Inside Iowa State
August 25, 2000
Beware the Trojan Horse
There's more than just common viruses floating around on the Internet these days. There also are "Trojan Horses" and "buffer overflows" and "denial of service" attacks that can bring a company (or your) computer system to its knees. However, there are steps you can take to make your computer more robust in today's world of Internet interconnectivity, according to electrical and computer engineering professors Jim Davis and Doug Jacobson.
- Use a secure password. Good passwords are not found in the English dictionary, or a Spanish dictionary, or a computer geek dictionary for that matter. People wanting to gain access to your computer can use crack programs, password-generating programs that work from dictionaries, Davis said. A good password is six to eight characters long, comprising letters and numbers and is not a word in the dictionary. Nor should it be connected to information others know about you, like your phone number.
- The value of backing up. It's as old as "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." And just as often overlooked. Backing up all important programs and data will save time and money, should your system be attacked, Jacobson said.
- Hold the Java and the cookies. Disable Java and JavaScript in your Web browser unless you absolutely need it to access a Web site. Also have your computer warn you before accepting "cookies."
- Scanners and firewalls. Get a good virus scanner, which checks all of the files on a computer to see if there are viruses, and be careful what you download and run on your computer. Personal firewall software will help to protect you when you are surfing the Internet.
- Exercise common sense. Take time to read and understand the privacy policies of any Web site to which you provide information. Many sites collect and disseminate information. A reputable site will publish its privacy policies.
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