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Check Your Computer's Accessibility While you're connected to the internet your web browser is reading HTML files running on other people's computers. What most people don't realize is that while you're connected, other people can also connect to your computer! File and printer sharing services function by turning your computer into a file and printer server, and when your computer is connected to the internet, it is basically offering its files to the whole world. You can check for security risks in your computer settings for free at Gibson Research Corporation (www.grc.com). File-Sharing Option An often overlooked security measure is the disabling of the file-sharing option in Windows. If you have an always-on connection, such as a cable modem or DSL, it is especially important that you shut this option off.
Passwords Use them! Most PC users don't use a password for their own computer because they're annoyed by having to logon every time they want to use it. The problem is that anyone else on the network, this includes the whole world on the internet if you're attached to it, is able to logon to your computer with just a blank password. Be sure that your password is nothing like your machine, user or workgroup name as anyone trying to access your machine will already know what those are. To be safe, you should always use cryptic and un-guessable passwords. For the most protection in a multi-user environment, you may want to set up system and screen saver passwords. A system password prompt pops up each time you start your computer, and will prohibit any access to the computer at all--so make sure you don't forget this password! If you have a busy work environment, or a lot of traffic through your home, using a boot-up password won't protect your computer if you leave it on while you're away from it. To protect an active system, use a screen saver and employ the screen saver password feature. From the display properties window Start > Setting > Control Panel > Display, select the Screen Saver tab and check the Password protected box. Next, click on the Change button and type in your password in both boxes, and click on OK to confirm. Choose an appropriate idle time to launch the screen saver (somewhere between five and 10 minutes is generally good) and your system will be at least a little bit safer. Personal Firewall Protection A firewall is a piece of software or hardware designed to guard against unwanted intruders into your computer by carefully screening incoming and outgoing data. There are several producers of good firewall programs with free versions such as those available at Zone Alarms (www.zonelabs.com) and Sygate Technologies (www.sygate.com). Firewall protection should be considered a must by anyone with an always-on internet connection. Virus Protection Virus protection is a must for anyone with a computer and good protection can be had for free! Visit Symantec Corp. (www.symantec.com) or Network Associates, Inc. (www.nai.com) for a demo version. Be sure to keep your virus software updated or it won't be effective against new viruses.
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