danielowen.com

This came out of a discussion on the NLUG list about making sure that Windows boxes are not infected with malware. This goes beyond that and tries to look at what technologies are out there to protect and monitor your machines. It is somewhat Windows centered but the concepts are the same for any OS (OS X, Linux, *BSD etc). I’ll throw in here my regular comment about OS security. All operating systems have bugs. Some have less than others but any OS must be regularly patched or you will be vulnerable.

This is aimed toward the business market but many of the concepts still hold true for the home user.

Much like much of what is called "safe sex" would be more accurately called safer sex, I will call this safer computing.

This is in some sort of order but I will not promise order of importance because it is all important.

Malware, broadly defined as any type of malicious and probably secret software, has been an issue in the personal computer (PC) industry since at least the mid 1980s. This paper outlines the current state of malware with an emphasis on non-viral malware such as spyware, adware, worms, Trojan horses, keystroke loggers, dialers, and browser hijackers. Viruses are mentioned only as a comparison point where appropriate. This paper reviews the types and behaviors of malware, infection methods and mitigation techniques.