IT Security at home

Many people take the security of the Council’s IT systems for granted, but are you aware you could be the weak link if you access our systems from a home pc….

Do you have regularly updated Anti-Virus software installed?
Do you have automatic updates enabled?
Do you have a firewall installed?
Do you have secure wireless access?
Do you filter inappropriate websites?

If you have answered No (or Don’t know) to any question, then read on…..

Anti-Virus Software

Malicious software (Malware) is becoming increasingly advanced in detection evasion techniques, so a modern, regularly updated anti-virus product is a must to ensure a clean running system. Without such protection, you may be sending out personal information (Usernames, Passwords, Credit Card details) without realising.

There are a few Anti-Virus solutions available which are free for home use (e.g. AVG and Avast) (*).

Automatic Updates

Operating system manufacturers (e.g. Microsoft, Apple) regularly release updates to resolve any security weaknesses found within their software. Quite often the vulnerabilities could allow an attacker to access your machine without your permission, or knowledge!

Turning on automatic updates will help prevent such activity taking place.

Firewalls

Firewalls prevent would-be hackers from accessing your machine and data.. They restrict the ‘visibility’ of your machine on the internet and are essential if you tend to use mobile broadband, or don’t have a hardware firewall/router combination.

Free for home use solutions are available for download (e.g. Zone Alarm, Comodo) (*)

Secure Wireless

If you use wireless within the home, you should ensure that the access point (router) is secure, and that all traffic is encrypted to prevent other users accessing your network / internet connection.

Within the router settings, you should look for settings that mention WPA or WEP. If your hardware supports WPA (PCs and routers), then this should be the protection of choice, otherwise WEP should be used but unfortunately this is a less secure option which can bypassed fairly easily.

Inappropriate websites

Whilst the internet is an amazing resource, unfortunately it has a dark side containing millions of pages of inappropriate and dangerous content. This is a particular concern if the PC is used by the family.

Web Content filtering will assist by preventing access to ‘blacklisted’ sites, or those that identify themselves as adult-related content.

Free solutions are available for home use (e.g. K9webprotection) (*)

For more information see the Get Safe Online website.