In the old days...

You Your computer

Then came...

The Network

Then came...

The worldwide, really fast network

Then came...

Oh My!!!

Computer Self-Defense

Deb Coates/Floyd Davenport

ISU Extension IT

February 10, 2005

What we’re going to talk about

• Basic protections

• Updates

• Spam, Viruses and other bad things

• Backups

• Social engineering

• Cleaning your computer

• Other things

Also...

• Everything we talk about will affect how well your computer operates

• Many things go on behind the scenes to protect your computer

• However...

You need to be

• Aware

• Alert

• Cautious

• Protective

Be Your Own Rottweiler

No One Loves Your Data Like You Do

Basic Protections

• Use Strong Passwords

• Don’t be an administrator

• Know where you are

Basic Protections

• Use Strong passwords– Uppercase, lowercase, numbers– Don’t use dictionary words– Change your password regularly– Passphrases– More than 15 characters– Shhh, Don’t tell anyone

JJ!x317

1nCrED!ble

1 love THE king 0f ducks! in MontreAL

Strong Passwords

• Good • Not Good

Bob

Mykids

happy2

Basic Protections

• Don’t be an administrator– ‘Least Privilege’ principle– Think before you act– Loaded gun with no safety

Basic Protections

• Know where you are– Does the web site use SSL encryption?– Check Security & Privacy information– Who are you sending that information to?– Ask questions

Updates

• Windows XP– Automatic Windows Updates– Regular Software updates (MCA)

• Hardware– University support standards– Reliability

Updates: What we do for you

• Bulk licensing– MCA (MS Office, Windows)– McAfee VirusScan

• Group purchases– Hardware– Filemaker

Spam and Viruses and Spyware

• 10 out of 14 email messages are Spam

• 1 in 50 email messages contains a virus

• At least 20% of all computers someone bothered to scan have some form of spyware on them

Stats from www.postini.com/stats and www.pcpitstop.com

Spam: What is it?

• Unsolicited commercial email

Spam: What we do for you

• Perl MX filtering at the mail server

• Greylisting

• Domain and email banning (can’t send mail to...)

Spam: What you can do

• Filter your email

• Be careful who you give your email to

• Throw it out

Viruses: What are they?

• Programs created specifically to infect computers and replicate itself

• Some viruses will damage data and programs

• Others ‘only’ replicate themselves, but use computer processing and network bandwidth to do it.

Viruses: What we do for you

• Bulk Licensing for Virus software

• Virus Scanning at the mail server

• Automatic updates

• Blocking infected computers

Viruses: What you can do

• Use Virus software

• Keep it up to date

• Make sure it’s turned on

• Don’t open attachments– Unless you’re expecting them– Unless you know who they’re from– We really mean it...

Spyware: What is it?

• Software that tracks what you do and reports it to others

• Spyware can come as part of a free software download

• Spyware will sometimes say--do you want me to install this now?

Spyware: What we do for you

• Warnings

• Spybot on Scout

• Spybot and Adware available for no charge

Spyware: What you can do

• Read the fine print

• Know what you’re clicking on

• Don’t click on banner ads

Backups

• Bad things will happen--What can you afford to lose?

• Back up early and often• Consider the reliability and security of your

backups• When your computer leaves your hands it

should be backed up• It’s your data, no one loves it like you do

Backups: Today

• Use removable media (CDs, DVDs)

• Back up email and My Documents regularly

• Back up pictures and presentations when you add, update, change them

• If you don’t have a CD/DVD burner on your computer, see ‘Updates’

Backups: Coming Soon

• Two tier solution– Enterprise file server

• File storage• Regular central backups• Version tracking

– Office/Individual• External hard drives

Social engineering

• The people side of security

• Or, I bet I can get you to give me your password

Social engineering

• Be smart

• If it looks too good to be true, it probably is

• When in doubt, check it out– Contact EIT– Go to the webpage directly– Find and store the contacts for important

places yourself

When Computers Go Away

• When you are permanently separated from a computer– Computer replacement– Job change

• Save appropriate data, then wipe everything

• Ask that your account be removed immediately and change your password

Other things

• Physical access bypasses security• Firewalls can limit exposure• Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) protect

roaming users• Belong to the IASTATE domain

– Remote assistance– Admin password reset– Group security policies

In conclusion

• Take basic precautions

• Stay up to date

• Don’t open attachments

• Back up your data

• Think who and why

• A little paranoia is healthy

What stands between your computer and total systems

meltdown?

You

Be Your Own Rottweiler