Basics of virus protection.

Here are the answers to your virus protection questions.

Several members of the Society's Technology, Small Business and MAP sections participated in a "hot topic" conference call with Christopher Jenkins, Society chief technology strategist, to get answers to questions on virus protection.

Sending and Receiving Information

Q. If the router still has the manufacturer's default settings, does this increase my vulnerability to hackers?

A. Yes. The default setting of any router includes a publicly available user name and password to access the setup screen of the router itself. Default settings on wireless routers are even less secure since wireless routers normally come without any encryption enabled. In either case, it is possible for an attacker to take control of your router and configure or disable your firewall.

Q. I have a practice that is largely tax-based. I want to send and receive e-mails with my clients that contain sensitive information. Can Outlook Express send secure messages?

A. Almost all e-mail clients, such as Outlook, can use digital certificates to send and receive signed and/or encrypted messages. Signed messages verify the person sending the message. Encrypted messages can't be scanned in transit.

An additional precaution some people will take is to compress attachments and add password protection to the compressed file. You can use WinZip to compress and uncompress files with or without passwords. A word of caution--some companies don't allow compressed files in e-mail due to recent virus outbreaks using .zip files.

More information on Digital IDs with Microsoft products is available on the Microsoft Web site (www.microsoft.com) by searching for Digital ID. Some of the other companies offering Digital IDs are Verisign, Thwart and Globalsign.

Spam and Spyware

Q. What is the difference between Norton's Antivirus and Micro Trend? Which is better?

A. Virus scanners are like word processors. Everyone should have one, and normally you pick one and stick with it. Both Symantec (Norton) Antivirus and Micro Tread offer client- based and Web-based virus scanning. Both products offer automatic updates and good support. In some cases, a virus will block access to specific Internet sites making it impossible for your virus scanner to get automatic updates. Therefore, it's always a good idea to have a couple extra online virus scanners book-marked.

Microsoft is offering free technical support regarding viruses and security on its Web site at http://support.microsoft.com/?pr=SecurityHome.

Q. Does virus software protect incoming pictures with hidden files?

A. It depends on how the pictures arrive. An image saved as a JPEG file can bypass your virus scanner. A virus that isn't detectable by your virus scanner can also be attached to such pictures. This vulnerability has been publicized, so if you have recently run the Windows update, the issue should have been patched. Otherwise, please visit http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

Q. Can you prevent confirmation of your e-mail address? I've gotten e-mail with only a header and subject but nothing in the body.

A. Yes and no. Unsolicited e-mail--also known as SPAM--can be filtered by your server. This means the sender gets a message that the message bounced. However, getting that kind of filter setup is a complex situation with other issues to consider. The best advice is not to open messages from unknown senders if you can help it. Opening the message even in a preview pane may download a very tiny program that will track if the message was opened. MS Outlook 2003 prevents this by not showing graphics until the user decides. If you are using a different e-mail client, check to see if it offers the option to disable graphics.

Q. We currently use Postini for our e-mail content filtering and McAfee Virus Defense/ePolicy Orchestrator to detect viruses. What about spyware? Are desktop firewalls being used to provide protection?

A. Firewalls do not offer protection from viruses, but do offer protection from several other threats. I normally recommend running both a hardware firewall and a desktop firewall. A desktop firewall is especially important with laptop users who traverse different networks. To control spyware, I would suggest you try out Microsoft's new spyware at (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/) or Adaware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com).

Spyware is normally dependent on your Internet browser running Microsoft XP. SP2 helps prevent spyware installation with pop-up blockers and other security features. If you really want to kill the spyware, download and use Firefox. Firefox is a free Internet browser that offers many good features. Since it isn't Explorer, it's not affected by most spyware. You can get Firefox at http://www.getfirefox.com.

"Hot Topic" Conference Calls

The "hot topic" conference calls are just one of the benefits of Ohio Society special interest section membership.

The Society offers 14 special interest sections to provide an added value to membership. The sections contain information tailored for each special interest and also provide peer-to-peer sharing of knowledge.

Special interest sections include:

* Accounting and Auditing

* Construction

* Employee Benefit Plan Audits

* Financial Institutions

* Financial Management

* Financial Planning 

* Government

* Health Care

* Human Resources 

* Management of a Practice

* Not-for-Profit

* Small Business

* Tax

* Technology.

Sign up for sections of your choice on your 2005-06 dues invoice or contact CPAnswers at 888.959.1212. You can also join online at www.ohioscpa.com/sections/.