SPONSERED LINKS

SPONSERED LINKS

Laptop Data Security: Is it Worth the Cost?

Many people believe that laptop data security is too expensive to make it worthwhile. However there is a potential cost that can extend far beyond the time to re-key data or to download a backup file from a disk or network computer. While it is true that laptop data security is likely to prevent the loss of important information, it is also true that there is a cost for effective security. When compared to the tangible and intangible losses that could occur if the data on your laptop is lost or stolen, the price of data security seems negligible. Identity Theft Using laptop data security that works will help to prevent the danger of identify theft. Identity theft in the United States is a growing problem. Thousands of people have experienced the disruption, cost and danger that occurs when a criminal type gains access to information that allows the thief to take on the identity of the victim. This can include access to credit cards, employment information and bank accounts. Typically, identity theft is for the purpose of stealing credit and cash from the victim. While some of these problems are reversible, it usually requires months or even years to be free of the negative marks on the record of the victim. Sensitive Data Laptop data security is important for other reasons than to prevent identity theft. Many people who use a notebook or laptop in the conduction of their business will have sensitive or critical data stored on the hard drive of the device. This can include details of customer preferences, email contact lists or sales data. If you use your laptop as a creative tool to design, write, or journalize your thoughts, it is probably information that is irreplaceable. Artists and authors agree that the cost of security is well worth it.

what are the most popular computer security software?

With the increasing threat to computer security everybody now-a-days is concerned and is taking steps to counter the attacks on their machine and keep it safe. It is ironical that people are using computer security software like anti-viruses, etc for keeping their computer software like operating system, etc safe. Many newly discovered spywares and malwares and attacking systems through internet. They unknowingly creep into our machine when we download anything or when we open a spam mail or visit an infected website. Most of the computers get affected due to lack of responsibility and lack of knowledge, while using the internet.Many people are even unaware of an existing virus or malware in their machine and unknowingly pass it on to their friend’s machine by means of shared files or mails. Different kinds of software provide different kinds of computer security solutions. Also people use various kinds of software as per their requirements and preferences. Listed here are some popular software that should be installed on your computer for maximum computer security solutions:This is one of the most important and most popular computer security software. Anti-virus shields your computer from virus infections not only this but it also removes any previously acquired virus. Few popular anti-viruses are kaspersky, AVG, Norton, Quick Heal, Avast, etc. All of them are very effective and efficient. Updating the anti-virus software regularly is very important.Anti-spam computer security software helps you to avoid spam content from getting downloaded on your system. Spam is the unwanted data that gets downloaded when you visit certain websites or download something. Spam can contain malwares that can infect your system. Hence, many people download anti-spam software that are available for free on the net.Gathering your personal information or data from your computer using spywares has become very common. This can be very risky as your personal information can be put to wrong use. These spywares are not detected by anti-viruses and hence additional anti-spyware software needs to be installed. Anti-spywares are very popular and are easily available on the internet.This is also one of the most popular computer security software. Firewall provides a complete solution against hackers and intruders and also against spam. Many companies who have their own operating systems produce and market their own firewall software. Most of the firewalls come with in-built anti-virus, anti-spam, anti-popup and even anti-spyware. The settings of these firewalls can be altered and customized as per our requirements and usage. Some of the newly developed firewalls adjust with ou8r pre-installed anti-software and incorporate them in their program.

Computers are an inseparable part of our lives today

Computers are an inseparable part of our lives today, life that has increasingly become technology driven. Besides work, we use computers for communicating, banking, entertainment, research – just to name a few. Besides hardware, security of the new-age machines is threatened by malicious software, viruses, Trojans etc. all designed to cripple a system. Loss of computer security leads to corruption or loss of data, misuse or theft of information, identity theft and unauthorized use of client information, transmission of computer viruses that can affect third parties and can lead to potential liability, services interruptions, security breaches at vital government installations that can threaten national safety. For corporate houses, loss of computer security can make vital difference in acquiring new work and sustaining current projects.These are strong reasons to support the need for installing computer security systems. The first important requirement is licensed Anti-virus software. There are over 50,000 known viruses and 200 new viruses are discovered every month. The easiest method for spreading viruses is by e-mail attachments or instant messaging messages. Viruses can be disguised as greeting cards, funny images, or video and audio file attachments. The computer needs to get updated with latest threats and that is possible only with original computer security software as it gets automatically updated every time the machine goes online.The next important requirement is Firewall Software. This enhances computer security by controlling communications from it, prevents unwanted accesses and is capable of blocking outgoing and incoming IP addresses.Often computer security is compromised due to spyware that enters a machine by deceiving the user or through some software loopholes. Sometimes the user is tricked into unknowingly installing it or it piggybacks on desirable software. Hence, spyware removing software is a must in the computer security system.A pop-up blocker is another important element in securing computers. Malicious attackers are likely to use pop-up windows that are concealed as special offers to set up a malicious code on a computer.Besides all these installations it is important to ensure correct practises to ensure computer security when accessing the Internet. Never download email attachments from unknown persons, do not share your banking details and passwords with unknown people, do not click on links inside emails, for financial transactions - type in the URL each time on your browser and take care when sharing flash drives. These are just some additional measure to ensure computer security. Always buy licensed, original Operating System Software and Anti Virus Software. While there are cyber laws to help track and punish breaches in computer security, its better to be safe rather than sorry!

Computer Security-How To Stay Safe In A World Of Hackers

Consider the latest "Die Hard". Some teenagers, few masterminds and trillions of dollars being siphoned off the federal fund that has been deposited against people's social security benefits. Do not think that it is a simple cinematic flick! Today hackers are so sophisticated that they can actually bring a law abiding citizen down on the streets. With the advent of technology making life easier for most of us, getting to shop from the comfort of our homes or transfer money from the safety of our living rooms, the fact remains that the nameless faceless cyber world is dotted with criminal minded people whose sole intention is to rob you off your identity, get access to all your important details and use those for their own benefits. How do you fight that? Install an anti-virus. An anti-virus protects your computer from malicious viruses that tend to lodge themselves deep into your hard drive and copy all your data and transfer those to servers where you would not want your confidential information to be a hacker's server. If someone sends you a virus intentionally or unintentionally, the anti-virus detects the virus and destroys it. Keep your anti-virus up-to-date. Set your anti-virus such that there is a weekly scan scheduled for all the hard drives in your computer. Install a firewall: A firewall will always keep a check on the information that is exchanged between your computer and other computers every time that you are logged on to the internet. That way you will be protected from any unwanted code or application getting downloaded on to your PC inadvertently. Any data that do not meet the security requirement set by the program developer will be barred from entering your computer by the firewall. Always keep your firewall updated as well. Act Smart: Do not store personal information in your computer. Information like your social security number, credit card number, pins, bank account numbers, telephone numbers, addresses, etc. Do not click on links that look suspicious. Most spam mails have links that should be avoided. These can lead to downloading of applications that may erase your hard drive. Always scan all attachments using your antivirus before opening it or running it or installing it on your computer. Do not exchange personal information in chat rooms, through mails or instant messages. Divulge your credit card details or social security details only to secured sources or through secured websites. Do not buy pirated products, software or programs. These may send messages over the internet when you are working with the particular software. Do not download executable files to your PC from unknown sources. Be extremely cautious while exchanging information over the internet. Keeping the above points in mind will help you in keeping your computer secure. Although every day a number of Trojan viruses or worms are coded and let loose over the internet, we must always do the best that we can in order to ensure security. A computer is an expensive device. A simple insecure download can render the whole machine useless.

Computer Defense System

Computer security is very important today. Without a great computer defense system, if you go online, you leave yourself open to all kinds of attacks both minor and very serious. Today all business and commerce is conducted by way of the computer. Additionally, once a transaction is completed, it is sent over the Internet to another computer where the transaction is verified and completed. It is very important to be aware of the steps that you need to take before you connect to the Internet to secure your computer. Those who wish to compromise systems are becoming more cleaver in their approaches everyday. It also seems with technology changing everyday, it is harder and harder to keep up.
A good computer defense system first means making sure that on a fresh install of any operating system, Apple OS included, all software updates are downloaded and any security updates are applied. In windows, set your security update options to at least "notify" you of updates even if you don't want to download them automatically. It is also most prudent to make sure all critical updates are downloaded and applied as soon as they become available. Microsoft Windows makes this easy with the Windows Update feature. Similarly there is a feature called software update in the Finder under the "Apple Menu" called software update. It is essential that you do this regularly. If you do not have options set to notify you immediately of updates, check for them a minimum of two to three times a month.
Another Part of your computer Defense System is your anti-virus software. In recent years their has been a tendency for the best know names in the anti-virus business to bloat their product with more and more features that many users will not use or use very sparingly. This taxes computer resources and slows down your computer because it is trying to do more and more background processes. There are many retail packages out there, but they are not all created equal. Also, be aware that program definition files (that tell the program about what viruses may exist on your computer) often expires at the end of a year meaning you will have to renew your anti-virus definition subscription in order to continue to receive updates. An alternative is a free antiviral software solution that provides updates for free. One of the best is by a company called Grisoft. It is called AVG. While I cannot put a link here, if you type "AVG Free" into Google, the link to the download page will be on the tope of the list.
For your computer to be running properly, you also need to enable any firewalls on your system. For example, in the Control Panel of recent Windows OS versions (like XP or Vista), you will find a security section (Tab or Icon). Once there, make sure the Windows firewall is enabled. However limit the installation of firewall software because not only can this cause program conflicts and slow down your system, cryptic warnings about a possible intrusion will not benefit you and scare an inexperienced user. Instead install a router or get someone to do it for you. Even if you only have one computer because a router is a physical firewall blocking potentially harmful Internet traffic for you. Also much lower prices on computers now means having multiple computers is affordable. A router allows multiple computers to share a single Internet connection.
Another important consideration is not to install toolbars unless from a recognized and trusted source. A good computer defense system recognizes that many of these installations are actually malware in disguise that can do things in the background that may harm and compromise your system. Also, do not download email attachments. This is one of the major ways that a virus or other malicious or self-executing code actually gets on your system in the first place. You need to exercise do vigilance when on the Internet and click with care. Also make sure that things like Active X controls are not automatically set to run on a page. (Unless on a trusted site that requires it.) Additionally, think seriously about changing the browser you use to surf the Internet with. Type "Get Firefox" in Google. Firefox is a better browsing alternative than its man competitor and it is more secure because it is more of a basic browser that does not automatically execute advanced functions that can lead to viruses, malware, Trojan horses and other malicious code that can seriously harm your computer.
A good computer defense system requires more than what has just been detailed, but these steps are important and will go along way toward a more secure and safe computer system. For even more extensive information; look to the end of this article for links showing you where you can go next.

Is Firewall and Anti-Virus adequate ?

There are absolute essentials such as Firewall, Anti-Spyware, Anti-Virus that a PC or server requires against Internet threats such as Hacking, Viruses and so on. From my observation, most corporate PCs or servers had installed Anti-Virus and firewall only. That's it. What other areas that are equally essential ?

I will not cover the essential of firewalls. These are a must or else anybody can sail through the network. It is like a house with the front door wide open with a sign, rob me !

Assumed Firewall, Anti-Virus installed..... What about folders and files ? Are you sure those sensitive files are not able to be accessed by all of your office staff but only trusted Sr. Managers or yourself. Say a technical savy personnel happen to have some knowledge of hacking, high possibility that your most valuable data in your server may be compromised.

Further, the vendor that installed the server and application, does he/she has the admin password ? What services are installed in the server ? Intruders may exploit the services vulnerabilities to gain access into the server.

It is difficult to to know where or who is the Intruder. Are they the intruders from the Internet only ? These are attackers that need to break into your firewall and IPS (Intrusion Prevention System) before getting their hands on the servers. There are those that can break into even the most advance security systems. Fortunately, the numbers are not many. However if they are your personnel, temporary staff, vendors, contracts, dispatch personnel. This will be easier as it is an insider job. Someone that have knowledge of your application, server or network. You will never know.

Windows Hacking Checkout this video on how a basic penetration is done using Windows. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSHIVCkqrlw

There are many more ways of doing this for those with Linux/Unix machines.

So what to do ? I have observed banks and large companies taking the trouble to view every folders, files in their servers and ensure only authorized IDs are allowed to access these servers.

For example, to check world writable files and directories in Unix servers and output to a file for analysis, use this command:

Check world writable files and directories. find / -type f -perm -22 -exec ls -l > /home/Gabriel/worldfiles.csv \; find / -type d -perm -22 -exec ls -l > /home/Gabriel/worlddirectory.csv \;

I will cover more on Unix security in my coming article. Windows Hardening - part of Security Assessment As for Windows, use DumpSec ACL to retrieve the relevant files for analysis and Nmap, Nessus for services. I have conducted security assessments for a number of companies and they were surprised to find IDs of staff that have resigned still active in their servers. Worst still, most of the files that contained critical data are also read and writable by everybody. If the person with ill intention did what the video above demonstrated, he/she may have access to these files already

Backup Data Online for Free

Your hard drive is where all of your system files, bot existing and future ones, are filed. These files range from operating system files to your own personal files. It is vital that you protect these files from corruption. One option for protecting your data is to create backups on external hard drives, DVDs, CDs and online storage locations.

A hard drive nowadays can hold an enourmous amount of data. The more data you have, the greater the chances of your facing a harder situation in case of hard disk failure. Although technology and safety measures are constantly updated, your computer is still a machine and could fail no matter how expensive or cheap it is.

Considering that data loss is more often due to human error than hard disk failure, you should try and create back ups as often as possible so that nearly all the information is available to you. You can thus prevent or at least minimize the damage.

Data loss can have very serious consequences. Consider this situation. You have a presentation the next morning and you have spent sleepless nights trying to get it just right. You will be able to have peace of mind - knowing that your valuable data is safe. The next morning you arrive at the meeting and your computer decides to play tricks. Your presentation just refuses to get underway because your computer has decided to follow its own instructions. Naturally the meeting ends up in disaster.

What you could have done is to save your presentation as a backup before you turned off your computer the previous night, and accessed that copy when you found out that the main presentation was malfunctioning. Malufunctions and crashes can occur anytime and often will have no warning signs. Therefore creating backups is a safety net available to you.

One method is to use the services online or to down load the software and do the task yourself. Most of these services do not mention that they are backup creators, but you can consider them to be so. Try saving your material on your email account by mailing the important files to yourself. You will always have access to them when required.

These free online storage services will have limited space available to you and some are not very reliable or efficient. There are others that charge you a minimal fee for the service, and these are far safer and reliable. Whichever route you choose to travel, please ensure that you have a set of backups to fall back on in cases of emergency, so that the day can be saved