20 minutes to increase the security of a computer, wow that must be a good guide. The guys at itsecurity have written a security guide that indeed covers the basics of PC security. I do know from first hand experience that many users do not follow simple PC security guidelines, e.g. they probably have a anti-virus solution but never update it.

The guide is written for the inexperienced user mainly and consists of several parts. The first, called”The Basics: Spotting and Eliminating Threats” suggests to install a firewall, anti-virus software, anti-spyware software and other software like software that detects rootkits. They always recommend some programs that can be downloaded by following the links.

Now that they have covered the basics they tell you to update your operating system and software that is installed on your system. They suggest to use either Opera or Firefox instead of the Internet Explorer, want you to disable file sharing and be cautious when downloading.

As I said all those tips are good for beginners but geeks like we are should have implemented most of their suggestions already.

Next comes safe emailing with suggestions on good e-mail clients, again don’t use Outlook but tools like Thunderbird or Gmail instead. They also tell you to be wary of extensions and be cautious when clicking on links in emails to avoid malicious websites. (phishing). Last but not least you should setup email filters.

The next part deals with protecting your passwords which can be summed up by choosing different passwords that can’t be found using dictionary attacks. They also suggest to password protect the computer which I think is completely useless.

After that they make two suggestions to protect the wireless network which are really basic suggestions, they also suggest not to use the wireless connection of your neighbours because it could be setup for this case. (scanning the data like passwords that are send over the connection)

The last part deals with physical protection: Disguise your laptop and use anti-theft solutions should not bother most users but could be useful for business clients.

As you can see those are basic advices that could help inexperienced users. They miss to cover some topics that could really increase security but require knowledge of the subject. They fail to address the possibility to create a user account in Windows and use this one instead of the admin account. They also miss to mention that not needed services should be turned off, which user needs telnet or remote access anyways ?

I’m also not very fond of software firewalls and would suggest to use a hardware firewall instead. Software firewalls give a false sense of security especially if you are inexperienced.

OSA Editorial Comments:

This is a great article with awesome information that shows we have to be very smart when it comes to picking the right software to protecet our PC’s! Make sure you are using the most up to date online security for your internet connection including your Viruses and Malware, find out how to keep your PC safe.

Your Online Security Authority
Bill Wardell

Written by: OSAblogger / Bill Wardell - Please Read Our Latest OSA eZine Edition

Popularity: 10% [?]

OSA Related Posts

• New Internet Security, with David C. Ballard I want to invite you to listen in on the OSA talk show. Yes, you heard that right, we have made arangements to interveiw a very special guest, and he is the owner of: http://www.newinternetsecurity.com/ New Internet Security vs Internet Insecurity, with David C. Ballard Come join us on Monday......
• Utah League of Cities and Towns 2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 13-15 Thank you Shari Lazenby, Heber City, Councilman We are so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of your 2006 ANNUAL CONFERENCE we have prepared a special link for all ULCT members so that you can receive at a discount your own personal copy......
• "Faulting Module Mss32 Dll" Error - Eliminate these Errors ! Restarting your computer and unexpectedly getting a "faulting module mss32 dll" error can be a painful problem. It is usually unexpected, right after you restart your computer, and right after that you try to understand what happened and how it can be solved. Read my review - by the......
• Introducing Google's online security efforts Posted by Panayiotis Mavrommatis and Niels Provos, Anti-Malware Team Online security is an important topic for Google, our users, and anyone who uses the Internet. The related issues are complex and dynamic and we've been looking for a way to foster discussion on the topic and keep users informed. Thus,......
• October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month Image via CrunchBaseAccording to a National Cyber Security Awareness Month Study more Seattle residents are concerned about becoming a victim of Internet Crime over Physical Crime! SEATTLE, Oct. 16 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) joins Attorney General Rob McKenna in announcing that they will host today an......

OSA Related Websites

• Aquarium Software To Assist You With Your Aquarium Maintenance Maintaining the aquarium is an important aspect to this hobby. Fail to properly maintain the aquarium and ultimately it will quickly start to decline ending in livestock which is either unhappy or ultimately near to or at death. Both John and I are both strong believers in having a proper......
• ADC2 winner WaveSecure offers free lifetime memberships One of the overall winners of Google’s ADC2 is capitalizing on their recent success and offering free lifetime memberships to their service for a limited time. Anyone who signs up for WaveSecure by January 31, 2010 will receive a free account. From ADC2 winners gallery: “WaveSecure is an innovative security......
• Monster TurboTax Online Tax Software 2009 Review Back when I started working and had to file taxes I would go to the library to pick up the necessary forms.  I'd set aside an afternoon to go through the 1040's and see what I needed.  Then I'd spend the rest of the time getting my head around the......
• Review: Boater101: A full-reference guide to boating basics Federal law may not require boaters to take a safety course of any kind, but that does not mean that boaters should hit the water without a good working knowledge of the basics. Making states do require that boaters below a certain age limit pass a safety course before they......
• Is Internet Banking Safe? Internet banking is a very popular and growing trend with banks and people, the convenience of using your personal computer at home, and accessing your bank account, with the ability to do money transfers, apply for credit, and even see your current bank status immediately without having to update......