Please ensure the following measures for your computer’s security:

I had sent a similar mail about an year ago, but I am repeating it for the benefit of newcomers as well as remind others.

1.   Antivirus: Install Symantec Endpoint Protection. See instructions here: http://www.iitk.ac.in/nt/mailimages/sep.htm
 

2.   Anti-Spyware: With Symantec Endpoint Protection installed there is no need of separate Anti-spyware.
 

3.   Phishing attacks are very common these days. Do NOT click any link in any email even if it appears to come from a legitimate source. For example if you get an email from admin@icicibank.com saying that you need to update your profile on their site followed by a link to www.icicibank.com/...something/ please do not pay any attention to this mail. Always logon to the site of your bank or any financial site by either typing it’s url yourself or using your bookmarks.
Read more about Phishing here: http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Internet/2005/phishing.asp

4.   Since we are behind a proxy server many of the phishing techniques are automatically taken care of. But if you are using your computer/laptop connected to the internet via some other ISP (for example a Reliance Data Connect card) you are much more prone to phishing attacks. I suggest you never make a financial transaction using such a network, rather, to be more secure if you have ever used such a network and now are using IITK proxy network, still you should avoid financial and sensitive transaction using this computer/laptop. It is quite possible that when you used it with an unsecure network, your computer gets infected by a Trojan.
 

5.   Never use a cybercafé/public computer to make sensitive transactions.
 

6.   Your net-banking password should not be used to register yourself at any other site. My suggestion is that you keep a different password for CC, a different one for your PC and a different one for net-banking
 

7.   Firewall, Service Pack 2 (SP 3 is even better) for Windows XP: I have earlier also requested all to abandon all  versions of Windows older than Windows XP. If you have some application which runs only on previous version then you have a reason to use it. But then your computer is not safe to be connected to the internet. In case if you are using Windows XP, you must make sure that you have applied service pack 2/3 and your firewall is on. You must also have a look on the “exceptions” list of firewall and uncheck any port or software marked in the exceptions list, which you do not know or understand.
 

8.   In addition to these points please go through the earlier mail I had sent particularly about Remote Desktop: http://www.iitk.ac.in/nt/mailimages/16_november_2006.htm

-Gopesh Tiwari, gopesh[AT]iitk.ac.in