Computer Security

[CyrusKnyghtbane]

Welcome to the Computer Security Section of my rants.

[CyrusKnyghtbane]

No, I'm not just some wack-job that thinks I'm the snit at securing comptuers and you should listen to me for no reason.

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I know a bit of what I'm talking about because this is what I went to school for. Graduated 4/10/10 with an Associates degree of Applied Science in Computer Networking Security and Forensics. I was also awarded the "Excellence in Computer Networking Security and Forensics" for my graduating class. But like I said. I only know a bit. I'm no expert by ANY stretch of the word.

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Computer Security is a fast paced, and ever changing world. I'm here to offer to those in Resistance a few tips to better secure your systems from the outside forces of evil.

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I do want to go ahead and get it out there, because it must be said. THE INTERNET IS EVIL!

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I know what you're thinking, "Duh, of course it is."

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What you don't understand is that the attacks out there are simple. People are not doing complex things to break down your firewalls and access your information. They're relying on ignorance (used in the term of just not knowing) of end users.

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People hack email databases, find let's say.... 100 million email addresses.... So they send out spam to them all. 50 mil get an email saying "Tomorrow, Nintendo stock is going up" and 50 million get an email saying "Tomorrow, Nintendo stock is going down.

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So Nintendo stock goes up, and now 50 million people are like. "Okay, that was a lucky guess."... So he sends the mail out again.. 25 mil get "Tomorrow, Microsoft stock is going up." 25 mil get "Tomorrow Microsoft stock is going down".

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Microsoft goes down, and 25 mil people are like. "He's pretty good." So then another mail goes out. 12.5 million people get "Last free tip. Tomorrow Sony's stock is going up." And the other 12.5 million people... "Last free tip. Tomorrow, Sony's stock is going down".

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Now he's got 12.5 million people thinking that he's got some real inside information, and he sends out an email... "Send me $100 and I'll give you tips that will make you $10,000". Half the people don't believe him... The other 6.25 million people send him $100 and he has just made $625 million dollars in less than week.

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Now the worst part is, he got all this from hacking a simple database server that held nothing but EMAIL accounts. And while this may not be pertaining to you, I can offer you a few suggestions that might, and are the same things that could've compromised that database server.

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First and foremost! Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever..... EVER! Surf the web on your administator account. No, I'm not just talking about the account named "Administrator". I'm talking about ANY account that has privliges to install ANYTHING! You need to surf the web on a limited use account.

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The reason for this? It's simple. If someone compromises your system, they have the same rights as you give them. Downloaded a virus on your admin account? It's an admin.

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Keep a complex passphrase on your admin account. Complex meaning include Uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and even special characters.

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And use a passphrase, not a password. Passwords are max, 10 or 11 characters long. If I use the password... "P@s5w0Rd" yes, that is more secure than "password", "Password1", "password1" or anything like that, but it's still weak.

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You could use something very simple to remember like... "This15myAdmin15trat0rP@55w0rD". Simple, This is my administrator password. But trying to dictionary or brute force that would take a lot of processing power. No one wants to hack something that long. They'll go after someone using a weaker password.

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And creating a limited use account is SUPER SIMPLE! Just go to your Control Panel, click User Accounts. Click "Create a new user account". Then when it asks what kind of account this should be, use the "Limited Use" radio button. IT'S THAT SIMPLE!

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As a matter of fact, you don't even have to lock down your limited use account. Name it something stupid like "Web Surfer" and leave it open. Never give out your admin pass, and it'll force everyone to use the limited use account, and therefore you will eliminate about 80% of attacks in just that quick of a step.

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Will it be slightly annoying? YES! That is part of the problem with this approach, as with any security minded approach. You will have to make special trips to your admin account if you want to install ANYTHING at all. But you can install MOST everything you need in the first few goes of your machine.

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This includes, but is not limited to...


- Office Suite (Microsoft Office, OpenOffice, etc)
- Flash Player (Most sites want you to run a flash player if you're playing a broswer game)
- Anti-Virus (YOU BETTER HAVE ONE! They're free and good. I'll go over some good ones later)
- Anti-Spyware (Same thing)
- Windows Updates (Unless your running a pirated copy of Windows, do the damn updates!)

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You're probably thinking, "Cyrus, why do we care about what updates Windows puts out? My OS is running fine".

THINK AGAIN! There are three types of hackers, my friends.

-Black Hat : These are the guys you're trying to keep out of your systems. They want your data and they want to abuse your systems and trust.
- White Hat : That's me. I'm a security minded user. I know the ins and out of OSes, firewalls, IDSes, things of that nature. White Hat Hackers are also know as "Security Specialists" because the term "hacker" has been given a bad name.
- Grey/Gray Hat : These guys are dangerous, but not to you directly. They find security flaws, holes in systems. Be it Windows, Linux, Apple, IPTables, Snort, ISAServer, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, they don't care. They find the holes and they let the company know what they found. They also warn the company to patch it/fix it because they will be releasing their findings do the public.

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What does that mean? It means they don't hack your system directly, but they find ways to hack things that others haven't figured out. Then report that to the company that put the software/hardware out and warn them about the flaw. Then release the way to break into said software/hardware. If the company doesn't fix it, black hats have a new back door. If the company does fix it, and you don't download the patches... Your bad. Black hats have a new back door to YOUR system because YOU didn't update.

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Obviously, you're going to want to get anti-virus protection. Yes, you can go buy things Such as Norton's, AVG Pro, Kapursky(?sp), and other GREAT products. But there are a few free products that do a good job.

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1. AVG - Yes AVG has a free anti-virus. It's got a simple to use interface. Easy to configure scans, and it's a great way to kick viruses out of your system. My personal choice.

2. Avast - Another good choice along the free side. I use this one on a less important comp. I've been trying it out, and it's comprable to AVG. Again, simple to use interface, and I haven't had a virus yet.

3. Clamwin - Super easy to use, but I have one major quam. It only tells you where infected files are, it gives you no option to out right delete the infected. AVG and AVAST both offer that feature.

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