Discount Computers

This is a paper about securing your home computers and networks.

The goal of computer security is to keep unauthorized users from
using your resources. This can be anything from your computer to
your printer or even your web camera. Detection is another
important aspect that should be monitored as well.

I often get asked “Why should I worry?”

Maybe you shouldn’t. If you are concerned about any of your
files or the possibility of losing them you should care. There
is also online banking that many people use to watch their
accounts. Malicious users can also use your computer to launch
attacks against other networks, or put files on your computer as
a means of storage. Even if you have the computer just to send
email to Grandma don’t think that you are not at risk. Attackers
like to hide there tracks by jumping thru multiple locations
such as your computer. Malicious users can take over your webcam
and watch and even listen to you!

Attackers like to use multiple systems to launch denial of
service attacks-sending tons of packets to bring a network to
its knees.

Identity theft is huge right now. Your credit report should be
reviewed frequently. Identity thieves can gain allot of
information from your home computers. FTC said there are
approximately over 10 million victims a year. If your ID is
stolen or think it is visit www.consumer.gov/idetheft. Never
send out your personal information in email it is not secured.

The risk is getting greater daily as more people connect to the
Internet. Script Kiddies download tools that make breaking into
computers as easy as pressing a button. Security patches are
offered thru vendors but most people do not bother to patch
there systems or have the time.

Do people in your household use file sharing programs? I cannot
believe the amount of Spy ware and viruses that are hidden in
some of those files. I removed over 600 different Malwares from
a home computer who thought they were just downloading music.
The system was always freezing and changing homepages in
Internet Explorer. Not to mention these file sharing programs
can be sharing your financial data, medical records, secret
recipes or your last tax return.

Key loggers can be on your system recording every keystroke and
emailing it to an attacker, enemy or even your spouse. This
includes IM’s, Emails, and passwords anything.

There are Anti-Virus software that will detect most of these
programs.Anti-Spyware can also detect allot of MalWare or
malicious code.

Use strong passwords that are alphanumeric or use a password
strength tool. I would not use anything in a dictionary American
or Foreign as those can be cracked easily thru Brute Force.

Don’t use the same password for every account. Change your
passwords regularly, and don’t write them down.

I recommend making regular backups of at a minimum your critical
system files. Back up to a CDR to ensure that your data cannot
be overwritten.

Please monitor your children’s surfing habits and teach them
about the dangers of the Internet. I recommend installing
filtering software to keep their curious minds out of the wrong
sites.

Staying abreast of Anti-Virus updates.

Don’t upon email attachments that can contain viruses or other
malware.

Don’t run programs if you don’t know where they came from than
can have Trojan horses. Trojan Horse is a program that appears
to be a regular program such as Solitaire buts its actually
sending your bank account information to an email address.
Attackers can also take over your computer have .mp3 file ran at
3AM in the morning to scare you, even open and close your
CD-DRIVE door.

Disable JAVA, JavaScript and Active X

Keep up to date on patching your operating systems and
applications. In Windows you can set up automatic updates. You
can also visit the Windows Update site.

Microsoft releases patches even second Tuesday of the month this
is known in IT as black Tuesday, there is always allot of
patches. Upgrade to Service Pack 2.

Internet Explorer always has security issues. There are Open
Source browsers like Firefox http://www.firefox.org which is a
great browser and has more security feautures. Firefox has allot
of great add ons as well that can make researching more
effective amongst other utilities

Disable scripting in email

Enable NAT Network Address Translation on your router. This will
hide your private IP address from the Internet. While still
allowing computers to access the Internet. Most network
firewalls have IP NAT masquerading where multiple device on the
Internet appear as one IP address.

Make sure you are not enabling shares on your computer for any
of your drives. This will look like a hand holding a drive in
Microsoft Windows.

Be aware of Phishing these are Internet Con-Artist looking to
catch a some fish. Emails are sent that look like Bank Emails,
Amazon and PayPal, it amazes me how many people I work with
think its the real thing.

If your considered about security consider encryption. For Home
users look into PGP or Pretty Good Privacy to secure your email,
you can even encrypt your hard drive.

When you think you have deleted your files they are still
retrievable consider a file wiping utility.

Use a Surge Protector.

No firewall can stop all attacks.

Benjamin Hargis CEO

Phuture Networks

http://www.phuturenetworks.com

Free Computer Security Advice !!
http://www.computersecurityadvice.com

About the author:
I’m a computer secuity consultant for home and small businesses.
I started a company called Phuture Networks to help home users
and small business owners about computer and network security.
During the day I consult Realtors on website design, hosting and
search engine optimization for a big company. My interest are
computing, UNIX, Linux, Firewalls, programming, embedded systems
programming, hardware hacking, learning, reading, playing chess
and

There are so many types of digital camera printer on offer that
finding the right one for your personal and business needs can
be a very daunting task. However, there are a few main points to
consider when choosing a digital camera printer that will help
make the process a little easier.

It isn’t necessary to have a high-resolution digital camera
printer to make great pictures. The higher the printer
resolution you use, the more pixels you’ll need in your original
image file to produce a decent size print with your digital
camera printer. The actual file size (in pixels) of the image
from your camera, divided by the printer resolution (in dots per
inch), determines the final print size. So, if the image file
size is 1,478 x 1,280 pixels, and you print the file at 163 dpi
with your digital camera printer, the final print size will be 9
x 7.8 inches.

If your digital camera printer resolution is 300 dpi, then you
will have a higher resolution with more dots per inch laid down
on the paper but a smaller print size. It is therefore important
to ensure that you have the image file size to support the
resolution of your digital camera printer.

The price of a digital camera printer is lowering whilst the
quality is increasing. If you choose the right digital camera
printer you can have your own photo lab, greeting card designing
and sign making department with just your digital camera, some
software and a printer.

The aim of having a digital camera printer is to produce
photographic prints that look as close to real photographic
prints as possible. This type of digital camera printer was once
very expensive to buy and run, but technological advancements
and competitive pricing have made them much more accessible to
the average buyer. Ink-jet printers are now available that can
produce excellent prints and a near photo-quality printer is
much easier to find for people with a small budget. You will
probably want to have a digital camera printer with a scanning
feature built-in. If you want to produce same-size scans of
photos you don’t need scan resolutions higher than 300 samples
per inch for the scanner.

Your digital camera printer should also have the same interface
that you already have on your computer. So if you have USB, then
get a digital camera printer with USB, a Firewire printer if you
have Firewire or a SCSI printer if you have SCSI. There should
be no need to buy a digital camera printer that requires a
different interface to the one you already have on your computer
or it will cost you more to upgrade if necessary.

About the author:
Steve Gargin is the administrator of
http://digital-camera-reviews.helper-guru.com/camera-digital-phot
ography-wedding/index.html which is a great website dedicated to
giving free advice on Digital Cameras.

I was asked recently to go to a car dealership and do a security
analysis on their Windows Server 2000 machine.

This is what I recommend doing to any Windows 2000 machine where
applicable.

Make sure that the guest account is disabled. It comes disabled
by default.

A problem I notice allot is when I go to companies, lots of
accounts are still active for employees who no longer work
there. They should be removed when the employee is terminated or
leaves on their own accord. Disgruntled employees have been
known to wreck havoc.

Group policies can and should be implemented in a Windows 2000
environment and audited to make sure there are no extra accounts
or accounts with weak passwords.

Password security is also important; if your password is weak it
will be cracked. I have been in companies where your password is
your initials. That is to simple. Implement password policies
and account lockouts after multiple failed login attempts.
WARNING this can create a denial of service attack. Create
multiple admin accounts and give them different rights. A strong
password policy for administrative tasks.

Run Net Share from the command line to view open shares on your
network and shut those down unless needed.

Go into the BIOS and set a user password and disable the ability
to boot from a floppy, USB, or CD. People can easily grab the
SAM file which is a password hash stored on your system from a
Linux boot CD or other tools. Then attempt to crack the hash.

Change the administrator account to a different name. That is
usually a crackers first attempt. Rename it to something other
than root as well.

Use NTFS on all partitions this gives you more control and
security than using the FAT file system.

Make sure that the “Everyone” permission is not allowed on your
resources, directories, etc.

Have the last user logged on turned off. This makes it easier
for an attacker to guess passwords. There already half way there
the have the username.

Apply appropriate access control lists.

Don’t forget about the people around you and either lock your
workstation when you leave or have a screensaver enabled with a
strong password. Insider threats are a reality.

You can enable EFS encryption file system; you can encrypt whole
directories as well. I suggest if your really paranoid or smart
to look into a utility that allows you to choose different
encryption algorithms. I do not like encryption standards that
are closed. Meaning we cant see the source code. I prefer open
source its easier to look for holes and attacks.

Make backups of all your important files. This is the most
important thing I learned in System Administration. Backup,
Backup, Backup to something that cannot be overwritten such as a
CD-R.

To configure Security Policies use the Security Configuration
Toolset you can make your job allot simpler by using snap-ins.

I visited Microsoft’s site to see everything they had, I have to
say there is plenty of information.

Shut down services that are not needed. The more ports that are
open and the more applications running the more avenues of
attack.

Restrict access to Local Security Authority only to admin.

Change log in warning to something like. Authorized Personnel
only, “all activities are logged and monitored. Violators will
be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Shut down individual ports, that are not used.

I personally like smartcards for two form authentication. I
recommend RSA secure ID for machines that need more security.

Enable auditing to track what users and possible intruders are
doing on your system.

Everything from login attempts to access of objects can be
audited in Windows 2000.

Protect the registry from anonymous access.

Make sure the audit logs are locked down so they cannot be
erased, or tampered with. Only the admin should have rights to
these files.

Install service packs.

Make sure that your antivirus is up to date with the latest
signatures.

Run a Spy-Ware utility.

You can also run an online vulnerability checker such as Shields
Up by Gibson Research.

Get automated patch software.

Remember that security is not something that can be finished.
Keep up to date.

Benjamin Hargis CEO & MCP

Phuture Networks

Visit us on the web! http://www.phuturenetworks.com

Free Computer Security Advice !!
http://www.computersecurityadvice.com

About the author:
I’m a computer secuity consultant for home and small businesses.
I started a company called Phuture Networks to help home users
and small business owners about computer and network security.
During the day I consult Realtors on website design, hosting and
search engine optimization for a big company.