Securing a Computer

Windows Vista provides several ways to secure your computer.

Create User Accounts

For a shared or workgroup computer, there are two main types of user accounts: administrator and standard. For a domain network computer, different account types (administrator, standard user, restricted user) provide similar permissions as the ones on a shared or workgroup computer.

The administrator account is for the person who needs to make changes to anything on the computer as well as manage user accounts. An administrator account can install programs and hardware, make system-wide changes, access and read all non private files, create and delete user accounts, change other people’s accounts, change your own account name and type, change your own picture, and create, change, or remove your own password.

The standard account is for the person who needs to manage personal files and run programs. The standard account cannot install software or hardware or change most computer settings.

The guest account doesn’t have a password for easy access and contains more restrictions than the standard account. The guest account is disabled by default and needs to be turned on.

You can also create a user group, which is a collection of user accounts that all have the same security rights. The most common user groups are the standard user and administrator. A single account can be a member of more than one group.

Use Security Center

Use the Security Center to check your security settings—Window Firewall, Automatic Updates, and antivirus software—and learn how to improve the security of your computer.

If a security option displays the Security Center icon (New!) next to it, you need to enter the administrator password or provide confirmation when prompted. This adds an additional level of security on your computer.

Enable Windows Firewall

Windows Firewall is a security system that creates a protective barrier between your computer or network and others on the Internet. Windows Firewall monitors all communication between your computer and the Internet and prevents unsolicited inbound traffic from the Internet from entering your computer. For more information on Windows Firewall, see “Connecting to the Internet” on page 135 and “Setting Up Windows Firewall” on page 137.

Enable Automatic Updates

Windows Automatic Updates allows you to keep your computer up-to-date with the latest system software and security updates over the Internet. For more information, see “Updating Windows” on page 440.

Enable Internet Security Options

Internet Explorer provides security zones to browse secure web sites and a rating system to screen content, protects personal information and your privacy on the Internet, blocks pop-up ads, and displays information to help you make security decisions. For more information, see “Understanding Security on the Internet” on page 332.

Enable E-mail Security Options

Windows Mail provides security zones to help you determine whether or not to run potentially harmful content from inside an e-mail, prevents your e-mail program from sending mail with your e-mail address to contacts in your address book (which is a common way propagate a virus), and stops pictures and other content from automatically downloading inside and e-mail to your computer (which is a common way spammers confirm your e-mail address to send more spam). For more information, see “Sending and Retrieving a File” on page 180 “Reading and Replying to E-mail” on page 178, and “Protecting Against E-mail Attacks” on page 345.

Protect Files and Folders

Another way to protect the files on your computer is to use the built-in security provided by the NTFS file system. The NTFS file system is available for Windows NT-based computers, which doesn’t include Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me. You can select your hard disk in My Computer and display Details on the task pane to determine whether your computer uses the NTFS file system.

The NTFS file system provides additional security for your files and folders. You can make a folder private, use the advanced Encrypting File System (EFS) to protect sensitive data files on your computer. If someone tries to gain access to encrypted files or a folder on your computer, a unique file encryption key prevents that person from viewing it. While these security options are more advanced, they could be helpful for securing very sensitive information. For more information, see “Encrypting Files for Safety” on page 328.

Understand the Enemy

Knowing your enemy (harmful intruders) can help you make safe computing decisions that lead to a secure computer rather than unsafe ones that lead to potential disaster. For information, see “Avoiding Viruses and Other Harmful Attacks” on page 330.