While a regular backup to floppy, CD, or zip drive will save your files, wouldn’t it be great if you could create an exact copy (a drive image) of your hard disk? That means backups of all your files, programs, and user settings. This would definitely save you time when it came to reloading. Acronis may be able to help.

Acronis True Image 9.0 is a robust disk-imaging utility software that copies the entire contents of your hard drive including data and operating system files, personalized settings, and more, onto another disk or disk partition. Its layout is easy to use and navigate. It also includes wizards which can walk you through both backing up and restoring your computer. Highlighted features include:

• Secure Zone — allows you to save data to a special hidden partition located on your hard drive which would eliminate the need to purchase an extra hard drive.

• PC Cloning — you can upgrade to a new system disk without needing to reinstall the operating system and applications, or configure user settings.

• Acronis Snap Restore - lightening-speed restore of your PC from an image. You can start working in seconds while your system is still being restored.

Acronis provides a free test-drive of its product and a 30-day money back guarantee. When you are ready to purchase, you can either download for $49.99, or if you so desire, order a boxed version for $59.99. With Acronis True Image Home 9.0, you can rest easy that your family pictures, personal documents, tax returns, resumes, and other important information will not be lost forever.

Content filter are fast getting implemented in corporate, government, and school sectors. Most organizations today have their own internal e-mail infrastructure. Many of them also implement other communications systems such as Instant Messaging (IM) and peer-to-peer (P2P) collaboration software such as Microsoft Groove. These technologies have had a tremendous impact in recent years, greatly simplifying collaboration and globalization efforts. But they come with a price, which is not limited to the price of lost productivity. E-mail, IM and P2P communications are all popular replication systems for malicious software or malware. They can also enable other security threats such as phishing and social engineering. Because of this, many organizations have disallowed P2P and IM systems. However this is not always possible and can sometimes cause more harm in lost productivity. This is why organizations should have a content filter in place.

Implementing content filters will limit the possiblity of an network attack. Content filters examine network traffic as it flows to determine whether it contains an attack. Today there are a number of content filters designed specifically for different types of communication including e-mail, IM and P2P collaboration systems. These content filters are able to prevent malicious use of systems while still enabling the rich work environment that helps boost the productivity of today’s tech-savvy user.

They are many types of content filter providers available. It’s to your advantage to shop around. Content filters are not by any means cheap. Some are very expensive in the range from $30,000 to $60,000 per year. Most content filter providers provide their own content server or network device. Some only provide content software that you could install on your server. Again, you need to evaluate what you have and the cost and risk to have your traffic filter or not.

Botnets are networks of computers that hackers have infected and grouped together under their control to propagate viruses, send illegal spam, and carry out attacks that cause web sites to crash.

What makes botnets exceedingly bad is the difficulty in tracing them back to their creators as well as the ever-increasing use of them in extortion schemes. How are they used in extortion schemes? Imagine someone sending you messages to either pay up or see your web site crash. This scenario is starting to replay itself over and over again.

Botnets can consist of thousands of compromised machines. With such a large network, botnets can use Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) as a method to cause mayhem and chaos. For example a small botnet with only 500 bots can bring corporate web sites to there knees by using the combined bandwidth of all the computers to overwhelm corporate systems and thereby cause the web site to appear offline.

Jeremy Kirk, IDG News Service on January 19, 2006, quotes Kevin Hogan, senior manager for Symantec Security Response, in his article “Botnets shrinking in size, harder to trace”, Hogan says “extortion schemes have emerged backed by the muscle of botnets, and hackers are also renting the use of armadas of computers for illegal purposes through advertisements on the Web.”

One well-known technique to combat botnets is a honeypot. Honeypots help discover how attackers infiltrate systems. A Honeypot is essentially a set of resources that one intends to be compromised in order to study how the hackers break the system. Unpatched Windows 2000 or XP machines make great honeypots given the ease with which one can take over such systems.

A great site to read up on this topic more is The Honeynet Project (http://project.honeynet.org) which describes its own site’s objective as “To learn the tools, tactics and motives involved in computer and network attacks, and share the lessons learned.”

Wireless networks have truly changed the way we do business. Where would we be without wireless network today? So what is wireless and how do we make it secure? Wireless utilize radio waves and/or microwaves to maintain communication channels between computers. Wireless networking is a more modern alternative to wired networking that relies on copper and/or fiber optic cabling between network devices.

A wireless network offers advantages and disadvantages compared to a wired network. Advantages of wireless include mobility and elimination of unsightly cables. Disadvantages of wireless include the potential for radio interference due to weather, other wireless devices, or obstructions like walls. Network administrators need to take special consideration when setting up their wireless network security. From a security perspective, network administrator should look for the following features:

• Support for Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA) and WPA2 to protect the wireless traffic

• Support for Remote Authentication Dial-In User Service (RADIUS) authentication so that you can use your centralized authentication system to provide strong, integrated authentication

• Support for MAC address filtering to limit which clients can access your network (great for smaller networks)

Wireless networks are now becoming more mainstream than ever. Wireless LANs now travel at Ethernet speeds with a greater range and built-in security. Wireless data networks are now providing Internet coverage to many of the large metropolitan areas. Businesses of all sizes and disciplines are now seizing upon the advantages provided by wireless networks. This growth will continue to increase in step with the growing mobile workforce. Stay on top of wireless security and your network will be limited to attacks.

In 2005, Computer Economics released a report on malware. The good news was that for the first time since 2002, the total worldwide financial losses from malware actually declined to a mere $14.2 billion. The bad news was that the nature of malware was changing from overt threats to more focused, covert attacks. This definitely is not great news for the average computer user just trying to keep up with the hundreds of malware programs that bombard us daily.

It’s not an easy task keeping malware out of your computer system. In order to accomplish this, you need a strong antivirus program. One such program that can deliver the goods is ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite 6 from Zone Labs. Zone Labs is one of the most trusted brands in Internet Security for good reason. Their product, simply put, kicks serious malware gluteus maximus.

ZoneAlarm has received more review recommendations that any other Internet-security software suite because of its superb firewall and antivirus protection. It blocks pop-up ads, protects against identify theft and provides adequate spam filters that are flexible. It even beats the market leader, Norton Internet Security, which is often criticized for excessive system drag.

Its newest version includes these additional features:

• Triple Defense Firewall to prevent spyware from sending your information across the Internet. It also makes your computer invisible to anyone on the Net.

• Smart Defense Advisor which can automatically adjust your security settings for maximum protection against the latest virus and spyware outbreaks.

• Advanced Identify and Privacy Protection to prevent your personal data from leaving your computer without your approval.

The bonus for the average user who cringes at the idea of setting-up one of these systems is that the interface is easier to understand and use in comparison to most if its competitors. If you choose to venture beyond the out-of-the-box default settings, and install a more elaborate filtering, know that this will require some additional time to set up on your part.

Overall, ZoneAlarm Internet Security Suite is a user-friendly, comprehensive security solution that will have your computer safe from Internet hazards and cyber criminals within minutes of installation.

One of the biggest threats to computer users on the Internet today is malware. So what is malware? Malware or malicious software are computer viruses that have been around for decades. They are the most common form computer viruses. Originally written and distributed as proof-of-concept code, today they take on much more sinister motives. Some virus writers are paid to spread their code. Others conduct attacks against opposing political or religious organizations. And some attack for no other reason than the challenge. Malware attacks clients in a variety of forms: viruses and worms, Trojan horses, spyware and rootkits. Malware can hijack your browser, redirect your search attempts, serve up nasty pop-up ads, track what web sites you visit, and generally screw things up. Malware programs are usually poorly-programmed and can cause your computer to become unbearably slow and unstable in addition to all the other havoc they wreak.

Computers can get infected by malware in several ways. Programs like Kazaa, iMesh, and other file sharing programs seem to be the biggest bundlers of malware. These malware programs usually pop-up ads, sending revenue from the ads to the program’s authors. Others are installed from websites, pretending to be software needed to view the website. Still others, most notably some of the CoolWebSearch variants, install themselves through holes in Internet Explorer like a virus would, requiring you to do nothing but visit the wrong web page to get infected.

The safest and perhaps easiest way to prevent malware is understanding what you are installing and what you are accessing on your computer. Having a good understanding about malware with some common sense will help you save time and money in the long run.

Be cautious when browsing the internet. If something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Any “hot deals” had better come from a trusted source. If a warning starts flashing on your computer, look closely to see if it’s a legitimate message from Windows or just an animated image in a web browser. Don’t just click on the animation banner for the sake of just clicking it. Ask yourself what is the banner advertising for? By taking good precaution and using common sense, you can limit yourself to malware attacks.

Cloudmark Desktop, formerly known as SpamNet and SafetyBar, uses a unique community-based filtering process. This community-based filtering system relies on users to report any new spam. Within minutes of a spammer being reported, they are placed on a blacklist. At that point, no other member will receive that particular spam. Cloudmark also applies the same basic process to phishing email scams.

What is interesting is how Cloudmark creates a digital reputation model of reporting spam. Each user starts with a neutral reputation. A user’s reputation will rise if they are among the first to identify undesirable content. On the flip side of the coin, a user’s reputation falls when they falsely reports spam. The result is a system that is automated, highly scalable and resistant to tampering.

An added bonus is that because the software doesn’t depend upon the user to configure its settings, it installs in minutes and is easy to use. Cloudmark blocks over 98% of spam from reaching your inbox and boasts over one million users worldwide.

If an attacker has logical (network) or even keyboard/mouse access to a computer, their interactions are limited by the OS and other security controls that are probably in place. Factors such as configuration management, malware scanners and access control can continue to hinder this attacker.

But once the attacker has access to the physical computer the situation changes. Intruders can now compromise data on the hard drive, replacing the OS or application software with his own software. He can manipulate the configuration of the OS or security applications. The attacker can even install hardware-based keystroke loggers or other security-defeating mechanisms.

It is crucial to the security of your assets that you protect them from an attacker’s physical access. This is true for all of your assets such as servers, clients and mobile computers, as well as other assets such as employees and buildings.

Phishing (pronounced as “fishing”) is defined as the act of sending an email to a recipient falsely claiming to have an established, legitimate business. The intent of the phisher is to scam the recipient into surrendering their private information, and ultimately steal your identity.

It is not at easy as you think to spot an email phishing for information. At first glance, the email may look like it is from a legitimate company. The “From” field of the e-mail may have the .com address of the company mentioned in the e-mail. The clickable link even appears to take you to the company’s website, when in fact, it is a fake website built to replicate the legitimate site.

Many of these people are professional criminals. They have spent a lot of time in creating emails that look authentic. Users need to review all emails requesting personal information carefully. When reviewing your email remember that the “From Field” can be easily changed by the sender. While it may look like it is coming from a .com you do business with, looks can be deceiving. Also keep in mind that the phisher will go all out in trying to make their email look as legitimate as possible. They will even copy logos or images from the official site to use in their emails. Finally, they like to include a clickable link that the recipient can follow to conveniently update their information. A great way to check the legitimacy of the link is to point at the link with your mouse. Then, look in the bottom left hand screen of your computer. The actual website address to which you are being directed will show up for you to view. It is a very quick and easy way to check if you are being directed to a legitimate site.

Finally, follow the golden rule. Never, ever, click the links within the text of the e-mail, and always delete the e-mail immediately. Once you have deleted the e-mail, empty the trash box in your e-mail accounts as well. If you are truly concerned that you are missing an important notice regarding one of your accounts, then type the full URL address of the website into your browser. At least then you can be confident that you are, in fact, being directed to the true and legitimate website.