Free Tools for Safe Computing

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Free Tools for Safe Computing
D R A F T

• Ed Greenberg
• ASU College of Nursing
• Updated September 24, 2003

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CONTENTS

• A number of software tools and techniques to help
  make your computing safer and less aggravating
  are available free of charge to members of the
  ASU community.

• Windows System Updates
• Handling E-mail Attachments
• Anti-Virus Software
• Spam Filtering
• VPN (Virtual Private Network) Client
• Personal Firewall
• Spyware Detection and Removal
• Secure Shell Telnet

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Windows System Updates
PRODUCT Microsoft Windows Update
PROVIDER Microsoft Corporation
WEB http//v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/en/def
ault.asp NOTES Ensures that your copy of Windows
XP (in this example) is up-to-date and contains
all the latest security and bug fixes.It is
essential that critical updates be applied as
soon as possible!Can be set to run
automatically or semi-automatically.
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Setting Windows Update options (Windows XP
example)
Right-click the My Computer icon and select
Properties.
Select update settings via The Automatic
Updates tab.
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Handling E-mail Attachments

• Many viruses, worms, and trojans are
  transmitted over the Internet via attachments to
  e-mail messages.
• Malicious e-mail containing harmful attachments
  can appear to have been sent from someone you
  know, even when the e-mail has been sent from
  someone else. (This is called address
  spoofing.)
• You should always be suspicious about downloading
  e-mail attachments, even if the e-mail appears to
  be from a trusted source.

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Anti-Virus Software

• PRODUCT NAI/McAfee VirusScan
• PROVIDER ASU Information Technology
• WEB http//www.asu.edu/it/fyi/comm/antivirus/vsin
  dex.html
• NOTES Protects your computer and the university
  from the harmful effects of viruses. Virus
  definitions must be updated regularly. VirusScan
  can be configured automatically install
  anti-virus updates on your computer.
• ASU CON Information Systems has installed and
  maintains VirusScan on all CON computers. Updates
  are regularly applied by the CON network
  administrator.

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Spam Filtering

• PRODUCT emma spam filtering service
• PROVIDER ASU Information Technology
• WEB https//webmail.asu.edu/emma
• NOTES Detects and quarantines spam before it is
  delivered to your e-mail in-box.Mail is
  screened for spam at the ASU Electronic Post
  Office (EPO). Suspected spam is quarantined.
  Mail judged to be legitimate is passed through to
  your mailbox.Requires some monitoring of the
  quarantine area to ensure that legitimate mail
  isn't lost. Quarantined mail is deleted after 14
  days.

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emma login screen
Log into emma with your ASURITE id and password.
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spam filtering settings
Spam filtering can be turned on for any of your
e-mail aliases.
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access list settings
You can black list addresses from which you
wish to have mail blocked.Mail from white-listed
addresses is passed through to your mailbox.
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spam quarantine area
This screen allows you review your quarantined
mail. You can choose to have selected items
delivered to your mailbox, or delete all
quarantined messages for each e-mail alias.
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recent message from emma
Recent e-mail worm attacks have created backlogs
at the EPO. This may result in delays in mail
delivery and/or some difficulty in accessing the
spam quarantine area.
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VPN (Virtual Private Network) client

• PRODUCT Check Point SecuRemote
• PROVIDER ASU Information Technology
• WEB http//www.asu.edu/it/fyi/comm/sw/serveracces
  s/securemote.html
• NOTES Secure/encrypted access to the ASU network
  and administrative systems. Needed for login
  access to selected ASU systems.Gary Smith has
  prepared additional instructions for accessing
  CON servers. See Additional Settings for
  Connecting to College of Nursing Servers via
  SecureRemote, distributed via e-mail on
  8/15/03.A number of problems have been
  encountered when attempting to install or use
  SecuRemote. The CON Information Systems
  Department is working with ASU Information
  Technology to resolve these issues.

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SecuRemote Authentication (Login) Window
SecuRemote prompts you to enter your ASURITE ID
and password whenever you try to connect to a
secured service, e.g., HRMS, SIS, Advantage, or
the ASU Data Warehouse.
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Personal Firewall

• PRODUCT Kerio Personal Firewall
• PROVIDER ASU Information Technology
• WEB http//www.asu.edu/it/fyi/comm/sw/firewall/ke
  rio.html
• NOTES Allows users to protect personal computers
  against hackers and unauthorized access.
  Requires some "training" of the software when
  it is first installed to selectively permit or
  deny communication with other systems.

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Kerio Personal Firewall Status Window
This window displays all connections enabled
from/to your system.
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Kerio Personal Firewall Alert Window
Kerio Personal Firewall alerts you to incoming
and outgoing connection attempts to or from your
computer. This alert shows that the program
TINYINSTALLER.EXE on my computer has attempted to
connect to netblock-66-159-219-195.dslextreme.com,
port 80. Because I suspect that this program is
spyware, I deny the connection request.
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Kerio Personal Firewall Log Window
A log is maintained of attempted network accesses
to or from your computer.
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Kerio Personal Firewall Statistics
Statistics are compiled by Kerio. Note the large
number of blocked data packets.
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Spyware Detection and Removal

• PRODUCT Ad-aware
• PROVIDER Lavasoft
• WEB http//www.lavasoftusa.com
• NOTES "A program dedicated to scanning for and
  removing advertising systems and
  spyware.Spyware is programming that is put in
  someone's computer to secretly gather information
  about the user and relay it to advertisers or
  other interested parties.Should be run
  regularly, and spyware definitions need to be
  updated periodically.

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Ad-aware startup screen
Press the Start button to begin.
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scan options
You can choose a scanning mode. I generally use
the default mode.
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summary of scan results
The scan found 24 objects, including 20 files and
4 system registry entries.
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detailed summary
The detailed list reveals several registry keys
and values and a number of rotten cookies.
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selecting objects for deletion
In this case, I selected all objects and deleted
them by clicking the Next button.
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warning pop-up
Youre given one last chance to change your mind
about deleting objects.
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Spyware Detection and Removal

• PRODUCT Spybot Search Destroy
• PROVIDER PepiMK Software
• WEB http//www.safer-networking.org
• NOTES Spyware detection and removal. Should be
  run regularly, and spyware definitions need to be
  updated periodically.Optionally, Spybot can
  immunize your system against spyware downloads
  (recommended). I suggest that both
  anti-spyware products, Ad-aware and Spybot Search
  Destroy, be installed, updated, and run on a
  regular basis.

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Spybot startup screen
The startup screen gives you the choice of
scanning your system for problems,undoing recent
changes, or searching for updates to spyware
definitions .
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Spybot scan results(after running Ad-aware!)
The Spybot scan found two problems, a tracking
cookie and a registry key,after a full scan
with Ad-aware. This is why I advise using both
Ad-aware andSpybot to scan your system for
spyware.
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list of problems fixed
After clicking Fix elected problems, the items
are quarantined and are grayed out in the log
screen.
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immunizing your system against spyware
To prevent spyware from being installed on your
system, click the Immunize button in the
Spybot toolbar, and then click the Immunize
button in the center of the screen. Its also
recommended that you install the bad download
blocker for Internet Explorer.
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Secure Shell Telnet

• PRODUCT SSH Client
• PROVIDER ASU Information Technology
• WEB http//www.asu.edu/it/fyi/comm/sw/serveracces
  s/ssh.html
• NOTES Provides for a secure telnet sessions with
  encrypted usernames and passwords.Mainly used
  for login access to ASUs Unix servers rarely
  needed by CON personnel.

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secure telnet session
SSH Secure Shell enables secure terminal and file
transfer sessions over an insecure network
utilizing secure encryption.