Byte by Bite

CIS can help keep your computer secure

by Marv Dealy

Included are every program installed on your computer, along with their serial numbers and keys, as well as information about your hardware, CPU, operating system, machine type, installed RAM and lots more stuff.

We’ve used BeLarc in my shop but I have to admit until Jim’s email I hadn’t run a current check on my aging Toshiba Satellite laptop. I downloaded the newest version and ran it and found all the Microsoft security updates were up to date as was the computer’s virus protection.

My CIS benchmark score however only hit 3.13 out of 10—what the heck does that mean? CIS is the Center for Internet Security and is a non-profit whose members “develop and encourage the widespread use of security configuration benchmarks” (http://www.cisecurity.org/charter.html) which means practically speaking that they’ve devised a way to look over your computer and see how safe it is from outside attacks and show you how to set it right.

BeLarc reported that there were a bunch of security-related settings that could be changed to give much better protection. My first failing grade concerned the password used to log into my account on the Toshiba. It failed both because it hasn’t been changed recently and is only 13 characters long.

Then there’s the frequency with which you change your passwords. If you don’t change your password from time to time, it becomes less secure. If you use the same password for your computer, your ATM personal identification number, your home or office burglar alarm, your gun safe lock, and the lock on the liquor cabinet, you can be sure your kids know that password by now.

When you do change passwords on your PC, remember you need to change the password for each account to meet the CIS criteria. And when you pick a new one, avoid the following alleged to be the 10 most popular password choices by one Stuart Brown at http://www.modernlifeisrubbish.co.uk/top-10-most-common-passwords.asp

In tenth place, Thomas. Then arsenal, fllowed by monkey, Charlie, qwerty, 123456, letmein, Liverpool, password; the top password was “password,” the equivalent to looking for the “any” key on your keyboard.

Note that the writer does have a Brit slant, which explains Liverpool as a choice; a local sample of passwords might include favorite baseball or other sports teams. You’d be surprised how may devices used for bouncing Internet signal here and there come with a factory default of password—try it next time you’re near a wireless hotspot. Admin is another all time favorite as is asdf. But I wonder about the wisdom of using arsenal as a password for your carry-on bags.

Enough about passwords and back to the BeLarc report. I discovered that in addition to my password policies needing attention, so did areas in the audit and account policies, event log policies, anonymous account restrictions, security options, additional security settings, available services, user rights, other system requirements, and file and registry permissions.

These nine categories then list an astounding 154 items that each needed attention. In my case, about half them were checked green for good and half had a red x meaning click here to see what to do. That’s another good part of BeLarc, it doesn’t just tell you “hey, idiot, check stuff under the hood” it actually makes suggestions in pretty straightforward language as to what to do. Don’t get into these settings changes if you’re faint of heart, screw things up and you’ll be worse than before.

Second Friday Freebie—CCR #17 Jim Tuite went out of his way and sent along several other Friday Freebie suggestions, and you should do the same if you’ve got one to share. I did succumb to one more of Jim’s suggestions, the Microsoft Calculator Plus.

It’s a free download but only if your computer passes the Windows Validation Test which checks to see if the copy of your Windows made Bill Gates any money. If it didn’t, you can’t download this freebie and several other Microsoft goodies. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/globaldev/outreach/dnloads/calcplus.mspx or just search for calcplus at Google.

Calculator Plus brings a couple of nifty features, one being the ability to switch to scientific mode and the other to make conversions between measurements for area, temperature, volume and lots more, while including all the features that come with the regular calculator that comes with Windows.

USB turntable—Several folks have asked about the turntable that allows recording records onto CDs or DVDs. Writes reader Larry Steuben, Sonora, “A while back you had a column in the Union Democrat that mentioned a turntable for about $150 that could play analog LP albums (remember "records"?) into a computer so they could be burned onto a CD.”

“I would like to use my record collection more, but just about the only things I play are CDs, so I'd like to find out about this turntable. Unfortunately, your advice to search the Union Democrat webpage is lots friendlier than their webpage is. Can you tell me the date of the column in which you printed the name of the company that produces the turntable.”

“Many thanks in advance (and thanks for the great column!)”

Thanks for them words Larry, but to paraphrase Erle Stanley Gardner “It’s a damn good column. If you have any comments, write them on a check.” As for the column I wrote about the USB player, I’m not sure right now but if you go to Cyberguys.com and search for USB turntable, you’ll go direct to their listing for the ION record player. It’s apparently not available quite yet, at least at Cyberguys, who say availability is mid-September.