Defensive Computing for Windows Users
One of the best things a Windows user can do for Defensive Computing is to have a bootable copy of Linux on hand. The classic reason being to rescue a broken copy of the operating sytem, but the much more important reason is for on-line banking.
Anyone that does online banking on a Windows machine is taking a huge risk. Don’t take my word for it, read what the FBI, FDCI and American Bankers Association are saying.
- http://jet-computing.com/doing-online-banking-with-windows-why/
- http://jet-computing.com/businesses-should-conduct-online-banking-from-dedicated-computers/
Most likely they don’t understand how sophisticated the bad guys are at writing malware. Or, perhaps, they put way too much trust in their antivirus program. Or, they may fail to appreciate how hard it is to keep all the installed software up to date with the latest patches. Perhaps the worst type of infection, a man-in-the-browser, can even defeat two factor authentication schemes.
No amount of Defensive Computing for Windows can ever be close to perfect. Linux is the only safe option for Windows users interested in online banking.
Bootable copies of Linux used to mean Live CDs, but that ship has mostly sailed. I travel with a bootable copy of Linux on a USB flash drive. For one thing, many more computers have USB ports than have optical drives. Also, running Linux off a USB flash drive can be much faster than running it off a CD. And, flash drives offer a choice of whether or not to save system changes.
The truly paranoid will note that a Linux Live CD is safer because it absolutely can’t be infected with a virus. The flip side of this argument is that bug fixes can’t be installed to the system. To me, having a copy of Linux that’s only used for online banking seems safe enough, especially if its kept updated with patches.
One downside to USB Linux compared to CD Linux is that older computers can’t boot from a USB flash drive. But these are fading away.
The Ubuntu download page now includes instructions for installing the system onto a USB flash from Windows, OS X and, of course, Ubuntu. In the old days, I used to create a CD, boot to it and then use the included Startup Disk Creator from within Ubuntu to create a bootable copy on a USB flash drive.
Thankfully, Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu, now seems to have endorsed the Universal USB Linux Installer available at Pendrivelinux.com. I’ve used it in the past, from within Windows, with good success.
It’s all but impossible to “sufficiently” harden any copy of Windows, let alone even define where the line is. For non techie Windows users, I contend that is impossible for them to come anywhere close to sufficiently hardening their system. There are too many things that need doing.
Below is a snapshot of the Ubuntu download link, very straight forward and simple to follow.
