Select 'Print' in your browser menu to print this document. ©2004 LTN Page printed from: http://www.law.com/tech Back to Article PC Security 101 for Lawyers Brett Burney Special to Law.com 12-17-2004 Computer security is a blazing hot topic. Devastating viruses, ominous spyware, "phishing" scams, and ever-annoying spam relentlessly invade our otherwise peaceful PCs. People today are desperate to find tools and solutions that will help rid their digital lives of the onslaught of these malicious pests. Fortunately, there is help available to those who are willing to take a few minutes and learn the basic steps to protecting their PC. Every lawyer needs to learn PC-Internet security 101, and every IT professional who works with lawyers needs to teach it. Just like we take precautions in the real world to lock and protect our houses, we need to be vigilant when we go online. DANGER! DANGER! Hardly a day goes by without a new virus or malicious Windows exploit appearing in a news story. There is simply no way that average computer users can stay on top of the mind-numbing swirl of threats against their computers. Education, therefore, is the best defense we can raise. Everyone should be familiar with the concept of a computer virus; see a Webopedia.com definition of the term. They have been around a long time, although they become more and more sophisticated every year. Viruses commonly enter and infect a PC when the user opens an attachment to an e-mail. Viruses used to be the biggest concern for most computer users but now they are simply one menace in a group of programs called "malware," which is short for malicious software. Malware refers not only to harmful viruses but also other plagues, such as hijackers, spyware, adware and even the beloved Internet browser toolbars. Hijackers are the guilty parties that take control over parts of an Internet browser, such as your home page and search engines. Spyware applications can mischievously hide in a toolbar or shareware and transmit information over the Internet to someone else. The hard truth of the matter is that no PC is safe. Every PC that is connected to the Internet or a network is in danger of being compromised. Fortunately, there is a fail-safe solution that will guarantee your computer will never be infected by any of these dangerous threats -- disconnect your PC from the Internet and never, ever connect to it again. I could say the same for auto accidents. If you're afraid of getting in an accident, then don't ever ride in a car. I fully realize how ridiculous this sounds, but I hope it drives my point home. No one in the legal world would seriously give up the communication medium of e-mail or the research benefits of the Web. Disconnecting is not an option, so it's definitely time to start educating computer users on effective protection. CHANGING WORKPLACE The professional workplace has been changing. Attorneys no longer have to be sitting at their desks to do their work -- they can be sipping a latte at the local Starbucks while checking their e-mail, conducting research for their brief, and dialing into their voice mail. They also use their home PCs to connect to the firm's network. Supporting computers at a law firm is no longer a simple matter of protecting the workstations in an office environment; you must consider the dangers of remote computing from almost every angle. Things would be wonderful if PC security was solely in the hands of one IT professional who would always be aware of the latest virus or spyware threat and take the necessary precautions to protect the machines under their care. But alas, the biggest threat to PC security is the end-user. As stated above, attorneys don't have the time or patience to learn about the latest threats to computers and as a result, blissfully click on a link in an e-mail, or blindly say "yes" to a pop-up box that asks to install software on their machine. Sure there are very bad people out in the world who fiendishly enjoy hacking into people's computers and digging out personal information or credit card numbers. But the fact of the matter is that those people are only successful because there are computer users who won't take the time to protect themselves. All it takes is a few simple precautions to deter the majority of malevolent attacks against a computer. HELP IS ON THE WAY Fortunately, I have found a successful way to get computer users educated about PC protection -- use their home PC as a model. If you work in the IT profession in any way, then you've had someone ask you to help them fix their home PC. While in the past this might have meant something simple like plugging in their speakers for them, today it more often means that their computer is running extremely slow, their applications won't launch, or they have a slew of pop-ups invade their screen whenever they open Internet Explorer. This usually means they have some form of malware running amok in their system. Obviously, one of the first questions I ask is if they're using a broadband connection at home. More and more people today are ordering the "always-on" convenience of a cable or DSL hookup, which is prime breeding ground for malware. My first point then is to discuss installing a firewall on their computer. If they have a router for their home network, chances are good that it has some sort of preliminary firewall protection, but I still highly recommend a software firewall from Zone Labs' ZoneAlarm or Symantec's Norton products. Next I ask them about anti-virus software. I implore them to use a product from Symantec or McAfee to make sure that any e-mail message that comes into their system is inspected and quarantined if necessary. FIRING UP A FIREWALL I've always been a big fan of Zone Labs' products, and I highly recommend them -- even though the application interface can be a little daunting to an average computer user. Lately, I've been working with the new, comprehensive ZoneAlarm Security Suite 5.5, and I'm impressed. The ZoneAlarm Security Suite not only includes the award-winning firewall that ZoneAlarm is known for, it now offers exceptional antivirus protection and spam filtering. Unfortunately, not much changed on the interface side to make it easier for users to understand, but the new Suite is much smarter in automatically configuring itself to allow legitimate connections in and out of the computer. The full ZoneAlarm Security Suite is not cheap at $69.95, but I'm impressed enough to highly recommend it. If that's just a little too much money for you, ZoneAlarm Pro is only $49.95. It provides the best features of the firewall application. To make sure that people know that a firewall is actually doing what it's supposed to do, I direct them to a wonderful resource from Gibson Resource Center called ShieldsUp!. Not only does this page provide a wealth of information on how a firewall protects your computer, it has a wonderful scanner that tells you if there are any open doors that can be used by hackers. ShieldsUp! is highly regarded by many security professionals as the best way to check your PC for open doors. SPYING ON SPYWARE Probably the biggest question I get today is about spyware. People report that their computer is doing "funny things." And since they've heard about this creepy thing called spyware, they want to know what they can do about it. After many various attempts at trying to explain spyware and how to fix it, I happened upon this great article by columnist Steve Bass of PC World magazine. I especially recommend the part of the article entitled "My Recommendations." I feel that Steve does a great job of describing the fixes for a spyware-infested PC in his article to an audience that needs step-by-step treatment. I've sent several people to this site when they wailed about the plagues of spyware. They've found the site very helpful. NOT YOUR AVERAGE FLU VIRUS There have been a host of so-called "Internet security suites" that have appeared in the last couple of years because the average computer user wants to purchase one thing that will solve all of their computer malware problems. And while I think it is wiser to use a handful of the very best tools and utilities, I am impressed with the latest crop of these suites, including ZoneAlarm, mentioned above. Another product that enjoys rave reviews from CNET reviewers is the PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 package from Trend Micro. The PC-cillin Internet Security suite is an excellent antivirus application. Its scanning speed amazed me. With other antivirus utilities, I have to set them to run, then walk away while they slowly churn -- not very good for my productivity numbers. But PC-cillin Internet Security 2005 whizzed through my files in record time. In addition, PC-cillin Internet Security includes a firewall, a spam-fighting tool, a spyware scanner and a couple of other neat utilities for the low price of $49.95. That's a steal compared to other suites that cost more but offer the same tools. IT TO THE RESCUE Many people are familiar with the names Norton and McAfee -- which offer highly regarded security software products, comparable to those mentioned above. Norton Internet Security Suite 2005, from Symantec, costs $69.95, and McAfee's Internet Security Suite retails for $59.99. All of these packages are available for the regular consumer. The companies offer discounts when IT departments purchase several at a time. No one promises that the task of educating legal professionals about the risks involved with computer security is going to be easy, but it's definitely a necessary challenge. Installing security suites and educating users on how to use them must become a higher priority at law firms so that we can continue to minimize the risk of compromised information and PC downtime caused by malware. Brett Burney is the legal practice support coordinator at Thompson Hine, www.thompsonhine.com, in Cleveland, Ohio. He is a member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Law Technology News, and a frequent contributor. His e-mail address is Brett.Burney@ThompsonHine.com.