the following security precautions:
1. Keep your operating system up-to-date. You should get all security related updates as soon as they are released by the supplier. In the case of Microsoft, use the Windows Update feature and, if available, take the option to get updates automatically.
2. Use up-to-date anti-virus software. Configure it to check all newly received files automatically and to check your computer regularly using a full system scan. Maintain your subscription for virus definition and program updates and allow the program to obtain and install the updates automatically. Check NOW whether your anti-virus program has run a full system scan within the last week and, if not, run one NOW. Recommended software: Norton Anti-Virus from symantec.
3. Use an Internet firewall. If your computer is behind a correctly configured router you will have a high degree of protection from many threats. Either way, we recommend the excellent free software firewall Zone Alarm from Zone Labs.
Phishing is gaining popularity amongst fraudsters. Messagelabs newsletter explains it here.
One of the most recent developments is the ability of advertisers to put pop-up messages directly on the screens of Windows XP, Windows 2000 and Windows NT users. They utilise a little known feature which is enabled by default in these operating systems. To check whether your computer is vulnerable and have the option to disable the feature, use Shoot The Messenger from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
To test the security of your computer, use the excellent free 'Sheilds Up' service at grc.com
Click the graphic to go there.
To check your personal firewall for leaks, use Leak Test from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
To check your system for essential patches, use PatchWork from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
To check your system for the Universal Plug N Play vulnerability and to enable or disable it, use UPnP from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
To check your Windows XP system for a serious vulnerability, use XPdite from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
Can your favorite web sites be trusted with your personal and confidential financial and other data? With eCommerce activity growing, malicious hackers are becoming more interested in breaking into Internet servers. But many servers are not secure. This utility helps you to easily determine which Internet servers web sites are using. ID Serve from grc.com. Click the link and open the program directly. There are instructions inside.
To learn about the raw sockets issue in Windows XP and Windows 2000, visit SocketToMe and SocketLock pages at grc.com. Read carefully before using either of these utilities.
Microsoft offer some useful advice on their security website. Click here to see it.
The Home Office publish useful advice about identity theft. Click here to see it.
We hope you find this advice useful and welcome comments.
