Brian Nystrom
Joined: 26 Jan 2004
Posts: 5102
Location: Nashua, NH7/8/13 5:31 AM |
Our head of Information Security...
...recently gave a presentation on Internet security and protecting one's personal information. While I can't share the video with you, he had some very illuminating insights.
When it comes to anti-virus products, there is very little difference between them and "who's best" varies almost daily. The key is to keep whatever your select up to date. Also, as viruses have become increasingly sophisticated, AV products have become less effective. In some cases, the only way to catch viruses is after infection when their behavior reveals them; specifically, when bot-net viruses try to "phone home" for instructions. The best bet is to use AV, a tight, properly configured firewall and supplement with periodic scans using products like Malwarbytes. BTW, Malwarebytes has a new mode of operation that works even in the presence of root kits.
The number one source for infections is now Facebook, by a wide margin. Virus writers currently concentrate on fake Facebook links as their primary vector, apparently with great success. If there is ONE THING that you should impress upon your daughter, it's not to click on Facebook links.
His discussion on identity theft has finally convinced me to encrypt my hard drives using Truecrypt. So far, it's been transparent, except for the initial login. I've also wiped all traces of personal information from the hard drives of my older computers, so there is nothing that can be stolen.
Between these steps and using Carbonite for backup, I figure I'm covered.
He also went into security for smart phones pretty extensively and he forces his kids to use swipe-pattern security on their phones, so they won't be readily accessible if lost or stolen.
Be careful out there!
|