[ale] [OT] Need to lock down a Windows laptop

[Jim Kinney]

Adding to this: put the windows side on a fixed IP and block that IP from
hitting the Internet at your firewall. No admin access for kid (unless they
pass some level of geek test designed by the household head geek - I gave my
12 year old root on his Linux box - there is no windows in this house. He
pokes wine to do things I find are pretty slick for his minecraft game and I
don't have to).

I get some flack here on occasion when someone wants/needs something that is
mickeysoft only. For the gamer, tough, Dad don't care, not getting an XBox
even if the thing is free. For the geology grad student, SWMBO, that's a lot
harder. Lately all of the winders only stuff she needs have huge license
fees and are provided at school.

On Tue, Apr 12, 2011 at 4:22 AM, JD <jdp at algoloma.com> wrote:

> On 04/11/2011 06:16 PM, Trey Sizemore wrote:
> > Hi all-
> >
> > Off-topic for the list, but I know there's tremendous knowledge and
> experience here when it comes to tightening a Windows machine.
> >
> > I've got my daughter's laptop dual-booting Windows 7 and Ubuntu.  I've
> encouraged her to use Ubuntu as much as possible, but realize there are some
> programs that are not able to run on Linux at this point (tried Wine and
> others).
> >
> > So for the times she does log in to Windows, I want to have up-to-date
> anti-virus installed and am looking for some advice on what to use.  Also,
> any other software that would be good to install to help keep the nasties
> off.
>
> This is about risk management.
>
> Don't let her Windows PC on your main subnet.
>
> Split your network into "teen" and "everything else" subnets.  I doubt
> you can secure her systemm since she will be using facebook and other
> social media. You could block facebook, so the games there can't attack
> her machine. She would hate you. There will always be zero-day flash
> exploits
> http://krebsonsecurity.com/2011/03/adobe-attacks-on-flash-player-flaw/
> and other exploits. Disabling flash is probably not an option.  The same
> for PDF.  Flash and PDF are the main attack vectors for viruses,
> spyware, malware.
>
> She needs to learn how to secure her PC, and sadly, she needs to get
> hacked in order to learn it. I speak from experience having a teen girl
> crying over her broken PC and forcing her to reload it herself.  These
> days, knowing how to do that is like knowing how to change a flat tire,
> IMHO.
>
> If you block facebook - which I have - lots of other things stop
> working. Seems that lots of large media companies are using facebook as
> a proxy to gain access to their content.
>
> A few articles about desktop security that may be helpful
> http://blog.jdpfu.com/pages/security
> http://blog.jdpfu.com/pages/secure-browser-settings
> The specifics may be out of date, but the general ideas are fine. Google
> will help you find more.
>
> Setup an automatic backup for her.  Antivirus programs are only 80%
> effective. Having one doesn't mean the computer is safe, regardless of
> which program it is.
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-- 
-- 
James P. Kinney III
I would rather stumble along in freedom than walk effortlessly in chains.
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