McAfee Guard Dog User’s Guide
COPYRIGHT Copyright © 1999 Network Associates, Inc. and its Affiliated Companies. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form or by any means without the written permission of Network Associates, Inc. LICENSE AGREEMENT NOTICE TO ALL USERS: CAREFULLY READ THE FOLLOWING LEGAL AGREEMENT ("AGREEMENT"), FOR THE LICENSE OF SPECIFIED SOFTWARE ("SOFTWARE") BY NETWORK ASSOCIATES, INC.
(i.e., the required number of licenses would equal the number of distinct inputs to the multiplexing or pooling software or hardware "front end"). If the number of Client Devices or seats that can connect to the Software can exceed the number of licenses you have obtained, then you must have a reasonable mechanism in place to ensure that your use of the Software does not exceed the use limits specified for the licenses you have obtained.
5. Restrictions. You may not rent, lease, loan or resell the Software. You may not permit third parties to benefit from the use or functionality of the Software via a timesharing, service bureau or other arrangement, except to the extent such use is specified in the applicable list price or product packaging for the Software. You may not transfer any of the rights granted to you under this Agreement.
7. Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY, WHETHER IN TORT, CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, SHALL MCAFEE OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY CHARACTER INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, OR FOR ANY AND ALL OTHER DAMAGES OR LOSSES.
SOME COUNTRIES HAVE RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF ENCRYPTION WITHIN THEIR BORDERS, OR THE IMPORT OR EXPORT OF ENCRYPTION EVEN IF FOR ONLY TEMPORARY PERSONAL OR BUSINESS USE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THESE LAWS IS NOT ALWAYS CONSISTENT AS TO SPECIFIC COUNTRIES.
Table of Contents Chapter 1. Welcome to Guard Dog™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Guard Dog and the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 How Guard Dog works . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Guard Dog and your Internet Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 What Internet problems Guard Dog solves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents Responding to Guard Dog alert messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Using Browser Buddy to retrieve or store your Web site passwords .23 Using file encryption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Chapter 4. Customizing Guard Dog™ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Restarting the Interview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents Responding to a Virus Sentry alert message . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Why should I change my Virus Sentry settings? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 Keeping virus protection up-to-date . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57 Appendix A. Internet Security and Privacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Networks and the Internet . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Table of Contents Technical support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74 McAfee training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 1 Welcome to Guard Dog™ Guard Dog and the Internet In the last few years the Internet has changed from a communications network used almost exclusively by governments and universities to an information treasure house used by people of all ages and occupations. With an Internet account you can send electronic mail (e-mail) around the world in seconds, do research without leaving home, meet new friends in an online chat room, or shop without getting out of your bathrobe.
Welcome to Guard Dog™ To use all Guard Dog features, you must have an Internet connection through a local network or a modem. Some networks have an Internet connection that you can use by connecting to the network-either directly or through dial-up networking. If you don’t connect through a network, your computer must have a modem installed. You can establish an Internet connection through an Internet Service Provider (ISP) such as Netcom or Earthlink.
Welcome to Guard Dog™ • Search Filter prevents search information that you request at one Web site from being passed along to the next site you visit. Without Search Filter, your browser can transfer your search request information from one Web site to another without your knowledge. Security threats • Gatekeeper lets you control the programs that have access to your Internet connection. Programs on your PC can be programmed to access to the Internet without your consent.
Welcome to Guard Dog™ • New interface Easier to use—you don’t have to know a lot about the inner workings of your PC and the Internet. • Guard Dog password Protects the information and settings in Guard Dog from being viewed or changed. It also prevents others using your computer from sending out information that you specify as private. • Multimedia introduction tutorial Walks you through Guard Dog’s features and teaches you the facts about today’s Internet threats.
Welcome to Guard Dog™ How this book is organized This User’s Guide is designed to get you using Guard Dog quickly. Read chapters 1 and 2 to get Guard Dog installed and running. You need only read Chapters 3, 4, 5, and 6 if you want further information on customizing Guard Dog or using specific features. If you are new to the Internet or just want to find out more about Internet privacy and security issues, read Appendix A. Table 1-1.
Welcome to Guard Dog™ 3. Click one of the following: • Contents displays the topics in the Help file organized in book form. • Index lets you search for specific information. To display help for a screen 1. In the Guard Dog Home screen, click Help. 2. Click Help for this screen to display a help topic that explains what you can do in or what you may need to know about the current Guard Dog screen.
2 2 Installing Guard Dog™ Most installation problems are a caused by having programs running while you try to install new software. Even if the installation appears normal, you won’t be able to run the new program. To avoid installation problems, close all open programs before you install Guard Dog, including programs that run in the background, such as screen savers or virus checkers. System requirements To use Guard Dog you need: • IBM PC or compatible computer running Windows 95 or Windows 98.
Installing Guard Dog™ NOTE: America Online users need AOL’s 32-bit Winsock to use Guard Dog. To upgrade from a 16-bit Winsock, contact America Online. Installing Guard Dog After closing all open programs, you are ready to install Guard Dog on your PC. Installation should go smoothly, however, if you do have difficulties, see “Troubleshooting installation problems” on page 9. To install Guard Dog 1. Close all open programs. 2. Insert the Guard Dog CD in the CD-ROM drive. 3.
Installing Guard Dog™ 8. After registration, you are asked if you want to install a limited subscription version of McAfee Software Oil Change™. To use Guard Dog’s Update feature, you must have Oil Change installed. Do one of the following: • Click Yes to install Oil Change (with a limited subscription). • Click No to install Oil Change later from the Guard Dog CD. For more information, see “Installing other software from the Guard Dog CD” on page 11. 9.
Installing Guard Dog™ 1. Click Start on the Windows taskbar, point to Programs, then Accessories, then System Tools, and click ScanDisk. 2. In the ScanDisk window, select Standard and Automatically fix errors (these are the default settings). 3. Click Advanced. In the Advanced Settings dialog box, make sure the following settings are selected: • Only if errors found • Replace log • Delete • Free 4. Ignore the other options, and click OK. Click Start. ScanDisk begins scanning your drive for errors.
Installing Guard Dog™ 7. Click Restart the computer, then click Yes in the Shut Down Windows dialog box to restart your PC. Step 3: Close other software Disable all software running in the background: 1. Hold down the Ctrl and Alt keys on your keyboard, and then press the Delete key once. The Close Program dialog box appears. 2. Click End Task for every item on the list except Explorer. 3. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until you’ve closed everything except Explorer. 4.
Installing Guard Dog™ 12 McAfee Guard Dog
3 Quick Tour of Guard Dog ™ 3 Guard Dog is a simple program to use. In fact, this one chapter covers the main things you need to know about using Guard Dog. You begin by watching the Guard Dog video, after which you must answer a few questions so that Guard Dog can effectively protect the sensitive data on your PC. Viewing the Guard Dog video After you install Guard Dog and restart your computer, Guard Dog plays its video.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Each interview screen either tells you about a Guard Dog feature, asks you to enter information, or asks you how you want Guard Dog to respond to certain situations. (Figure 3-1.) Figure 3-1. Guard Dog Interview screen. On each interview screen you can click Back to return to a previous screen or click Next to move to the next screen. In the final interview screen, you click Finish to save the settings you selected and close the interview.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ • Social Security number • Telephone number • E-mail address • Other financial numbers such as bank account, brokerage account, credit card, phone card, and so on. • Any Web site login names and passwords that you want to store in Password Manager. • For optimal protection by Identity Protector, include all dashes (such as Social Security number, bank account numbers, brokerage accounts, and ATM cards).
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ If you choose not to create an Emergency Disk at this time, you can create one later by running CheckUp. Guard Dog also reminds you every four months to create or update your Emergency Disk. You can also create an Emergency Disk by running the Interview and clicking Next until you reach the Emergency Disk page.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Using the Guard Dog Home screen After the interview ends, Guard Dog displays its Home screen (Figure 3-2). Figure 3-2. Guard Dog Home screen. Table 3-1. Actions you can perform in the Home screen To do this Click this Run a complete check of your PC for privacy, security, and virus problems. CheckUp Adjust the CheckUp settings. Options, then click CheckUp Settings Adjust the Guard Dog general or alert settings.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Table 3-1. Actions you can perform in the Home screen (Continued) To do this Click this Launch the Guard Dog help file. Help, then either Contents and Index or Help for this screen Display your Guard Dog version number. Help, then About Read virus descriptions. Help, then Virus Encyclopedia Close the Guard Dog Home screen. Close button in the upper-right corner of the Guard Dog window. (This doesn’t affect the monitoring portion of Guard Dog, which continues to run.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Performing a CheckUp After completing the interview, you’ll want to find out how your PC may be at risk. CheckUp examines your PC for privacy, security, and virus problems and then guides you through fixing any problem it finds. If you are using the settings suggested by Guard Dog in the interview, you need only run CheckUp right after you install Guard Dog and then every month or so. If you reduce the level of protection, you should run CheckUp more frequently.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ 4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each problem that you want to fix. 5. When you have finished selecting all the fixes you want, click Close. Updating Guard Dog Guard Dog can keep up with new viruses and Internet threats when you update its program files and virus patterns over the Internet. Using McAfee Software Oil Change technology, you select the updates you want and they are downloaded to your PC and installed automatically.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ • Save the Log as a text file. • Clear the entries in the Log. NOTE: For step-by-step directions on working with the Log, see Guard Dog Help. What Guard Dog does while your PC is running While you use your PC, Guard Dog is on the lookout for potential privacy, security, and virus problems and takes action when it finds a problem. (Guard Dog uses the information stored in Protection Settings to determine what to monitor and how to react.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Responding to Guard Dog alert messages Guard Dog works as you work to guard your privacy and security. When Guard Dog detects a potential problem, it either handles the problem automatically or warns you with an alert message (Figure 3-5) based on your Guard Dog settings. Figure 3-5. Guard Dog alert messages warn you of potential problems Each alert message tells you what potential problem triggered the message and Guard Dog’s recommendation on how to respond.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Using Browser Buddy to retrieve or store your Web site passwords You can depend on Guard Dog to help you as you navigate the intricacies of the Web. When you connect to Web sites that require a name and password, you can use Browser Buddy to: • Drag your username or password from Password Manager and drop it on the login form for the Web site. • Add new password information for a Web site.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ 3. In the Username box, type the name by which you identify yourself to the Web site. On the Web site, this may correspond to User Name, Member ID, Member Name, Login ID, or Login Name, and so on. 4. In the Password box, type the password that confirms your identity. (In Password Manager, Guard Dog displays one asterisk for each character in your password.) 5. Click OK. To retrieve your username and password 1.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ Using file encryption File encryption translates a file into a “secret” code that makes the file unreadable. You must decode or decrypt the file before you can use it. The file encryption in Guard Dog is designed so that you can easily encrypt or decrypt all of the files that you designate for encryption in File Guardian. NOTE: Before you can encrypt a file, you must add it to the Guarded Files list in File Guardian.
Quick Tour of Guard Dog™ 26 McAfee Guard Dog
4 Customizing Guard Dog ™ 4 Restarting the Interview Using the Interview is the easiest way to change the settings for Guard Dog. If you want direct control over the settings, see “Changing Protection Settings”in the next section. To start the Interview 1. In the Guard Dog Home screen, click Options, then click Interview. 2. Follow the instructions on your screen. For more information, see “Using the Guard Dog interview” on page 13 or refer to Guard Dog Help.
Customizing Guard Dog™ When you turn off a feature, you turn off all Guard Dog monitoring for that feature. Figure 4-1. Protection Settings dialog box 3. To change individual settings for a feature, first make sure that the feature is turned on. • Select the feature in the list so that its option settings appear in the pane on the right. • Adjust settings for the feature as appropriate.
Customizing Guard Dog™ Preferences settings The Preferences settings affect all of Guard Dog. Table 4-1. Use To Load Guard Dog Start Guard Dog monitoring your PC for potential problems when Windows starts. Show Splash Screen Briefly display the Guard Dog logo when Windows starts. Use Password Protect your settings from unauthorized changes. Click the Change Password button to change an existing password.
Customizing Guard Dog™ 5. Select an event to schedule. See Table 4-1 on page 30 for a description of the types of items you can schedule. 6. The Add Schedule Wizard guides you through selecting an interval, date, and time for the event. 7. Click Finish to add the event to your Scheduler list. Table 4-1. List of events that can be scheduled Use To Schedule a Virus Check on all files Check for viruses in all files on all local drives, including floppy drives, CD-ROM, and removeable media drives.
Customizing Guard Dog™ Table 4-1. List of events that can be scheduled Use To Remind to create an Emergency Disk Display a reminder message. When you install Guard Dog, this event will be scheduled to occur every four months. Remind to check for Guard Dog updates Display a reminder message. When you install Guard Dog, this event will be scheduled to occur every month. To edit an event in the Scheduler list 1. Select the event in the Scheduler list. 2. Click Edit.
Customizing Guard Dog™ Changing CheckUp Settings Guard Dog can run a complete or partial CheckUp based on the selections you make in CheckUp settings. Table 4-2. CheckUp Settings Category Name of Check Description Guard Dog Emergency Disk Reminds you that you don’t have an Emergency Disk or that the disk you made may need updating. Guard Dog Updates Reminds you that Guard Dog may need updating.
Customizing Guard Dog™ Table 4-2. CheckUp Settings (Continued) Category Virus Check Name of Check Description Password Looks to see if you have any shared files/folders on your PC and guides you through password protecting them. Virus Check Looks on all selected drives or folders for virus-infected files that match the selection setting for What to scan at CheckUp in Virus Sentry. For more information, see “Why should I change my Virus Sentry settings?” on page 54.
Customizing Guard Dog™ 34 McAfee Guard Dog
5 5 Privacy Features Guard Dog’s Privacy features protect browsing and personal information that you don’t want to go out on the Internet. What Cookie Blocker does Cookies are small files that your Web browser stores on your PC at the request of a Web server. Each time you view a Web page from the Web server, your browser sends the cookie back to the server. These cookies can act like a tag, which lets the Web server track what pages you view and how often you return to them.
Privacy Features Responding to a Cookie Blocker alert message If during the Interview, you told Guard Dog to prompt you for action then it will display the Cookie Blocker alert message the first time a site tries to set a cookie. You can respond to the alert message in the following ways: Table 5-1. If you choose Guard Dog does this Accept always Accepts the cookie and adds the site to the Allowed list. The next time you go to that site, all cookies from that site are allowed automatically.
Privacy Features Why should I change my Cookie Blocker settings? If you want a good level of privacy protection without having to see any Cookie Blocker alert messages, use the recommended settings—always accept cookies from sites that you visit directly and decide on a case-by-case basis whether to accept cookies coming from sites that you haven’t visited directly. You may want to change your settings under the following circumstances: Table 5-2.
Privacy Features If more than one person is using your computer, make sure that you create a Guard Dog password. If the person using your computer doesn’t enter the Guard Dog password, Guard Dog automatically replaces any protected personal information sent to an unsecure site with the text, “xxxx.” For example, if your child tries to order the latest CD without entering your Guard Dog password, Guard Dog replaces your credit card number with “xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx.
Privacy Features Why should I change my Identity Protector settings? You may want to change your settings under the following circumstances: Table 5-4. If you Use this option Are the only person using your PC and you don’t want to be alerted every time. Enter all of the information that you want to prevent from going out and select Allow Always. Have more than one person using your PC.
Privacy Features Table 5-5. Your browser uses To URLs visited Display a list sites that you’ve visited using Web addresses. History Display a list sites that you’ve visited using Web site names. The files left on your PC can be viewed by others and depending on your browser’s settings, can take up many megabytes of disk space. If you accepted Guard Dog’s recommendation during the interview, Guard Dog displays the Web Trail Cleaner alert message when you close your browser.
Privacy Features Why should I change my Web Trail Cleaner settings? You may want to change your settings under the following circumstances: Table 5-7. If you Use this option Want to see exactly what files are being deleted. Prompt to Clean Up after closing Web browser. Want to remove all traces of your browsing. Automatically Clean Up after closing Web browser. (Clear the check box for “Keep bookmarked items.
Privacy Features 42 McAfee Guard Dog
6 6 Security Features Guard Dog’s security features safeguard your Internet connection and protect the files on your PC from prying eyes and destructive programs. What Gatekeeper does Gatekeeper lets you control what programs have access to your Internet connection.
Security Features You can respond to the Internet access alert message in the following ways: Table 6-1. If you choose Guard Dog does this This time only Allows the program to access the Internet this time only and warns you the next time it tries to access the Internet. Allow always Allows the program to access the Internet at any time. In Protection Settings for Gatekeeper, the program is added to the list of programs allowed to automatically access the Internet.
Security Features You can respond to the alert message in the following ways: Table 6-2. If you choose Guard Dog does this Allow always Lets the program start the other program. Not this time Prevents the program from starting the other program just this time. This time only Lets the program start the other program just this time. Any credit card number goes out message When a program sends a number resembling a credit card number over the Internet, Guard Dog displays an alert message.
Security Features Table 6-4. If you Use this option Want to be warned when a program starts up another program. Program tries to launch another program. Many newer programs will warn you before doing this, but older programs may not do so. For example, Internet Explorer 4 uses “helper programs” to display documents. Want to be warned before any number that resembles a credit card number is sent out over the Internet. Any credit card number goes out.
Security Features Responding to a File Guardian alert messages Guard Dog can display five different File Guardian-related alert messages. If you are using the default setting suggested by the Interview, you will see only the guarded file, ActiveX scan, ActiveX delete, and drive format messages. Guarded file alert message You tell File Guardian which files to guard on your hard drive and what programs can be used to open the files.
Security Features You can respond to the alert message in the following ways: Table 6-6. If you choose Guard Dog does this Not this time Stops the ActiveX control from running this time. If you change your mind, reload the page in your browser and click This time only the next time Guard Dog displays its ActiveX scan message. This time only Permits the ActiveX control to scan your drive just this time.
Security Features When Guard Dog detects a format command, it displays an alert message that tells you which program started the format command. If you don’t know why your disk is being formatted, note the name of the program in the alert message and then turn off your computer using its power switch. If the program has the letters OCX as part of its name, it is an ActiveX control. Do not restart your browser until you have run a Guard Dog CheckUp and removed the suspicious ActiveX control from your PC.
Security Features Table 6-8. If you Use this option Want to be warned when any program accesses your Windows password files (any file with the .pwl extension located in the Windows directory). Password files are accessed Windows functions that are password-protected use these password files. Want to prevent any program from opening a file or files. For further protection, you can have Guard Dog include the file when you encrypt files.
Security Features To add a password record 1. In the Guard Dog Home screen, click Options, then click Protection Settings. 2. Click Password Manager. (If the check box next to Password Manager is not selected, you won’t be able to add, edit, or remove records.) 3. Click Add. 4. Type the information that you want to store in the record. 5. Click OK. To edit a password record 1. In the Password Manager list, do one of the following: • Double-click the record you want to edit.
Security Features 52 McAfee Guard Dog
7 7 Using AntiVirus Features Guard Dog’s AntiVirus features can fix most existing virus problems and prevent them from recurring. For general information on viruses, see Appendix B. Looking for viruses with CheckUp Guard Dog comes set up to perform a virus check as part of CheckUp. It uses the settings in CheckUp Settings to determine which drives and folders to check (by default, your local drives—hard disks, floppy disks, and other removable media).
Using AntiVirus Features • Each month, Guard Dog runs a scheduled virus check that scans all files on your local disks. This check will catch viruses in files that don’t use standard program or document names. To find out how to schedule additional virus checks, see “Scheduling Guard Dog actions” on page 29. What Virus Sentry does Virus Sentry lets you set up AntiVirus protection so that it best protects the data on your PC.
Using AntiVirus Features You may want to change your settings under the following circumstances: Table 7-1. If you want to Use this option Check for virus infection before a program starts up. Program execution. Check an e-mail attachment before it is opened. E-mail file access. Check a file before it is opened. File Open. Check a file when it is moved or renamed. Move or Rename. Check a file if it is stored on a floppy disk or removable media.
Using AntiVirus Features Table 7-1. If you want to Use this option Want to change how Guard Dog reacts when a virus is found and what options are available for dealing with the virus. If a virus is found: Automatic Clean tries to remove the virus. If unsuccessful, it will prompt you to delete the file. This is the default setting. Automatic Delete deletes the file from your PC.
Using AntiVirus Features NOTE: If CheckUp has reported that your PC is virus free, you may want to turn off the Virus Check in CheckUp Settings to reduce the amount of time that it takes to complete your CheckUp. This does not disable automatic virus checking. As long as you have all automatic virus checking turned on (What to Check settings in Virus Sentry), you are not likely to get a new virus.
Using AntiVirus Features 58 McAfee Guard Dog
A Internet Security and Privacy A Whom do you trust? On the Internet, this question is difficult to answer—you cannot not see people face-to-face, and cannot be certain exactly who you are dealing with. This chapter provides some background information that will help you understand Internet security and privacy threats, and discusses strategies for using Guard Dog to protect yourself and your computer.
Internet Security and Privacy Why packets? Why go through all this trouble, breaking data down into packets? The answer lies in the origins of TCP/IP. TCP/IP, like the Internet itself, is a product of the Cold War. Originally developed by the United States Department of Defense, the Internet was designed to ensure secure communications, even with the multiple communications network failures anticipated during nuclear war.
Internet Security and Privacy NOTE: HTML is a set of commands designed to be interpreted by Web browsers. An HTML document consists of content (prose, graphics, video, etc.) and a series of commands that tell a Web browser how to display the content. Privacy and security on the Web Before the advent of the Web, Internet security usually posed a problem only for system administrators trying to keep meddlesome hackers away from their systems.
Internet Security and Privacy Privacy on the Web Who is snooping? Hackers are a breed of human being that thrive on gaining illegal access to computers in order to access, steal, and sometimes corrupt data. Many hackers are quite benign: Breaking into a secure system is a challenge and a thrill. But some computer hackers think that if they don’t care for someone or some organization, it is OK to break in to their computers and wreak havoc.
Internet Security and Privacy What can I do to keep my stuff safe? With sniffer in place, a hacker can intercept credit card numbers and other private information by capturing data transmissions, and then using pattern-matching algorithms to filter out the valuable information. Intercepted credit card info can be sold to criminals, intent on committing fraud. To avoid this problem, Web browsers incorporate encryption technology that cloaks information and makes it difficult to get at.
Internet Security and Privacy If SSL is so great, what is the problem? SSL is affected by a couple of problems. One problem is that not everyone has an SSL-enabled server or browser. Some Web administrators don’t want to use SSL because they have to pay for it, and it can also slow down server transactions. A more onerous problem that affects SSL is the way it is implemented. It turns out that some developers made incorrect assumptions about SSL, which means some older browser versions are less secure.
Internet Security and Privacy The simplest encryption systems use letter shifting, in which a message is encrypted by shifting every letter n letters later in the alphabet. For example, say A is changed to B, and B to C, etc. As long as the recipient knows how you shifted the letters, they can easily decrypt the message by reversing the process.
Internet Security and Privacy Java contains an internal security system that addresses security risks. ActiveX uses a different model, based on certificate authentication. Certificates contain information about who developed the ActiveX code. The idea here is that if you know who developed the code, it is safe to run it. Both security schemes offer a level of safety, but no one can yet promise that executable content is entirely safe.
Internet Security and Privacy Biological viruses have proven to be tenacious: modern medicine’s success in fighting viral infection has, so far, been rather limited. Fortunately, PC viruses differ from biological viruses in that they are easier to combat, once they are identified. Are viruses really that dangerous? Bear in mind that your chances of contracting a PC virus are slim, and your chances of contracting a truly vicious virus even more so.
Internet Security and Privacy How can my PC become infected with a virus? An important thing to keep in mind is that viruses are spread only when you run an infected application (or open an infected document file, in the case of macro viruses). A virus cannot travel over your telephone line and infect your PC on its own. You must first download or copy an infected application and then run the application in order to infect your PC with a virus.
Internet Security and Privacy • First, you can provide the information yourself when you register software or respond to Internet questionnaires.
Internet Security and Privacy Some stores may use the cookie information to record each time you connect to the site, what pages you use, and whether you click any of advertiser banners. Reputable sites provide privacy information to tell you how the information that is gathered is used. The above examples of cookies are clearly useful to you, at least in some way. However, other sites might download cookies just to collect information about your Internet use.
Internet Security and Privacy More information about security Two good starting places for information about Web security is the on-line help for Netscape Communicator and Microsoft Internet Explorer. National Institute of Health’s Computer Security Information site Good links to many security information sites. http://www.alw.nih.gov/Security/security.html Microsoft’s Security site White papers and descriptions of Microsoft’s security efforts http://www.microsoft.
Internet Security and Privacy 72 McAfee Guard Dog
B B Product Support BEFORE YOU CONTACT McAfee Software for technical support, locate yourself near the computer with McAfee Guard Dog installed and verify the information listed below: • Have you sent in your product registration card? • Version of McAfee Guard Dog • Customer number if registered • Model name of hard disk (internal or external) • Version of system software • Amount of memory (RAM) • Extra cards, boards or monitors • Name and version of conflicting software • EXACT error message as on scr
Product Support Technical support Support via the web McAfee is famous for its dedication to customer satisfaction. We have continued this tradition by making our site on the World Wide Web (http://www.mcafee.com) a valuable resource for answers to technical support issues. We encourage you to make this your first stop for answers to frequently asked questions, for updates to McAfee software, and for access to McAfee news and virus information.
Index A ActiveX controls 43 deleting files 46 protection against damage by 46 scanning hard drives 46 viruses and 68 alert messages 22 Cookie Blocker 36 File Guardian 47 ActiveX alert message 47 ActiveX delete alert message 48 drive format alert message 48 guarded file alert message 47 Gatekeeper 43 any credit card number goes out 45 harmful site 44 Internet access 43 program starts up another program 44 help for 22 Identity Protector 38 sounds for 29 Virus Sentry 54 Web Trail Cleaner 40 automatic actions 2
Index encrypting files 25 File Guardian and 46 using Scheduler 30 using shortcut menu 21 events, scheduling 29 F file encryption 25 File Guardian ActiveX alert message 47 ActiveX delete alert message 48 alert message 47 described 46 drive format alert message 48 encrypting and decrypting files 25 guarded file alert message 47 settings 49 files encrypting and decrypting 25 protecting from ActiveX controls 46 protecting with File Guardian 46 removing deleted files 30 scheduling encryption/decryption 30 Gua
Index indirect sites 35, 37 P Internet connection, protecting 43 Password Manager adding a new record using Browser Buddy 23 adding record to 51 deleting record 51 described 50 editing record 51 Internet privacy and security Guard Dog solutions 2 Interview 13 to 16 creating an Emergency Disk 15 J Java and viruses 68 K kids See multiple users and passwords L Log 20 login names 50 logo screen 29 M macro viruses 67 managing Web passwords 23 Master Boot Record viruses 67 menu, shortcut 21 messages See
Index Protection Settings changing 27 to 31 Cookie Blocker 37 File Guardian 49 Gatekeeper 45 Identity Protector 39 Password Manager 50 Preferences 29 Scheduler 29 Search Filter 41 Virus Sentry 54 Web Trail Cleaner 41 search information 41 secure connection 37 security threats 3 settings CheckUp 32 to 33 Cookie Blocker 37 File Guardian 49 Gatekeeper 45 Identity Protector 39 Scheduler 29 Search Filter 41 Virus Sentry 54 Web Trail Cleaner 41 Q shareware and viruses 68 question mark button 22 shortcut men
Index V Virus Sentry alert message 54 described 54 settings 54 viruses ActiveX and 68 e-mail attachments and 67 e-mail messages and 67 file and program 67 hoax 67 how dangerous? 67 how spread 66 Java and 68 macro 67 scheduling scans 30 threats 3 types of 67 updating list of 20 updating patterns with Scheduler 31 who creates them 66 W warnings See alert messages Web password management 23 Web sites harmful 43 storing login names and passwords 50 Web Trail Cleaner alert message 40 described 39 settings 41 W
