Computer Security

Entrepreneurs Resource Network

Computer Security

WARNING: These links are provided as a courtesy only. THE ENTREPRENEURS RESOURCE NETWORK DOES NOT ENDORSE OR VOUCH FOR ANY OF THESE PRODUCTS OR SITES. (We couldn't even begin to test the products for all possible computer setups.) We try to list free products, but the vendors may change their pricing and products at any time. On the other hand, if you run across any broken links, changes, etc., please let us know by sending an e-mail to admin@entresource.org.

The things that are most important to have are:

	Anti-virus protection
	Firewall
	Frequent updates of your operating system
	Spyware and Adware Protection

TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Anti-Virus Protection
    Anti-Trojan and Worm Protection
    Firewalls
    Operating System/Product Updates
    Spyware and Adware Protection
    Privacy Protection While Browsing
    Privacy Policy Checker

    Sites Distinguishing Viruses and Hoaxes
    Pop-Up Advertisement Killers
    Spam Filters
    "Do not call" Telemarketing Registries
    Registries to Reduce Junk Snail Mail
    Basic Windows Fixes

FRAUDULENT-EMAIL ("PHISHING") WARNING: Scammers are now creating emails that look exactly like emails from major companies, often with an email address that is very close -- or even identical -- to the real one. Scammers can alter the "From" line and use a legitimate company's email address; in that case they ask you to click on a link in the email to reply -- and that link, of course, goes to a site that looks official but isn't -- where they ask for account and personal information. This is called "phishing".   Remember: a legitimate company (including your Internet service provider) will NEVER ask for your password. In addition, NEVER respond to an email asking for your credit card information or your Social Security number or any other important information.
          If you need to make a payment to a company, do NOT hit "Reply" or click on a link that is provided in an email. Instead, go to the legitimate company's web site and make payment through that. (Even then, make sure you have the correct web site and not a look-alike site that uses a similar but slightly different Internet address.)
          For some anti-phishing software, head to New Tools Fight Phishing Scams by PC World.  These tools, which are free, include:
              SpoofStick by CoreStreet
              ScamBlocker on the EarthLink toolbar (but available to everyone)
              Phish Net by Webroot Software
              TrustWatch by GeoTrust
          For a list of phishing attacks, see the Anti-Phishing Working Group.

Anti-Virus Protection
Protecting your computer from viruses is incredibly important these days. You should set your anti-virus software to a) download new virus definitions at least once a week, b) scan your computer for viruses at least once a week, and c) scan your incoming e-mail for viruses. Daily downloads and scans are even better. Also, you may well get better protection with a paid product. Some products that are available include:
    ! Norton AntiVirus (price includes first year's subscription):
        http://www.symantec.com/nav/nav_9xnt/
    ! McAfee's VirusScan (price includes first year's subscription):
        http://www.mcafee.com/myapps/vso/default.asp?cid=2168
    ! AVG Anti-virus (free for home and non-commercial use):
       http://www.grisoft.com/us/us_index.php
Also see WebAttack.com's reviews of free antivirus software:
        http://www.webattack.com/freeware/security/fwvirus.html
Also, NEVER open or click on an unknown email attachment. Viruses often commandeer infected computers' email lists, so an email may come to you bearing a friend's or colleague's email address. If there is no message in the email that makes sense given the sender, do not open the attachment.

Anti-Trojan and Worm Protection
For those who want a bit more protection, there are programs that will search for Trojan horses and worms that other anti-virus software may miss. This should NOT be used in place of anti-virus software, but in addition to it.
    ! Swat It (free):
        http://www.swatit.org/download.html
    ! Trend Micro's Housecall (free; an online scan):
        http://housecall.trendmicro.com/]

	Firewalls Firewalls provide protection from hackers entering your computer system and copying files or personal information. Using a firewall is always a good idea, but if you have a cable modem or use DSL, a firewall is a must! (Unlike with regular modems--where you are assigned a different Internet address each time you get online--with cable modems and DSL you have a fixed Internet address, making it easier for hackers to locate you.) Firewall products include: ! ZoneAlarm; $70, with $30 rebate if you already have McAfee, Norton or certain other anti-virus products. http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp ! Sygate; free for personal use: http://download.com.com/3001-2092-10184369.html ! Norton Personal Firewall ($50): http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/ Also see WebAttack.com's reviews of free firewalls: http://www.webattack.com/freeware/security/fwfirewall.html To test your firewall, head to Shields UP! — Internet Vulnerability Profiling, click "Proceed" and then click "File Sharing" and then "Common Ports". For other firewall tests, see Firewall test resources at HomeNetHelp.com.
	Operating System and Product Updates Regularly updating your operating system is crucial to fending off viruses. The patches plug recently discovered security holes that viruses frequently use. You can manually scan for Windows operating system updates at: http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/default.asp Windows 2000 and XP can be set to automatically obtain Windows updates: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;327838 There is also a program call BigFix that can update various programs: http://bigfix.com/website/download.html Warning, Will Robinson! You may get a message that your system has been updated when in fact it hasn't. If you have Windows 2000, XP or Server 2003 you can download and use a MicroSoft program called Microsoft's Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) to let you know if the updates have installed correctly. Head to http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx, save the file to your desktop and then install it. Double click on the resulting icon, click "scan a computer", on the next screen don't change anything, make sure you are connected to the Internet and click "Start scan". You probably only have to worry about the first two sections of the resulting report. (Do NOT change any settings regarding password expiration unless you know what you are doing!) For items that get marked with a red or yellow (high and medium risk) icon in those sections, click on "Result Details" and when you click on a link its should take you to a page to download a patch. Save the patch to your desktop, then run it. (Don't try to run it directly; save it first.) Further warning: MBSA is a bit buggy: if you try to fix something and it says that you have succeeded in installing an update, you have, even if subsequent tests list the same problem. Updates of Other Software. This is completely optional: it is NOT a security matter. If you want to be notified of updates of your applications, etc. (like Word), you might check out the InstallShield Update Manager.
	Spyware and Adware Protection When you browse the Internet, "spyware" and "adware" can install cookies and software on your computer. These are generally used to report your browsing patterns in order to target advertising to you, but some of the more malicious ones can steal passwords and credit-card numbers. Even those that just report your browsing patterns can greatly slow down your computer -- and pepper you with pop-up ads -- especially because there are so many of them these days. Removing spyware and adware requires special software. Here are some of the free programs; a number of people use several of them, since no one package seems to catch everything: ! SpyBot (searches and removes; run regularly; be sure to install the "Tea Timer" function and don't overlook the Immunize feature): http://spybot.eon.net.au/index.php?lang=en&page=download ! AdAware (searches and removes; run regularly): http://www.download.com/3002-8022_4-10319876.html?tag=dir ! Spyware Blaster (sets a "kill bit" to prevent installation of spyware; periodically update): http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html ! Spyware Guard (sits in the system tray and provides real-time protection; be sure "download protection" is activated: http://www.wilderssecurity.net/spywareguard.html ! If you don't mind browser toolbars, Yahoo now offers a toolbar for Internet Explorer that contains "Anti-Spy". After installing it, click the target icon on the Yahoo toolbar in Internet Explorer, then click "Run Anti-Spy". http://toolbar.yahoo.com/ ! IE-SpyAd blocks many spyware cookies from being installed IF you are using Internet Explorer or AOL (though it may be too robust for some users): https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm Also see WebAttack.com's reviews of free anti-spy tools: http://www.webattack.com/freeware/security/fwantispy.html Finally, you may want to see what loads automatically when you start Windows (some spyware does this) -- and disable some of these items unless you really need them. There is a nifty utility called WinPatrol available at http://www.winpatrol.com/winpatrol.html. In order to look up what these often-mysterious items are, head for http://www.answersthatwork.com/Tasklist_pages/tasklist.htm and look up the command (from the "Command" column in WinPatrol).

CHANGING BROWSERS MAY HELP. Most spyware is targeted at Microsoft's Internet Explorer. If you use another browser, you will avoid most of the spyware. One free, very popular browser is Firefox from Mozilla. (There is a minor bug with Firefox; click here for a fix.) For other free browsers, see the web browsers section of www.webattack.com.

	Privacy Protection While Browsing When you visit Web sites, those sites may capture your e-mail address (leading to your being placed on various advertising lists), obtain a list of other sites you have visited (to determine your interests, again for advertising), or gather personal information about you. To guard against this, try some of the following: ! Analog's Cookie Wall (free) http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/cookie.htm ! Anonymizer (free and paid versions): http://www.anonymizer.com/ ! Freedom's WebSecure ($60): http://www.freedom.net/products/index.html
	Privacy Policy Checker There is an interesting piece of software from AT&T (of all places) that checks the privacy policies of sites you visit and tells you whether those policies are good: Privacy Bird (free) http://www.privacybird.com/
	Sites Distinguishing Viruses and Hoaxes Yes, there are lots of viruses out there, but there are also lots of hoaxes that needlessly consume time and worry people. Before passing on e-mails talking about viruses, make sure those viruses are real and not hoaxes. Some places to check include: ! F-Secure: http://www.f-secure.com/virus-info/hoax/ ! Symantec: http://www.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html ! ICSA Labs: http://www.icsalabs.com/html/communities/antivirus/hoaxes.shtml
	Pop-Up Advertisement Killers Hate those pop-up advertisements that materialize when surfing the Web? Try one of these free products to eliminate them! ! Pop-Up Stopper by PanicWare (free): http://www.panicware.com/product_psfree.html ! No Ads by South Bay Software (free): http://www.southbaypc.com/NoAds/ ! Surf in Peace by Icon Labs (free): http://www.iconlabs.net/sip.html ! Pow! by Analog (free): http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/pow.htm Also see WebAttack.com's comparison of free pop-up blockers: http://www.webattack.com/Freeware/misctools/fwpopblock.shtml
	Spam Filters Spam filters try to filter out spam (unwanted email advertisements) before it reaches your email in-box. You have to be willing to invest some time in setup -- and to check the messages sent to the spam folder on an ongoing basis to make sure that important messages are not lost. There are many commercial spam filters, and a number of free ones. All work with Outlook. (FYI, trying to "bounce" spam back to the sender does not work and causes further problems, so do not bounce spam back to the sender; see, e.g., an article at Spamming Bureau.) Here are some of the free anti-spam programs: ! K9 (learns; easiest with Outlook, but can be configured for Eudora too): http://keir.net/k9.html ! InboxCop Anti-Spam Filter (learns; supports AOL and Eudora): http://download.com.com/3000-2382-10154840.html ! SpamWeasel (both objective and personal criteria; does not work with AOL; apparently can work with Eudora): http://www.mailgate.com/products/spamweas/sw_feat.asp ! SpamAssassin (uses lists in part; only the commercial version works with Eudora): http://useast.spamassassin.org/index.html ! SpamPal (uses lists; works with Eudora but not with AOL): http://www.spampal.org/ ! StopSign (uses Bayesian analysis): http://www.stop-sign.com/?n=google_freestop Also see WebAttack.com's comparision of free spam filters: http://www.webattack.com/freeware/comm/fwspam.html If spam is overwhelming, you can also consider a "permission-based" system: The first time someone sends you an email, they receive a message requiring them to click on a link before their email will make it through to you. Once they click on the link, from that time forward their email will go through as usual. (Spammers generally use fake "from" addresses, so they never receive the registration message.) You can also add email addresses that you want to be let through. The problem is that potential customers may not bother to click on the link, so you may not want to use this approach for a business email address. Apparently there is no free software or service in this area, but here are some commercial ones: GoodByeSpam https://www.goodbyespam.com/ ChoiceMail http://www.digiportal.com/choicemail.html AllSpamGone http://www.allspamgone.com/ One of the main places that spammers grab email addresses is from people's web sites. Here are links to places where you can copy or generate text for an email address in a website so that spammers can't get at it: http://www.mways.co.uk/prog/hidemail.php http://www.webattack.com/get/ecloaker.html Also, if you going to post on public bulletin boards, you may want to use a free temporary address from some place like http://mail.yahoo.com or MSN HotMail (there are many other places as well); for additional sources, visit http://www.free-email-address.com/.
	National "Do Not Call" Registries to Block Telemarketing OK, OK, telemarketing is not a computer security item -- but it's still really annoying. Federal law now says that if you register personal telephone numbers, telemarketers are prohibited from calling. (Unfortunately business telephone numbers are not covered by this law.) To register up to three telephone numbers -- or file a complaint -- you can call 1-888-382-1222 toll-free or you can register the numbers online at: https://www.donotcall.gov/default.aspx. Allow approximately two months for your registration to go into effect. Registrations are only good for five years and then you have to register again. For a while the federal government had suspended the law and the State of California was maintaining its own registry. They've kept the web site up, and it's listed here just in case the federal law is suspended again; also this site provides a checklist for filing complaints. The State's website is http://www.caag.state.ca.us/donotcall/index.htm
	National Registries to Reduce Junk Mail (Snail Mail) This is even further afield than Telemarketing, but what the heck: we're on a roll. Believe or not, the Direct Marketing Association maintains a list you can join to cut down on junk mail (snail mail) sent to you. They do not provide your information to marketers. Probably they are concerned that if people get too much unwanted junk mail, then all of it will be outlawed. See http://www.dmaconsumers.org/cgi/offmailinglistdave for the information and registry form.
	Basic Windows Fixes If you have a Windows-based computer and it's giving you grief, here are a few things to try:

	Run ScanDisk to correct any "administrative" errors on the hard drive:
		For Windows XP and Windows 2000: go to your desktop and doubleclick "My Computer" RIGHT click Local Disk (c:) click "Properties" then click "Tools" click "Check Now" under "Error-checking" check "Automatically fix file system errors", click "Start", click "Yes". Then, when you can let the 'puter be down for a bit, restart it and go have a glass of wine.
		For earlier versions of Windows, search for the file scandisk.exe and run it.
	If your computer seems sluggish, run the defragmentation program:
		Start –> Programs –> Accessories –> System Tools –> Disk Defragmenter
		This pup can take a long time to run, so start it before bed or before leaving work.
	If you have Norton Systemworks or Norton Utilities on your computer, run windoc.exe or the One-Button Checkup (obc.exe).
		Fix the errors it recommends.
	If you still have problems, you might try some of the following Windows troubleshooting web sites:
		http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;EN-US;KBHOWTO http://www.toejumper.net/ www.annoyances.org
	Oh, what the heck: there's also a nice download accelerator at
		http://www.pcexplorer.biz/Download/FDA.exe

WARNING: These links are provided as a courtesy only. THE ENTREPRENEURS RESOURCE NETWORK DOES NOT ENDORSE OR VOUCH FOR ANY OF THESE PRODUCTS OR SITES. (We couldn't even begin to test the products for all possible computer setups.) We try to list free products, but the vendors may change their pricing and products at any time.
On the other hand, if you run across any broken links, changes, etc., please let us know by sending an e-mail to admin@entresource.org.