A while back, I witnessed something that was amazing, yet very scary. Someone was using a laptop that hadn’t been connected to the internet in months so it was missing Windows and antivirus updates. They connected it to a public wireless network (like you find in coffee shops) and terrible events followed.

I watched as the notification balloons displayed the connecting status. As soon as Windows said “Connected,” the hard drive activity LED lit up and you could hear it working away. This is not a normal event. I had them disable their wireless so I could check to see what had happened.

First, I checked to see what was running so I could stop it. Well, the task manager was grayed out. So were many other common utilities. It took me a little bit to figure out what was happening and how to stop it, but after many, many hours, I was able to clean the computer.

It’s just amazing to me how quickly an unprotected computer can be infected. So the question is how do we protect our computers from viruses and other malicious programs? Well, security is like ogres and anyone that has seen Shrek knows what ogres are like… onions. Huh?

Shrek: Ogres are like onions.
Donkey: They stink?
Shrek: Yes. No.
Donkey: Oh, they make you cry.
Shrek: No.
Donkey: Oh, you leave ‘em out in the sun, they get all brown, start sproutin' little, white hairs.
Shrek: No! Layers. Onions have layers. Ogres have layers. Onions have layers. You get it? We both have layers.

Well, security also has layers. There isn’t one solution to solve everything. So we have to join multiple solutions together. Here’s some layers that we need to consider:

• Antivirus: This software is extremely important. It should always be running, checking everything that you download or tries to connect to you. If your antivirus asks you to let it update, please do so.
• Personal Firewall: A firewall keeps others from being able to connect to your computer. This includes network worms. Your connections are allowed and you can set it to accept connections from others that you trust. If you run Windows XP, you only have to install Service Pack 2 (Windows update) to get a firewall.
• Windows Updates: There isn’t one piece of software that is perfect. All of them have bugs that malicious people exploit. Every month, Microsoft releases updates. These updates typically address security issues. Microsoft doesn’t charge you for these so please get them.
• Spyware Cleaners: These are good to have in case you accidentally get spyware installed on your computer.
• You!: Your internet surfing habits also affect what types of things you get exposed to. Some web sites can install spyware and other garbage on your computer just by loading their web page.

Remember that security applications only work as well as you let them. If you never let them update, they become useless very quickly. Most antivirus applications are subscription based (typically a yearly fee). Remember to keep your subscription active.

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