Digital Business - SecurityBroadband has revolutionised the way consumers and small businesses use the internet. But it has also brought big security problems, which these users are poorly equipped to combat.
“Small businesses and residential users often do not have IT skills, so they are very likely to deploy networks without understanding the security issues,” says Jon Weatherall, manager with Procurve Networking, a division of Hewlett-Packard.
The first step, for those running Windows-based machines, should be to visit the Microsoft Windows Update website to get the latest critical security patches. Because Windows dominates the computer market, it is the favoured target for hackers. Those running other operating systems are less vulnerable.
The next essential measure is a firewall. Broadband is “always on”, meaning the PC is constantly connected to the internet.
Hackers know this and so they continually probe the internet for unprotected “ports” on broadband connections, which they can penetrate to reach the computers behind.
Firewalls are designed to prevent these attacks and they come in two types: software and hardware. Software firewalls are cheapest – the more basic ones are free – while hardware-based firewalls offer more sophisticated features.
Windows XP comes with a built-in firewall but unless you are running the latest Windows XP SP2, it is probably disabled. To find out how to turn it on, type “firewall” in the search box of Windows Help.
For those who prefer not to become too dependent on Microsoft, ZoneLabs offers a very effective software-based firewall, ZoneAlarm, which is free for individuals.
You should periodically check that the firewall is working, as some viruses try to switch it off. An excellent website for testing firewalls and other security checks is ShieldsUP!, run by an independent security expert and free to use.
Most users know they should regularly scan their PCs for viruses and keep the virus “signature” files up to date. Spyware poses a trickier problem because its definition is debatable – one anti-spyware program may find something that another decides to ignore.
The belt-and-braces solution is to install several programs. Lavasoft Ad-Aware, Spybot Search & Destroy and Microsoft’s AntiSpyware are all effective and free.
Wi-Fi networks pose a tougher security challenge for home users because networking is difficult for non-specialists to understand. For that reason, the wireless routers bundled with consumer broadband services come with the security options disabled so they will work “out of the box”.
That means however, that the network can be accessed by anyone with a Wi-Fi-equipped device who comes within range of your wireless router.
Probably, the most effective measure to protect your Wi-Fi network is to use encryption. Today, even the cheapest Wi-Fi routers offer encryption, so if yours does not, buy one that does.
To turn on encryption, look in the manual – or the manufacturer’s website – for a feature called Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP) or Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) – the latter is newer and stronger.
“If users simply turned on WPA, we would have far fewer security scares with wireless networks,” says Mr Weatherall.
There are several other actions that can protect wireless networks. For a comprehensive – and comprehensible – explanation of them visit www.us-cert.gov, a site run by the US government, and type “Wi-Fi” in the search box.
