Security alert! Scotty, get us out of here fast!

Acquire these ten security measures now before surfing the Internet. They it will significantly reduce your online vulnerability!

Priority #1: Routers (Linksys is the most common)

• Find out if they have NAT (network address translation) functionality, which is essential.

• Don’t buy or use wireless routers until you understand how to secure them. Your wireless router must have RJ-45 ports for wired connections.

• Don’t experiment, get a standard brand. Linksys is a division of Cisco, a world leader.

Priority #2: Antivirus (Symantec or AVG are common)

• Don’t experiment. Use a standard brand. The US government has used Norton and McAfee with success.

• You must download current virus definitions regularly or configure the software to perform these updates. You should use the “automatic protection” feature to warn about threats in real time.

Priority #3: Firewalls

• ZoneAlarm, Comodo or Tiny Personal Firewall offer free versions. Look these. ZoneAlarm has a bundled Anti-Spyware product with a firewall for $19.95 and a full version of the firewall package for $49.95.

Priority #4: Using NTFS security correctlyDon’t confuse NTFS security (using the Security tab in a file’s property sheet) with sharing permissions. Shares are convenient for making files visible on a network and provide very basic permissions. fsmgmt.msc is the tool that manages shared folders. (Administrator account required) Use NTFS permissions to protect your files. (Reminder: To use NTFS permissions, right-click any folder or file, select Properties, then click the Security tab and choose your settings.)

Priority #5: Stop Sharing Folders

Be aware of which folders you are sharing. To view them, click Start and then click Run. Type fsmgmt.msc and then click OK. In the left pane, click Shares. All shares should appear. As a general rule, don’t share folders. If you don’t need to share, right-click the share and select Stop Sharing. Alternatively, you can view all shares by entering your computer name in the Run box preceded by double backslashes (no spaces) (for example

your computer name (also known as system name or host name), or by running msinfo32 in the Run box. Look to the right for the system name.) (PS msinfo32 is usually slow to load).

Priority #6: Are your files extended? For!Scenario: You open a file called Favorite.jpg – obviously an innocent jpg photo, no security issue. But then, a small program is executed. Why? The full name of the file is Favorite.jpg.exe. Strange name for a file, and this one turns out to be a virus! You didn’t see the exe because your “file extension” view was set to HIDE extensions!

Fix this potential problem and see the full names of your files by doing this:

Right click Start – Select Explore – Click Tools menu – Folder Options – View, – UNCHECK “Hide extensions for known file types”

Priority #7: Is Windows Firewall turned on?XP has a built-in firewall that needs to be turned on IF you don’t already have a firewall running. You can check the status of your firewall by going to Start – Settings – Control Panel – Windows Firewall.

Priority #8: Wireless Networking BasicsThere are many possible wireless hardware and software configurations. Let’s look at the most common ones and hopefully you can take advantage of this knowledge and apply it to your circumstances. As an example, let’s look at the Linksys BEFW11S4 wireless access point (also known as a wireless router). At a minimum, you should configure the router’s configuration page by running http://192.168.1.1, (Do this with a “wired” network connection to the router!)

• Reset admin password (default username is blank, password is admin)

• Reset the default SSID

• Disable SSID Broadcast

• Change the default channel

• Enable WEP with 128-bit key

• Change authentication type to shared key

All of this can be explained in detail in the owner’s manual or on the manufacturer’s website. For example, Linksys wireless security is explained at: http://linksys.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/linksys.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=4024&p_sid=UcVbWIYi&p_lva=3967#

Linksys also has a support page at http://homesupport.cisco.com/en-us/wireless/linksys/

Priority #9: Do you use data encryption?You should take advantage of XP’s encryption feature for any sensitive files. File Properties, then Advanced, then Encrypt Content… There is a warning. If you ever need to access your encrypted files from another account, you will receive access denied. Let’s say your account is corrupted and you log in to the admin account to copy all your data. You will not be able to open or copy any encrypted files. Solution: Backup all encrypted files to a FAT32 USB drive and they will always be available.

Priority #10 Always use the best technical data protection ever invented. What’s that? Test yourself —

• NTFS file system

• Cisco Firewalls

• 128-bit encryption

• Backup to USB drive

Answer: Security is built on layers of protection and between those layers there will always be the possibility of data loss, corruption or attack. MAKING BACKUP COPIES OF YOUR DATA ON EXTERNAL SUPPORTS IS YOUR BEST PROTECTION. Try your backup! Statistics have shown that a large percentage of backups fail when necessary.

PS: I highly recommend logging into your Windows system with a “non” administrator account. By default, it will use the built-in administrator account, which is a big responsibility. The XP Security Secrets guide on ebook-browser.com explains how to fix this.