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| Beware PCs bearing unwanted Christmas gifts |
| Wednesday, December 15, 2004 at 00:04 by Rich Kavanagh |
Computer security specialist Sophos is warning those who receive new computers this Christmas to take time to ensure that their PCs are secured before connecting to the Internet.
Many PCs on the high street come with software which was produced several months ago, so their security patches are out of date, while anti-virus software, often bundled with a home computer, is unlikely to provide out-of-the-box protection for recent viruses. Last month alone, 1,300 new viruses were identified, so protection that is just a couple of months old could seriously compromise computer security.
Carole Theriault, Security Consultant at Sophos said,
"The latest PC or snazzy laptop will top many people's Christmas lists this year, and there's an assumption that an off-the-shelf computer is ready to plug and play. Many people do not realise that the first task after unwrapping a PC should be to check that the system is properly protected against a whole host of threats: are the latest security patches installed? Is there a firewall in place? Is the computer running anti-virus software?"
Without these security elements in place, a computer can become a sitting duck as soon as it is connected to email or the Internet. We reported back in August that an un-patched Windows PC connected to the Internet on a high speed connection will get infected within 16 minutes.
"I've seen cases where a whopping 38MB of security patches needs to be downloaded onto a brand new PC, a task that could take from dusk 'til dawn for users with a dial-up modem connection," continued Carole. "But updating security is vital; a virus or successful phishing attack would be a very unwelcome present."
Sophos also warns computer users not to let their guard down during the festive period.
"Safe computing is an issue all year round, but in the run up to Christmas, many people are entering into the holiday spirit. It's all too easy to click on an e-card or open a joke program, but a moment's entertainment could lead to hours of misery," added Theriault.
Sophos have published a best practice guide for safe computing.
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| I do not believe either Dell or HP would be so simple. You must be talking about some quickies, such as AOL. |
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| Even Dell software will be 30 days out of date by the time you get the PC.
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What the warning really means is:
"To secure such a PC, repartition and format the hard drive and install FreeBSD or Linux." |
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