Keeping on top of Internet Security

Last Thursday the British government launched a campaign to make people more aware of computer security. The launch was accompanied by a web site http://www.getsafeonline.org which we urge you to visit.

The initiative is a response to worries held by the government and online industries that confidence in online trading is threatened by the lack of security knowledge - particularly concerning the Internet.

Worrying research by Get Safe Online has found that a fifth of the UK's population don't know enough about protecting themselves online. Nearly a half of the population rely on friends and family for online safety advice.

The online retail industry is worth £10 billion a year and 14 million people use online banking so it clearly important that people understand the risks and best practices when using their PCs and the Internet.

Protect yourself from security risks online.

The http://www.getsafeonline.org web site contains a lot of very useful advice and if you read nothing else, take a look at the 10-minute guide for beginners - which even contains useful reminders for experienced users.

This initiative falls during a period of heavy criticism against Microsoft who is seen as responsible for the dire state of Internet security.

The problem is that the poor design of Windows leaves it vulnerable to external attack.

Tests conducted by security experts have found that a Windows PC connected directly to the Internet without a firewall can be infected in a matter of minutes. Such an infection will frequently turn the PC into what is termed a zombie , a PC under the control of a remote party. Zombie PCs are commonly used to send out spam without the user's knowledge but are also scouring the Internet for more PCs to infect in a similar fashion.

Another type of infection is the installation of software to record information about the user's online habits including recording credit card details and online banking passwords. This information gathering software is called spy ware and is causing a lot of concern at the moment.

So why doesn't Microsoft just fix Windows so it isn't so vulnerable to these attacks?

Well, apparently, it can't. The faults are deep in the system and correcting them would break too much software. The only course open is to raise barriers around Windows to keep nasties out and then to monitor the system closely for any that still manage to slip through.

Protecting yourself from all currently known threats involves three classes of software:

• A firewall to keep external attacks out.
• Anti virus software to scan emails, downloads and your file store for nasty payloads.
• Anti spy wear software to root out programs that have still managed to hook themselves into your system.

The latest version of Windows comes with a firewall and Microsoft now has its own anti spy ware product, which is free to download. But corporate users are asking for more.

They're saying it's a mess and, not unreasonably, want it cleaned up with minimal inconvenience to them so Microsoft have responded with Microsoft Client Protection, '...unified protection against emerging threats such as spyware and rootkits, as well as viruses and other traditional attacks.'

What is really annoying people is that Microsoft want to charge for this service. Many feel that fixing security holes in Windows is Microsoft's responsibility and we shouldn't have to pay extra for it.

Some commentators have labeled this the Microsoft Protection Racket.

Something fishy going on at Riverhall?

The new fish ordering system allows very rapid data entry.

Riverhall’s newest customer – a fish wholesaler - saw their system go live last week. This is a bespoke system developed by Riverhall to cover the full order-processing workflow: order capture, weighing, pricing and dispatch.

An off-the-shelf system was rejected as none of the systems available met the customers key requirement: for a system fine-tuned to the extremely fast entering of telephoned orders. The person capturing the order has to be able to key it in as fast or faster than the customer can read out their shopping list.

As everyone notices sooner or later when they use a computer for repetitive tasks: the keyboard is a lot faster than the mouse.

It takes a new operator a few hours to get up to speed with the new system, but once they are trained, the cleverly-designed system of intuitive key board shortcuts means that an order can be captured through the keyboard in less time than it takes a typical mouse user to get from one corner of the screen to the other.

The system is remotely monitored by Riverhall to ensure on-going availability and reliability.

Riverhall will now be selling the system to other wholesalers with similar requirements.