OIT Help Desk
More about Computer Security
If you use a computer, you are at risk. Without proper security, you could become the victim of theft, vandalism or terrorism. You might fall prey to malicious opportunists (“hackers”) who wish to exploit your computer. Hackers may try to steal sensitive or valuable personal information such as passwords or credit card numbers or they may want to abuse your high-speed access to the Internet. As a result, your computer may be attacked and used for personal gain, file sharing, or as a platform to launch attacks against other computers and networks. In addition you may be exposed to “viruses”, “worms”, and “Trojan Horses” - forms of software designed to compromise or damage your computer.
In most cases the targets of these attacks are chosen randomly from vulnerable computers. You can minimize or eliminate your risk with the insurance of a current anti-virus program and by good password practices. For even more security, you can add personal firewall software to limit or control Internet access to your computer.
The most basic protection is a password, if your computer system calls for one. A good password should not be easily guessable. Hackers use dictionaries and computers to try ordinary words, and the first passwords they will try are your username or no password. The best passwords use combinations of letters (upper and lower case) and numbers or special characters. At first glance this type of password may seem difficult to remember, but they are not. The easiest thing to do is to remember a phrase and then abbreviate it. If my password were based upon the phrase “Three Blind Mice”, I might set it to 36lindm - using the number 3, substituting the numeral 6 for the letter b, and limiting it to 6 or 7 characters.
The following page contains guidelines for choosing a secure password and keeping it secure: Secure Password Guidelines
Equally important is current anti-virus software. This software is updated regularly (often more than once a month) and is only effective if it has information about the latest threats. Most products will check automatically for updates, if installed properly. If you are comfortable installing software and configuring your computer, you can install anti-virus software. Sometimes problems and conflicts with other software do occur, so you may wish to have an IT professional do the installation for you.
Finally, for a higher level of protection, you can install a personal firewall. Installation and configuration of a personal firewall requires a detailed knowledge of network settings and your computer configuration. Someone familiar with your network environment should handle installation of this software.