Be able to describe why antivirus software is needed. Antivirus software looks at a virus and takes action to neutralize it based on a virus definition database. Virus definition database files are regularly made available on vendor sites.

Understand the need for user education. Users are the first line of defense against most threats, whether physical or digital. They should be trained on the importance of security and how to help enforce it.

Know the characteristics and types of viruses used to disrupt systems and networks. Several different types of viruses are floating around today. The most common ones are polymorphic viruses, stealth viruses, retroviruses, multipartite viruses, and macro viruses.

Know the various types of social engineering. Social engineering variants include shoulder surfing (watching someone work) and phishing (tricking someone into believing they are communicating with a party other than the one they are communicating with). Variations on phishing include vishing and whaling as well as spear phishing.

Understand the need for good passwords. Passwords are the first line of defense for protecting an account. A password should be required for every account and strong passwords should be enforced. Users need to understand the basics of password security and work to keep their accounts protected by following company policies regarding passwords.

Disable what you don’t need. All accounts that are not in use—especially the guest account—should be disabled. You should also disable the Autorun feature to prevent it from running programs or commands that could inflict harm without your knowledge.

Understand the difference between standard and low-level formatting. Standard formatting uses operating system tools and marks the drive as available for holding data without truly removing what was on the drive (thus the data can be recovered). A low-level format is operating system independent and destroys any data that was on the drive.

Understand how to physically destroy a drive. A hard drive can be destroyed by tossing it into a shredder designed for such a purpose, or it can be destroyed with an electromagnet in a process known as degaussing. You can also disassemble the drive and destroy the platters with a drill or other tool that renders the data irretrievable.

Know the names, purpose, and characteristics of wireless security technologies. Wireless networks can be encrypted through WEP, WPA, and WPA2 technologies. Wireless controllers use Service Set IDentifiers (SSIDs)—32-character case sensitive strings—and must be configured in the network cards to allow communications. However, using ID sring configurations doesn’t necessarily prevent wireless networks from being monitored, and there are vulnerabilities specific to wireless devices.

Understand the basics of antenna placement and radio power levels. Antenna placement can be crucial in allowing clients to reach an access point. Place access points near the center of the area to be served and high enough to get around most obstacles. Know that power level controls allow you to reduce the amount of output provided.

Understand why ports should be disabled. Disable all unneeded protocols/ports. If you don’t need them, remove them or prevent them from loading. Ports not in use present an open door for an attacker to enter.

Understand the purpose of MAC filtering. MAC filtering allows you to limit access to a network to MAC addresses that are known and filter out (deny access to) those that are not.