Computer Security - Part 3Computer Security - Part 3
I wanted to subtitle this “hard core,” because that’s
what this section is about. The really tough ways to protect your computer at
home and at work. What follows are various companies and the programs they offer
to keep you safe.
Ferris Research discusses what they term “Zero-Hour
Defense Against E-mail-Borne Viruses.” Enterprises have reported that they are
still vulnerable to a class of e-mail-borne viruses—those that enter an
enterprise in the gap between their initial outbreak (so-called zero hour) and
the availability of a matching anti-viral signal. The gap is between six and
eight hours. In English, this means some yahoo with nothing better to do has
created a new virus and sent it on its way. By the time Norton or McAfee or some
other company finds it and creates protection for it, some 6-8 hours have
passed, during which time you are exceptionally vulnerable. Ferris has noted
several companies who have created different ways of dealing with this critical
gap.
MessageLabs
claims to have developed a set of heuristic filters that identify potential
viruses and quarantine them for the period it takes for matching viral
signatures to be published. IronPort
has extended the SMTP traffic-based, pattern-matching techniques that it
developed to identify and block spam to identify and block outbreaks of
fast-spreading e-mail-borne viruses. Avinti invokes suspected
e-mail attachments inside a virtual machine “surrogate” for each
recipient’s computer. If the attachment is determined to have done anything
suspicious, it is treated as a virus. If not, it is deemed safe. It works on all
attachments, including .exe, .sys, .com, .jpg and even zipped files.
Sophos
anti-virus has been engineered to provide complex, multi-platform networks
with totally reliable protection. It performs scheduled, on-demand and on-access
scanning with minimal network or system overhead.
An entirely different threat rests with your own employees,
and there are ways to control that aspect as well. Reconnex offers complete
e-Risk Assessment Service and protection. You can tell precisely where your
sensitive data is going, such as Social Security numbers, credit card numbers,
trade secrets, source code, bank account numbers, financial data, tax IDs,
drivers’ license numbers and much more. And you can monitor risks in all modes
of communication: Web mail, instant message, e-mail, FTP, etc. SurfControl
offers complete Web and e-mail filtering. This is really powerful stuff. Their
wide range of products can: scan, remove and prevent spyware from infecting
machines. Their Adaptive Threat Intelligence provides integrated, 24/7,
worldwide threat analysis and research for total protection. Their Report
Central provides instant access to top-level summary and detail reports and
allows you to produce or grant access to specific information needed by either
technical or business personnel. Their Web Filter provides maximum protection
from harmful and inappropriate Internet Content. Their Mobile Filter allows the
same protection for Remote PC and laptop users. And their e-mail filter protects
you from any related problems.
MessageGate
has a well-established e-mail compliance system that enables large
enterprise to monitor and control e-mail activity. It protects against
regulatory violations, unwanted communications and breaches of security. Vontu
is the first data loss prevention solution that stops confidential information,
including customer data and intellectual property, from being sent via e-mail or
the Internet. SecureWave
has Sanctuary. It’s basically all you’ll ever need to stop malware,
spyware and unwanted devices from disrupting your operations. When installed on
your PC or server, it allows only what you want. Everything else is denied by
default.
GreenBorder is incredible protection. Their GreenBorder Professional makes Microsoft Internet Explorer and Outlook safe to use. It protects your PC against damage, theft and hijacking from Internet attacks. You can safely go to any Web site, read any Internet e-mail or attachment and use any downloaded files without worry. At the end of the day, any remnants of Internet activity—code, files or cookies that slipped onto your machine—are automatically flushed away.
GreenBorder stakes its claim as the industry's first
Desktop DMZ software for Windows, keeping Internet invaders out and enterprise
data in. The solution allows Internet content to be opened normally with
existing applications — safely isolated from desktop and enterprise resources.
Even if an attacker finds a new hole in IE, Outlook, an ActiveX control,
a Java applet or an application used to view files or attachments — or if
something slips by other defenses — GreenBorder prevents malicious code from
having direct access to system resources or user data.
The solution’s unique, signature-less approach never
needs updating and provides continuous protection against corruption, theft and
invasion of business data systems -- eliminating the need to repeatedly clean,
re-image and restore PCs. GreenBorder’s desktop security software is
lightweight and easy to use. It works with LANs, WANs, VPNs as well as mobile
networks to automatically protect users whether they are connected or
disconnected, in the office or remote.
Blackdog 