Even a secure company network can be riddled with holes like badly configured routers that expose data in transit to snoops. Attacks at Microsoft and EBay prove otherwise. Here are tips for securing your systems. Microsoft 's Critical Update Notification tells you when new patches are available. Be sure to install them on all your PCs.
Hackers often enter networks through old computers that are no longer in use.
This can happen when administrators forget to disconnect an ex-employee's system from the modem or network. An older system is less likely to have the latest security patches installed. And a shared terminal that's not attached to any one employee is often overlooked when security updates are done. Any workstation that's left on and connected to both a modem and the network gives hackers one way to dial in to the machine, bypass the firewall, and gain access to the network. Secure old computers.