CyberGuide
Security Upgrade
FROM: MAR-APR 2006 ISSUE | BY ROBIN DAY
I recently started receiving pop-up messages reminding me to renew my subscription for a software product that I purchased a year ago — to block annoying pop-up messages. While this software also secures my PC against everything from viruses to hacker attacks, the pop-ups were enough to send me on a quest to improve my PC's security.
www.microsoft.com/security/default.mspx
While some might argue that Microsoft is the source of all security problems, it is also the source of many solutions. This site provides links to the latest security patches and updates, as well as information on other Microsoft security resources.
http://csrc.nist.gov/itsec/
The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology site includes detailed information on securing operating systems including Windows XP, Mac OS X, and multiple variants of Linux and FreeBSD, as well as security checklists and documentation of known security issues.
www.cert.org
The Computer Emergency Readiness Team coordination centre, operated by Carnegie Mellon University, is an excellent resource for IT security matters of all shapes and sizes. The site caters to various levels of expertise and includes security issues that go well beyond desktop systems.
http://antivirus-software.6starreviews.com
No amount of operating-system level security can provide protection from viruses, spyware, and similar threats. This site provides reviews and ratings of the better known anti-virus software packages.
In the end I decided it was best to renew my subscription. Not because it was impossible to secure my system any other way, but because you can never have too much security. And, it was the quickest way to get rid of that annoying pop-up!
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Robin Day, MBA, CGA, teaches financial management at the British Columbia Institute of Technology. He is also president of Virtual Information Technologies Inc.E-mail rday@virtualit.ca.