80 05/2009 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

APPLICATIONS FEATURE

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When it comes to security,

you'll notice that household

assets are usually locked

in to prevent theft, banks have their

high-security surveillance systems in

place and classifi ed documents are

usually stored in ultra-secure lockers.

Similarly our computers and networks

need several levels and layers of

security in order to prevent data theft.

Also it’s crucial to prevent infi ltration

by potentially harmful programs and

bots that steal private information.

When you enter data in your computer

such as credit card information, bank

account details, passwords and digital

signatures, it is all vulnerable unless

suffi cient precautionary measures are

taken. Prying eyes on the Internet take

advantage of these susceptibilities to

extract as much information as possible

to either sell it for monetary gain, use

it for malicious purposes , or both. One

may think that hacking into somebody’s

computer is easy, well it isn’t if you’re

taking all the right steps towards

high-level security.

In this story, CHIP walks you through

the entire process of adding levels of

security to a PC and also shows you

the tools that can be used for the task.

Once you’ve applied all the levels of

security mentioned in this story, no

one will have access to your data. If

someone does manage to steal your

data, he will not be able to use it in any

form. Yes! There is a way to do this!

Updates: 1 minuteWhen an operating system is fi rst

released, there are numerous security

loopholes and bugs in it. These make

a system susceptible to a plethora

of viruses, Trojans and other types

of malware. Furthermore, such

vulnerabilities are playgrounds for

hackers. So how does one fi x them?

Patches and updates are frequently

released by the manufacturer, for

instance, Microsoft releases service

packs and other minor updates for all

current versions of Windows.

It’s a good idea to regularly install

updates for your system. Be it Windows

XP, Vista or any other platform, all

operating systems require updates. In

Windows, it is recommended to keep

the ‘Automatic Updates’ option on.

This way, they are periodically and

automatically installed even without the

user's intervention. In XP, go to Control

Panel | Security Center | Automatic

Updates and click the ‘On’ button.

In Vista, go to Start | All Programs

| Windows Updates. Here, Windows

verifi es the installation for security

threats with ‘Search For Updates’ and

thereafter installs suitable updates for

the system. Though the update process

takes a while to complete—around 20 to

40 minutes—it runs in the background

so your work isn’t hindered. Above all,

updates ensure security as well as

compatibility of a system with the latest

hardware and peripherals.

Virus Scanner: 1 minuteBefore we move any further, here’s a

rule of thumb: never install more than

one antivirus program on your computer.

This is because two or more programs

clash with each other during a scan, due

to which a system may hang, become

sluggish or shut down altogether.

The world over, antivirus companies

detect thousands of threats every day.

Let’s say your computer has no antivirus

software installed and you’re online for

24 hours at a stretch. You would thus

send/receive emails with attachments,

exchange and download fi les, click

on ads and banners, and basically do

everything that’s a big mistake without

having an antivirus program or a security

suite installed. By now, if your system

Ensure that all components are updated and running. Check your Internet settings if needed.

In addition to updates, ensure that the firewall is turned on for added security.

Secure your PCin 10 minutesCHIP shows you how to completely secure your PC from scratch.BY FABIAN VON KEUDELL AND DUSHYANT KHILNANI

81INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP 05/2009

hasn’t died from exposure to malware,

it has defi nitely leaked out information

without your consent. And that’s just the

tip of the iceberg! Prowling hackers are

already spying on you.

That was only a hypothetical

situation, but if you don’t secure your

system, it can really happen. There are

many security suites and standalone

antivirus programs such as the ones

provided by Symantec, Kaspersky,

F-Secure and so on. In addition to

antivirus programs, they also provide

security from adware, spyware,

Trojans and other online threats. Some

programs are paid for and others are

free. A fi ne example of the latter is AVG

Free. It’s a free antivirus program that

provides basic yet eff ective protection

from the latest viruses that crop

up each day. But remember that all

antivirus programs need to be updated

regularly so that they have all the latest

virus defi nitions.

When an application is executed,

these programs warn you whether there

are any suspected virus elements in it.

You can then choose to heal, delete or

quarantine an infected fi le. The program

also updates its manufacturer about

the specifi c virus threat, if you allow

it to. This reported virus treat is then

added to the database of viruses at the

manufacturer’s end.

Anti-spam: 3 minutesSpam emails are nothing but junk, sent

out randomly either to mass-advertise,

collect information, or spread viruses

as attachments. To stop this, there

are spam fi lters such as Spamihilator

0.9 (included on this month's CHIP

DVD). These fi lters eff ectively eradicate

advertisements and other threats that

are potentially harmful to a computer.

In order to achieve their goals,

spammers adopt various disguises

such as changing/spoofi ng the sender's

address, using secure digital signatures,

and sending in unknown mail formats.

Spamihilator in turn recognizes these

strategies and keeps you safe from

harmful attachments.

However, it works only with email

clients such as Microsoft Outlook,

Outlook Express 6, Opera, Eudora,

Pegasus Mail, Mozilla’s Thunderbird

and so on. While it isn’t a plugin for

the client, it resides in system memory

and you can access it through the icon

nestled near the clock in your Windows

notifi cation area.

After installation, Spamihilator

automatically detects the default

email client in the system and auto-

confi gures itself. Therefore there are

no additional settings to be confi gured.

During installation it also puts the

most important fi lters such as DCC

(Distributed Checksum Clearinghouse)

in place. Filters need to be trained to

recognize spam. The program scans all

incoming mail and moves those with

suspicious content into its own recycle

bin, thereby preventing junk mails from

piling up in your inbox. If a genuine

message is identifi ed as spam, you can

mark it as genuine, which will allow all

future messages from that specifi c ID

to land up in the email client’s inbox

without needing verifi cation. In addition

to fi lters, there’s a blacklist for blocked

senders and a whitelist for friends.

Although Spamihilator is quite

eff ective, having added layers of security

doesn’t hurt, especially if making

the required settings to your PC is a

no-brainer. So, let’s prep your email

client for potential spam.

Microsoft Outlook: Go to Tools

| Options | Junk E-mail. Here, the

‘Options’ tab is highlighted by default,

if not, click on it. From here, select the

third option, ‘high’. However, with this

option selected, it’s recommended that

you regularly check your spam folder for

genuine mail that might get mistaken

for spam. You can also opt to directly

delete spam as opposed to letting it

clog your spam folder. The whitelist and

blacklist in this case can be set from the

‘Safe Senders’ and ‘Blocked Senders’

tabs respectively.

Mozilla Thunderbird: Here, all you

need to do is classify messages as

spam or as genuine. When spam is

detected, the user is prompted for

action. You can then decide what to do

with that message. This feature can be

activated from Tools | Settings | Data

protection. Now, whenever you receive

spam, simply mark it and click on ‘Junk’.

The more you do this, the better the

results of the fi lter will become.

Logging in with a USB flash drive: 2 minutesLet’s say that you’re a frequent fl yer

or you travel a lot with your laptop.

You can choose the action to be performed when you remove the flash drive.

Attachments with extensions such as .EXE and .COM (executables) are most likely dangerous.

82 05/2009 INTELLIGENT COMPUTING CHIP

APPLICATIONS FEATURE

You have no trouble using it on the go,

but what if you leave it unattended for

some reason? Maybe you’d lock it using

a password, but what if someday you

forget to do so? It happens!

Rohos Logon Key 2.6 provides a hard

locking system for PCs and laptops.

Here’s an analogy: a car cannot start

without its key, and removing the key

from a running car stops its engine.

Similarly, this program turns a standard

USB fl ash drive into a key for your

PC. To unlock your PC, simply insert

the fl ash drive into the USB port. The

moment you remove the drive, the PC is

locked again.

Here’s the ‘how to’ of it. Install the

tool and connect the USB fl ash drive

to the PC. Then launch the program

and click on ‘Set up USB fl ash drive’.

The next window will ask you for the

current user’s password, so punch it in

and click on ‘Set up USB key’. Now click

on ‘Confi gure USB Stick’. Here, various

options can be chosen from the drop

down menu labeled ‘This action will

occur when you withdraw your USB key

from computer’.

Select the ‘Lock computer’ option

if you want your computer to lock

automatically when you remove your

fl ash drive. For the settings to take

eff ect, restart your PC.

Note: Alternatively, you can enter the

account password to log in, but if you

do so and insert the fl ash drive later,

removing it will not lock the PC. This

means that in order to lock your PC with

the fl ash drive you have to log in with it

in the fi rst place.

Also, Rohos Logon Key 2.6 is not

free, and the trial expires 15 days after

installation. A free alternative is USB PC

Lock Pro 1.6. You can fi nd both programs

on this month's CHIP DVD

Safe passwords: 1 minuteCracking passwords is not easy, but

that largely depends on how strong

(or weak) a password is. A very strong

one should ideally contain 20 or more

characters. Also, creating a good mix

of special characters, numbers, and

alphabets in lower and upper cases can

be really diffi cult and time-consuming to

crack. It’s a good idea to have a diff erent

password for each account. However,

remembering multiple passwords can

drive anyone crazy! Why not maintain

a secure database of passwords

which will let you store passwords for

various accounts? All you need to do is

remember the one master password to

this database.

KeePass is a program which does

just that. It is free (on the CHIP DVD),

secured by encryption (AES) and it’s a

no-brainer. You need to fi rst set up a

database before you store passwords.

To create the same, go to 'File | New',

you’ll be asked to enter a master

password. Create a strong password

and save the database in the desired

location. The master password will

allow you to unlock the database. In

order to start populating it, go to 'Edit

| Add Entry' and start entering all the

usernames and passwords you need

to use on a day-to-day basis. For

further information, visit the program's

website, http://keepass.info/hep/base/

fi rststeps.html. The online tutorial is

quite useful for beginners.

Encryption: 2 minutesMany of the USB fl ash drives available

in the market today come with a pre-

installed application called U3. This

allows you to password-protect your

fl ash drive. But what about those that

do not have any pre-installed security

system? How safe are they for storing

confi dential data? It isn’t diffi cult to lose

such a tiny, portable gadget, especially

one that goes in and out of your bag or

pocket all day. With unprotected data

on a fl ash drive, much more can be

lost than just the gadget. The solution

is encryption. By encrypting the data

inside a pen drive, you can ensure your

safety even if someone fi nds it and

gets the data. The encrypted mess will

make no sense to him and he cannot

use it in any way. Encryption tools such

as TrueCrypt (also on the CHIP DVD)

are a great option to give yourself such

a level of confi dence. As you launch

the software, a wizard helps you with

various options. The easiest is to create

an ‘Encryption File Container’ which

gets mounted on a virtual Volume. This

volume needs to be assigned a drive

letter and then can be used as an actual

drive. Whatever data you drag and drop

onto it will be encrypted automatically

and on the fl y. Encryption is not just

for external and portable drives; even

hard drives can be encrypted so that no

information or data is leaked.

– dushyant.khilnani@chip.in

Your password hint shouldn't be so obvious that anyone can guess the answer!

Use the three radio buttons according to how much your flash drive or external storage accomodates.

As the progress bar moves from left to right, it indicates how strong the password is becoming.

Different users can have their own unique settings for their computing sessions.