New Technology Reviews!.: Strategies

Ensuring Adequate Computer and Total Digital Security Through Safe E-mail Strategies and Practices

In today's world of World Wide Web and high level of internet usage be it surfing or browsing to meet one need or another while in search of solutions to most of our life demands and life enhancing fun as well, the use of e-mail messages and messaging services has become very indispensable, vital and timely. The wide acceptance of use of e-mail services is probably due to the reasons of speed, cost efficiency, convenience, reliability, security/privacy, and the fun that follows the use of the services.   To this end, the use of e-mail in sending, receiving and reading messages over the Internet has become almost the most popular activities in the life of an average internet user. But due to the wide acceptance and use of this information communication technology services, it has turned to become the primary source of threat to our technologically driven digital world of computer and computer usage. The high level penetration of the e-mail services all over the internet has synergistically made the service and other e-mail based technologies to become the fastest and the most viral means of circulating threats and dangers from one computer to another, be it a programmers' computer or a newbie's computer.   The massive spread of the access and use of e-mail technological services have made it the most favorable way to spread computer viruses and other computer/digital security threatening agents such as computer worms, Trojans, spyware, adware and malware, all of which have its own attending dangers and threat.   But against all these odds and current dangers, you can generally help in protecting your own computer against any type of assault by viruses that spread across the internet through sending and receiving e-mail messages. By protecting your own computer system, you are as well extending the protection to other people that you send e-mail to.   Some precise measures towards safer e-mail practices include using regularly up to date virus scanning software, avoid opening e-mail message attachment from sender whom you do not know nor have them on your e-mail contacts, avoid reading your mails in HTML (Hypertext Transmission Languages), always read e-mails in plain text, always remember to turn on and use the e-mail service providers' security features and avoid opening links in an e-mail message you received from a source or person you don't know or be very careful if you should open and finally, be very careful in receiving and sharing of e-mail files containing fanciful images, pictures, icons and colorful backgrounds as these allow programmers and hackers as well to package, seal and hide dangerous viruses in e-mail messages.

Ensuring Adequate Computer and Total Digital Security Through Safe E-mail Strategies and Practices

In today's world of World Wide Web and high level of internet usage be it surfing or browsing to meet one need or another while in sea...

Computer & Network Security: Two Anti Virus Strategies

Rootkits and advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field says Mike Danseglio, Program Manager in the Security Solutions group at Microsoft, according to Fox News' "Microsoft Official: Malware Recovery Not Always Possible" by Ryan Naraine, reporting from InfoSec World on April 5th, 2006. "When you are dealing with rootkits and some advanced spyware programs, the only solution is to rebuild from scratch. In some cases, there really is no way to recover without nuking the systems from orbit," states Mr. Danseglio.   He cites a recent instance where an unnamed branch of the U.S. government struggled to design an automated process to wipe and rebuild 2,000 infected client machines. "In that case, it was so severe that trying to recover was meaningless." While training costs can be high, they pale in comparison to the mounting expenses incurred by detecting damage, recovering lost work and rebuilding compromised systems--let alone "nuking" and starting all over again from scratch.   Rootkits, for example, use kernel hooks which often make them undetectable. Because of this, they are able to hide malware programs, making them the weapon of choice to compromise computer systems. Mr. Danseglio adds that IT administrators may never even know if the entire rootkit has been successfully removed. The cleanup process is "just way too hard."   "We've seen the self-healing malware that actually detects that you're trying to get rid of it. You remove it, and the next time you look in that directory, it's sitting there. It can simply reinstall itself," he said. "Detection is difficult, and remediation is often impossible," Danseglio declared. "If it doesn't crash your system or cause your system to freeze, how do you know it's there? The answer is you just don't know," he explained. "Lots of times, you never see the infection occur in real time, and you don't see the malware lingering or running in the background.   Fortunately, however, the alternative, training, is easier than it ever was, thanks to new online technologies such distance learning. The important point to remember is that, with today's viruses. all employees--not just IT people--must be trained.

Computer & Network Security: Two Anti Virus Strategies

Rootkits and advanced spyware have fundamentally changed the playing field says Mike Danseglio, Program Manager in the Security Solutions ...