I just purchase a laptop and i want it to be as secure as possible, i have installed nortons virus scanner service pack 2 with all the updates.

What other programs should i install? And what is the best spyware program to get? the program dosnt have to be free!

Thanks

Don't connect to the Internet or install any software.

*edit* Ok, excuse that extremely funny joke

Install firefox! www.mozilla.org/firefox

Also, download Microsoft Baseline Security Scanner, you can download that here:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx

Run that, and fix all the problems it tells you about.

That will get you off to a great start. And also be careful what you install and who you let use your computer.


last edited by gimpy at 15:45:28 14/Jan/06

Also, download Microsoft Baseline Security Scanner, you can download that here:

or he could just go to windows update? does the same s***.

I recommend Spybot Search and Destroy as the anti spyware program and Zone Alarm Pro as the firewall and security program.

Make sure you do these things -

1. Put a password on your account.
2. Put a password on the Admin account.
3. Fully update Windows. You may have to run windows update a few times to completely update it.
4. Update MS office if you have it. Again you may have to run office update a few times to completely update it.
5. Update your antivirus program. You will have to run it several times to completely update it.

There are other things you can do but those are the absolute essentials and over looked by so many people.

or he could just go to windows update? does the same s***.

that isn't even remotely true

or he could just go to windows update? does the same s***.

..err

anyway back to reality. Grab yourself the token Spybot and adaware packages make sure you update and immunize, all that jaz. Also install linux.

MS Anti-spyware beta is worth a crack too.

What exactly are you trying to keep secure?

So you guys believe Spybot Search and Destroy is the best program out there?

well my brother also has his computer and every month i have to format because its full of viruses! from msn or probably just silly websites

Sure, but spyware can be avoided you know. Just be smart about what websites you go to and refer to my earlier post.

I don't use spyware programs and I've never once been effected by it.

yeah i dont either on my computer

but you know younger brothers and silly dads who dont know how to use computers

Well I dare say, if you keep your system up2date, have an anti-virus program, firewall, secured using MSBA, and use firefox, you're at a much lower risk.

But yeah, the spyware programs above are the better ones out there.

You could always have a chat to them. Educate them. Then if they don't listen, violence helps.

Also, once you get a nice good install done with everything configured how you like it, then ghost it. When you get owned, just re-image the computer. Ghost is one of my favourite programs, saved me so many hours.

zonealarm security suite ... firwall, antivirus, program control, antispy, privacy and IM control all in one

rocks my socks

I'd recommend not setting account passwords other than yours, and hiding the rest from the login screen (HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\SpecialAccounts\UserList a DWORD value of 0 = hidden).

Grab a software firewall like zonealarm (I used the one with virus scanner inbuilt for a while, worked quite well) and block off the netbios ports and common trojan/virus ports.

How could you even consider not having a password on a user account and just hiding it from the logon screen security?

ok so if they're so different, how are windows update & the baseline thing so different? I always thought they checked the same things.

Have you even used it? There is no argument or discussion required, the answer is just no.

Thanks for the help guys

Much appreciated

I think the last virus came from msn. all i know is that there were trojans everywhere and desktop kept on saying you have virus please install this anti spy program blah blah blah

www.apple.com.au - best antivirus/spyware protection on the market :)

Anyway, from experience spyware doesn't pick up everything, normally at work (computer repairs etc) for badly infected comp's we use 7 different spyware programs, altho hijackthis with some time and google is probably your best bet.

Also dont install p2p crap unless its a pro paid for version. The amount of people that are using limewire is rediculous (especially since after u run a pest remover through limewire, limewire aint there no more!).

Anyway get:
Antivirus
Trojan scanner
Spyware scanner
Pest scanner
Firewall
Hijackthis
All software up2date

and you should be safe from most of the crap out there.

ok so if they're so different, how are windows update & the baseline thing so different?

kind of a childish response

windows update is for checking that your o/s and some drivers and other software are up-to-date as far as MS are concerned.

the baseline security analyzer is for checking several security aspects of your machine such as permissions applied to certain directories, various IIS configuration settings, various accounts on the machine and their permissions, password strengths/expiration settings, auditing settings, shares, sql server settings, IE settings, the list goes on.

pretty easy to find this stuff out

dont bother with zone alarm, its totally s***
also dont bother with firefox
its not safer than ie

just use a decent firewall (ie, not zone alarm) like norton

also dont bother with firefox
its not safer than ie

hehe

also dont bother with firefox
its not safer than ie

LOL

I'd like to see the resumes of people posting some of this s***.

If you're not qualified to comment on security, then don't!

Have you even used it? There is no argument or discussion required, the answer is just no.

yes I've used it, I'm not arguing I'm asking because as far as I can see they both check what updates you need and let you download them. Just that ms baseline thing has more details. Why don't you get off your high horse and give useful info instead of just telling people to stfu.

go get married already.

yes I've used it, I'm not arguing I'm asking because as far as I can see they both check what updates you need and let you download them. Just that ms baseline thing has more details. Why don't you get off your high horse and give useful info instead of just telling people to stfu.

go get married already.

Look, you made a bad post, accept it and move on instead of trying to get back on track by having a go at me. And I gave plenty of useful info, it's just a shame YOU had to undermine it.

If you really had any intent for me to respond nicely, then you went about it the wrong way, so don't point f***ing your finger at me.

Windows Update is Windows Update, MBSA is MBSA. Is that better?

yep really useful info there buddy

how about the info I gave you?

it's hard to imagine how you couldn't see the difference betwen windows update and the baseline security check tool if you've used them both


last edited by Jim at 21:38:30 14/Jan/06

In relation to the firefox or ie debate – Provided your windows security updates are the most recent then I think both are about as secure as each other. In some circumstances depending on what sites you frequent the use of ie can leave your computer with less spyware.
I proved this to one of my staff. We ran spybot s&d on an updated computer and removed a few items then rebooted and ran it again to make sure it was clean. We then opened firefox up and browsed 4 known spyware sites clicking on 4 links on each and choosing not to install anything. We rebooted and then ran Spybot and came up with 14 items. We removed them and rebooted and scanned again to find nothing.
We then did exactly the same with ie even down to the exact same links. We rebooted then scanned and found nothing. We then scanned with Adaware and also found nothing.
I think that firefox has become too well known as a more secure option and people have taken advantage of this and designed their spyware around it.
I know it is not a conclusive test but saying firefox is no more secure then ie is not so unbelievable.

...

Jim has already explained it to you, but I'll have another go:

Windows Update

Windows Update scans your computer and provides a selection of updates tailored for your operating system, software, and hardware.

Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer 2.0

MBSA 2.0 scans for missing security updates and common security misconfigurations. It offers an improved user experience, expanding product support and can be used in conjunction with Microsoft Update and Windows Server Update Services.

Download it and have a look, it's actually a pretty cool little utility.

Here is another URL a quite like:

http://labmice.techtarget.com/articles/winxpsecuritychecklist.htm

And for further reading about security, you could start here:

http://www.securityfocus.com/

nah your reply was fine jim, I was just getting at that rather than gimpy just telling someone to stfu about stuff they don't know about, why not tell them where they went wrong so they don't do it again.

As for all the stuff mentioned in your post jim, I've never had msbsa tell me anything other than the windows updates I need, hence I didn't know about the other stuff, thanks for actually telling me what the difference is.

I guess my computer was just secure before I installed msbsa, whoa looks like I do know something about how to secure my computer afterall :)

when I run the baseline security thingo, it lists several things that don't even apply to my machine eg:

SQL Server Scan Results

Score Issue Result
SQL Server/MSDE Status
SQL Server and/or MSDE is not installed on this computer.


Additional System Information

Score Issue Result
Auditing
This check was skipped because the computer is not joined to a domain.
What was scanned How to correct this

Services
Some potentially unnecessary services are installed.
What was scanned Result details How to correct this

Shares
3 share(s) are present on your computer.
What was scanned Result details How to correct this

Windows Version
Computer is running Windows 2000 or greater.
What was scanned

As for IE vs Firefox, maybe read this

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-5561073-1.html

---8<---
Another source of Internet vulnerabilities lies within ActiveX technology, tiny scripts that automatically download when you visit certain Web pages. In most cases, they're good, adding music or animation to a page. But in some cases, criminal hackers have tweaked the code to damage your computer. Microsoft recently added a prompt to IE so that you can accept or deny ActiveX scripts. Firefox doesn't use ActiveX technology, which means that a few Web sites might not appear as their designers intended (although we were hard-pressed to find a site that didn't work because of this during our testing of Firefox).
---8<---

---8<---
Firefox is just as fast and just as easy as Internet Explorer--and more importantly, it's much more secure.
---8<---

IE has regular serious vulnerabilities.

I'd like to see information backing up that IE is just as secure as Firefox.

If you are going to let your younger brother/dad use the machine, give them their own accounts without admin privs.

Aside from that, I think most things have been covered.

There is no point linking to a site that was written in 2004 when your talking security. Things have changed way too much since then. MS have put a considerable amount of effort into regaining user’s faith in regards to their web browser.
I don't think that you would find any conclusive tests to say which one is more secure and if you did the results would probably change in a week’s time.

Yeah true zectbumo, IE has got better of late, and more hacker attention has been focused on firefox, so it's becoming dangerous too.

But the ActiveX point is still valid and important today. It's a significant point of weakness.

You also have to consider the turn around time for patches. Another winning point for firefox.

I still don't think I could bring myself to use IE again.


last edited by gimpy at 22:20:19 14/Jan/06

i run ie and have no security issues

you also think 4 doors > 2 doors so everyone knows not to listen to you :p

I also thought the plane wouldn't take off initially..

So yeah, don't listen to me, I'm dumb :)

*edit typo*


last edited by gimpy at 22:30:43 14/Jan/06

It really comes down to the sites you visit. Anyone who comes into where I work with computer issues, we will always run through antivirus and spyware, just to be safe from our end. Some people have no anti-spyware/anti-virus software, and have no crap on there at all. However some people come in, and when we explain what we have done, they are like "i dont have any spyware on there, I run *insert antispyware name in here* and it doesn't pick up anything". Then we kindly explain that they had 7 trojans, 800 pests and 400 bits of spyware sitting on their system.

How could you even consider not having a password on a user account and just hiding it from the logon screen security?

Because accounts with no passwords are limited to console (ie, local) logins only, setting passwords on accounts you aren't gonna use only leaves yourself open to an attack. Hiding them from the login screen also stops people simply booting to safe mode and logging in with them.

All these apps and programs are fantastic however, nothing beats good old fashioned user education.

werd

That is a good point eXemplar and something I never thought of. In this case conventional wisdom may not be the best option.

i prefer to use two or so spyware programs usually microsoft antispyware and spybot s & d