Michael Fiola worked for the Department of Industrial Accidents in Massachusetts. He was issued a laptop about a year and a half ago. Later, he was fired for possessing child pornography on the computer.

After fighting the charges for a year and having his life ruined, the charges were dropped. State investigators determined there was insufficient evidence to prove that Fiola himself had in fact downloaded the porn.

To get the charges dismissed, Fiola had to hire his own investigator, who made some shocking discoveries. The software used to keep the laptop up to date was not working, and neither was the antivirus program. So, not surprisingly, the machine was found to be chock full of malicious software that may have installed the child porn.

Or, says Fiola, the porn may have already been on the laptop when he received it.

In any case, if you use a company-issued laptop or Desktop machine for that matter, you had better make sure that all the security programs are working and up to date, including Windows or other o/s. When you first get the machine, run all the scans to make sure the computer is clean. Don’t forget an anti-rootkit scanner.

Then browse through the files, to make sure there is no questionable stuff lurking in its innards. If you travel across international borders with your laptop, be prepared to have it inspected by the border guards. You may even have to provide the key to encrypted files, or have the laptop seized. Make sure you have a current backup at the office.

Syd Tash is a noted computer security consultant and author of How to Protect Your Computer Online. He has been keeping Internet surfers safe and secure since the last century. Find out how he does it; protect your own computer with five layers of protection right here:
= > http://MyPCSecuritySite.com

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