Take this one for instance:

So We’re In Agreement Maxim: If you’re happy with your security, so are the bad guys.

Or this one:

Schneier’s Maxim #1 (Don’t Wet Your Pants Maxim): The more excited people are about a given security technology, the less they understand (1) that technology and (2) their own security problems.
Comment: From security guru Bruce Schneier.

How about this?

Byrne’s Law: In any electrical circuit, appliances and wiring will burn out to protect the fuses.

In all, there are more than 60 maxims listed. You can download a PDF of “Security Maxims” if you want to see more. I highly recommend you read them. You may learn something new. Like I did.

Now, I’m out of here. Have to go fire off an email to Steve and Leo…

Comments? Let me know what you think.

#1: The best security measures are completely useless if you invite attackers into your PCs or networks.
#2: A first, important step in securing your PC is to install  and configure a NAT router.
#3: Always change the default username and password of any configurable device you put on your home network.
#4: Use an un-guessable, or difficult-to-guess password always.
#5: A vital part of PC security is keeping up with software patches for ALL of the software on your system, not just the operating system. Where it is available, use the software’s automatic updates feature.
#6: Always disable any message preview or auto-open features in your e-mail client. View messages as text-only until you know they are safe.
#7: If you store sensitive information on a PC or laptop, even if it’s only personal information, encrypt the
folders or drives where the information is stored and use an un-guessable passphrase as  the encryption key.
#8: Physical security is  almost as important as data security. Make it as difficult as possible through any
physical means for a thief to steal your hardware. Rules of thumb: Lock it up and lock it down; out of sight, out of mind.
#9: When surfing the web, testing unknown programs, or engaging in other activities with the potential to harm your computer, use a sandbox or virtual machine to protect your base system from harm.
#10: When using external removable media for backups, either encrypt the backup files or make sure the media is taken offline after the backup has been completed.
#11 Never enter sensitive information into any web page unless you have verified that the information is being sent over a secure connection signified by https:// in the address bar and a lock icon in the browser’s status bar.
#12: Once a PC is infected with malware, you can’t trust it. The only way to restore trust is to wipe the hard drive clean and reload the operating system.
#13: When it comes to securing a WiFi network, the only way is WPA.
#14: If your email address will be visible to the public, obfuscate it.

In the book, each one of these rules is explained in detail with links to tools and other information.

I value your comments, so if I’ve left anything out, or you have issues with what I’ve posted here, let me know. I want this to be the best first edition it can be.

An Australian Federal Police boast, on the ABC’s Four Corners program, about officers breaking up an underground hacker forum, has backfired after hackers broke into a federal police computer system.

Well, if you read the article, you’ll see that they use the term “broke into” rather loosely. It wasn’t much of a break-in as one of the hackers wrote on a forum post:

The hacker wrote ‘I couldn’t stop laughing’ on seeing that the federal police’s server was running Windows, which is known among hacker communities for being insecure. Police had also ‘left the MYSQL password blank’.

No password! Absolutely ridiculous. These are the police, people responsible for security on many levels, and they don’t even put a password on their database? Unbelievable.

People, come on; there’s only one thing worse than having a weak, easily guessable password and that’s having no password at all. I can see why the hacker was in stitches; stupidity is often funny, especially when exhibited by people who should know better.

Let me repeat Golden Rule of Computer Security #1: The best security measures are completely useless if you invite attackers into your PCs or networks.

No better invitation than an open door, is there?

Spammers get email addresses in various ways, but the primary method is to use a web bot to scrape them from web sites. It’s not hard to do; the Web is called that because everything is tied together through various links. All the bot has to do is hop around the Web, collecting any email addresses it finds along the way. What the bot is looking for is text strings that take the form of xxx@xxx.xxx. It can easily find those and store them in a database, but it can’t tell whether or not that string is a valid address. You can use this to your advantage; if you can prevent Internet criminals from getting your email address, you can stop them cold. How do you do this? Obfuscate! (Definition: make obscure or unclear.)

Bots can’t think; humans can. To you, the string “kengharthunatyahoodotcom” means something; most scraper bots would ignore it. Similarly, “no_spam_kengharthun@yahoo.com” is easily understood by a human; the bot would recognize it as an email address, but it’s not a valid one and any message sent to that address would bounce. This technique is a good way to post your email address in forums, social networking profiles, etc., but what about posting your email address on your home page or web site?

There are plenty of free tools on the Web to obfuscate a valid email address. This email obfuscator converts my Yahoo! email address to a meaningless (to most bots) string of characters (go try it and you’ll see what I mean). When properly entered into the html code of a web page, it looks like this: kengharthun@yahoo.com. Anyone clicking on the link will be able to send an email, but your average bot won’t be able to harvest it. This technique isn’t foolproof; more sophisticated bots may be able to figure it out. But it’s going to make it more difficult for them and you’ll be calmer and more secure as a result.

So, I leave you with Maxim #14 in the How to Secure Your Computer series of articles:

If your email address will be visible to the public, obfuscate it using one of the methods or tools above.

Ken is a Systems Engineer at Connective Computing, Inc. specializing in network and desktop security for small and medium businesses. Ken helps others through his Ask the Geek blog, is a regular contributor to Dave’s Computer Tips newsletter, and is currently working on his first consumer-oriented book on computer security.

It’s far too easy to set up WiFi for your home or business; all you have to do is go to your local electronics superstore and pick up a wireless router, plug it in to your network, and connect to it. The default configuration of most consumer products–completely open with no security enabled–will allow you to connect without having to enter any configuration information into your wireless PC. That’s why in any given neighborhood you’ll see multiple unsecured wireless network connections available. Most public WiFi hotstpots are also unsecured, open connections. If you just surf the web and send an occasional email, you might be OK (besides the fact that anyone in range can connect to and use your Internet connection), but the moment you start using your PC for banking, making purchases, and paying bills online, that wireless connection absolutely must be secured. It must be done right, and there’s really only one right way to do it. Before I explain that, let me tell you what not to do:

1. Don’t rely on SSID hiding. I’ve seen numerous articles that tout SSID hiding as a security measure (and one CISSP, no less, is recommending it!) While this technique may serve to hide your network from casual view, there’s nothing secure about it: the SSID is transmitted in clear text in every packet and is easily sniffed by wireless packet sniffers. For example, Network Stumbler will identify the SSIDs of any network within range, regardless of whether or not the wireless access points are broadcasting.

2. WEP is broken. Using 40,000 to 100,000 packets, which can be captured in about a minute, you can crack a WEP key in about three seconds on a Pentium M 1.7 GHz PC. Don’t believe me? Check it out: This list even provides video tutorials on how to do it. Sure, it provides a small measure of security and it’s better than nothing, but why use something that’s already been proven inferior? Would you feel more secure knowing the garage where your store that vintage Corvette is protected by a Master lock or one you bought at an everything-for-a-dollar store? Your personal information is much more valuable than that car.

3. Don’t bother with MAC address filtering . I don’t know why so many people are recommending this. MAC address filtering is equivalent to SSID hiding–it’s virtually useless, except to keep a casual user from inadvertently connecting to your wireless network. Like the SSID, MAC addresses are sent in clear text within the network packets and can easily be discovered and spoofed by anyone sniffing your network.

So, what’s the right way? WiFi Protected Access, known by its acronym, WPA. There are two versions: WPA-Personal and WPA-Enterprise. WPA-Personal relies on a pre-shared key (PSK), while WPA-Enterprise requires a special authentication server and is therefore more suited to corporate environments. WPA implements 128-bit encryption and as long as you create a strong, unguessable passphrase, it’s completely secure. Configuring WPA-PSK on a given wireless router depends on the brand, but you can find a general tutorial at this site.

And that, my dear reader, is Maxim #13 in the How to Secure Your Computer series of articles:

When it comes to securing a WiFi network, the only way is WPA.

There’s no such thing as forgiveness in security; once a machine has been compromised, you can never be certain that it’s free of malware unless you completely wipe it out and start from scratch. Just because everything appears to be working properly after your “cleanup” doesn’t mean it is. Modern malware is designed to be tenacious and stealthy. Many malicious programs leave behind remnants of themselves even when good anti-malware software is able to take the venom out of them. Rootkit technology is becoming so sophisticated that normal means of detection don’t work as this article in The Register explains.

It’s a matter of trust; it’s also a security maxim. So without further ado, I present How to Secure Your Computer, Maxim #12:

Once a PC is infected with malware, you can’t trust it. The only way to restore trust is to wipe the hard drive clean and reload the operating system.

I’m talking about entering your password — or any sensitive information — into any web page that’s not secure. All communication — including your username and password — between your browser and a web server is normally transmitted in clear text, easily read by anyone who cares to look. Your data is being sent in clear text if you enter anything onto a page that has the prefix http:// in its URL. That’s how you know the page isn’t secure. While not a totally reliable method of identifying a phishing site, it’s a pretty good bet that any financial site or one requesting personal information that displays http:// is suspect; steer clear and don’t enter your credentials.

How do you know a page is secure? It will use an encrypted connection, signified by the prefix https://. This page will use a technology known as Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). Any information you put into such a page is unreadable by anyone who might intercept it. Only your browser and the web server at the other end can decipher it. Some browsers even show a lock icon to let you know it’s secure. SSL relies on special security certificates issued by a trusted authority who has verified the identity of the website you are logging onto. So, I present you with Maxim #11 in the How to Secure Your Computer series:

Never enter sensitive information into any web page unless you have verified that the information is being sent over a secure connection signified by https:// in the address bar and a lock icon in the browser’s status bar.

“Well, that’s a good thing,” I said. “Where do you keep your backups?”

“On my external USB drive.”

“That’s encrypted, right?”

He blinked and looked away. “No.”

Doh! If a cracker is able to access his PC and that drive is connected and turned on, my friend could be toast. If someone breaks into his house and steals the drive, my friend could be toast. Depending on what is actually stored on the hard drive, full backups can contain lots of personal information–information that is much more valuable than mere passwords. Think about it: if you have the user’s name, address, SSN, pet photos, you-name-it, you’re in Fat City; you can easily assume the identity and recover usernames and passwords.

Few people encrypt their data, much less their backups. They should, but they don’t. Some backup programs allow you to make encrypted backups. If this option is available take advantage of it. The most secure plan would be to both encrypt your data and encrypt the backup for a double layer of protection. Then, take the backup media offline and store it in a secure place. And that is Maxim #10:

When using external removable media for backups, either encrypt the backup files or make sure the media is taken offline after the backup has been completed.

A sandbox is also a great way to prevent viruses and other malware from infecting your machine while browsing the web. Confine your browser to its own little box and if any malicious software tries to run, it can’t get to your system, it stays within in the box’s boundaries. Kill the box and you kill the malware. The top, free sandbox program for Windows–the one I use for secure surfing and testing– is Sandboxie. It runs only on Windows and is Vista-compatible. Run Internet Explorer, Firefox, or any other program under Sandboxie and you should be safe.

Flash Update: Seems CheckPoint agrees and has released a product of its own. Check out this article from Dark Reading.

You can also operate securely from inside a virtual machine. This is different from a sandbox in that you actually run an entire operating system, rather than a single program. Many people, this Geek included, use virtual machines to run alternative operating systems like Linux. In a virtual machine, you can do everything you do on a real machine and like the sandbox, if things go wrong, your computer won’t be harmed. A big advantage of the virtual machine over a sandbox is that you can examine the actual behavior of malware and any damage to the OS. Microsoft provides the free Virtual PC and VMware provides its free VMware Player and VMware Server. For the Mac, there’s Parallels (not free). You might want to check out the secure browsing applicance provided for VMware Player.

Security Maxim #9:

When surfing the web, testing unknown programs, or engaging in other activities with the potential to harm your computer, use a sandbox or virtual machine to protect your base system from harm.

But physical security is only slightly less important. Don’t get complacent thinking that you’re OK just because your data is secure. It’s an expensive proposition to replace that data, so you must take steps to prevent theft of your hardware.

Encrypting your data is analogous to hiding it. So hide your laptop. Chain down your PC. Make it as difficult as possible for a thief to steal it. I keep my PC in a locked room when I’m not nearby and I maintain the attitude that someone’s waiting around the next corner to steal my laptop. So, it’s always either in a secure area or with me–and I mean within a couple of feet of me. I rarely leave it in my car and if for some reason I must, I lock it up in the trunk. I never leave it overnight in the office. Out of sight, out of mind. There are other physical precautions you can take as this Security Focus article outlines.

And let’s not forget about removable and external storage devices; hide them, too. I’ll cover that in a future article. For now, I leave you with Maxim #8:

Physical security is almost as important as data security. Make it as difficult as possible through any physical means for a thief to steal your hardware. Rules of thumb: Lock it up and lock it down; out of sight, out of mind.