So exactly who the hell am I? Well I am an IT contractor who focuses on network design and engineering as well as security. I am in the process of completing my CEH (Certified Ethical Hacker) certification, and ultimately I want to be a CISSP. I am Microsoft Certified in various topics, along with Cisco and Linux. What does this mean to you? Nothing, all that you need to remember is that “Oh! Steve is that geek who writes on Sparklewhore.”

Computers and security in general scare the hell out of people. Not everyone is a computer expert. While some of you know quite a bit, others know only how to read email, post on a few forums, and access NF. The truth is, security and computers can be complex, but only if you allow them to be. The best advice I can offer you right now with regard to security is this, patch now, patch often, and update constantly. In better terms, what I mean is that if a program you use on the computer has a “check for updates” option. You should use it. Windows has “Windows Update” and “Microsoft Update” you NEED to use them monthly at the least, and always enable the automatic update options.

There are lots of so called experts what will scare the hell out of you with news and stories of updates gone wrong. For example, lots of news sites and forums reported on some of the issues with Vista and Service Pack 1 when it was released. There was a lot of advice given to people to avoid updating. The same advice is given on Patch Tuesday (The day Microsoft releases monthly security patches for Windows), where people are told to disable auto updates and not to install them.

What is missing from this advice is that almost all updates can be un-installed if the break something, and as was the case with Vista and Service Pack 1, most of the reported issues will never affect the entire populous rather only a small few will experience problems. Most of the attacks online, and Malware (Malware is defined as being a Virus, Trojan, or downloader that installs or causes malicious activity on your computer.) take aim at systems that are not fully patched. So when you got that Virus, it could very likely be because you disabled Automatic updates, and missed a critical patch for Internet Explorer that would have protected you.

I can cover as many or as few topics as you want. However, I will make sure to cover what you ask me too. I am a geek who is here to help you, not ramble aimlessly to see my writings appear online. If you have a question; Internet related, security related, or computer related, then ask me. You can use the comments to do so or email Lara.

I look forward to seeing what you have to say.
-Steve

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