PC Maintenance and Security Lab

Section F. Using Firewalls
Although I use a firewall, I was unaware of some of the things firewalls don't do.
I was surprised to learn that firewalls don't block infected attachments or installments. I'll definitely share this with my colleagues since because we have had some issues in our company with people opening files they shouldn't have. It is really nice to have services like ShieldsUp that test your firewall. I was happy to receive a perfect score on Shieldsup.

Section G. Intrusion Detection and Prevention
I chose Intrusion Detection and Prevention because this is security software that I have never used. Anti-virus software matches signature files of malware, so new malware may not be detected until the a-v software is updated. Intrusion Detection and Prevention software differs in that it looks at the behavior of a file which allows for quicker detection of malware. Here are the things that that intrusion detection and prevention software looks for:
*Changes to programs that start with Windows
*The launching of new programs.
*Alteration of existing programs, including DLLs
*Changes to key areas of the Windows Registry
*Launching new processes or modifying existing processes.
*The installation of unwanted drivers
*Stopping key programs, processes and services.
*Installation of Browser Helper Objects
*Browser home page changes
Spybot's TeaTimer and WinPatrol were specifically mention in the module
This is a case of not knowing the right questions to ask. I never thought to search for this kind of software so I was never exposed to it. I see how it can be an integral part of your security system.

M. Helpful Web Site Resources
This tutorial tells you about PCPitstop and Gizmo Richards' Tech Support Alert webpages. PCPitstop seems more concerned with system optimization while Tech Support Alert lists and rates dozens of security related software. These are fantastic resources for those who want to learn about optimizing and securing your system. It's really nice to find sites like these that aggregate all this information together