Introduction -- pt. 1. Getting started -- 1. The what's and why's of computer security? -- Computer security -- How do you make computers secure? -- Why do you need to protect your computer? -- What are you protecting yourself against? -- What happens when you don't protect your computer -- Summary -- 2. Where are you at? -- Your level of experience -- How do you use your computer? -- How secure are you? -- Summary. pt. 2. Malware -- 3. Viruses, worms, and Trojans -- What is a computer virus? -- Worms -- Trojans -- Other categories of malicious code -- How do you get infected? -- Are you infected? -- Is your email infected with a virus? -- Antibiotics and vaccines for computers -- Where antivirus software doesn't protect you -- Hoaxes, the joke is on you -- Additional information -- Summary -- 4. Stopping those pesky pop-ups, putting an end to spyware -- A run in with adware and spyware -- Why it's good to be in the "know" -- Where is that pop-up ad coming from? -- Spyware, is someone watching me? -- Adware, spyware, and Internet Explorer -- Other nasty applications -- How did the adware and spyware get on my computer? -- The effects of adware and spyware -- Are you being spied on? -- Additional information -- Summary. pt. 3. Networking in the home -- 5. Getting to the Internet, Internet service providers (ISPs) -- What type of connection is right for you? -- How computers talk with one another -- ISPs and your privacy -- Finding the right ISP -- What do the numbers mean? -- Additional information -- Summary -- 6. Stopping the hacker onslaught -- What is a firewall? -- Is your computer a honey pot? -- Why you should use a hardware firewall -- Hardware firewalls -- Choosing a broadband router -- Why use a personal firewall? -- Where do you get a personal firewall? -- Security features of Norton Internet security personal firewall -- Windows firewall for Windows XP Service Pack 2 -- Security scans -- Testing your firewall for leaks -- Summary -- 7. Going wireless -- Wireless LANs -- Making sense of 802.11 protocols -- Planning on going wireless? -- You've already gone wireless -- It's important to secure that wireless LAN -- Securing your wireless router -- Bluetooth -- Additional information -- Summary. pt. 4. The Internet -- 8. Untangling the Web -- Web browsers -- The Web at work -- Secure connections -- How does that web server know who I am? -- Good tools that go bad -- Web anonymizers -- Browser security tests -- Summary -- 9. Locking down Internet Explorer -- Patch Internet Explorer -- Finding the security options -- Cleaning temporary files and history -- Security zones -- Cookies -- Trusted publishers -- Internet Explorer's secure connection settings -- Advanced options -- Windows XP Service Pack 2 for Internet Explorer -- Summary -- 10. Shopping and banking online -- It is safe to bank online -- Trading online -- Paying bills online -- Bill management -- Online shopping -- Online auctions -- Taxes -- Fraud -- Summary -- 11. E-mail, how private is it? -- Who owns your email? -- Email and the government -- Personal email accounts -- Signing up for a personal account -- Company email accounts -- I didn't want that in my inbox -- Email and your electronic mailman -- Intercepting email -- Carnivore -- Securing your email -- Digital signatures -- Summary -- 12. Spam, it's not canned ham -- Why span is bad -- Why spammers spam -- History of spam -- Different types of spam -- Opting out of spam ; it doesn't work -- Laws of spam -- Fighting spam -- How spammers find you -- How antispam tools work -- Norton antispam -- Summary. 13. Phishing, don't give away your personal information -- Phishing emails are a regular occurrence -- What type of information are phishers phishing for? -- Types of phishing emails -- Is that email legit? -- Cross-site scripting -- Phishing and blogs -- Phishing, voice over IP and faking caller ID -- Who runs phishing scams? -- Pharming -- Spam filters and phishing -- Phishing and security suites -- Additional information -- Summary -- 14. Securing your email client -- Why you want to secure your email client -- Types of email clients -- Application email clients -- Web based email clients -- Tools that protect email clients -- Summary -- 15. The do's and don'ts of instant messaging and chat rooms -- What is instant messaging? -- Why instant message? -- Choosing an instant messaging service -- Protecting yourself when you're instant messaging -- What are chat rooms? -- Where to chat? -- Chatting safely -- Is your favorite chat service a safe place to chat? -- Chatting tips for kids -- Summary. pt. 5. System maintenance -- 16. Filing the holes, system and application patching -- Software and bugs -- Vulnerabilities -- End user license agreements (EULA) -- You need to fix recalled software, apply the update -- Microsoft and security vulnerabilities -- Updating Windows -- Updating Microsoft Office -- Update your antivirus software's virus definitions -- Update your personal firewall -- Update your instant messaging software -- Update the BIOS -- Update device drivers -- Summary -- 17. Saving yourself from the delete key -- Deleting a file -- What happens when a file is deleted -- The importance of backing up files -- Backup strategies -- Making sure the delete key deletes the file -- Summary. pt. 6. Protecting people and information -- 18. Passwords -- Identification, authentication, authorization, and access control -- Why you need to choose a good password -- Choosing a good password -- The security of a sticky note -- When and how passwords fail -- The importance of changing your password -- Reusing passwords is a bad idea -- Universal passwords -- Software that fills in passwords on Web form -- Authentication systems -- Summary -- 19. Protecting your privacy, personal and confidential information -- Your privacy -- Personal and confidential information -- Summary -- 20. Kids, computers, and the Internet -- Kids and computers -- Make using a computer a family experience -- Leaving the house through the Internet -- Is your child at risk? -- Rules for computer safety -- Laws that protect children -- Parental control software -- Summary -- Appendix A : Web resources -- General computer news -- Windows security -- Computer viruses -- General computer security -- Browser security -- Identity theft -- Spam -- Phishing -- Updating the Windows operation system -- Appendix B : Security checklists -- Appendix C : The law, computers, and you -- Copyrights -- Hacking and tampering -- Privacy -- Additional information -- Appendix D : About the CD-ROM -- Index.