------------------------------------------------------------------- SearchWin2000's Security Tip -------------------------------------------------------------------- TODAY'S SECURITY TIP: Securing the mobile PC - Windows 2000 style ==================================================================== SPONSORED BY: NetIQ ==================================================================== FREE NETIQ AUDIOCAST -- SECURITY IN THE ERA OF E-BUSINESS Go one-on-one with leading security analyst Frank Prince from Forrester Research and security experts from NetIQ during our FREE audiocast, "Security in the Era of E-Business, An Analyst's Perspective." You'll gain insight on IT trends, business challenges and management issues impacting security implementations. Register today at http://webevents.road-show.com/netiq/20010911/start/register.asp?origin=srchw2ktips! ==================================================================== "Securing the mobile PC - Windows 2000 style" By Adesh Rampat Mobile computers are a security nightmare. They can be lost or stolen easily, and then their data is available to whoever happens to pick them up. Worse, they might have an installed connection, such as a VPN, right into your corporate network. Here are some ideas that will help plug that security hole. Got a Windows security tip of your own? Why not send it in? We'll post it on our Web site, and enter you in our tips contest for some neat prizes. Submit your tip at http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/tipsSubmit/1,289485,sid1,00.html. -------------------------------------------------------------------- You may have some mobile Win2k users who need a higher degree of data protection than their non-mobile counterparts. Whether applied by the user or an administrator, here are some major security features that can be applied to protect data on a mobile computer. Apply NTFS Permissions Data security on a mobile computer can be enhanced through the use of NTFS permissions, which allow/restrict access to files/folders on the installed hard drive. When applying permissions, however, be careful about granting permissions to group everyone. User Accounts Make sure that mobile computers only have one user account (excluding the administrator and guest accounts). The fewer people who have access to the information on the mobile computer, the better. Also, the Windows 2000 username should not be the name of the current user; it should be some other name that isn't particularly easily guessed. For example, instead of John Doe, try jdoe5521, or doej2155. These are fairly easily doped out, but not as easily as johndoe. Rename the administrator account. Rename or disable the guest account. The only time anyone should use the administrator account is when performing administrative tasks such as software installations. If the current user needs to grant temporary access to another user, then log on as administrator and create a temporary account for the new user. Be mindful of the permissions granted in this case, and remove the account as soon as possible. Encrypted File System An excellent security feature that can be used in the protection of data is Windows 2000 encrypted file system. File encryption prevents data from easily being available to an unauthorized user. Here's how to encrypt the contents of a folder: - Right click the file or folder. - Then Click on Properties. - On the General Tab click Advanced. - If the "Compress Data to Save Disk Space" box is checked, clear it. Files or folders that are compressed cannot be encrypted. - Check the box that reads "Encrypt Contents to Secure Data" - Click OK to confirm. The Windows help files contain more information on encrypting folders and files. Service Pack Updates Service pack updates can play a major role in data security when used in conjunction with the above-mentioned security procedures. Visits Microsoft's web site periodically for any new service pack updates. If your notebook users are remote from your location, then you should establish a notification procedure to remind them to get new service packs/updates. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Adesh Rampat has 10 years experience with network and IT administration. He is a member of the Association of Internet Professionals, the Institute for Network Professionals and the International Webmasters Association. He has also lectured extensively on a variety of topics. ==================================================================== ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DID YOU LIKE THIS TIP? ==================================================================== We need your feedback! Whether you loved this tip or hated it, why not let us know? Rate it at http://www.searchWin2000.com/tip/1,289483,sid1_gci764841,00.html. Have additional comments? E-mail us at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] to sound off. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ==================================================================== CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR AUGUST TIP WINNERS! -------------------------------------------------------------------- Congratulations to our August tip contest winners: Mike Marney, Joe Keegan and George Perkins! They've all won permanent spots in our Hall of Fame. Grand-prize winner, Mike Marney also received a set of Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX Certified Multimedia Speakers for his award-winning security tip! This month's prize is an iBOT Pro Firewire Desktop Video Camera w/Microphone. Read all the winning tips and submit a tip of your own at http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/tipsHallOfFame/0,289489,sid1_prz751595_cts751583,00.html. ==================================================================== FEATURED BOOK -------------------------------------------------------------------- "Maximum Windows 2000 Security" Author: A Anonymous Online Price: $49.99 Publisher Name: SAMS Publishing Date published: Oct. 2000 Written by the same anonymous hacker who wrote the best-selling books "Maximum Security" and "Maximum Linux Security," this Windows-focused edition reveals the holes and weaknesses that compromise Windows 2000 security and how to fix them. It teaches practical, pre-emptive countermeasures against tricks and techniques employed by hackers. http://www.digitalguru.com/DigitalGuru/product_detail.asp?catalog_name=Books&category_name=&product_id=0672319659 ==================================================================== If you would like to sponsor this or any TechTarget newsletter, please contact Mike Kelly at mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]. ==================================================================== If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter simply reply to this message with "REMOVE" in the subject line. Or, visit http://searchWin2000.techtarget.com/register and adjust your subscriptions accordingly. If you choose to unsubscribe using our automated processing, you must send the "REMOVE" request from the email account to which this newsletter was delivered. Please allow 24 hours for your "REMOVE" request to be processed.
