How secure is your farm computer?

[melvill]

Starting a new thread on this.

How secure is most producers' home computers? I'll bet most farm homes could be broken into and computers stolen pretty easily.

And, if the computer is stolen, how secure is the info on it? I'll bet - cotton can you hear virtual another bottle coming your way - the data on most farm computers isn't encrypted, either. Other than breaking a password or two, that means all data is available.

Finally, how many of you back up your computer hard drive to a portable external drive that can be and is stored in another building?

[Wheatking]

I sure that my computer is fairly insecure. But I also don't have thousands of clients information on it with key financial and personal info. So if my computer is compromised all i lose is my books. The CCGA lose a computer and 32,000 farmers get their financial information compromised. On my computer if its stolen they would have a hard time getting at my banking and personal info since it is all password protected. If you steal a CCGA computer it is put into a neat package for you.

I know that you are trying to take some of the heat off the CCGA by implying that we are no better since we don't encrypt any of our own data. But the scale of the CCGA makes it unbelievable that they would take such a risk.

[boarderbloke]

i feel computers are cheap enough you should have two! one for online and one that NEVER goes online. about 3 yrs ago i received a call from Equifax Canada( a credit bureau) out of the blue, they were wondering if i really was the person applying for a cell phone in southern Ontario! i was advised to contact other credit companies about this as somewhere there had been a breach of my personal id. since then i've been very conscious about my info. but if you stop and think of the consequences of having a hacker break into your farm/company computer, an extra $1000 or $1500 for a second computer will seem like chump change! melvill, you do have a point about securing your computer in case of break in. what to do about that?

[melvill]

Wheatking, I'm ABSOLUTELY NOT trying to take the heat off anyone. Computers interest me as a work tool and a way to significantly improve farmers ability to manage their businesses. In my visits to farmer offices, I notice two things:
1) Offices aren't very secure.
2) The hard drives on most farm computers aren't backed up to protect from hard drive failure or as a recovery tool if the computer is stolen.

I've had two hard drive failures on my office computer in the last year. It wasn't a huge upset because my data is backed up every night. But what does that tell anyone? Have a second hard drive to back up the drive on all of your computers. It's probably going to have to be external since most farm users use a laptop.

[mcfarms]

my porn viewer errr markets and business computer is relatively well password protected we keep our norton right up to date and have biometrics on the newer laptop.

[mcfarms]

oh and back up the drive whenever we do much book work on a USB storage device that gets kept in the fireproof box as they are cheap easy to store and easy to use.

[melvill]

Boarderbloke, physically securing your computer goes along with physically securing your home or farm office or shop. Install strong, secure locks and lock them. I see a farms starting to install security systems on their homes and their shops to protect expensive tools. Many don't though.

I think there are several ways to "secure" your computer:
1) Buy a special computer lock so the typical smash-and-grab thief can't easily remove the machine.
2)Make sure you use very strong passwords so, if your machine is physically removed, it's hard or impossible to break in. Don't use things like your birthdate or the names of your kids or your favourite old car or your first name, heaven forbid, the word 'password'. Microsoft has a very, very good article on generating strong passwords at http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/create.mspx
3) Back up your entire hard drive to an external drive that can be stored in another building or, at least, in another location in the same building. Remember, however, that storing the back up in the same building doesn't protect it against fire damage unless it's in a fire proof safe.

[melvill]

mcfarms, I forgot about a fire-proof box. Good idea. Still have to find a place to hide it in case someone breaks in. Same thing with a small safe.

Anyone got any ideas on other alternatives?

[farmers_son]

Re backups...I backup to three different USB external hard drives. One is in the house, one is out of the house in a fire proof box and one is kept in a safe deposit box in the bank. I rotate the three. Norton Ghost 10 works good for backups as well as Norton 360. I think fire and crashed hard drives are more likely reasons to keep on top of your backups. If someone wants to steal information there are lots of ways.

One of the best things I do to protect my information and computer is to use a UPS. It is a 100 times better than a surge protector. It really saves the hard drives, files and computer in general from all kinds of power problems. Easily worth the money.

[boarderbloke]

melvill, how secure is this, backing up the 4x4 to the picture window, (regardless of hedges, shrubs or landscaping), dropping the end gate, pulling out a sludge hammer and applying it to the window! and if no window, fire up the chain saw and in 2 minutes cut a hole in the side of the house you could drive a truck through! no one will hear any of this, the next farm is 2, 3, or more miles away, no one may pass by your farm all day(or longer at certain times of the year) i think the approach has to be encryption more so than security. we all know that when you lock your fuel tanks, the next step is to cut your hoses at the nozzle!