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Security is too important to leave to chance.
  technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983

Office PC safety: How to check the computer you use


Aug. 28, 2002


By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2002, The Post-Standard

   Each time I write about Internet security, I tell you what you can do to make your home computer safer. But what about the PC you use at the office?
   Office computers are even more vulnerable than home computers. Office PCs have three liabilities:
   Many of them are connected to the Internet all day long, making them much more vulnerable to hackers, viruses and spyware.
   Most are seldom maintained properly. Its a rare office where somebody stops by and spends an hour once a week checking for errors and fixing minor problems on each computer. (Example: A lot of home users defrag their disk drives now and then. When's the last time you saw somebody do that at the office?)
   They're much more likely to get rough handling. People who use PCs at the office usually don't own them, don't pay for them directly and don't give them the kind of TLC that computers -- especially Windows PCs -- require.
   There are exceptions, of course. Big companies sometimes spend a lot of time and money keeping their desktop computers safe and secure. Some small companies do that, too. But far too many companies, large or small, leave their office PCs unprotected.
   The problem, as so many of us already know, is primarily a Windows dilemma. Windows 95, 98 and Me, the three older versions of Windows, weren't designed to be safe from hackers and viruses. (Microsoft didn't consider it important when those versions were designed, and didn't change the software later when it had the chance.) Many offices use those versions.
   Windows 2000, Windows NT and Windows XP are safer in some ways, but most of the changes that make them more secure require extra knowledge and training -- something missing among many of the people who take care of office PCs, especially in small companies. And viruses are a bane to all versions, not just to the older ones. All versions of Windows need antivirus software just as surely as every driver needs automobile insurance.
   So if you use a Windows PC at the office, do yourself and your company a favor. Do a reality check. See if you can find out if your office computer is running updated antivirus software. If it is, you can be almost positive that your company cares about the other stuff, too.
   You might see an icon in the taskbar tray, near the clock, representing a virus checker. (That's what my office PC has. It's very reassuring.) Or you might see a notice when you boot up that a certain kind of antivirus program is running.
   On the other hand, if you find that your office PC doesn't have any antivirus software, you can assume it's naked in all other ways, too. Nobody would take all the other protective measures and leave out virus protection.
   If you suspect that your company is rudderless in the PC storm, bring the matter up with your boss. Be nice. Everybody's in the same boat. We're all dumdums in one way or another when it comes to computer security. If your boss does nothing about it, take the problem to the next level up. Clip out this newspaper column or save the Web version and show it to anyone who tries to put you down. Security is too important to leave to chance.
   Next: Specific steps companies should take to make their Windows PCs safer.