E-security solutions (part two)

Travellers today are warned to take only the most modern medicines when visiting the tropics, for deadly diseases such as malaria are constantly mutating to become resistant to established drugs.

A similar problem faces IT users seeking to defend themselves against computer viruses. Their designers are always seeking new ways in which to wreak havoc.

The key here is what is known as a "virus definition". Several companies supply anti-virus software. This can be set up to regularly scan a computer system, identify any viruses and then clean them out. But it's no good simply installing the software, it must be kept up to date. The anti-virus software suppliers constantly create new "virus definitions" to tackle all the latest threats. These must be downloaded and installed regularly in order to boost your anti-virus immune system. Check the guide that came with your software or visit the website or send an email to whoever supplied the software if you're unsure about what to do.

Also - would you kiss a leper? Probably not! So is it sensible to view attachments in emails from unknown sources? If in doubt, delete the message and make sure you switch off any email preview panels etc just in case highlighting the message is enough to trigger a virus.

Solution 6: Keep your eyes peeled

Be vigilant against masquerading websites. Designer labels are always on the look out for knocked off copies and will go to court to prosecute offenders. They succeed, because they are pro-active. If they find copied clothes, they will act. After all, why should some sub-standard clothing sweatshop profit from their good name and damage their reputation at the same time?

It's the same with websites. Keep on checking. If you can't afford a sophisticated service at least monitor the web by feeding your company name into a search engine such as Yahoo or Google to alert you to any sites using your name. Do this with your own name as well. While it's unlikely anyone would be masquerading as you individually, it's a bit of fun to see who else has your name.

Once a masquerade site has been spotted the only way to deal with it is to contact the Internet Service Provider (ISP) who will almost certainly shut the site down immediately in case of legal action!

It's quite easy to find out who the ISP is, but you need a little bit of technical know-how. Just know that it's a 30 second job so if someone tries to charge you a fortune to trace the information, look elsewhere - like a friend or colleagues son or daughter who's dabbled a bit with computers!

Solution 7: Clear policy

Finally, as we mentioned under threats, inside jobs are a real danger and computers are ideal tools for the saboteur. Changing a paper document is difficult and then easy to detect, but with a few keystrokes and the press of the delete button, computer files can be altered without any obvious record that it has happened.

Companies must take account of their vulnerabilities to internal saboteurs. They must carefully screen employees granted computer access. Above all, they must educate the workforce to be on the look out for anything suspicious and not to assume that because someone is using a computer they have a right to be there and that they are doing their job. They might not be, they might be stealing.

As for spies - if they don't know what you look like or sound like, then it is a fair bet that he or she will be unable to impersonate you. It is the same in the cyberworld. A hacker will be able to gain access to systems if they can pretend to be someone else online and for that, passwords or other forms of ID are required. Leaving passwords or user IDs on post-it notes or in notebooks and informing friends or even strangers about them is therefore foolish. This is confidential information and without it, a hacker cannot pretend to be you when they try to gain access to your company's system.

The answer is simple. Have a clear, well-read and well-followed company IT policy to stamp out the spies and saboteurs.

Feature article by Jonathan Thomson