Basics
This is an overview of Basic Security I will cover
what a standard user should be knowledgeable about for his own basic
privacy and computer security, what to look for, and how to prevent
basic security issues. First off you will never be 100% safe. Hundreds
of virus/exploits are written every day. But hopefully this information
will help you with most of the security issues.
Know your enemy
Virus - Programs which hide in your computer
when executed they can reproduce/move to floppy diskettes and destroy
information and critical files that would cause your computer to
run incorrectly. Some viruses can execute themselves when your computer
clock reaches a certain date/time, they can be easily hidden with
other programs (also known as piggy backing) and can be manually
executed with out your knowledge.
Trojan horse - a Trojan horse is similar to
a virus but there effects are a different. When in your computer
and executed (automatic or manually) they open a backdoor (backdoor
is a huge security hole) in your computer so that some one can gain
access to your computer. One of the more popular Trojans today is
the Back Orifice Trojan more commonly known as BO. For
more information on BO click here.
Worm - A Worm is kind of like a virus when
a worm is activated it can reproduce (depending on how it was written)
and roam just about anywhere it feels free. What it does is it goes
though random files changing random data.
Exploits - More often geared for servers, an
exploit is anything that can exploit your operating system to giving
up full access to another user.
These various security threats come in different
forms, some easy visible and some not.
Defense
Minimizing your chances of Infection / Invasion.
You should always practice safe surfing:
- only download trusted material
- when entering personal information make sure you trust the site/company
- do not give your password to anyone
- when choosing a password use a combination of uppercase,
lowercase and numbers characters (its harder for hackers to generate
these) and don't make your password the same as your user name/login.
Finding and Removing
For Finding and Removing Virus/Trojans/Worms I would recommend
purchasing a good antivirus program such as Norton Antivirus, and
Macaffe Antivirus. I personally run both of them cause they work
in different ways. And always make sure you get the update files
online so that the virus scanners can look for new viruses.
Exploits
The average person doesn't really have to worry about exploits.
These are geared mainly for networks. If you would like to keep
up with new exploits I recommend going to:
www.bikkel.com/~demoniz/
and/or
www.antionline.com/
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