Georgia County Government - October 2008 - (Page 54) CYBER SECURITY continued from page 53 R 4. Save your original installation CDs/ diskettes to use as the backup for your PC soft ware. 2. Before implementing or using software from any source, check it for viruses with a current virus scanner. Employees, if you do not have a virus scanner installed on your PC, call your organization representative. 3. Store removable media as CDs/thumb drives/diskettes as “write protected” whenever possible to prevent infection by viruses. 4. Do not load free software on your computer from an untrusted source.5. Consider blocking extensions such as: .bat, .cmd, .com, .exe, .pif, .scr, or .zip through content filtering software. 5. Depending on the extent of the infection, you may need to re-install your operating system. Worms are similar to viruses because they self-replicate, however, they do not require any user interaction to be activated. Worms spread because of vulnerabilities or “holes” in software. 1. Install either a soft ware or hardware firewall. A well configured firewall can stop propagation of a worm. 2. Anti-virus soft ware will often detect worms. Keep your anti-virus soft ware up-to-date. Firewalls Any machine connecting to the Internet should utilize a fi rewall. There are two types of fi rewalls. Soft ware fi rewalls usually run on PCs. Hardware fi rewalls are separate devices designed to efficiently protect computers. They are usually used by businesses, organizations, schools and governments. All fi rewall protection creates a barrier between the computers and the Internet. Firewalls should be configured to fi lter out unauthorized or dangerous information and prevent intruders from scanning and retrieving personal or sensitive information from the computer. Periodically check your fi rewall manufacturer’s Web site for product updates and patches. Malicious Code Protection Malicious code can take forms such as a virus, worm or Trojan. It can hide behind an infected Web page or disguise itself in a downloadable game, screen saver or e-mail attachment. Computer viruses are programs that spread or self-replicate. They usually require interaction from someone to be activated. The virus may arrive in an e-mail message as an attachment or be activated by simply opening a message or visiting a malicious Web site. Some viruses consume storage space or simply cause unusual screen displays. Others destroy information. If a virus infects your PC, all the information on your hard drive may be lost and/or compromised. Also, a virus in your PC may easily spread to other machines that share the information you access. Viruses can exhibit many different symptoms. If your computer behaves erratically, employees are advised to contact their organization computer support representative. At home, disconnect the PC from the Internet and run a full virus scan. 1. Check that your anti-virus soft ware is updated at least every week or set it for automatic updates. New, fast spreading worms and viruses are released every day. 54 GEORGIA COUNTY GOVERNMENT Possible Symptoms of a Compromised Computer Is your machine: • Slow or non-responsive? Experiencing unexpected behavior? • Running programs that you weren’t expecting? • Showing signs of high-level activity on the hard drive that is not the result of anything you initiated? • Displaying messages on your screen that you haven’t seen before? • Running out of disk space unexpectedly? • Unable to run a program because you don’t have enough memory – and this hasn’t happened before? • Program constantly crashing? * Rejecting a valid and correctly entered password? Is your organization: • Finding all of its e-mail refused (bounced back)? • No longer receiving any e-mail or visitors to your Web site? • Experiencing a number of employees calling the help desk saying their password doesn’t work anymore? • Receiving complaints from the system administrators that their passwords don’t work anymore? • Getting complaints from your users that the network has slow response time? • Finding there are new processes running on the web server? Home users may wish to call their ISP and/or anti-virus vendor. Security Breaches Security breaches can take several forms. The best defense against security breaches are conscientious and alert users. You are the most important person for early detection of thieves breaking into your computer. Examples of breaches include: • Damage to equipment, facilities or utilities. • Loss or misplacement of media (e.g. disks, tapes, paper) containing confidential/highly restricted information. • Inappropriate use of the computing environment. • Unauthorized access or attempted unauthorized access to information or computing resources. If you discover a security breach, you should report the breach to your Information Security Officer or manager immediately.
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