When
you plan to implement security for your machine it is
always good if you go for a layered security. Layered
security means implementing security as different layer
for a better and effective defense.
Why
layered Security?
When planning to have a security implementation for
your Home PC I will always recommend you for a layered
security solution. A layered approach has many advantages
over the normal security implementation. The main advantage
is that if one layer is incorrectly configured or develops
a security weakness the other layer will be there to
protect you against the attack. The layered solution
makes attacks little more difficult since the hacker
has to break two or three layer before reaching the
target. The layered security solution is similar to
a war field where the enemy has to break several stage
of defense to reach the target. I don't say that a system
will be 100% secure if you implement a layered security
solution, but it will not be an easy task for the attacker
to reach the destination.
Implementing
Multi - Layered Security Solution
Layer
1 - Antivirus Software
A
good Antivirus Software can be your First layer of defense.
There are many Antivirus softwares available in the
market. Some of them are:
Norton
Antivirus (http://www.symantec.com)
McAfee VirusScan (http://www.nai.com)
Panda Antivirus Platinum (http://www.pandasoftware.com)
Trend Micro PC-cillin (http://www.antivirus.com)
Norman Virus Control (http://www.norman.com)
F-Secure Antivirus (http://www.f-secure.com)
Sophos Antivirus (http://www.sophos.com)
AVG Antivirus (http://www.grisoft.com)
Computer Associates Inoculate IT (http://www.ca.com)
Many
Antivirus software of the above like the Norton has
auto protect feature when it is enabled can scan the
files in your machine and can give you an Alert when
a virus or malicious script is found. Since many new
viruses are emerging day by day,
it is very particular that you update your antivirus
on a periodic basis from the corresponding sites so
that your Antivirus will be up to date.
Layer
2 - Personal Firewall
This
can be the second layer of defense. A firewall always
monitors the data packet both which goes in and out.
Based on a predefined rule set the firewall will either
allow or denies a request from the internet to access
your computer. You can customize the rule set based
on your requirements Most of the personal firewall available
today have something similar to IDS (Intrusion Detection
System) along with it. This capability helps to give
us alerts or screens when somebody tries to access our
computer from the internet. Many firewalls are available
free for personal use. Some of them are ZoneAlarm.Tiny
Personal Firewall, Zygate Personal Firewall etc.
Layer 3 - Updating Operating System & Applications
You
should also update the operating system so that loopholes
and vulnerabilities can be blocked. Microsoft always
gives patch or service packs for their operating system,
which you can update from Microsoft's site. This should
be done on a periodic basis so that this will protect
you from many of the vulnerabilities.
