Safely configure your computer before connecting to the Internet – Part I

       
                     
                                                                                                                                              
A disturbing trend has been observed toward exploitation by malhackers of new, newly upgraded, or unprotected computers in increasingly shorter periods of time. The average "time-to-exploitation" on some networks for an unprotected computer is measured in minutes. This is especially true in the IP address ranges used by cable modem, DSL, and dial-up providers. Attackers know these common address ranges, and scan them regularly. Additionally, numerous worms are already circulating on the Internet continuously scanning for new computers to exploit.

Making matters worse, many computers start "out-of-the-box" with default configurations that are insecure. Additionally, new security vulnerabilities may have been discovered between the time the computer was built and configured by the manufacturer and the user setting up the computer for  the first time or when upgrading software from commercially packaged media (e.g., CD-ROM, DVD-ROM).

The goal of this article is to provide sufficient protection to a new computer so a user can complete the download and installation of any software patches that have been released since the computer was built or the software media being installed was manufactured. These steps are not intended to be a complete guide to securely maintaining a computer once the initial download and installation of patches is completed.

The once standard advice to home users was to download and install software patches as soon as possible after connecting a new computer to the Internet. However, since the background intruder scanning activity is so pervasive, it may not be possible for the user to complete the download and installation of software patches before the vulnerabilities they are trying to fix are exploited. This article offers advice on how to protect computers before connecting them to the Internet so that users can complete the patching process without incident.

Malhacker(s) – an individual, or groups of individuals, intent upon gathering information for gain (whether profit or intelligence), corrupting data, denying access to a computer system, or to observe what harm or havoc that can be perpetrated on a computer system. Synonym – miscreant(s) Note: This is a term of my own coinage and was submitted and added to Merriam-Webster's Open Dictionary on 7/16/2009. – Ron Wright

Safely configure your computer before connecting to the Internet – Part II
Safely configure your computer before connecting to the Internet – Part III
Safely configure you computer before connecting to the Internet - Part IV

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