Simple Steps to Improve Security in Windows Vista – Part 2

Using a Guest account limits what a user can do with the settings. To enable a Guest Account, click on User Accounts and then Family Safety in the Control Panel. Now open User Accounts, and finally open Manage another account. Click Continue when the UAC window appears. Now click on the icon for the guest account and then Turn it On. Now when you restart your PC you will be logged on to the Windows via a Guest account. However, the guest account is actually something of a security liability if it is left ON, so I will recommend disabling it when not in use. Click on the account icon again and select Turn Off the guest account.

You might think that your network is secured, but what about a friend's Wi-fi or a public hotspot? Initially when you try connecting to a network Vista asks you whether the network is a Public or a Private one.

Public network is a location is designed to keep your computer from being visible to other computers around you and to help protect your computer from any vindictive software from the public hotspot like a café. Private network is a location type that can be selected by a local administrator for a connection to a network that is not directly accessible by the public, like a home or an office network.

Public should be selected if there is any doubt about the security of that network. To check or change what network Vista has selected or set up, go to the Start → Control Panel → Network and Internet → View network status and tasks. Here you will see a small map of the network you are connected to. Click on the Customize link underneath the internet icon and select Public and click on Next. Enter your password, if required, click Continue in the UAC window, and click on Close to finish.

Some websites are constructed to just spread spam and virus across the internet. A good way to stop attacks from these websites is to avoid any contact with them. This can be done with a replacement DNS serv­ice such as ScrubIT. DNS is the channel through which the computer finds a website from the address in the address bar of the browser. ScrubIT refuses to pass on the details of sites known to be a problem. To set up a DNS server, go to the Start → Control Panel → Network and Internet → View network status and tasks → Manage network connections. Right-click on the network connection you are using and select Properties. Double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IP v 4). Click on Use the following DNS sever addresses and enter the values 67.138.54.100 and 207.225.209.66 then click on OK twice.