SECURE YOURSELF FROM HACKERS & HIJACKERS

Hackers and Browser Hijacking is
one area of the Net that affects
everyone at some stage.

In addition to having third party
utilities such as SpyBot, Anti
Virus scanners and firewalls
installed there are some changes
that can be made to Windows
2000/XP.

Below are some details to make your system safer from
hackers and hijackers. Some of these tips require
editing of the Registry so it is
wise to either backup the
registry and/or create a Restore
Point.

1. Clearing the Page File at Shutdown Windows 2000/XP

paging file
(Sometimes called the Swap File)
can contain sensitive information
such as plaintext passwords.
Someone capable of accessing
your system could scan that file and find its information. You can
force windows to clear out this
file.

In the registry navigate to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession
ManagerMemory Management
and add or edit the DWORD
ClearPageFileAtShutdown. Set it to1.

Note that when you do this, the
system will take much longer to
shut down: a system with a
really big Page File (! Gig or
more) may take a minute or two
longer.


2. Disable the POSIX and OS/2 Subsystem.

Windows 2000 and XP come with
little-documented subsystems it
at allow compatibility with UNIX
and OS/2 systems These rues
systems are enabled by default
but so rarely used that they are best off bring disabled
completely to prevent possible
service hijackings. To disable these subsystems,
open the registry and navigate
to HKEY LOCAL
MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetControlSession
ManagerSubSystems. Delete the
subkeys Os2 and Posix. then reboot.

3. Never leave default passwords blank. On installation, Windows 2000
sets up an Administrator account
with total system access and
prompts for a password. Guess
what: by default, it allows that
password to be blank. If a user doesn't want to type a
password, he can simply click
Next and the system will be an
open door for anyone who
wants to log on. Always opt for
a password of some kind when setting up the default account
on a machine

4. Disable the Guest account

Windows XP comes with a Guest
account that's used for limited
access, but it's still possible to do
some damage with it. Disable it
completely if you are not using
it. Under Control Panel, select User Accounts, click on Guest
Account and then select Turn Off
the Guest Account.

5. Install Windows In a different directory. Windows usually installs itself in
the WINDOWS directory. Windows
NT 4 0 and 2000 Will opt for
WINNT. Many worms and other
rogue programs assume this to
be the case and attempt to exploit those folders files. To
defeat this install Windows to
another directory when you're
setting it up - you can specify
the name of the directory during
setup. WINDIR is okay; so some people use WNDWS - A few (not
that many) programs may not
install properly if you install
Windows to another folder but they are very few and they are
far between.

Read Part 2

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Posted in: Computer tricks , Hacking , Pc tips tricks tweaks , Window Tricks