The Security Mentor

Compliments to Microsoft

If you haven't already, please go to Start/Settings/Control Panel and turn on Automatic Updates. That will get you Service Pack 2 eventually even if you use a modem. Windows Update will patiently grab one bit at a time from the huge download and piece them all together. It may take days. It's worth it. Don't wait for the CD to ship.

Security experts who've been laughing at Microsoft for years have been grudgingly admitting that Microsoft did a lot of things right. So far (August 2004) SP2 just keeps looking better and better the more people study it.


You knew I was about to say "But..."

Is a Volvo a "safe" car? It's designed to be but it's hardly safe if you drive it drunk or park it in a bad neighborhood. There's only so much that a car or an operating system can do for you.

Spyware can still get on your computer if you install it yourself. Don't install that flashy animated cursor or password manager unless you know it's from someone trustworthy.

Once the spyware is there, it can still call home and leak your personal information. You still need a third party product like Zone Alarm to stop that from happening.

"Phishing" scams, where you get mail that looks to be from your bank, will of course continue. Don't type important passwords in unless you initiated the transaction.

Weak passwords can still undermine your security. You still need to remove personal information from your hard disk before you sell or discard your computer.