Securing Your Computer
With new viruses, worms and security vulnerabilities coming out everyday, it is vital to protect your computer. Securing your computer takes several steps.
Anti-virus Software
No computer should be without up-to-date virus protection software.
This is the first line of defense against most threats. There
are several manufacturers but the MSU
computer store has a special reduced price on
Norton Anti-Virus for students. Grisoft offers basic free anti-virus software at
http://www.grisoft.com/.
Software
Updates
It is important to keep all your software up-to-date. This is
most important with your anti-virus software and Windows, but
even simpler software, such as Microsoft Office, needs updating
from time to time. Windows and most anti-virus software allow
you to automate this, in Windows look for “Automatic Updates”
in the Control Panel.
Here are a few common software update websites:
Personal
Firewall
For the next level of protection you might want
to consider a personal firewall. A personal firewall provides
an additional layer of protection from threats on the Internet.
There are several manufacturers but the MSU
computer store has a special reduced price on
Norton Personal Firewall 2005 for students.
SpyWare &
AdWare
Spyware and adware is a gray area in Internet security but it
is a real threat to your privacy. Programs and even web pages
can install software that watches what you do on your computer
or what web pages you visit. It is recommend that you use some
kind of spyware scanning software. There are three free spyware
scanning programs you can download:
- Ad-aware - needs to be updated and a full scan ran at least once a month
- Spybot - needs to be updated and a full scan ran at least once a month
- SpywareBlaster - needs to be update at least once a month
Other
Tips
Do not use File Sharing Software from your system.
File Sharing Software like Kazaa open up your system to other
users and makes your system more vunerable to hacking. If your
system is hacked it can be used, without your knowledge, to
perform malicious activities on the network which could cause
your connection to be shut down. Additionally if your are identifed
to be sharing copyrighted files on your system, your network
connection will also be shut off and you may be subject to other
disciplinary actions up to an including being dropped from all
of your classes. MSU is required, by law, to take action against
any individual that is identified to be sharing copyrighted
materials on its network.
Set your computer to download updates on a regular
basis
In Windows XP go to start->settings->control
panel-> Automatic Updates and the following window
will appear.
Email Attachments
Never open an attached file in an email from a person that you
do not know or that you were not expecting a file from.