...and it's a right to the jaw
by Gary Woods

We're always under attack from the forces of evil lurking on the Internet so I thought I'd look at some ways we can protect ourselves. To see how vulnerable your system is there are many commercial system scanners available. Microsoft even has a free tool, the Microsoft Baseline Security analyzer www.microsoft.com/technet/security/tools/mbsahome.mspx which scans a single system or a range of systems across a network for common system misconfigurations and missing security updates.

There are also a number of third-party scanning tools, such as AppDetective www.appsecinc.com, Retina www.eeye.com and System Scanner www.iss.net. All of these software packages are able to scan for a large number of known security issues and are updated as new threats are discovered. You can specify a particular system or give these products an address range; and they'll find all the systems and scan them.

Each of these pieces of software has a particular focus like AppDetective looks primarily at misconfigurations in your database.

Vulnerability scanners can generate a flood of warnings, many of them merely informing you that you did something you plainly intended to do, like opening your browser to view the Internet. So don't assume the scanner knows more than you do, especially when it gives the warning a low priority. Consider the information you get from these programs as advice to help you secure your systems.

For more details on vulnerability scanners, see "Network Security: Know Your Weaknesses" at go.pcmag.com/vulnerabilityscanners.

If you have any suggestions or questions for me please drop me a note at garyandlaury@santabarbaraproperties.com or see my column on the Internet at http://www.santabarbaraproperties.com or call me at (805) 729-0910