Top 10 security mistakes

People regularly lock their houses, demand airbags in their vehicles and install smoke alarms in their homes. But put them in front of a computer, and you'd think the word security was magically erased from their brains. People are more careless with computers than perhaps any other thing of value in their lives. The reason is unclear, but observers agree that end users and even some IT departments can be pretty dumb when it comes to protecting computers and their contents.

The following are some notable, less-than-bright errors that people and IT professionals commit when it comes to computer security:

The not-so-subtle Post-it Note. Yes, those sticky yellow things can undo the most elaborate security measures. Too lazy to remember their passwords, users place them where they and everyone else can see them: stuck to the front of their monitors. Lest you think this is so obvious it's uncommon, Garrett Grainger, vice president of information systems at office supply manufacturer Dixon Ticonderoga Co. in Heathrow, Fla., estimates that of his several hundred end users, 15 percent to 20 percent regularly do this.

We know better than you. You may think that certain security measures are necessary, but not all end users agree, which leads them to do an end-run around you. "People blithely turn things off they think have a good reason to bypass," notes Frank Clark, network operations center manager at Thaumaturgix Inc., an IT consulting firm in New York. "Antivirus software is an example. They think it slows down their machine."

Leaving the machine on, unattended. Dan Bent, CIO at Benefits Systems Inc. in Indianapolis, says he's amazed at the number of users who leave their machines on, without protection, and walk away. Who needs a password?

Opening e-mail attachments (remember the Love Bug virus?) from mere acquaintances or even strangers. This one drives IT managers nuts. "Users open all their e-mail attachments before thinking," says Marie Phillips, manager of information security services at Amerisure Mutual Insurance Cos. in Farmington Hills, Mich. "We tell them to be careful about opening notes and attachments from strangers or when they get the same notes from several people, even those they know."

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