Improve Your Computer Security

IMPROVE YOUR COMPUTER SECURITY
START HERE:

Code:

http://www.dyingsun.net/hardening.htm

Windows, by default, comes vulnerable to many exploits that can allow a hacker full access to your system. Many worms, adware, and spyware use these security leaks to infect your system without any action required by you. Although system hardening is something commonly done by users of UNIX and Linux, most Windows users are unaware of their ability to disable the multitude of components that they will never use, and leave them open to attack. Subsequently many users will install many security applications in an effort to stop or reverse the effects of these attacks after they have already occured. By simply removing the commonly exploited "features" of Windows, you can secure your system against worms, spyware, adware, and mobile code in a way that no security software can hope to. It is a proactive measure that will prevent this kind of malware from forcing it's way into your system in the first place.

You can do the most amount of hardening with the least amount of time and effort by using a few free tools. You may also want to consider the paid apps below this section as they can provide even greater protection than what is available in the free tools.

Windows Worms Door Cleaner (Windows 2000, XP, & 2003 server)
Freeware
Code:

http://www.firewallleaktester.com/wwdc.htm

(WWDC does not install or need to run in the background)
This small utility will close all system ports for you. This is the most common way for worms to invade your system. In the event that your firewall malfunctions, is improperly configured, or becomes disabled, your system will still be that much less vulnerable to attack.

For further information on why closing these ports is important, you are encouraged to read this report from the Honeynet Project from November 2000 (worm activity has since greatly increased)
http://cerberus.sourcefire.com/~jeff...Spitzner/worm/


SafeXP (Windows 98, Me, 2000, & XP)
Freeware
Code:

http://www.theorica.net/safexp.htm

(SafeXP does not install or need to run in the background)
SafeXP configures Windows, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Windows Media Player, and MSN Messenger for much greater security. It covers too much to give any specific examples, but is very highly recommended for all Windows versions. If the choices overwhelm you, you can easily press the "Recommended Settings" button for a good selection of options that should work in most settings. Some items do overlap with other tools listed here, but should pose no problems.

SecureIt (Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, XP, & 2003)
Freeware
Code:

http://www.sniff-em.com/secureit.shtml

(SecureIt runs as an install wizard to configure your system, then leaves a copy of the file that you can run again later and an uninstall to reverse all changes made. It does not "install" in the traditional sense, however, and does not run in the background.)
SecureIt configures your system in a more advanced way than SafeXP, covering different ground. It also has a few tricks not offered by other hardening tools, such as the ability to run IE and Outlook/Outlook Express with reduced security privlileges that can render malware powerless should they happen to gain access to your system by an unknown vulnerability. Please note that this may change your Internet Explorer settings in a way that may make some websites display improperly. The security is worth the inconvenience, however, and is still recommended. You should also consider using an alternate internet browser that is not based on Internet Explorer, such as Mozilla Firefox or Opera. If you do not use Internet Explorer, you should not see any difference.

HardenIt (Windows 2000, XP, & 2003)
Freeware
Code:

http://www.sniff-em.com/hardenit.shtml

(See install notes for SecureIt, HardenIt works the same way)
HardenIt configures your TCP/IP and network settings to leave you less vulnerable to exploits in the way your computer communicates across the internet. Hackers can send specially crafted packets of information that may "confuse", or otherwise bypass, your firewall, allowing them to "slip through" This is especially important if you run servers of any kind, peer-to-peer, or IRC applications. This should not adversly affect any normal internet usage, and all "recommended" settings work fine.

For instructions on configuring your system manually, visit:
Code:

http://www.markusjansson.net/exp.html

2 sections you should definitely follow, not completely covered by the tools above, are the Services and Secure Settings sections. You are strongly encouraged, however, to read through the rest of the page as well

If you insist on using your computer in an administrator account, you should also consider using
DropMyRights
(Windows 2000, XP, & 2003)
Freeware
Code:

http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/de...re11152004.asp

This is a small application that launches any other application with reduced security privileges. Simply install to an easy to remember folder, then create a shortcut to DropMyRights.exe "c:\" Then whenever you use that shortcut, that program will be running as if you were in a more limited user account, rendering a lot of malware powerless. This same tool is available in SecureIt, however SecureIt does not give you any options to make shortcuts to programs of your choosing. It does, however, add it to your context (right-click) menu.