Network Security Best Practices - Symantec 460R - Gateway Security Administrator's Manual

Network security best practices

Symantec encourages all users and administrators to adhere to the following security practices:
Additional information, in-depth white papers, and resources regarding enterprise security solutions can
be found by visiting the Symantec Enterprise Solutions Web site at
enterprisesecurity.symantec.com.
Symantec™ Event Manager and Advanced Manager for Security Gateways (Group 2) v2.1 Release Notes.
This document provides a summary of new and changed product features, system requirements, and
issues and workarounds.
Turn off and remove unneeded services.
By default, many operating systems install auxiliary services that are not critical, such as an FTP
server, Telnet, and a Web server. These services are avenues of attack. If they are removed, blended
threats have less avenues of attack and you have fewer services to maintain through patch updates.
If a blended threat exploits one or more network services, disable, or block access to, those services
until a patch is applied.
Turn off unnecessary network services.
Automatically update your antivirus at the gateway, server, and client.
Always keep your patch levels up-to-date, especially on computers that host public services and are
accessible through the security gateway, such as HTTP, FTP, mail, and DNS services.
Enforce a password policy. Complex passwords make it difficult to crack password files on compromised
computers. This helps to prevent or limit damage when a computer is compromised.
Configure your email server to block or remove email that contains file attachments that are commonly
used to spread viruses, such as .vbs, .bat, .exe, .pif and .scr files.
Hackers commonly break into a Web site through known security holes, so make sure your servers and
applications are patched and up to date.
Eliminate all unneeded programs.
Isolate infected computers quickly to prevent further compromising your organization. Perform a
forensic analysis and restore the computers using trusted media.
Train employees not to open attachments unless they are expecting them. Also, do not execute software
that is downloaded from the Internet unless it has been scanned for viruses. Simply visiting a
compromised Web site can cause infection if certain browser vulnerabilities are not patched.
Introducing the Symantec Gateway Security 400 Series
Network security best practices
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