If you have some minutes, could you help me get started through a few questions ??

Discussion in 'other security issues & news' started by blade runner, Jan 25, 2008.

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  1. blade runner

    blade runner Registered Member

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    Best o' the Day dja2k,

    THANKS for the great (daunting) LISTS !!

    Hoping to start and STAY clean -- I'm about to first run a Dell Athlon 64 X2 machine (4GB RAM) with VISTA 32.
    My second Wilder post here -- I'm REAL new to the SERIOUS lock-down security in enlightened use here by you and others.

    Today I nearly bought NOD32, CounterSpy, Norton Save & Restore, and Comodo Pro -- combat ready, ay ?? BUT now I found Wilder -- reading for hours ...

    If you have some minutes, could you help me get started through a few questions ??

    1.) I don't yet know "hardening" -- any ESSENTIALS on your list to best start with that don't require immediate knowledgeable tweaking ??

    2.) Same for your OTHERS list -- any ESSENTIALS there to best start with ??

    The need seems clear for Sandboxie, Acronis, Firefox (you mean Explorer is bested ??), and Online Armor to BROWSE (and installs) safely sand-boxed and imaged.

    3.) I may image to a USB 2.0 exterior HD -- otherwise REMOVED. Are there items best installed on it, or on a 4GB pen flash drive -- rather than C: ??

    4.) Is an ext. HD best for IMAGES, or does Acronis Disk lock down interior HD read & write ?? I could use my current Maxtor interior 20 GB for now (Win 98, total 7 GB legacy).

    5.) How vital is the HARDWARE firewall / router ??

    I'm getting the impression that it's the most important measure (first step ??). If so, I'll order one, and WAIT for it before any browsing and software down-load and initial update everything.

    Hopefully this is efficient and to the point enough not to bother you -- THANKS very much for your trouble here, should you have some time.

    Respectfully, blade runner
     
  2. dja2k

    dja2k Registered Member

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    Re: If you have some minutes, could you help me get started through a few questions ?

    Blade Runner is referring to my list located here.

    This thread got modified and so people can be on track, I have posted what Blade Runner was referring to in his first post.

    dja2k
     
  3. Hermescomputers

    Hermescomputers Registered Member

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    Re: What is your security setup these days?

    ~snipped whole quote~

    Hello Blade Runner

    Your questions would cover several books to answer properly...

    you can try and read an article I wrote on hardening your setup or perhaps spend a week or two reading all the relevant posts on wilders...

    Read these two writeup Cyber Self Defense & Secured web Browsing it might help!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jan 25, 2008
  4. blade runner

    blade runner Registered Member

    Joined:
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    Albuquerque & Lake Michigan
    Re: What is your security setup these days?

    Hey G'day,

    I appreciate your patience. I'll happily take ANY candid advice -- REAL thick skin.

    THANKS very much for the links -- a LARGE help !! Of course, I will be spending the next days & months around Wilder's to LEARN.

    Just some YES or NO with a sentence and good first specialty software picks -- so I can get started this weekend without (the Microsoft, Symantec, PC World way) any stupid vulnerabilities or crutches ...

    I'm not trying for detailed explanations to take someone's time. Maybe I don't need to HARDEN right away, or maybe there's ONE easy start -- I just don't really know.

    Maybe I can re-phrase one : Is the HARDWARE firewall / router a more vital first step than getting more than a handful of softwares ??

    Respectfully, blade runner
     
  5. WSFuser

    WSFuser Registered Member

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    Re: What is your security setup these days?

    A router is good for blocking inbound attacks but I wouldnt rush out to buy one. I just use the Windows Firewall and Im fine with that.

    As for your questions:

    1. Theres not much hardening for Vista but xp-antispy and vispa do offer some tweaks.

    4. An external drive is nice because you can turn it off when youre not using it.

    As for "lock down interior HD read & write" Acronis has a feature called Secure Zone which is a hidden partition only used for images.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2008
  6. Hermescomputers

    Hermescomputers Registered Member

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    Location:
    Toronto, Ontario, Canada, eh?
    Re: What is your security setup these days?

    Well, I think the best (since it includes everything one could need as a security device) would be the build yourself a security Gateway. You need an old pc, but the software is free and packed with features, everything from an antivirus right down to an ID's... And it is OS independent at the node points. Easily the best solution for anyone! from small business to "The Home" with a few pc's.

    You can have a peek here: http://www.untangle.com/
     
  7. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

    Joined:
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    Re: If you have some minutes, could you help me get started through a few questions ?

    Hello,

    To make it simple:

    - I would not use Vista
    - I would create several partitions on the hard disk if possible
    - I would use a software firewall and anti-virus for security
    - I would use Firefox instead of IE
    - I would not do any tweaks
    - I would use a backup / imaging software like Acronis

    No need to go paranoid with triple HIPS, sandboxing + virtualization + reduced privileges + more, that's mostly for fun for most people here. Reasonable security AND fun can be achieved without too much hassle:

    - Default deny; if in doubt, ask before you click.
    - Download files from reputable sources.
    - As suggested, use non-MS products as much as possible, Firefox instead of IE, first and foremost, but others as well (OpenOffice, Pidgin, Thunderbird...)
    - Keep your system up to date.

    That's it.

    Mrk
     
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