There may be times when your remote users need to connect to a public LAN. Here is a checklist of ten basic tips for ensuring the security of their systems, as recommended
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by SearchSecurity.com expert Ed Yakabovicz. These are also handy tips to distribute to end users for keeping home PCs secure.
- Keep the system's OS patches up to date.
- Use a personal firewall (software; some are free) and keep track of who is trying to access your machine.
- Using the personal firewall, allow no one to connect through Windows to your machine. Do not share drives.
- Use antivirus software to protect your system from any virus or malicious code. Never, never shut it off – for any reason.
- Conduct a full scan for viruses weekly. Update the antivirus signature file daily.
- Use a hardware firewall if you can. These can run $40 to $100, but they save much time and hassle.
- Ensure the user ID guest is disabled.
- Ensure passwords are hard to guess, and do not use administrator unless necessary.
- Run some type of third party cleaner that will check for malicious code and hidden files that could be Trojans.
- Run defrag once a week.
For more information, visit these resources:
- Strom's Security Tool Shed: Together, multiple tools clean and defend against malware
- Executive Security Briefing: Managing safe and secure remote connections
- Strom's Security Tool Shed: AuditMyPC.com a good tool for beginners
This was first published in September 2003