Summary

In this chapter, we looked at several of the major operating systems used in the home environment. We also looked at some of the basic steps you can take to secure those systems. Keeping your home system secure can essentially be addressed by performing two major actions.

First, you must take the initial installation and configuration of the machine and secure it properly. Just because a machine has been bought at a store and has the operating system preloaded doesn't mean it is also properly secured. You must take the basic steps of configuring and double-checking the initial configuration of your new machine. Manufacturers often ship their machines or software with poor default settings. An example might be preinstalled software that does not include adequate password settings or no passwords at all to control access. There is no way to really hold manufacturers accountable for weak security. No cases have been successfully tried against a manufacturer for weak security in its product. Because users can't force good security on a manufacturer other than by not buying a product, the speed at which the manufacturer changes a product is directly related to consumers' purchases.

Second, you must remain up-to-date and knowledgeable about your systems. When new viruses or new system vulnerabilities are made public, it is imperative that you apply the appropriate countermeasures. The security industry has been good about posting information related to newly discovered vulnerabilities. You can find detailed analyses on the new vulnerabilities with information on how to determine if you are infected, how to purge your system of the vulnerability or virus, and how to prevent your system from being infected in the first place.

You can usually find this type of information in various Internet mailing lists and newsgroups that are devoted to security. The speed with which you apply the appropriate patches and fixes is also critical. Many of the recent security issues (Code Red, SirCam, Nimda) have propagated with extreme speed. If your system is not patched early on, chances are fairly high that your system can become infected or compromised.

You can remain fairly secure if you learn all you can about your system and the latest threats to it and take the appropriate steps to secure your machine. If you become unsure about the security of your system, it is best to remove its network connection first and then investigate. In later chapters, we will discuss in some detail how you can track what was done to your system during an attack and what you can do to additionally secure your system.