by Kris Gruttemeyer
As we all know, information security has become a major issue in today’s on-the-go society. This growing trend has led to an increase in security breaches, both in the corporate and private sectors. At any time you can browse CNet.com and read about the newest breach of security cause by social engineering, malware, viruses, or direct hacking.
Here at Web Decisions, security is not something we take lightly. That begs the question, “How can I protect my information?” As someone who has been involved with IT and information systems for a number of years, I’ve learned the best weapon we have in our arsenal is knowledge. Yes, knowledge really IS power and a little bit of knowledge and self-awareness can go a long way.
Let’s start with the basics and define computer security:
What is computer security?
“Computer Security is a branch of technology known as information security as applied to computers. Information security means protecting information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction. The objective of computer security varies and can include protection of information from theft or corruption.”
This statement encompasses what most in the industry consider to be the cornerstone of security; the protection of information from theft or corruption. Now, what exactly are people looking for? Some are looking for personal information (Identity Theft), some look for company information (Corporate secrets, trade information, and logistical procedures), some do it just for the thrill of it.
How do I protect myself?
Hackers can use a multitude of tools at their disposal to bypass and circumvent security protocols. There a few simple ways to protect yourself:
1. Anti-Virus: It goes without saying that having an antivirus program that is up-to-date is one of, if not the best, way to protect yourself. There are many options as far as antivirus goes. Some applications come with many different packages bundled into 1. Many, such as AVG and Avira are completely free (including virus definition updates). I recommend AVG as its memory footprint is minimal and is still incredibly effective at neutralizing any possible virus threat while maintaining speed and accessibility in your system. It also has a great resident shield that protects you in real-time.
2. Anti-Malware: You may be asking “Aren’t malware and viruses the same?” The answer is no. A virus can replicate itself and, for the most part, is designed to do damage to your system. Malware’s purpose is to disrupt normal operation. It tries to change settings such as your background, screensaver, browser settings. Most malware does not replicate, therefore making removal a little bit easier. Malware can also skim passwords and other sensitive information right from under your nose.
3. Strong passwords: I can’t overestimate this point enough. A recent study shows that between 70 and 80% of breaches are due to weak passwords. Brute-force programs can literally “throw the book” at your password using every possible word and phrase combination in a “trial and error” approach at an exceptionally fast rate. Recently, it has been discovered that tying a cracking program into your GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) makes crack times even faster, making them more dangerous than ever. To give you an idea, if your password is 11 characters long, there a possible 80,318,101,760,000 different combinations. Staggering, I know. It will take a typical PC between 60 and 70 days to crack that many combinations. Basically, the longer and more varied your password, the safer it is. Most people only use lowercase and numbers, I recommend using a mixture of upper, lower, numeric, and special characters (&,#,!,@,…). If you were to take the password “johndoe123” and change it to “JohnDoe123_(*&” the password becomes exponentially more secure as the will negate most dictionary attacks that only look for whole words. Long story short, it’s worth the extra 2 seconds and pressing Shift a few times to ensure your data is safe and sound.
4. Encryption: Last, but certainly not least is encryption. This is more predominant in the corporate world as corporations are charged with housing millions of names along with other personal information. Many have resorted to whole-drive encryption, which encrypts the entire drive, all the way down to the Master Boot Record (MBR). Only someone with the correct password can decrypt its contents and view what information is on the drive. This level of protection requires incredibly strong passwords, some in excess of 30 characters. The good news is that through the use of password management software or key rings, you won’t have to type all those characters every time.
I’ve just covered the basics of security, but using these tips can protect you in more way than you can imagine. I’ve always believed that if my information is compromised and I haven’t taken the necessary steps, was it worth the incredible hassle of rectifying and recovering my data (if possible) when all I had to do was follow a few easy steps.
Hopefully these tips will help you run a safer, more secure system. Happy surfing!