Last night I had a conversation with a customer after fixing some problems on their server and network.  It was a subject that I’ve spoken and written about many times, but we talked about a few things that I don’t think I’ve addressed quite specifically.

She was asking about how to completely secure her computer, and if there was any way to be completely safe from hackers, or those who would want to steal your bank account information.  Unfortunately, the short answer is, “No”.  There is no way you can completely protect yourself from people wanting to steal your information.

If anyone wants your information bad enough, they can get it.  Vulnerabilities can come from hackers, employees, and thieves.  Of course we all know about the hackers that write malicious software to trick you into giving your private information out; called Phishing.  They can even write software to watch your keystrokes and send the information to them; called keyloggers.  However, don’t discount employees giving your information out as well, either accidentally or on purpose.  Also, thieves can just plain steal the whole computer while burglarizing the premises.

While all this is very scary, the reality is most businesses aren’t large enough to warrant a huge security risk.  Quite bluntly, hackers and the likes don’t normally care about small, or even medium, businesses.  They’re going after the well-known businesses that have a huge cache of credit cards, secret information, social security numbers, and things like that.  One single attack on Bank of America (it’s happened before) will yield millions of social security numbers and credit card information.  One single attack on Company ABC may yield a credit card with a low limit.

So, the moral of the story is; yes, be cautious and vigilant against attacks.  Develop procedures that will outlay best practices to keep holes to a minimum.  Don’t sweat about it.  However, know that most security risks come from the person behind the keyboard.  These hackers are professional con artists, and no software in the world will make you bulletproof against them.  Do the best you can and be extremely cautious.

Oh, by the way, I just read that Microsoft wants to charge an Internet usage tax to pay for inspection and quarantine of infected computers.  That’s sure to spark some nice controversy.  I’m staying out of it for now, but keep your eyes peeled!