Wael Isa

Virus Scan Download

Importance of a Virus Scan Download

The odds are that your computer will be infected by a computer virus at one point or another. Whether the virus downloads itself onto your computer from some random website or an email, computer viruses are becoming better and better at infecting your computer. A computer virus is not a minor inconvenience, the latest computer virus can completely hijack your computer and force you to restore your computer to factory settings. Also, a computer virus can gain access to your personal information, such as credit card numbers and passwords, and send it to attackers.

Computer hackers are constantly creating new and more malicious viruses everyday. It is vital to stay protected at all times from these threats.

Downloading a virus scanner will greatly increase your ability to fend off such threats. For one, many viruses do not allow computer users to detect or remove them. A virus scanner will detect any abnormal files in your computer and remove them for you. If the virus is unable to be removed, a virus scanner is able to quarantine the file so it can not operate.

What makes a good virus scanner?

1) Updates

A good virus scanner should receive updates frequently. The updates virus scanners receive are virus definitions. Basically, these updates tell the virus scanner what files are bad and what the new threats are. When you download a virus scan system, make sure it gets updated very frequently. Most of the devastating attacks are from new viruses which virus scanners have not identified.

2) Automated Features

Your computer is exposed to threats every minute of every day. It is important to have a utility that will automatically install updates as well as scan your computer on a regular basis. For example, if you acquire a backdoor Trojan that steals your personal information, you do not want to give that Trojan an opportunity to send your personal information back to attackers. Make sure when you download a virus scan, it automatically it has many automated features.

3) Plethora of Tools

Your computer is vulnerable from threats that can gain access to your system from a variety of entry points. Whether its from putting a jump drive in your USB or from the internet, make sure you have a firewall and antivirus software. A firewall will also prevent hackers from gaining access to your computer remotely. Also, some virus scanners contain a spyware remover which will remove all spyware that makes your computer sluggish.

4) Ease of Use

This is one is simple, make sure you can actually use and understand your virus scanner. The easiest way to do this is try before you buy. Most virus scanners you can download without having to pay.

The virus scan download we recommend to use is PC Tools Spyware Doctor with Antivirus. This virus suite has been downloaded over 150 million times and received a “Best Buy” award from PC World.

One prevalent virus is Antivirus System PRO which is a rouge program that will hijack your computer. This virus has the ability to shut down your computer. Make sure you do a virus scan to ensure you do not have this and will not contract it in the future.

Benefits of Having ZoneAlarm Internet Security

Getting your PC online without any form of protection is potentially dangerous with all the threats present in the Internet today. A couple of years ago we were only concerned with viruses and how to prevent them from infecting our PC.  
Today we all sorts of threats like viruses, malwares, spywares, phishing sites and others. In order for us to safely go online we need a program to protect our PC from all of these. We no longer rely on single software but lots of software to deal with these various threats.  Viruses are handled by our anti-virus program; spywares are handled by the anti-spyware program. The more security software we install the more it would make our PC run slow. To solve this problem, modern security software makers have come up with the Internet security suite software to comprehensively protect our PC. One of the best Internet security suites available in the market today is the ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite.
Since a suite generally means a set, then you know you will be getting a set of applications to protect your computer once you use the Zone Alarm Internet Security Suite. This is useful today with the various types of Internet threats ranging from viruses, spywares and malwares. Here’s what you get from this suite.
Operating System Firewall- This program essentially concentrates on monitoring and protecting your operating system from any changes to its registry, program installations and files. Since most if the Internet threats essentially attack your operating system, ZoneAlarm created this software as a line of defense against any potentially damaging changes.
2 Way Firewall- This is one of the best firewall protection you can have since not only does it protect you from dangerous incoming traffic from the Internet, it also prevents data in your computer from getting out without your approval. This is useful in the event that your PC will be infected by a Trojan since these programs send out your private data to the Internet.
Anti-Virus- Almost all of us have had our PC’s infected by viruses at one point or another. Virus infection is due to poor protection to no protection at all. With the included anti-virus program in this suite you are assured of complete protection from viruses. This program automatically updates itself from the servers of ZoneAlarm to get the latest anti-virus definitions to protect you from all the latest virus threats.
Ant-Spyware – A spyware is a program that installs itself in your computer without your approval and monitors your computer usage and transmits personal data to an unknown source, possibly the maker of the spyware. It first appeared in 1995 and today has become a concern to all PC users.  ZoneAlarm has included this program in the suite to protect you from this growing threat. Not only will it automatically block any spyware but it will also remove any found in your PC.
Total ID Theft Protection – Identity theft is a type of fraud that involves a person using your personal information for their own gain. ZoneAlarm is aware of this problem and has come up with plan to protect you. This is what you don’t get form other security software packages. It provides you useful information regarding identity theft and monitors your credit file daily to see if there are any unusual activities going on. This is a very important feature today since identity theft is on the rise.
Recommendation: The ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite is highly recommended for people who constantly go online. It is one of the best protections you can purchase to protect your important data from being stolen.

Network Security Model – Defining an Enterprise Security Strategy

Overview

These are the 5 primary security groups that should be considered with any enterprise security model. These include security policy, perimeter, network, transaction and monitoring security. These are all part of any effective company security strategy. Any enterprise network has a perimeter that represents all equipment and circuits that connect to external networks both public and private. The internal network is comprised of all the servers, applications, data, and devices used for company operations. The demilitarized zone (DMZ) represents a location between the internal network and the perimeter comprised of firewalls and public servers. It that allows some access for external users to those network servers and denies traffic that would get to internal servers. That doesn’t mean that all external users will be denied access to internal networks. On the contrary, a proper security strategy specifies who can access what and from where. For instance telecommuters will use VPN concentrators at the perimeter to access Windows and Unix servers. As well business partners could use an Extranet VPN connection for access to the company S/390 Mainframe. Define what security is required at all servers to protect company applications and files. Identify transaction protocols required to secure data as it travels across secure and non-secure network segments. Monitoring activities should then be defined that examine packets in real time as a defensive and pro-active strategy for protecting against internal and external attacks. A recent survey revealed that internal attacks from disgruntled employees and consultants are more prevalent than hacker attacks. Virus detection should then be addressed since allowed sessions could be carrying a virus at the application layer with an e-mail or a file transfer.

Security Policy Document

The security policy document describes various policies for all employees that use the enterprise network. It specifies what an employee is permitted to do and with what resources. The policy includes non-employees as well such as consultants, business partners, clients and terminated employees. In addition security policies are defined for Internet e-mail and virus detection. It defines what cyclical process if any is used for examining and improving security.

Perimeter Security

This describes a first line of defense that external users must deal with before authenticating to the network. It is security for traffic whose source and destination is an external network. Many components are used to secure the perimeter of a network. The assessment reviews all perimeter devices currently utilized. Typical perimeter devices are firewalls, external routers, TACACS servers, RADIUS servers, dial servers, VPN concentrators and modems.

Network Security 

This is defined as all of the server and legacy host security that is implemented for authenticating and authorizing internal and external employees. When a user has been authenticated through perimeter security, it is the security that must be dealt with before starting any applications. The network exists to carry traffic between workstations and network applications. Network applications are implemented on a shared server that could be running an operating system such as Windows, Unix or Mainframe MVS. It is the responsibility of the operating system to store data, respond to requests for data and maintain security for that data. Once a user is authenticated to a Windows domain with a specific user account, they have privileges that have been granted to that account. Such privileges would be to access specific directories at one or many servers, start applications, and administer some or all of the Windows servers. When the user authenticates to the Windows Active Directory Services distributed it is not any specific server. There is tremendous management and availability advantages to that since all accounts are managed from a centralized perspective and security database copies are maintained at various servers across the network. Unix and Mainframe hosts will usually require logon to a specific system, however the network rights could be distributed to many hosts.

·  Network operating system domain authentication and authorization

·  Windows Active Directory Services authentication and authorization

·  Unix and Mainframe host authentication and authorization

·  Application authorization per server

·  File and data authorization

Transaction Security 

Transaction security works from a dynamic perspective. It attempts to secure each session with five primary activities. They are non-repudiation, integrity, authentication, confidentiality and virus detection. Transaction security ensures that session data is secure before being transported across the enterprise or Internet. This is important when dealing with the Internet since data is vulnerable to those that would use the valuable information without permission. E-Commerce employs some industry standards such as SET and SSL, which describe a set of protocols that provide non-repudiation, integrity, authentication and confidentiality. As well virus detection provides transaction security by examining data files for signs of virus infection before they are transported to an internal user or before they are sent across the Internet. The following describes industry standard transaction security protocols.

Non-Repudiation – RSA Digital Signatures 

Integrity – MD5 Route Authentication

Authentication – Digital Certificates 

Confidentiality – IPSec/IKE/3DES

Virus Detection  – McAfee/Norton Antivirus Software

Monitoring Security

Monitoring network traffic for security attacks, vulnerabilities and unusual events is essential for any security strategy. This assessment identifies what strategies and applications are being employed. The following is a list that describes some typical monitoring solutions. Intrusion detection sensors are available for monitoring real time traffic as it arrives at your perimeter. IBM Internet Security Scanner is an excellent vulnerability assessment testing tool that should be considered for your organization. Syslog server messaging is a standard Unix program found at many companies that writes security events to a log file for examination. It is important to have audit trails to record network changes and assist with isolating security issues. Big companies that utilize a lot of analog dial lines for modems sometimes employ dial scanners to determine open lines that could be exploited by security hackers. Facilities security is typical badge access to equipment and servers that host mission critical data. Badge access systems record the date time that each specific employee entered the telecom room and left. Cameras sometimes record what specific activities were conducted as well.

Intrusion Prevention Sensors (IPS)

Cisco markets intrusion prevention sensors (IPS) to enterprise clients for improving the security posture of the company network. Cisco IPS 4200 series utilize sensors at strategic locations on the inside and outside network protecting switches, routers and servers from hackers. IPS sensors will examine network traffic real time or inline, comparing packets with pre-defined signatures. If the sensor detects suspicious behavior it will send an alarm, drop the packet and take some evasive action to counter the attack. The IPS sensor can be deployed inline IPS, IDS where traffic doesn’t flow through device or a hybrid device. Most sensors inside the data center network will be designated IPS mode with its dynamic security features thwarting attacks as soon as they occur. Note that IOS intrusion prevention software is available today with routers as an option.

Vulnerability Assessment Testing (VAST)

IBM Internet Security Scanner (ISS) is a vulnerability assessment scanner focused on enterprise customers for assessing network vulnerabilities from an external and internal perspective. The software runs on agents and scans various network devices and servers for known security holes and potential vulnerabilities. The process is comprised of network discovery, data collection, analysis and reports. Data is collected from routers, switches, servers, firewalls, workstations, operating systems and network services. Potential vulnerabilities are verified through non-destructive testing and recommendations made for correcting any security problems. There is a reporting facility available with the scanner that presents the information findings to company staff.

Syslog Server Messaging

Cisco IOS has a Unix program called Syslog that reports on a variety of device activities and error conditions. Most routers and switches generate Syslog messages, which are sent to a designated Unix workstation for review. If your Network Management Console (NMS) is using the Windows platform, there are utilities that allow viewing of log files and sending Syslog files between a Unix and Windows NMS.

Network Planning and Design Guide is available at Amazon.com and eBookmall.com

Shaun Hummel is an author of various technical books and has a web site focused on information technology job search solutions and certifications.

http://www.networkjobsolutions.com