Dealing with Threats

There was an interesting piece in Thursday's Guardian (23 April 2009) by Bruce Shneier about computer threats and risks:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/apr/23/conficker-panic

It makes some thought-provoking points on the wider issue of perceived threats, and concludes by reminding us to do the straightforward things to protect our computers - like turning on Microsoft Automatic Updates. None of us is immune to malicious attacks - trust me, I've had my fair share, and I'm supposed to be "on the ball" on this matter!

And that's my cue to remind my readers: keep Microsoft and anti-virus up-to-date, because that's your first line of defence. The next thing to do is to make sure all your other software is current, as some viruses exploit "holes" in out-of-date software. One of the main reasons software is updated by programmers is to plug vulnerabilities.

There'll be a further posting on how to keep software up-to-date, so please watch this blog!

Conficker Alert

There's a very good piece at CNET about Conficker, and how it could be adding some false security software to your computer:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10217386-83.html

The article also has links to a website that can check for Conficker, as well as a link to CNET's page on how to remove Conficker, should you be infected.

But the best advice is to make sure your Microsoft and security software are all up-to-date.