Computers - Security for Applications and Information 
Antivirus - Policies and Procedures
Description/Scope: Security measures for protecting computer operating systems, applications, and information from unauthorized and malicious intrusion.
Purpose
Who This Applies to
When to Perform
Special Circumstances
Why This Is Important: So you
do not lose your computer files, or have to rebuild everything!
General Benefits 7 Objectives
This entire site is for educational or informational purposes only. You are not to use the forms, concepts, strategies, or knowledge without assistance from a professional. The author, the corporation, the ISP, Bob Parrish CPA, Bob Parrish CPA, P.C. or other parties related to those or this site do not guarantee or warrantee in any manner the suitability, usefulness, accuracy, timeliness, or results of any portions of this site, nor the links contained in this site which link to other areas. At times, information is taken from other sources and is believed to be accurate, but no verification or confirmation is performed. Furthermore, if any federal or state law invalidates a portion of this disclaimer, the other portions still apply. In addition, any allegations or actions are restricted to arbitration only and must be arbitrated by the Better Business Bureau in Sarasota Florida. Reading of these pages constitutes complete acceptance and agreement with all disclaimer provisions on all pages of this site. .......
Thursday, February 22, 2007 11:44 AM
Find methods to thwart unauthorized intrusions and to monitor your computer files for computer programs known as viruses.
Law (commentary and citation)
Regs (commentary and citation)
Cases (commentary and citation)
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This is about Activity Based Taxplanning - maximizing deductions, minimizing cash outlay and maximizing the amount of cash retained and the net worth.
Tax is a subject that many view in order to cut costs. Taxes are a cost just as any other cost. It happens this cost is somewhat intangible and is defined by legislation without a tangible item to view and control. The money is spent and the control of the expenditure is more appropriately administered by someone trained in the law.
This is about Activity Based Costing - methods to cut costs, management accounting, management information systems, decision support sytems - in general about being a manager.
The computer is a tool. All tools must be maintained to some extent, some more than others. The computer is expensive to purchase, the software is expensive and the maintenance is time consuming and therefore expensive. Hardware must be kept in repair and up to date. Software must be kept up to date (and repaired as bugs are found). Furthermore the security of sensitive information and general security is both a new concept to most computer users and a necessity. You would store your original bank records, credit card records, court records, investigate files, patient or customer records, customer lists, or any part of your business that makes it operate on the street in front of your office or store. WELLLLLLLL ,,,,
Neither should you store those same records in a different form for the entire world to peruse.
The cost of using a key to lock your doors, a burlgar alarm, a smoke detector along with insurance are all well understood by management and accepted as a cost of doing business. The same work product, data, sensitive information resides inside your computer, just as inside your office file room and filing cabinets.
Creating a secure atmoshphere for your comptuer is just as important as the security for those papers you see and touch.
Herein are presented a few ideas that are not costly and should give you a step up in setting up your computer security system.
Using some of the suggestions is not that time conuming - train your assistants to be on guard and use the security tools routinely. Some fo teh tools will run wihtout operator intervention and some are FREE. There is no reasonable explanation to not use the security. However you need to be given the knowledge - and by reading this paper you will be given the knowledge.
From Banking Records
From Customer Records
From Signed Documents
From Your Other Business, or Financial Records
From Corporation or Organization Records (meetings, etc.)
Assistance - What to do
Turn off your computer at Night
More and more users, small business owners and home offices are using television cable to get connected to the Internet at a much faster speed.
Your computer is sitting there just making it available to hackers. If you turn it off when you’re not using it, intrusion is impossible
Purchase, Install, Update & Use anti-virus software
Load anti-virus software onto your computer to prevent a headache later. Anti-virus software can detect if a virus is present in an email or in a file and even clean up the mess before it causes problems. Depending on the software you buy, you can get free updates that will keep you abreast of the latest bugs being sent and squash them in advance.
Norton Anti-virus, which lists for $34.95, is one of the more common programs, and you can download McAfee anti-virus software with updates for $29.95 a year. Other programs range in price from $35 to $528 on cyber superstores such as Egghead.com.
Other brands are, SOPHOS, PANDA, F-Secure. F-Secure and SOPHOS are my personal favorites. Neither of these is the least expensive, so check the current prices before you commit. Panda seems to be on the road to becoming very popular. I tried it sometime ago. This software (Panda) is recommended by many. When I tried it, there were some conflicts with Microsoft Outlook 98. Those conflicts may have been resolved by the software company, but I chose a more simple route of using a different program. Otherwise I continue to hold interest on Panda and may try it again in the future. Norton seems to be a good program except for two facts I have discovered in the past. I have not tested the program subsequently and the newer releases may not have the following issues - inquire:
The system seems to slow - sometimes to a crawl when Norton antovirus and Norton Utilities are installed and running.
Once installed you may find it nearly impossible to uninstall the entire system. It is very tedious to uninstall. It will require understanding what the directory structure is, knowing how to find and remove dll files, and perhaps "hacking" the Windows Registry file. Making changes to the registry file can lead to having to reinstall Windows - so know before you change. I have had some people give up on uninstalling this specific software or reformat their hard disks and reinstall all the applications and data.
In addition these sites will have information for you about current viruses and may provide for a download of their program on a trial basis:
SOPHOS, PANDA, F-Secure, McAfee
Do not run unknown executables or programs
Executables are those files attached to emails. The file may or may not end in ".exe". The .exe will define it as being an executable. However the file can be destructive even though it does not end in .exe. Unless you know where it came from, it is prudent to delete an executable file without opening it. If it is coming from a friend, you’re probably okay. However, a few years ago a friend of ours received the MS Word Macro Virus from mail exchanged with a trusted associate, whose (unknown to him of course) computer had been infected.
If you receive email which has a virus, rather than opening it and trying to clean it up yourself, get in touch with the person who sent it to you and have them send you a safe version of it.
Use a personal firewall
If you are constantly connected to the Internet, invest in personal firewall protection. There computer programs which scan IP addresses at random looking for open ports. If you connect the to WWW by using a dial-up connection, then the ISP assigns you an IP address. The assignment is random and the probability of having the same IP assigned twice is nearly nill. This is a protection for you. In all probability you will not encounter any random/unauthorized intrusion attempts.
The firewall is more important (a necessity) for those using DSL, ADSL, cable modems, T1 lines and similar connections.
Intruders can also take over your machine as a clone and use it to make the attack. Then the intruder is harder to trace, and your name plays a role in the chain of names in the breakdown of a major website. There is a project known as SETI which has sent email to computer users with fast connections. SETI asks if it can use the recipient's computer in off-hours to make its computations and searches for anomalies. (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence AKA SETI) EVEN WHERE THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION APPEARS GENUINE OR TRUSTWORTHY DO NOT ALLOW SUCH ACTIONS ON YOUR COMPUTER.
A firewall will prevent inbound connections from occurring and will keep your computer and your vital information protected. Personal firewalls, such as Black Ice can be downloaded from the Internet for $39.95. I have not tried Black Ice - personally I use Zone Alarm. You can use it personally for FREE.
Furthermore, the Firewall I use has both an on-screen alert and a log file. If someone attempts to get into your computer you will be notified immediately. In addition the log file creates a permnent record of the attempts to intrude. The firewall identifies the atempted intrusion along with the address of the computer making the attempt. You can use this to perform a reverse lookup and discover who the intruder was.
You can find it at Zone Labs.
Shop around for an Internet Service Provider
When deciding which company to dial into, ask about the firewall protections that they have installed to protect you. Nearly all ISP's have firewalls to filter inbound and outbound problems, so it never hurts to ask what precautions they have taken. Furthermore, if you use the dial-up connection, your worries are nearly unfounded. The other ISP's which provide faster connections are those that you should be more robust in your intruder prevention.
Additionally, if you find unauthorized access, alert your ISP and they look into it. If they won’t take action, find yourself a new ISP.
Forms - Checklists - Etc.
Financial Statement Presentation
Notes to Financial Statements
How to Make Entries
What Kind of Records to Keep
Bookkeeping Methods - Cash, Accrual and Other
How the Business Entity Affects the Recording
Sole Proprietor
Corporation - C & S
Partnerships - General, Limited, Limited Liability Company, Registered Limited Liability Partnership or Company
Trusts
Tax Exempt
Alerts & Dangers - Risks
Asset Protection
Your Defense
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computer_antivirus_protection.htm