Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

KEEP YOUR PERSONAL COMPUTER SAFE

FOR WINDOWS USER

1

• Use strong password for user accounts

2• Set up standard user accounts for daily use

3• Disable Guest account

4• Enable password protected screen saver

5• Use up-to-date anti-malware security software

6• Use personal firewall

7• Update operating system, application and browser

8• Configure basic security settings for web browser

9• Backup data regularly

10

• Completely remove data before giving away or selling your computers

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

Index

1. Use strong password for user accounts ........................................ 3

2. Set up standard user accounts for daily use.................................. 4

3. Disable Guest account ................................................................... 5

4. Enable password protected screen saver ..................................... 6

5. Use up-to-date anti-malware security software ............................. 7

6. Use personal firewall ..................................................................... 9

7. Update operating system, application and browser ..................... 10

8. Configure basic security settings for web browser ...................... 12

9. Backup data regularly .................................................................. 13

10. Completely remove data before giving away or selling your

computers ........................................................................................ 14

Disclaimer ........................................................................................ 16

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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1

Use strong password for user accounts

RISK

Weak password, which is easy to guess, increases

the chance of unauthorised access of computer.

CHECK ITEMS

Tool(s) available

Function: Assist users to learn and practice on how to create strong passwords.

Kaspersky Secure Password Check

Intel Grade My Password

System settings

Purpose: Create / change log in password of your computer and check whether strong password policy is enforced.

Steps on how to protect your computer with a password.

Steps on how to change your Windows password.

Steps on how to change password policy settings.

MORE TIPS

Change password regularly and use a password that is difficult to guess but easy to remember.

Don't reuse passwords or write down your password, particularly anywhere near the computer. Please visit InfoSec website for more good practices on Handling User Account and Passwords.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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2

Set up standard user accounts for daily use

RISK

Malware can infect a computer and operate

malicious activities under the user rights of the

logged-in user.

CHECK ITEMS

System settings

Purpose: Create standard user account for your computer and

change user account's administrator right.

Steps on how to create a user account.

Steps on how to change a user's account type.

MORE TIPS

Use administrator account only where necessary, such as

managing other user accounts, installing or removing

software or changing security settings.

Use different passwords for different user accounts, in

particular those for handling private and sensitive data.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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3

Disable Guest account

RISK

Guest account of computer can provide information

to attacker and increase security risks.

CHECK ITEMS

System settings

Purpose: Disable guest account in computer.

Steps on how to turn the guest account on or off.

MORE TIPS

Assess security risks before using guest account, which

allows users to log on to a network, browse the Internet,

and shut down the computer.

Establish a password for guest account before use because

the guest account password is blank by default.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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4

Enable password protected screen saver

RISK

Unattended computer is susceptible to

unauthorised access to the system.

CHECK ITEMS

System settings

Purpose: Enable password protected screen

Steps on how to turn screen saver on or off.

Steps on how to use your Windows password for screen saver password.

MORE TIPS

Enable password protected screen saver in all time and do

not leave your computer unattended, in particular in public

area.

Default user inactivity time set for screen saver to launch is

usually 15 minutes; however a shorter time period can be

set for better security.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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5

Use up-to-date anti-malware security software

RISK

Your computer is susceptible to virus, Trojan horse

and other malware attacks, which may lead to data

and financial loss.

CHECK ITEMS

Tool(s) available

Function: Detect malware attack and remove malware from

infected computer.

Windows Defender (Built-in software in Windows 8)

Microsoft Security Essentials (for Windows 7 and Vista)

BitDefender QuickScan

TrendMicro HouseCall

Other anti-malware security software

System settings

Purpose: Check whether your PC is protected with up-to-date

anti-malware security software.

Steps on how to know if my computer has installed

anti-malware software.

Steps on how to keep Windows Defender definitions

up-to-date.

Steps on how to schedule when Windows Defender scans

your computer.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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Note: Please be aware that the exact process for applying the

security features will vary between different products. It is

recommended that users follow the instructions contained in the

official user manual where possible.

MORE TIPS

Enable auto-update features of the anti-malware security

software to keep the software and its definition up-to-date.

Enable real-time protection feature and perform full scan of

computer in periodic basis (e.g. weekly).

Stay alert to symptoms that might indicate a malware

infection, such as battery drain, performance clogging,

unusual large data usage, etc.

Be aware that fake anti-malware software and rogue

pop-up security alerts are popular ways for tricking users to

download malware onto their computers.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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6

Use personal firewall

RISK

Networked computer is more susceptible to cyber

attacks because attackers can discover and scan

the computer remotely, connect to it and send user

data to external server.

CHECK ITEMS

Tool(s) available

Function: Enable firewall protection for your computer.

Windows Firewall (Built-in software in Windows)

Comodo Free Firewall

ZoneAlarm Free Firewall

System settings

Purpose: Check whether Windows Firewall is enabled and verify

the firewall rules.

Steps on how to verify that Windows Firewall is on.

Steps on how to allow a program to communicate through

Windows Firewall and remove a program from the list of

allowed programs.

MORE TIPS

Enable your personal firewall in all time, in particular when

connecting to the Internet.

Enable built-in firewall of home router to further protect your

computer and home network from cyber attacks.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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7

Update operating system, application and browser

RISK

Computer with known security weaknesses is more

susceptible to malware infection and other cyber

attacks, in particular when connecting to the Internet.

CHECK ITEMS

Tool(s) available

Function: Detect outdated software, browsers and their plug-ins.

Check and Secure website (Detect outdated browser and

plug-in)

Qualys Browser Check (Detect outdated browser and

plug-in)

Windows Baseline Security Analyser (Detect outdated

operating system and application)

Nessus Vulnerability Scanner (Evaluation version) (Detect

outdated operating system and application)

System settings

Purpose: Obtain latest security patch update and check whether

Windows operating system and other Microsoft products of your

computer are up-to-date.

Verify whether my computer is up-to-date.

Steps on how to use Windows Update to keep your

computer current.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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MORE TIPS

Enable auto-update feature of software product and

remember to restart your computer to finish installing the

updates.

Uninstall end-of-support software products or upgrade to

another software product that has security updates and

avoid performing sensitive operations, such as online

banking, from computer without security updates.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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8

Configure basic security settings for web browser

RISK

Default settings in common web browsers may

allow execution of malicious code, cache of

sensitive information and password without the

owner's knowledge.

CHECK ITEMS

System settings

Purpose: Check whether the basic security settings of web

browser are adopted.

Steps on how to secure Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox

and Safari browser

Steps on how to secure Chrome browser – Phishing and

malware alerts, manage your website passwords, run or

block plug-ins, delete your cache data and disable Autofill

feature

MORE TIPS

Do not visit suspicious websites or follow the links provided

in those websites, as they may cause malware infection and

force a browser to download files without user's knowledge.

Logout application after use and clear browser cache, in

particular after performing sensitive operation, such as

online banking.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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9

Backup data regularly

RISK

Data cannot be recovered in case of malware

infection, hardware failure and device loss.

CHECK ITEMS

System settings

Purpose: Backup and restore files and full system.

Steps on how to back up your files.

Steps on how to restore files from a backup.

Steps on how to create a system image backup.

Steps on how to restore your computer from a system

image backup.

MORE TIPS

Backup regularly and protect your backup data securely.

Test the restore procedures to ensure the backup data can

be restored.

Assess security risks before synchronising data to cloud

services and avoid automatic backup of sensitive data to

them.

Protect your online user account with a strong password

and enhanced authentication mechanism such as 2-factor

authentication if available, in particular those for cloud

backup. Please visit InfoSec website for more good

practices on Handling User Account and Passwords.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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10

Completely remove data before giving away or

selling your computers

RISK

Data can be accessed or recovered by data

recovery applications.

CHECK

ITEMS

Tool(s) available

Function: Securely delete data in computers’ hard disk including

Solid-State Drive (SSD).

The following tools can securely delete data in magnetic hard

disk:

Darik’s Boot and Nuke (DBAN)

Windows Sysinternals – SDelete

Eraser

The following tools can securely delete data in SSD:

ATA Secure Erase

Secure Erase (HDDErase)

Intel SSD Pro Administrator Tool (Support Intel SSD only)

SanDisk SSD Dashboard (Support SanDisk SSD only)

Note:

Some secure deletion software in the market can securely

delete the entire hard disk or wipe free space. Read the

software license agreement and the instructions carefully.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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A number of vendors of SSD provide detailed steps /

specific tool for secure data erasure in their SSDs drives.

As the implementation of secure deletion between

different manufacturers, you are suggested to contact the

product vendors for the technical details of sanitisation

procedure.

MORE TIPS

Data cannot be recovered after secure delete. If data need

to be kept, perform backup before erasing the data.

Please visit InfoSec website for more options for disposal of

computer equipment containing sensitive information.

In order to protect data, enable full disk encryption (e.g.

BitLocker) with strong password after purchase.

If the edition of Microsoft Windows does not provide full disk

encryption feature, users should employ other relevant

software to encrypt sensitive data with strong password.

Cyber Security Information Portal (www.cybersecurity.hk) Keep Your Personal Computer Safe for Windows User

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Disclaimer

The health check settings here are proactive in nature and intended for

improving mobile device security, as they may change the user experience and

interfere with the functionality and utility of some applications. The exact

process for applying the security features during the health check will vary

between different products. It is recommended to follow the instructions

contained in the user manual provided at the official website of the

manufacturer where possible.

Users are also recommended to observe the Important Notices of Cyber

Security Information Portal and read the user agreements and privacy policies

of the security software and tools before download and use them.