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Patching Your Computer| Category | | | Summary | | | Body | <img src="security/general/images/cia.gif" border="0" Alt="Tutorials" align="left" hspace="5" vspace="5][/url]
This tutorial explains the importance of constantly patching your computer for security, as well as a number of statistics and places to get information about patching bugs.
"Failing to responsibly patch computers led to 99 percent of the 5,823
Web site defacements last year." "85% (primarily large
corporations and government agencies) detected computer security
breaches within the last twelve months." "After significant
analysis, theCooperative Association for Internet Data Analysis (CAIDA)
found that the "Code Red" worm affected more than 359,000
servers in less than 14 hours." These are the headlines that we
see daily on the news. Yet most people are too lazy or unaware to take
the necessary steps to secure their computers. Every day new bugs are
found that allow intruders to gain access to your computer. It is
becoming increasingly important to take the proper steps to secure your
computer. Throughout this article I will try to make you aware and
motivate you to take the steps needed to secure your computers.
The majority of home users use a version of Microsoft Windows. If not
properly patched they can be huge targets for computer vandals. You may
think that you have nothing that they would want. In fact though many
computer criminals use remote computers they have infected to launch
attacks on other major servers. For this article I am just going to
focus on the OS, but you should also check for security updates on
programs you use (Internet Explorer, Netscape, Outlook, ETC). A good
place to check for any security problems is www.securityfocus.com or
www.securiteam.com.The first step you should take when securing your
computer is to download the latest service pack for your operating
system. Next go and check what security updates have been released
since the last service pack.
(http://www.microsoft.com/technet/treeview/?url=/technet/security/current.asp?frame=true).
These updates are released on Wednesday night so be sure to check back
weekly to see if you need any more. More information on Microsoft Windows
security can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/security/.
There aren't many home users who use Linux. It is growing in popularity
but most casual users don't even know what it is. Linux is an open source
operating system with many different programmers contributing to it from
around the world. Just like any operating system it can be very insecure
if the proper steps aren't taking to secure it. If it's properly patched
and hardened, it can be one of the most secure home computers or a very
secure server. To find the patches that you need, you should go to your
distributions website. A list of the security page for many different
distributions can be found at http://www.reallylinux.com/docs/security.shtml.
Note: by hartmch |
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This article was imported from the CyberArmy University site. (original author: )
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