The Four Rules of Home Computer Security

Computer security is on a lot of peoples' minds. And there are lots of companies out there offering all sorts of ways to stay hack proof. Most high-end products are geared toward large enterprises. This makes sense since they are worth millions or billions of dollars. Security companies go where the money leads. But what about the typical home computer user? How can novice users traverse this brave new world? Let's take a look at my four rules for home computer security.

Let's face it, the internet can be like the wild west. You never know what you're going to find and it's hard to trust anyone. But a little caution can go a long way. The first rule to keep in mind is the rule of the low hanging fruit. What's fruit have to do with computer security? Well, actually it has a lot to do with computer security. People tend to go after the path of least resistance. If you were to pick fruit off a tree, which fruit would you go after? Would you go after the fruit at the top of the tree or would you go after the one hanging in your face? Of course, you would go after the low hanging fruit. Hackers are no different. They will tend to exploit the targets that promise the biggest bang for the least effort. If you require more effort to hack, most hackers will pass you by.

The second rule is the rule of the front door. You never, ever want to hook your computer directly up to the internet. A caveat to this rule is if you know what you're doing and set up a firewall directly on that computer. There are other considerations, but I'm going after straight-forward solutions for you. What I mean is that you never want to hook a DSL or cable modem directly into your computer. You always want to put some type of router between the modem and your computer. This can be a simple dsl/cable router from someone like Linksys. This helps to segment a private network from the public internet network. Let me use an analogy. If you hook up your computer directly to your modem, it's like opening your front door and letting anyone into your house. There is no barrier between you and the outside world. However, if you put a router between the modem and your computer, it's like closing that door on the front of your house. Now, only certain, trusted people are allowed in.

The third rule is the rule of pest control. Please don't run a computer without virus protection. You can have the best front door in the world, but if you let the back door open it's useless. Anti virus programs help control loopholes in trusted communication lines. A friend of mine got a floppy from a friend. He then quickly copied a presentation for a corporate client on it. He went to the client, inserted the floppy, and was greeted by an obnoxious virus alert. The client was furious, my friend was highly embarrassed, but the software did its job. Never run a computer without virus protection. And these days, you need spyware protection. There are some great free ones out there like Spybot Search and Destroy. I also like SpywareGuide's Xscan for interval scanning.

The fourth rule is the rule of sewing. Ok, I'm not talking about sewing in the traditional sense. I'm talking about putting patches on - on your operating system that is. If you are using Windows, you need to make sure windows update is set to automatically download updates. Security patches regularly come out and you would be less than wise to ignore them. And be warned, in this day and age, some security issues involve simply visiting malicious websites to breech your security. Don't be a victim, be prepared.

While this certainly won't fend off the most hardened hacker, it will keep most at bay. It's sort of like home security. Is a thief going to target the home with lax security or the one with great security? I'll leave that answer to you.

For more great technology tips, visit PaulTech at: http://www.gopaultech.com

Home Security - Protect Your Children Online - Part 3

Steps to Keep Your Kids Safe - What Can and Can't Be Done

Home security is about protecting your family, and the most overlooked means of entry is sitting in your living room...your computer...this article discusses the Commission for the Online Protection of Children's recommended steps to keeping your children safe online... home security system, alarm, camera

There are many steps we could take to protect our children from unsuitable materials we see in everyday life. We could hide the newspaper from them so that they won't see any articles or advertisements, throw away the television, trash the VCR, etc. Obviously, these are not the types of steps we want, nor should take. The Internet is a vast resource of good information for our children to use and to grow by. However, those sites and publishers of adult material know this also, and have a very powerful weapon at there disposal to use when the screws are tightened for them to clean up their act. That tool is the First Amendment to the United States Constitution.

The First Amendment, for those of you who have been out of 8th grade Civics class for a while, gives Americans the right of free speech. This amendment does not state that we have the right to free, and suitable, speech; the right to speech suitable to all Americans, the right of speech that does not include pornography. This is what the adult entertainment industry uses as their defense to all encroachments on their ability to market and sell their materials. Government has been effective in a couple areas of entertainment in at least providing consumers with information that content may not be suitable for children as in movie ratings and parental advisory stickers on music. However, this does not prevent young children from purchasing or viewing this type of material. It also does not provide recourse back to the seller for this material being available for use to children.

The COPC has reviewed how other industries handle this problem, and have incorporated these same processes into their recommendations. There is currently software available to consumers that may be installed on your computer to block specific content from the Internet. This software will also provide reports that show attempts made to access sites. Some software will also allow access to sites to the point where explicit material is accessed, kicking the user off the Internet when that area is reached. This process is effective to a point. That point is where it interferes with the ability for a young user to gain valuable and useful information on a topic the software may see as offensive, including research on breast cancer (breast is a "lockout" word), other forms of reproductive cancers, etc. This type of material we want our children to be able to access. The software does not make it easy to add/remove words such as this, so it becomes a complex issue. The recommendation has also been made to add rating designations to websites. This presents basically the same issues experienced in the entertainment industry, with one exception. It is hard to verify that the person actually sitting at the computer is under 18 years of age. With the knowledge most of our children have today, it is not difficult to circumvent the system.

The COPC has also made recommendations to add domain names that reflect the content being marketed or distributed by the sites. This would include domains such as .XXX or .SEX for adult entertainment sites. Again, the First Amendment argument arises in that these domain names make it easier to filter out this material which they are free to distribute. It would also provide an unwanted designation on the site that would make it more recognizable as an adult entertainment site and drop the number of hits to the page. Recently this was rejected by the ICANN board in a 9 to 5 vote. The adult entertainment industry opposed it as "increased state control" &, oddly enough, anti-pornography advocates also opposed, believing it "legitimizes an illegitimate industry..."

In the last article in this series, I'll state what the commission's final recommendation is, as well as what other advocacy groups have to say on this issue.


?Walter Stone
Home Security Online
Security Systems, alarms, motion detectors.
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Walter Stone has been a Home Security & Commercial Security Technical Consultant since 1983. He currently resides in Frederick, MD with his wife and three children. He has spent the last eleven years working for First Action Security Team in Hagerstown, MD. http://www.firstactionteam.com

Home security tips -- Good lighting helps prevent crimes

It is obvious that lighting plays a critical role in making your home safer. Yet, many homeowners don't plan it well from the viewpoint of security. Here are several critical home security tips on lighting.

* All sides of your home should have security lighting in place, placed high out of reach. Make sure it is reasonably vandal resistant.

* Lighting near doors is especially important, because burglars tend to focus on doors the most.

* To reduce risk of burglary, any lighting is better than no lighting. If you see that any portion of the house or yard is not adequately lit, take care of it.

* Your garage is another critical area of your home. Make use of an automatic garage opener. Most garage openers turn on one or more lights when activated.

* To protect your carport, leave a light on. If you are going away, have a light set on a timer. Also have lights activated by motion detectors to deter intruders.

* In general, lights attached to motion detectors are the best choice for exteriors, particularly for the backyard. Connect an alarm as well and you will immediately get to know if someone moves around in your yard.

* Some people hesitate to use motion sensor type lighting because of the false alarms caused by small animals like cats and dogs. Proper placement of the motion sensors as well as correct settings for sensitivity will take care of this problem to a large extent.

* Using motion sensors in the front of the house requires careful planning, because they can be triggered by people walking on the sidewalk or by children playing. Nevertheless, it is a good idea to hook lights to motion sensors.

* Many people leave just a small light on when going out. This is done to avoid walking into a dark home when returning. Examples include hallway lights or a light in one corner of the kitchen / living room.

Unfortunately, this kind of lighting signals to would-be burglars that no one is home.

The solution is to leave several lights on. Leave a radio on as well. When going on a vacation, put interior lights and a radio on timers.

As you can see, your objective is twofold. One, to ensure that lighting can reach all nooks and corners of your home and yard on demand. Two, your home should look occupied even when it is not.

Follow these simple home security tips on lighting and you will have gone a long way towards creating a safer home for you and your family.

James Strobes is a home and office security consultant. For information on home security in general, wireless home security systems and more, see the foregoing links

Home Security: Your Yard Is The First Line Of Defence

You may not believe it but most burglars do not plan their break ins. They are crimes of opportunity. They pick what appears to be a simple target. If they see a greater risk than they anticipated, they move onto a safer target. Therefore the more effort you take to keep your home from seeming to be a simple target, the safer you will be.

A multilayered structure is the best way to approach arranging your home security, and the first layer is the landscaping and other features of your yard.

Landscaping and Yard Security

A few simple changes to your landscaping can help to protect your home from would be burglars. They are looking for a home they can get into and out of quickly; the more time they spend in your home the more chance of getting caught. Their best target is a home surrounded by tall hedges and shrubs, which restricts visibility from the street and your neighbours' houses.

Trim your shrubbery and trees so that your doors and windows can be seen by neighbors, and from the street, by forgoing a little privacy you will not be providing a hiding place for a burglar. If you have more than one floor, prune trees away from upper floor windows to prevent an intruder using them as a ladder, also make sure any trellises won't provide a convenient ladder to gain entry to the upper floors.

All planting close to the sidewalk, driveways, doors or gates, should be kept low say no more than two feet in height. As you move further away from the sidewalk you can increase the height but keep it down to no more than four feet.

Any plant under the window should be kept below the windowsill.

Trees should have their lower branches trimmed to at least seven feet off the ground.

Be sure to keep your lawn trimmed; an uncut lawn will indicate to a potential burglar that you have been away from your home for some time.

By placing gravel on the ground under windows you will be warned if someone walks on it, this can be a useful psychological deterrent. Remember not to have any large rocks or stones near glass windows or doors. There's no point in providing a burglar with his tools!

Plant spiny (thorny) plants along fences and under windows, and on border fences, roses are ideal. Protecting your home with spiny plants is as good as using barbed wire, and it looks a lot better too.

Street Numbers.

Make sure your house number can be seen easily from the street. This can save time for the police and emergency services if they need to find your home.

It is best to use numbers made of reflective materials, or alternatively black on white, they should be at least six inches high to facilitate visibility from the street. Keep the number clean and trim any plants, so it can be seen. The number should be illuminated and near the front door or the garage entrance.

Limiting Access to Yards and Store Rooms:

The main thing burglars are looking for is an obstruction free and speedy exit. Fences will stop burglars from carrying away your larger processions, if the gates are locked. Gates should be locked at all times!

Make sure that any ladders and tools are stored in a garage or a storage shed, and these should be locked when not in use. To increase security chain your ladder to the wall of the garage when it is not being used.

The idea is to use the landscaping to control access to your property. Proper fencing hedges etc. create barriers that will make a potential burglar feel uncomfortable as they approach your home, but will not prevent a neighbour or passer by from seeing any unusual activity.

I will be covering additional steps you can take to improve your home security in the next article in this series.

Roger Overanout

For more vital home security tips and information about how to protect your home and family please visit www.homesecuritynews.info.

You may reproduce this article provided you maintain an active link back to www.homesecuritynews.info.

roger@report-on.com