Microcomputer Services

Securing Windows

In August, 2004, Microsoft released Service Pack 2 (SP2), a major update to Windows XP. SP2 contains critical security updates and features that should help prevent virus and malware infections. Brand new computers will ship with SP2 pre-installed.

We strongly encourage you to install Service Pack 2 if you are running Windows XP and suspect you don't already have it. If you choose to do so, we recommend reading Microsoft's "What to Know Before You Install Service Pack 2". The easiest way to determine if you have SP2 is to open the "System" control panel and select the general tab which should read "Windows XP, Service Pack 2."

There are several ways to get Service Pack 2:

Windows Security Basics
Microsoft has published a step-by-step guide to securing your version of Windows. In general, Microsoft's guide recommends the following:

  1. Install or enable the Internet Connection Firewall. For Windows XP users this is built-in.
    Users of older versions of Windows, especially Windows 2000, see ZoneLabs.com for a free for personal use firewall called Zone Alarm. Windows 2000 and XP are especially vulnerable to network attacks due to the number of services running by default.
  2. Enable automatic installation of critical updates.
  3. Install or update antivirus software and scan your computer. You can schedule scans to occur at a certain time every day. For example, set the software to scan every day while you are at lunch.

Windows XP Service Pack 2 enables the first two options automatically. Visit Microsoft's Protect Your PC web site for more details.

Other Important Tips

  1. Get and use our free UO Windows Security CD prior to connecting Windows computers to the network. This will allow you to get your system patched before it gets infected. Unpatched systems are infected instantly, simply by connecting to the network.
  2. Spyware is nearly as bad as a virus (and is equally as annoying). To detect and remove spyware on your computer, use AdAware, Spybot and/or Microsoft Windows Defender. Spyware is typically the cause of inordinate amounts of popup windows. In addition, spyware may cause your computer to run slowly. Spybot can also be found on the Duckware CD under the Utilities section. Spybot is free to use, as is the Microsoft Defender currently called a beta version. Unfortunately, none of the tools "do it all" so you may end up running each of them, or choosing one for practicality. See the download links at the bottom of this page.
  3. Use an alternative web browser to avoid Internet Explorer (IE) vulnerabilities. Duckware 2004 will offer to install Firefox automatically if it detects you lack Netscape, Mozilla and Firefox. IE is required for Windows Update and selected websites that don't render well with the alternatives. We recommend you limit your use of IE to those occasions that require it. See why we say this.
  4. Keep all of your network programs up to date, especially your web browser and email program as they tend to be the most often used network applications. When Firefox displays this symbol , click on it to retrieve a necessary update. Duckware updates can be found here.
  5. If you are going to run an instant messaging program, you may want to look at an open-source alternative called GAIM. It is critical to keep software like this (which has a server component) up to date. We say this has a "server" component because instant messaging programs need to listen for connections from arbitrary Internet hosts, and as such tend to be higher-risk applications.

Recommended AntiSpyware Tools (Download Links):

1) Ad-Aware: Perhaps our favorite tool if you choose only one. Free for personal, non-commercial use. You can download this software and use it, but we are not permitted to distribute it to you (i.e. on CD, or on the network etc.)
Lavasoft Ad-Aware Personal Edition (Part 1 of 2)
Necessary Patch for the personal edition (Part 2 of 2)

2) Spybot Very good antispyware package. The author is an excellent human being who allows us to use and distribute this software free of charge. You can also find Spybot on our UO Security CD.

3) Windows Defender (Formerly Microsoft AntiSpyware). Package from Microsoft. Also free to use. Microsoft acquired "Giant AntiSpyware" which was formerly commercial software. We are not permitted to distribute this package directly, however, you can download it from Microsoft without paying any money for it.

The University of Oregon has a site license for antivirus software, and we make it available for free to all University students, faculty and staff. For more information, see our Antivirus page.

If you have questions about this process please contact our Help Desk.