This guide will show you how to secure Windows XP. While it covers the basics it also goes beyond them without going into "paranoid" mode...This guide is for home users in a stand-alone or workgroup environment. It is intended as a step-by-step guide and we highly suggest you read through the entire article before taking any action. There are two basic categories of threats to your system security: inbound and outbound. Let's examine the difference. Inbound threats are threats to your system security that come from outside your local network. These include such things as port scans, executable software, Trojans and viruses automatically installed by a malicious web site without warning, etc. Outbound threats are threats that originate on your local systems. These include malware installed by downloaded software, outbound packets containing personal information from installed software, keyloggers, etc. Several of these categories are both inbound and outbound in nature, i.e., an inbound threat that creates an outbound one, or an outbound threat that creates an inbound one. Mixed examples of inbound/outbound threats include: Trojans on your system that ?call home? and then either sends information about you or asks for malware to be installed on your system, port scans that find open ports and then use them to gain control over your system, and downloaded software that installs malware.

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Securing Windows XP