June 2000

Security Measures for the Home or Small Office

The widespread destruction caused by the recent "Love Bug" virus has made security an increasing concern of many Internet users. This month's column will explore three things you can do to protect yourself from hackers if you connect to the Internet with a cable modem or DSL. We will look at both commonsense safeguards and hardware and software solutions. All of these approaches are low cost and well worth the investment.

It is important to have a virus protection program--and equally important to regularly update it and all your programs. If you do not patch your operating system or update your virus protection, you leave a door wide open for hackers to enter your system. Hackers often broadcast news across the Internet about security holes in operating systems, and certain Internet newsgroups post step-by-step instructions on how to take advantage of a system weakness. Any person who wants to harm a system can take advantage of one of these problems.

If you are diligent about patching your system, you can be sure that these "script kiddies" cannot exploit a weakness that you should have fixed. Regardless of your opinion on how Microsoft handles glitches in its programs, if you pay heed to software manufacturers that admit to a problem and release a patch you'll fix most security holes that could result from software bugs.

If you use DSL or a cable modem to access the Internet, you most likely have a static Internet protocol (IP) address assigned by your provider. A static IP leaves your computer permanently exposed to the Internet, and people can find and attack your machine without you ever knowing. A product called BlackICE Defender will show you the amount of network activity aimed at your system.

Not all of this activity is hostile, of course, but you probably do not want to risk accepting a Trojan horse when you are trying to obtain vital data from your PC. BlackICE Defender dynamically adjusts its degree of security as it watches for attacks against your system. When someone executes an attack, the program automatically blocks all access from the intruder's IP address.

More experienced users might find the Linksys Ether Fast Cable/DSL the right security solution. There are a number of advanced features in this router: IP filtering, port forwarding, static and dynamic routing, and DMZ hosting, to name a few. The Linksys router is not the answer for everyone. More expensive routers offer additional features such as user logging, content control, port level control of firewalls, and IPX routing that might be appropriate for branch office installations.

The above examples are just a few inexpensive and simple ways to protect your home or small office. I personally use all these methods at home, and I am amazed at how many times a day people on the Internet scan my machine. The minor expenditure of time and money is a small cost compared to the damage a hacker could do. For more information, please contact NYSSCPA Chief Technology Officer Kevin Lewis at (212) 719-8340, (800) NYSSCPA (697-7272), or klewis@nysscpa.org. *