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Networking & The Internet November 2002 • Vol.8 Issue 11 Page(s) 122-125 in print issue |
Lock Down Your PC Answers To Your Network & Internet Security Questions | ||
 If you are one of the lucky few surfing the Web with a broadband connection, your online experience is worlds apart from the old days when you dialed in via a regular phone line. Broadband brings home plenty of bandwidth for enjoying the multimedia content of today's Internet. Interactive Web content such as streaming video and audio, Macromedia Flash animations, complex Java applets, and others work much better with a broadband connection. Broadband does have a dark side, however. That fat pipeline gushing content into your PC is also a perfect entryway for hackers. Today's hackers are extremely creative at causing you grief, whether it's stealing confidential information or using your PC as an unwitting foot soldier in a DoS (denial of service) attack. Before broadband, your computer's dial-up connection to the Internet was usually fleeting: you dialed in, connected, went about your business, and logged off when you were finished. This short-lived connectivity, combined with the paltry bandwidth a phone line supplied, made your PC anonymous to hackers, who actively seek out permanent, high bandwidth connections. A broadband connection, on the other hand, is always on. As soon as you turn on your PC, you are immediately connected to the Internet. If you leave your PC on all the time, as many users do, a broadband connection remains active and connected to the Internet. This makes a tempting target for hackers seeking high bandwidth, always-on connections. Security is critical for individuals who enjoy broadband connections and want to keep their PCs safe from unwanted intrusions. If you don't have your PC appropriately secured, hackers will eventually find your computer and gain entry with alarming ease. Read on to find answers to the most commonly asked security questions and learn how to lock your PC down and keep the Internet's data hoodlums at bay. Q: What are the most important steps I can take to protect my system(s) when using a broadband connection? A: Securing your PC requires building a strong foundation based on two "pillars of security": a firewall and antivirus software. When you obtain that coveted broadband connection, purchase and install a good software or hardware firewall. Firewalls not only monitor and filter Internet traffic, they also make your computer's data ports invisible to the outside world. Without firewall protection, your computer is about as vulnerable as a house with its front door wide open. There are a variety of software and hardware firewalls sold today that are competitively priced and adequately protect your computer. Some, such as ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com) and Windows XP's ICF (Internet Connection Firewall) cost nothing. Antivirus software is the second pillar of a strong security foundation. Purchase antivirus software, use it regularly, and keep it up to date. Virus writers are creative, determined, and resourceful to the extreme: New viruses are discovered every day. Set up your antivirus software to scan your system for viruses regularly. Also, make sure your software's virus data files are up to date. Running antivirus software with obsolete data files leaves your PC unprotected against any new viruses. Many of today's antivirus programs monitor the Internet for new updates and they even alert you when they are ready to connect and retrieve the updates. With a fast broadband connection, it takes little time to update your virus definitions, so there is no excuse not to do this.
Also, remember to update your software. Application vulnerabilities are discovered frequently, so you will want to maintain your software. Newer versions of Windows, such as WinXP and Windows Me, use an automatic update feature to monitor Microsoft's Web site for new OS (operating system) updates. The feature periodically communicates with Microsoft's servers, and when updates are available, it automatically notifies you and prompts you to download and install them. This is a sure-fire way to keep your system up to date with minimal intervention on your part. Q: I installed a software firewall and now, several times per day, the firewall alerts me to intrusion attempts. Are there that many hackers lurking about, and am I getting sniffed or hacked that often? A: Hackers today have many tools in their arsenal, and one of them is software that runs automatically and scans the Web for open, unprotected data ports. These port monitors (also known as port scanners), are constantly seeking computers with visible, high bandwidth and unprotected data ports. Before we continue, let's define a port. Unlike a hardware port, a data port in a computer represents the end of a logical connection between a sending computer and a receiving computer. It is not a physical destination, but rather a virtual receiving point for data transmitted through the Internet. Ports let your computer know which application (email, browser, FTP [File Transfer Protocol]) is the recipient of a data transmission. When you send an email message to a friend, your transmission is ultimately received into port 25, the data port designated for SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) traffic. The TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) allows for 65,536 possible data ports, so there are 65,536 possible doorways into your computer. Port scanner programs work automatically, scouring the Internet looking for vulnerable computers. In terms of ports, a vulnerable computer's data ports are visible and actively "listening" for transmissions to receive. When a good firewall is installed, your computer's ports are invisible to the outside world; they are undetected by a hacker's port-scanning tools. Your firewall's display of constant scanning activity is testimony to the fact that hackers are a busy lot, constantly looking for vulnerable computers to exploit.
Q: Should I spend money on the Pro version of ZoneAlarm, or will the free version be good enough to protect my system? A: The free version of ZoneAlarm is an excellent firewall featuring the same core functionality as the Pro version. The Pro and free versions of ZoneAlarm are equally adept at monitoring incoming and outgoing Internet traffic. ZoneAlarm Pro contains a few extra features that give you more control over the configuration and use of the firewall. For example, ZoneAlarm Pro allows finer customization of Internet zones, more advanced logging, password protection for your settings, and a MailSafe feature that blocks more than 46 suspicious types of email attachments. These features are largely geared for network-savvy users who understand networking and firewall issues and want to tweak their configuration. If you want to turn it on and forget it, the free version of ZoneAlarm is sufficient. Q: How can I track my children's Internet usage? A: Using the Internet can be a dangerous game for some children. The anonymity that the Internet provides lets dangerous predators interact online with children who use popular Internet applications, such as chat rooms and newsgroups. Many recent cases of adult predators luring children and teenagers using the Internet have sadly resulted in tragedy. To many parents, monitoring their children's Internet usage is a very serious matter. Fortunately, there is software that lets parents monitor a child's Internet activities. Spector Pro (http://www.spectorsoft.com) is an example of an Internet activity monitoring package. The software permits monitoring of Internet activities via visual, email, chat, instant messaging, and keystroke recording. For example, Spector Pro's email recording feature saves copies of all email messages sent from your computer, including SMTP, POP3 (Post Office Protocol), and popular Web email applications, such as Yahoo!, AOL, and Hotmail.
Q: How do I protect my children from inappropriate content? A: The best way to protect your children from inappropriate Web content without prohibiting them from using computers altogether is to use filtering software that automatically screens for and filters out objectionable content. Protecting children from raunchy, offensive, or disturbing Internet content is a high priority for parents with children who actively use the Internet. If you have Internet-savvy children and want to prevent them from viewing objectionable content, using filtering software is a good way to go. An example of a widely used content filtering tool is Net Nanny (http://www.netnanny.com). This program features a database of objectionable Web sites, newsgroups, and chat rooms, developed by a team of researchers the company employs to scour the Internet and seek out inappropriate content. The program also lets you set up profiles for users and administer access to content per individual. Another popular program used for content filtering is Cyber Sentinel (http://www.securitysoft.com). Q: Is Microsoft software truly more vulnerable? Why do you not hear about hackers and crackers attacking other platforms, such as Linux, as much as you hear about them attacking Windows? A: If Linux were as popular as Windows, chances are you would constantly hear about hacker attacks on Linux machines. Although many people argue Microsoft software is more vulnerable, Microsoft's market reach is probably the company's worst enemy. Hackers go for the largest number of possible targets, and the majority of PC users today use Windows. That's not to say people who accuse Microsoft of sacrificing security for extra features are off base: Many features in Microsoft software became security vulnerabilities. In the end, both the company's unparalleled market penetration and its feature-rich products contribute to the barrage of hacker attacks on Microsoft products. Q: Are PDAs (personal digital assistants), such as Palm Pilots and Pocket PCs, safe from hackers? How about cellular phones? A: Hackers and virus writers are developing new tools for exploiting the new frontier of wireless devices. As Pocket PCs, Palm devices, and wireless telephones gain Internet connectivity capabilities, hackers will develop ways to exploit vulnerabilities in these devices. An Internet capable device, be it a computer or a handheld device, is vulnerable to attack if it is not adequately protected. New wireless technologies that increase the bandwidth available to Internet capable handheld PCs and cellular phones will make these new devices even more tempting targets. There are already a number of viruses designed for the Palm OS platform, with more on the way. The Liberty virus, for example, infects Palm devices by disguising itself as a popular Game Boy emulator application. This Trojan horse virus attempts to erase all applications on the Palm device when the user executes the Crack 1.1 application. Another Palm OS virus is called Phage. This virus overwrites the beginning of Palm executables, resulting in a blank screen when the user attempts to start an infected application.
A: As firewalls go, Microsoft's new ICF is as bare-bones as it gets. Although ICF provides adequate protection against unsolicited incoming Internet traffic, it is not as full-featured as other third party vendor firewalls, such as Internet Security Systems' BlackICE PC Protection (http://www.iss.net) or ZoneAlarm. For example, ICF gives you no warning when it blocks an Internet transmission: It simply records it to its log file. The log file itself is a simple list of events, making its usefulness very limited to users who don't understand networking technology very well. However, if you do not want to spend money on a third-party firewall product and don't mind settling for minimal protection, ICF is for you. Otherwise, consider a third-party product. Q: Does a home office router, such as Linksys, offer protection for my system? A: Many PC users who own more than one computer are using home office routers to share a single broadband connection amongst a few computers connected via a simple network. Unlike a hub, these routers are fairly sophisticated devices with a plethora of configuration options. They also usually include a NAT (Network Address Translation) firewall. Although using a router's built-in firewall provides good protection, it is also a good idea to install a software firewall in each of the client computers in your network that accesses the Internet. Q: My IM (instant messaging) software and other Internet programs won't work with my firewall. How can I fix this? A: Some firewalls, such as ZoneAlarm, constantly monitor your PC's outgoing and incoming Internet traffic. For example, whenever ZoneAlarm detects a program transmitting information to the Internet, the firewall stops the transmission and launches a window asking if you want to give the application permission to access the Internet. In this case, getting the software to work properly is as simple as telling the firewall it is OK to transmit. If you are not familiar with the program requesting permission to transmit, you probably should not allow transmission until you can determine what the program is intended to do and why it needs to transmit information to the Internet. The reason for monitoring outgoing transmissions to the Internet is to prevent a Trojan horse virus or some other type of malicious program from transmitting information from your computer. Windows XP's ICF blocks all unsolicited incoming Internet traffic, so many applications designed to accept and respond to unsolicited traffic, such as IM, will not work properly when ICF is turned on. For an application such as AIM (AOL's Instant Messenger) to work with ICF, you must configure the firewall to accept unsolicited incoming traffic via the data ports the AIM software uses. To learn how to configure AIM to work with ICF, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q307554, found on Microsoft's Web site (http://support.microsoft.com). Q: What can hackers do to my system? Why should I be worried? A: Hackers can do a number of things to your computer and your data, and none of them are good. For starters, a hacker can commandeer your computer and use it for a DDoS (distributed denial of service) attack on another target, such as a corporate Web site. Hackers are also good at stealing information. More and more people use personal finance software to manage and store their financial information. Do you really want a hacker to gain access to your bank account and credit card numbers? Hackers can not only gain access to your financial information, but also they can use your Social Security number to steal your identity or obtain credit by passing themselves off as you. Repairing this kind of identity theft damage can take years. Other hackers get sheer joy out of simply destroying other people's data. Q: Is it safe to turn on file and printer sharing in my small network? A: Although Windows' file and printer sharing is an excellent way to distribute information within your network, it is also an open invitation for hackers to enter your computer. If you must use file and printer sharing, understand that any resources you expose to other computers in a network are also potentially exposed to the larger Internet. Carefully select the folders and resources you want to share, and never share an entire drive in your system. That is asking for trouble. If you don't have a network, it's best to turn off file and printer sharing altogether. Q: What is an IP (Internet Protocol) address, and why is it important? A: All computers and networks connected to the Internet have a unique IP address. Without this type of addressing, it would be impossible for information to reach your computer, or for your computer to send information to another computer on the Internet. The IP part of TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the cornerstone that enables the forwarding and transmission of information across the Internet. When you connect to the Internet via a regular phone line connection, your ISP assigns your computer a dynamic, temporary IP address for the duration of your connection. Once you disconnect, the ISP is free to use this address for another customer logging on. This approach was implemented to let ISPs work with a limited block of IP addresses and avoid the complication of assigning a unique IP address to every single new customer. The catch is that temporary IP addresses make your computer more difficult for hackers to locate. That, combined with the low bandwidth of a phone Internet connection, makes your computer rather unattractive to hackers. An always-on broadband connection, on the other hand, is often assigned a static, or permanent, IP address. This is not always the case, however; many broadband ISPs assign dynamic addresses. This lets the ISP optimize the allocation of the block of IP addresses assigned to it. However, keep in mind that even if your broadband ISP assigns dynamic IP addresses, these can "stick" for hours or even days. The bottom line is, in terms of IP addressing, your broadband-capable computer is an easier target for hackers to find. Implementing security measures, especially a firewall, ensures protection from prying hackers.  Be Safe. These are but a few of the many questions surrounding the important topic of computer security. For many years, everyone wished for the day when broadband Internet connections would eliminate the "World Wide Wait" of slow dial-up connections. Now that broadband is here, consumers are suddenly faced with the daunting task of understanding networking topics that not too long ago belonged strictly in the realm of corporate and business users. The extension of the desktop out to the network and the Internet at large is coming into its own now that broadband's generous bandwidth is a reality. Your computer is now part of a vast digital world that, just like the world we live in, has its share of criminals. It is your responsibility to ensure your valuables are protected. Educate yourself, take security seriously, and use the right tools to guarantee your computer and your data are secure and locked down tight.  by Sixto Ortiz Jr.
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