We all have elders who recall the days when one could leave one’s front door unlocked and the keys in the car. Back then a movie cost a nickel and…well, that was a long time ago. It’s a rough world out there now, and thanks to the Internet, there’s a direct pathway for thieves, hoodlums, and miscreants of all stripes to reach right up to or into your computer. And if that’s not bad enough, in a business setting you have to be further concerned that visitors, intruders, or even your own employees might get hold of information they’re not entitled to.
There’s nothing you can do that will absolutely, positively guarantee that your data will be safe and secure in all possible circumstances; people make mistakes, accidents happen, and besides, there are still plenty of security bugs still hiding in Windows, and way too much enthusiasm and energy on the part of hackers to find them. But, there are some steps you can take to help minimize the risks, the three most important of which are listed here:
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Use all of the security features provided by Windows to their best advantage. Your front door has a lock—use it. Keeping Windows locked down not only helps thwart attacks by intruders, it also helps minimize damage from “friendly fire”; that is, from well-intentioned but incorrect system management actions by authorized users.
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Keep your software and security measures up-to-date, to shorten the duration of your exposure to newly discovered security flaws and system bugs.
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Back up your data frequently. If you don’t have a backup system in place (using tape, writeable CD or DVD media, or a removable hard disk), get one now!
These topics are discussed all throughout this book. In this chapter, we’ll pay special attention to several aspects of the first: keeping Windows locked down.
So, Preparing for the Worst is more better then accident happen, in the next post I will give you some tips how to optimize you Windows XP security
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