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How to Keep Your PC More Secure

While every computer user understands the importance of keeping his or her PC secure, many people are simply unsure about the best ways to keep the bad guys out of their systems.

Fortunately there are some simple steps computer users can take to keep their PCs safe from harm.  If you want to stay safe while online you should:

• 1) Always make sure your virus scanning software is up and running, and up to date. Be sure to check the system tray icon to make sure that your virus scanner is running. It is also a good idea to review your virus scanning logs at least once per week.
• 2) Install anti-spyware and anti-adware software and keep it up to date. Spyware and adware can be used to track your movements on the internet and even install malicious programs on your PC.
• 3) Never click on links in emails from unknown sources. If you receive a suspect email just delete it. Even if the email appears to be legitimate it is a good idea to avoid clicking any links. Instead type the web address directly into your browser.
• 4) Do not download programs from suspect sources. These programs can have embedded code that can damage your PC or even record all your keystrokes to steal your passwords.
• 5) Make your passwords complicated and difficult to guess. Do not use the names of your children, your pets or other easily obtainable information. And try to use a combination of capital letters, lower case letters and special characters in your passwords. This will help foil many password guessing programs.

CyberRooT

CyberRooT is the name of a very prolific group of hackers who leave their ‘tag’ all over forums and websites on the Internet. They usually leave the tag “Hacked by CyberRooT” and call themselves the Turkish Hacker. They often hack the first page of a website or forum, which can cause understandable concern for people who use the websites.

Hackers

Although the term ‘hackers’ has been adopted by geeks of all kinds, the hackers we’re referring to are nothing more than glorified street taggers. Many people consider them Internet vandals. They can put blocks of text, sound or photos into websites and forums. They insert the text as an SQL injection and no program is completely hacker proof. Hackers like forums in particular because it is easier to work in environments that allow users to upload text. Hackers are particularly fond of Simple Machines Forums (SMF).

Danger for Websites

The biggest risk for websites that have been hacked is losing visitors and therefore their rankings in search engines. Visitors who stumble on a hacked site are understandably fearful of going back. Websites who have been hacked must find out how the hacker accessed their site and fix the code that was inserted. Sometimes the hackers are able to change the entire site by changing one of the templates. They can also put a meta direct into the website’s address that redirects users to the hacked page.

Danger for Users

Luckily, unlike spammers who are gathering email information for evil purposes, hackers generally like to tag and run. They enjoy the shock value of defacing a site, but most hacked sites are relatively easy to fix. In most cases, users who come upon a hacked website are in no danger from their visit. Often, if you check back, the website creators have fixed the problem in hours and the site will be up and running normally.

In your case, I went back to madphilosophers and it looks like they have cleaned up the mess and are functioning normally as a forum. It does look as if they are in the middle of a reorganization, but that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with the hacker problem. I would have no fear going back to your forum and pursuing your interests. I hope this has alleviated your fears.

 Congratulations on taking the first step in combating spyware - installing a good anti-spyware defense. The thing about both spyware and computer viruses is that an endless game of cat and mouse occurs between the bad guys and the good guys. It goes like this: the bad guys create a nasty program that will steal your important data or destroy your computer files. The good guys learn about this nasty program and come up with a way to block it or remove it. The bad guys move on and either alter the nasty program or dream up a new one. The good guys discover the latest mutations, variations, or new infections and come up with yet another way to block or remove them. It goes on and on.

Security software developers are constantly discovering new threats and creating defenses against them - often on a daily (sometimes even more frequent) basis. When they discover new threats and come up with a valid defense against them, they must add the solution to the “database” or “definition database” and then get these database definitions to the people who count on them for protection.

Generally, these new updates are made available in several ways. First, update downloads are usually made available on the developer’s Web site. However, this requires action on the user’s part. The better approach is some sort of regular, automatic updating feature. Most good security programs provide such a mechanism.

Consider the following scenario. Y head down to the local Best Buy store and buy an anti-spyware or anti-virus program off the shelf and install it on your computer. You’re set, right? Wrong. Ask yourself how current the product’s database is. Chance are good that the software has been sitting on the shelf for a few weeks at least. During this time, all kinds of new threats have been introduced “into the wild.” This means that you may be protected from thousands of threats that have been previously addressed but vulnerable to hundreds of new ones developed between the release of your software and now.

That’s why the software immediately prompts you to connect to the database to retrieve the latest definitions. Do it. Once updated, go back into your anti-spyware or anti-virus program and setup automatic database updates so that you don’t have to worry about this ever again.  In the past, an interval of several days was acceptable. Today, daily updates are a basic minimum requirement. You may even want hourly updates.

Keeping your security products current is just as important as buying the protection in the first place. Fortunately, you can automate the process and most developers include free database updates for the entire term of the subscription.

If you have Windows Vista, you also have the Windows Account Control feature and Windows Security Center. Both of these features tend to nag users a tad. For example the Windows Account Control prompts you for permission to proceed on the slight chance that a command entered was initiated by an unknown process rather than you while the Windows Security Center notifies you when security features are not implemented to its recommended levels.

I suspect what your computer is telling you is that either your existing anti-virus protection has been disabled, expired, or non-existent. Let’s take a look. If the “no protection” message is currently displayed in your Taskbar’s notification area, you can simply click on it to open the Security Center. If not, you can access the Security Center via the Control Panel. Go to Start > Control Panel > Security Center. Likewise, you can go to Start and type Security Center into the Search bar and then click the icon that matches.

You’ll see a main color-coded display of the Vista security essentials including: Firewall, Automatic Updating, Malware Protection, and Other Settings. The coloring coding gives you an at-a-glance snapshot of what needs attention. Like a stop light, green means the settings are good to go while red means you need to stop and pay attention.

Each category shows up as a bar with an On/Off light as well as a drop down arrow for more options. For now, you can ignore the categories that are green (on); later, feel free to explore the drop down arrow to see the additional information. Click the down arrow next to all categories that are red. In this case, Malware Protection is most likely the one generating the “no protection” message though the firewall may also be contributing.

Under Malware Protection, you should see information about the current status of your security software. For example, if you had a trial version of McAfee Anti-Virus that has since expired, the Security Center will tell you that the product has expired. Similarly, if your antivirus program has been turned off, Security Center will tell you so. Most of the time, Security Center provides you with buttons that you can click to turn on the proper settings or solve the problem.

Malware Protection covers both antivirus and spyware settings. Windows Vista comes with Windows Defender built in. You should see Windows Defender in the list and its current status.

Depending on your situation, you may need to simply turn on existing security applications or update them. However, if your anti-virus license has expired or you have no protection installed at all, you will need to purchase a good antivirus application.  

Today’s computers are more connected than ever before. Not only do home computer users connect to the Internet, they are also often part of a small wireless home network. In addition, many Internet connection types such as cable modems and DSL are “always on.” Being connected to the Internet 24/7 means and being part of a wireless network makes the computers more vulnerable to malware and hacking than ever before.

Fortunately, for Windows Vista users, their operating system comes with tools to help keep the computer secure. The Windows Security Center is a collection of security essentials including:

• Windows Update
• Windows Firewall
• Windows Defender
• Internet Options

When you first open the Security Center, you’ll see an overview of your computer’s current settings. Green and red colored bars and dots give you an at-a-glance indication of whether or not your computer is properly secured. For example, if the main display shows all your settings in green bars with green dots, then the settings are acceptable. On the other hand, settings in a red bar need your attention. Click the down arrow next to any setting for more information.

The Security Center gives you options for correcting any detected problem with your computer’s security. For example, if the Windows Firewall is turned off, you’ll see an option that you can click to turn it on.

To go to the Security Center, first go into the Control Panel, which is accessible via the Start button, and click on Security Center. You can also simply go to the Start button and type Security Center in the Search bar and then click the related icon to launch it.

If your computer finds a problem with its security, it will automatically notify you (unless you’ve changed the notification settings). It will also display a red shield in the Taskbar’s tray. Double click this red shield and it will take you to the Security Center where you can learn about what’s wrong and take the necessary steps for securing your computer.

Don’t want to be notified each time? For example, if you prefer not to run the User Account Control utility because you find all of the prompts annoying, you may grow weary of the alert telling you that User Account Control has been disabled. Simply go into the Security Center and click on Change the Way Security Center Alerts me. Choose, “Don’t notify me but display an icon” or “Don’t notify me and don’t display an icon (not recommended” depending on your preferences.

The Security Center isn’t the most comprehensive security solution on the planet, but it is a good place to go to check and see that all of your other solutions, including third party anti-virus programs, are enabled.

With hackers and malicious software running amok on the Internet, many different defenses are required to protect sensitive systems. Most home computers and home networks are sufficiently protected with a combination of firewalls and security software such as antivirus and anti-spyware software. However, large “enterprise” networks need to take a more proactive role. After all, these networks can contain millions of sensitive records and are frequently targeted by hackers. For example, imagine the gold mine a hacker would discover if he could get into the databases of MasterCard or Visa!

Intrusion Detection Systems actively monitor network activity and traffic for signs of suspicious activities. Though this sounds quite similar to a firewall, it is actually quite different. Firewalls block openings but can’t distinguish between “good” and “bad.” If you must open a port in a firewall, the firewall doesn’t know whether incoming and outgoing traffic has good or bad intentions. Intrusion Detection Systems monitor the traffic in search of hostile or suspicious activities that signal an intrusion.

Think of firewalls as doors that you can open or close. Anyone can walk through the open door, right? And if the door is closed and locked, everyone will be shut out. Now, think of the Intrusion Detection System as the security guard at the door. The security guard may let people who work in, or live in, the building but he won’t necessarily let a stranger off the street through the doorway.

Intrusion Detection Systems come in many different forms such as network based, network behavior analysis, wireless, and host based. Each type does its job a bit differently with different ways of gathering information, detecting intrusion attempts, logging, and prevention. Large enterprise networks often use several different types of Intrusion Detection Systems as part of a larger security strategy.

Intrusion Detection Systems are geared for large networks rather than individual home users. If you’re a home user with a small network, for now, focus on basic security such as properly setting up your firewall, wireless network security settings, and security software. With the basics in place and properly secured, your network will protected from most threats.

Here’s a comprehensive list of various Intrusion Detection Products and Tools.