Securing Your Computer

1. Securing Your Computer Daniel W. Saylak, D.O. Bryan, Texas dsaylak@bvuc.net

2. Why is everybody always picking on me?” Charlie Brown • Criminal • Stealing identities • Credit Card Numbers • Bank Fraud • Commercial • On-Line Shopping tendencies • Plotting activities within the web site • Malicious • “Because we can” Dead Cow Society

3. “Legitimate Use” • Federal and some state jurisdictions allow real-time logging of keystrokes if certain legal requirements are satisfied. • Hard Drives are regularly confiscated and even deleted data can be recovered for use as evidence • Pornography • Terrorism • National Security

4. “Cookies” • Usually very small files/ pieces of information that help you go to certain web sites • Example E-bay knows what your purchasing preferences are based on these tiny files. • Usually harmless • Occupies hard drive space

5. Viruses • A program within a program which frequently disables parts of the operating system. • Although technically different, the terms virus, worm, Trojan all indicate similar behaving program. • Usually malicious • Surprising high number of code writer prosecuted are under 21 years of age

6. Viruses • Causes billions of dollars in damage and expense not only to businesses but also to individual users • Huge industry has developed to prevent propagation of these programs • But some seem very attractive • CoolWWWeb search • Weatherbug

7. Viruses • Some viruses are capable of deleting all contents of hard drives • Force browsers to a “new” home page • May “hide" from some virus security programs

8. Spyware • Small files that store and/ or send information about your computing activities • Music purchases • On-Line purchases • Automobile information • Information may be sold to other vendors • At this time, this is the most actively prosecuted computer activity. Usually handled in federal courts.

9. AdWare • Small files or programs that are like commercials • More and more vendors including Microsoft are combating this. • Frequently you may allow this with some licencesing agreements or site use agreements.

10. Facts • It is estimated that an unprotected computer exposed to the internet will experience its first attack within 5-7 minutes • A virus/worm opened from an unsolicited e-mail shut down the CNN network and affiliates completely for nearly 8 hours. • It was written by a 15 high school student in Israel.

11. Lions and Tigers and BearsOh My! Wizard of Oz • Two types of Solutions • Hardware • Software

12. Hardware • Firewall • A device that monitors ports and points of access for every computer running through the device. • Complicated to setup • Requires regular maintenance • Usually used in medium and large business networks. • Some internet service providers are now doing this for subscribers

13. Hardware • Router • Inexpensive (<$80) • Plug and Play • Creates an internal network so the bad guys” can not see your computer directly.

14. Software Solutions • Personal Bias: • The Software should be: • Free (freeware) or at minimal cost • Easily accessible • Easy to Use Remember: No one single solution is perfect

15. Keep your operating system up-to-date • Microsoft • http://update.microsoft.com • Turn on the Windows Firewall • Turn on Automatic update • Linux, Apple, BSD, Unix all have user groups

16. Malware • http://www.microsoft.com/security/malwareremove/default.mspx • The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks computers running Windows XP, Windows 2000, and Windows Server 2003 for infections by specific, prevalent malicious software—including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom—and helps remove any infection found. When the detection and removal process is complete, the tool displays a report describing the outcome, including which, if any, malicious software was detected and removed.

17. Antivirus • 2 vendors dominate the purchase patterns: • Symantec (Norton) • (http//www.symantec.com) • McAfee • (http://www.mcafee.com) Source: PC Magazine 9/2005 • Freeware alternative: • AVG • (http://www.grisoft.com) • Surprisingly elegant! • Extremely effective • Warning: Use only one antivirus program

18. Spyware SpyBot Search & Destroy http://www.safer-networking.org/en/ • Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behavior to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too :) • To see a list of threats that Spybot-S&D can remove, click on Support in the navigation bar at the left, and there on Threats. If you want an introduction how Spybot-S&D works, please read the tutorial. If you fear incompatibility with other software you are using, we can assure you that will not be the case. Still, we have created a compatibility overview listing some software that compatibility has been asked for before. • Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you worked on. And for professional users, it allows to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. A list of features is available if you click on features.

19. AdWare • Very elegant interface that rapidly looks at every file on your computer, identifies adware, and allows you to delete it. Ad-Watch is a real-time monitor included in the Ad-Aware SE Plus, Professional and Enterprise packages. Sharing the definition file with Ad-Aware SE, Ad-Watch adds another layer of protection on top of Ad-Aware SE’s scanning and removal capability. It accomplishes this by running silently in the background and watching memory for suspicious processes. While Ad-Aware SE is able to detect and clean your system from known malware and adware, Ad-Watch is able to go a step further and catch these programs before they have a chance to integrate into your system. http://www.lavasoftusa.com/

20. The end result • There is something surprisingly satisfying about taking back control of your computer from outside forces. • Prodigious improvement in performance of individual computers is regularly seen • Let your Internet Service Provider know if they fail to filter for you. You can always protest with your wallet.

21. Heal and Innoculate your PC

22. 5 Minute Fixes • Get rid of Bloatware • Keep it out… • Windows Defender (included Vista) • http://tinyurl.com/47cus • Tells you what starts at startup • Scan for Scoundrels • Windows Defender • SpyBot (www.safernetworking.com) • AdAdware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) • A-Squared (http://tinyurl/2gb93) • Vaccinate • PandaSecurity AV – web based (www.pandasecurity.com/usa) • Perform a Root(Kit) Canal • Blacklight (www.f-secure.com/blacklight) • AVG (www.grissoft.com)