CSCD 434 Network Security
Assignment 3
How do you protect your personal
computer?
70 Points
Due Date: May 4th, 2009
The purpose of this
assignment is to give you an opportunity to become familiar with some of the
tools used to protect personal computers and networks
Tasks
- Assess the "threats" present to your home environment
- Download and install useful tools on your home system
- Assess the effectiveness of the tools in improving security
- Write up your findings
Planning Site Security (20 out of 70 points)
Identify the tools that you will be recommending to
protect your own personal site
- Describe the site you are protecting: Be specific, OS, hardware, Network
configuration. Diagrams are always welcome.
- List the top three security issues that are of interest to you, and
explain why they matter in your target environment.
- Identify four or five security tools that you recommend to handle top situations above.
Selection of Tools (20 out of 70 points)
- Choose three tools from your list
- Install the tools. Your writeup for this section should describe the tools
and what they are useful for in general.
- Perform assessment as indicated below
It is your
responsibility to find tools that you are able to install and run on your own
system. Suggested candidates are shown below. You may use one tool you already
have installed (ie, you may use your current antivirus software)
personal firewalls
personal intrusion detection systems
security log analyzers
network monitors
file system checkers/monitors
antivirus software
Informal Assessment (30 out of 70 points)
Think about the effectiveness of your system after youve
installed your protection software and perform tests/experiments to prove how
well it works. Include a discussion of your assessment activities in your
writeup.
- REQUIRED: How well does it perform
when examined with existing freeware vulnerability scanners? (you may
use just one if you like)
- How many negative activities did it detect
after you installed it? (good for IDS, firewalls, antivirus).
- How well do these meet your target security
issues
- How easy/hard are the tools to install,
maintain, customize?
Writeup/Deliverables
You must hand this in as a hard copy!! Your writeup should be about 2-3 pages in length (longer is okay). Make sure you include all of the required
information above.
Tool Resources
Nmap Site Top 100 Security Tools
Top 15 Security/Hacking Tools
Top 15 Security Tools for Testing Windows
Best Linux Security tools