Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Staying Safe

In tech news last week we heard about yet another Microsoft security flaw, another critical patch for Internet Explorer. (But hey, you're using Firefox or Safari and don't care, right?)
       There were stories in the news a couple of weeks ago about the AOL/National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) Online Safety Study. Collectively we are doing somewhat better than a year ago at protecting our machines, but 'better' is still fairly dismal:
       "The study found that 81% of home PCs lack at least one of the three critical protections — updated computer virus software, spyware protection, and a secure firewall — necessary to help guard against viruses, spyware, hackers, and other threats. More than half (56%) of the participants either had no anti-virus protection or had not updated it within the last week, almost half (44%) did not have a properly-configured firewall, and four in ten (38%) lacked spyware protection. Yet, despite these findings, the large majority of users (83%) falsely believed that they were safe from online threats."
       The security specialists at CERT at Carnegie/Mellon University have a nice site on Home Computer Security.
      Redwood City Public Library's LibBlog is often a good source in general for incoming tech stories.

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