Know what’s going through your ports on your PC
In a discussion I initiated on WebProWorld re website security via personal computer security some good suggestions were made to monitor what our own computers are doing, since keeping our own boxes secure is part and parcel of keeping our websites safe.
One of the regulars at WPW linked to the TCP View for Windows tool from Microsoft. “TCPView is a Windows program that will show you detailed listings of all TCP and UDP endpoints on your system, including the local and remote addresses and state of TCP connections. On Windows NT, 2000 and XP TCPView also reports the name of the process that owns the endpoint.” Translated for non-techies, this shows you which running processes are accessing the internet and what programs on your box that they originate from, as well as the domain they’re going to. Assuming you have a basic knowledge of what programs you have installed, then if something shows up that isn’t expected you should know something’s wrong. It was suggested on the forum that you can shut down all browsers, IMs and email when running this tool, since then your own internet activity should dwindle to just a small handful of programs “listening” for updates, and any anomalies will stick out like the sore thumb they are. Running this tool periodically will alert you to anything that may have gotten through your security.
For those of us who have our boxes networked onto one internet connection, the free vulnerability assessment (registration required) at nessus.org will simulate a remote attack and assess where on your network your security needs to be improved.
Weekly scans for malware are a good idea. A-Squared has an online trojan scanner that I’ve found to be decent for windows boxes. IE with activeX is required to run it.
We also need to be aware that using open WIFI access points can compromise your security if you use them to access admin areas of your website or ftp or cpanel. You can use an anonymizer or other wifi security to avoid this problem. Use a secure server access to get to your webmail.
We may not have a lot of control as website owners in how safe the servers are where our websites reside, but in many, many cases websites are compromised because the owner’s computer, which has been used to access admin and cpanel and ftp to the site, has been compromised. And we do have control over that. Keep your computer clean and safe from malware, trojans and keyloggers.
Technorati Tags: Website Security, Computer Security, Hacked, pwned, trojan, vulnerability, TCP
