Securing Windows
Securing any computer system starts with the following steps:
- Good password selection for ALL enabled
accounts.
- Using some sort of firewall protection. This can
either be firewall software built into the Operating
System, third-party personal firewall products or a
separate firewall system.
- Minimizing the number of services, particularly network
services, that the computer is running.
- Keep up-to-date with OS and application security
patches.
General Microsoft Windows Tips
- Use Windows
Update (also available through the Tools menu
of Internet Explorer) regularly to keep up with security
patches. Modern Windows systems also have the ability
to install updates automatically. It is recommended
that you use the automatic update option. Please
see the appropriate page for setup instructions
for your operating system.
- Make sure that you have up-to-date antivirus software
installed and that the virus definition files are updated
at least daily. If you don’t have any, all UNL students,
faculty and staff are licensed to use McAfee VirusScan.
Details can be found at http://antivirus.unl.edu.
- Install and enable a personal firewall. Several are
available for free and are listed on the UNL
Network Security Tools page. Windows XP has
one built-in.
- Install and run Microsoft’s
Baseline Security Advisor (MBSA) tool. The MBSA
checks for a wide variety of security holes, including
missing patches, weak passwords, and insecure Windows
settings.
- Install, update and run one or more spyware/adware
detection tool (several are listed in the tools section). NOTE:
Some applications, such as KaZaa install ad-ware programs
that will be detected by these programs. If you remove
the adware files, it may cause the application to stop
functioning.
- Be careful what programs you run. Many common applications,
including Internet Explorer and KaZaa, can be quite
vulnerable to attacks that can let an attacker gain
control of your computer, bypassing firewalls, passwords
and other security measures.
The Internet Storm Center of
SANS has published a guide to keeping a Windows XP system
safe during the install/patching process:
|
| |
