Tuesday, 23 December 2014

A secure system is one that does what it's supposed to do , and nothing more" ,John B Ippolito



Imagine the cons of a messy closet. How much time does it take to locate stuff when needed? What happens when an item goes missing? Would it be too late when one realizes it's absence? And what happens if somebody decides to place a stolen item deep inside the mess just so that the owner of the closet gets the blame? The answers are obvious.

The analogy applies to a computer system as well. Saving or installing unnecessary files and applications does nothing except make the PC more vulnerable. Any software package running on a system is prone to be targeted. The fewer the packages available to run, the lesser the risk.

Being a computer user, one must be aware of the security challenges they face. They should clearly identify what's needed in their system and what's not. Previously installed software should be removed once their need is over.
Even while installing a software, the default configuration usually installs some extra packages. Many of them might not be required. One should keep their eyes open while installing any application. Click check only those packages that are required.
If additional packages are needed later they can be installed when required.
It says these days, "80% of cyber attacks can be prevented with basic cyber hygiene" . (National Audit Office, itgovernance.co.uk)

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Author: Haleemah Zia

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