***Going Wireless? Take Steps To Secure Your Computer First -Or You May Find You Have Uninvited Visitors.

During the past year, I suffered two Windows system crashes and found myself combating numerous viruses and PC attacks. No matter what I did, or how often I updated my virus protection software and made sure my firewalls were intact, I woke up many mornings to find that yet another virus had invaded my computer.

When my last crash occurred, I nearly lost it! It happened on a busy work day and left me feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed. I knew that 1) it was going to cost me time and money to get up and running again and 2) I needed to do something to stop it from reoccurring. I asked a colleague for advice, and on his recommendation, I contacted a security expert hoping he could tell me what I was doing wrong –and what I needed to do to stop it from happening again!

I believed I was doing all I could as a conscientious computer user, updating my virus protection at least daily and making sure my firewalls were always working. As it turns out, I wasn’t doing such a great job. Not because I was lax at doing my duty – but rather because I was unaware that my laptop was exposing me to unknown dangers.

According to Albert Whale, Senior Consultant and President of ABS-computer Technologies, “While everyone likes the convenience of the wireless routers to access the Internet, few are aware of the dangers of not using the proper security (or any of the security which is built into the wireless routers). While wireless routers offer us the convenience of using our computers without cables -there is great potential for others to gain access to our internet connection without our knowledge.”

Whale, a longtime security expert, founded his own company and developed such programs as SpamZapper – (a service that eliminates spam) and Wireless Sentry to guard against hackers. SpamZapper was Whale’s brainchild, a program he created after he began receiving over a thousand spam messages a day, which resulted from his being a subscriber to a number of mailing lists.

While Whale worked to develop better spam fighting tools, he also turned his efforts to helping law enforcement agencies better educate companies about what’s known in the industry as Drive by Hackers, or War Drivers. After installing the Wireless Sentry for a corporate customer, Whale decided to investigate the security in his local community to see how prevalent security lapses were. His findings were astounding.

Even though the manufacturers all include specific instructions for consumers to secure their wireless routers, only one of his neighbors actually had any security enabled on it! The rest of the wireless users in his community permitted open access to their wireless network, unwittingly providing access to their PCs and all the personal information stored on them.

“If you have an internet connection with your cable, telephone or local internet service provider and use a wireless router, (such as Linksys or D-Link brand, for example), which permits you to use your personal laptop to roam around your home cable free, you may have invited strangers into your home without knowing it.”

Whale uses the following analogy to demonstrate why our PCs need multiple layers of protection.

“When you protect your home at night (or better yet when you go on vacation), do you just close the door?

Do you use the lock on the door? Do you use the Lock and Deadbolt?

Some of us have several of these, including a message that warns of either an attack dog or a familiar saying like 'these premises are protected by Smith and Wesson'.

All of these steps add additional layers to the security of your home.

When you add a wireless router or access point to your home or office
network, you need to have multiple layers of security protecting the door into your computer.”

What happens when you travel with your laptop?
Using your laptop in public areas that provide free wireless connectivity is also a concern. Unless you take steps to protect your laptop, and make sure you have several layers of firewall protection, anyone at the local coffee shop, airport or hotel room can gain access to your personal information.

So what can we do?
Whale offers this tip…”Remember, security is not something that you can install, and then be done with. For proper protection, your security needs have to be monitored and adjusted. This year, make sure that you spend five extra minutes securing your Internet Connection.”

If you are like me – and aren’t sure how to properly secure your laptop, save yourself a lot of aggravation and call someone who does. Obtaining the proper tools necessary to secure your connections can help prevent uninvited guests from gaining access to your personal information. Whale even offers a free firewall for laptops and PCs, which is reported to be the same tool that international security professionals spend thousands of dollars for. For more information on the free firewall you can reach him at aewhale@abs-comptech.com.

I’m happy to report that ever since ABS took on the responsibility of eliminating spam and protecting my PC, I have been virus free and my fear of turning on my computer each morning has been replaced with peace of mind. Now that's priceless and worth sharing...