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When it comes to home network security, it looks like things will get worse before they get better. But better – if not downright good – is just around the corner.
Most of the SOS calls you’re getting from friends and family are for spyware. PlumChoice , an online tech support company, credits spyware for 40% of its business. Phish attacks are on the rise, and now that ICANN’s approved the use of international top-level domains, phishers are having an easy time making fake URLs look real.
I added a Zyxel Homesafe Parental Control wireless router to my parents’ broadband PC at Christmas. On a recent visit, my dad says, “You know, that thing you did isn’t working anymore. The pop-ups are back.”
True, this isn’t a fight won by a single blow.
That’s why we’ve devoted much of this issue to the strategies, tactics and weapons you need to win the war – for yourself, users and the community. If the Internet suffers a devastating attack as predicted, we know it’ll probably be your dad or mine who unwittingly helps bring it about.
The good news? AOL provides security software to members for free. And new products might make all this just a bad memory. Electronic Lifestyle Integration’s $199 security appliance includes a $10-per-month managed service that handles the updates and monitoring for you. And GreenBorder’s new software isolates users’ Internet activity from the desktop, flushing all code, files and cookies on shutdown.
Speaking last fall at a Bentley College event, former White House Cybersecurity Advisor Howard Schmidt said, “We’ve learned how to make PCs easy to use but not safe. But it’s like driving and seat belts. First, people wouldn’t wear seat belts. Now they wear them, and we have laws to ensure they wear them.”
So for now, we need to remind our home users to wear their seat belts, or strap them in ourselves.
— Toni Kistner Editor tkistner@nww.com
Features
Keep out!
Our go-to guys share tips on keeping home users safe.
Stamp out scumware for good.
News
Sticky notes- Home network tools take center stage- Why they call it war driving- Start-up provides help for home tech emergencies
Out of the Box– Interlink LucidLink– Netgear Wall-Plugged Wireless Range Extender Kit– SimpleTech SimpleShare
Security chief — By Deb Radcliff
Phishers raise the bar on scamming
Tech spy — By Toni Kistner
Why HomePlug isn’t dead
Connection coach — By James Gaskin
Encrypting VoIP and other advice
Off the clock — By Keith Shaw
Sonos is music to our ears
