Abstract

Over the last decade, the personal computer has been transformed from an isolated word processor and number cruncher into a communications device. The emergence of the Web, the expansion of broadband connectivity, and new versions of the Windows operating system have made it possible to share information and files around the world with the click of a mouse. So, the good news is that it is now easier than ever to connect to any other host on the Internet to share information or to set up your own Internet based information services. However, this is also the bad news because it is potentially very easy for others to find and connect to your machine to set up servers there as well. Our school became painfully aware of this when we received a cheerful note from the campus computer security office informing us that there were rogue servers operating in our area that would be dropped from the network if the problem was not resolved. This paper grew out of the need to understand and deal with those attacks; it is not intended to be a review of all aspects of PC security and their Windows or network solutions, but instead hopes to increase awareness of external threats to the networked PC and to provide suggestions for detecting and deterring them. Many libraries have personnel dedicated to identifying and solving these problems, but in smaller libraries and information centers much of this responsibility falls to individuals who are not necessarily network or computer security experts. This article is directed to those non-experts operating in the Windows environment who confront these issues on a daily basis.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

Fall 2003

Notes/Citation Information

Published in Kentucky Libraries, v. 67, no. 4, p. 18-22.

The copyright holder has granted the permission for posting the article here.

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