Secure your computer after a Windows install or reinstall

Microsoft recommends that you connect to the Internet to get the important security updates and service pack. But the catch-22 is that your computer is more vulnerable until the security updates are installed. That left me wondering if there was a better way to secure my PC when it was at its most vulnerable — immediately following a clean install.

The best and easiest solution would be to simply download the security updates before a reinstall. This cumulative self-executable security update file simply does not exist on the Microsoft download site. I’ve seen Microsoft security update files available for download at various Web sites, but this is one of the few times that a third-party solution won’t work. You simply can’t trust replacing your core system files to anyone but Microsoft.

So I set out to find a proactive way to secure my computer immediately following an install or reinstall. I detail five ways (Table A) to better secure your computer until all the important security updates can be installed. They range from simple to complex and from less secure to more secure. This document refers specifically to Vista, but the concepts apply to all versions of Windows.

This blog post is also available in PDF format in a TechRepublic download.

Option

Microsoft Approved

Update Type

Advantages

Disadvantages

Option

One

(Stand-alone)

Y

Manual

SP1

Option Two

Windows Firewall and Defender

(default)

Y

Windows Update

Option Three

Windows Firewall and Defender

(default)

Y

Windows Update

Manual

SP1

Option

 Four

Windows Firewall and Defender

(default)

N

Manual

SP1

Windows Update

Option Five

Firewall Application

Blocking

Y

Windows Update

Options three, four, and five offer a more secure way to retrieve SP1 and the important update files. Option five is potentially the most secure and is the most difficult to implement.

Stand-alone computer users must follow this option. Since the computer will not be connected to a network, there are no online threats to worry about. You will still need to consider the risks involved when running any applications. The service pack, if any, will have to be installed manually.

This is the standard default option for Windows. Most of you have always used this option to update your PC following an install or reinstall.

If you select this option, you will have to rely solely on Vista’s built-in Windows Firewall and Windows Defender. The security updates you will be downloading fix known security vulnerabilities with Internet Explorer, MS Mail, and Windows Media Player. Until the security updates are installed, you should consider not browsing the Web, reading your e-mails, listening to MP3s, or starting any other applications that connect to the Internet.

The comments in option two also apply to option three. This option requires you to connect to the Internet to get the latest security updates. Then do a manual install of the latest service pack. By installing SP1 manually you reduce the amount of time you have to be connected to the Internet.

The comments in option two also apply to option four. Option four is similar to option three but installs the security updates contained in SP1 before having to connect to the Internet. By installing SP1 manually, you also reduce the amount of time you have to be connected to the Internet.

I have tried Option four, and it seemed to work well for me without any major problems, even though it is not Microsoft approved. I was able to experience firsthand some of the problems that can be experienced by manually installing SP1 prior to a Windows Update scan. Be aware that if you choose this option it is possible that any problems may require you to reformat the target partition and reload Windows from scratch again. You can also try manually installing SP1 in safe mode if you experience any problems.

This option involves configuring a firewall to block all network traffic except traffic to the Windows Update server. Actually implementing this requires advanced knowledge of the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) and the Windows Firewall with Advanced Security MMC snap-in or another third-party firewall that supports application blocking. To be honest, I tried to set up a new inbound rule in Windows Firewall with Advanced Security and gave up after a few hours of fruitless effort.

A good third-party firewall is an alternative option that may provide better security while Windows Update is busy retrieving and installing important updates. In the hands of the right person, a third-party firewall like Comodo Internet Security (CIS) is more secure than Windows Firewall and Defender. And third-party firewalls can solve the transparency problem that Vista’s firewall has.

If you are looking for a firewall for simple everyday protection or for easily creating inbound and outbound network rules, Comodo Internet Security fits the bill and then some. And the full-blown version with anti-virus protection and Defense+ is totally free.

If you do use a third-party firewall like CIS, you will have to understand how to properly configure the firewall and what application alert prompts to allow and which to deny. This is not the level of knowledge you can expect from the average user. Even tech pros can find using such a firewall challenging. You can dial back the settings in Comodo Internet Security but at the cost of reduced security.

How highly is Comodo Internet Security rated? The CNET editors rate it five stars. You can download the 32- and 64-bit versions from the Comodo Web site.

Installing CIS and not running any apps that connect to the Internet should safely secure your computer until all the important security updates are in place. If you want to lock down your network traffic further, it can be done using network rules, but you need to understand some firewall basics first.

There are two ways that personal software-based firewalls fundamentally work. They can start with a solid wall in place, and specific network or application rules can be added that poke holes in the wall. Or they can start as a bare foundation, and specific network or application rules can be put in place to build the wall.

The first technique is used by most of today’s firewalls — and you can see why. If you are using the second type of firewall and you don’t build your firewall rules properly, you can let in uninvited visitors.

By using the first type of firewall you can create network rules to allow inbound/outbound network traffic. By default, a firewall of this type with no network rules will block all inbound and outbound traffic.

Using the second type of firewall you can create network rules to block inbound/outbound network traffic. By default, a firewall of this type with no network rules will allow all inbound and outbound traffic.

Comodo Internet Security implements the first type of firewall strategy. It can block or allow network traffic by:

If you are new to firewalls and network rules, you will almost certainly be confused by in and out network connections and Source and destination computers. It is confusing. First, don’t think in or out. Think inbound connections and outbound connections instead.

A good analogy is a telephone call. For an inbound connection call that you receive, the source is the phone making the call and the destination is your phone. For an outbound connection call that you make, the source is your phone and the destination is whomever you are calling.

In this analogy, the phone number is the IP address and the device receiving the call is the port. For example, you could have both a phone and a fax machine using the same phone number. OK, you probably don’t have more than one device, but you get the point. Remember this analogy when setting up your network rules.

Using Comodo Internet Security with Defense+, I developed a method to block applications and sent the script to Comodo for a sanity check. Comodo was kind enough to have their Senior Research Scientist look at my script. He sent me a method that is much better than my solution. It will block all Internet traffic to all applications except Windows Update, and you won’t even have to worry about any pop-up alerts. Here are the relatively simple steps that he sent me.

Make sure that your modem or the Internet cable is not connected to the Internet.

Be sure that the blocked All Applications rule created in steps 10-12 is the LAST entry. Double-check that the order of the rules in the Network Security Rules Window matches the order in Figure B.

Important! After all security updates and the latest service pack are downloaded and installed, the blocked All Applications rule created in the steps 10-12 must be deleted to allow the normal operation of the firewall. Highlight the network rule and use the Remove button to delete it. You can optionally also delete the trusted System rule created in steps 7-9.

You will need to disable Windows Firewall if you are installing a third-party firewall. Please read Installing and Configuring Comodo Internet Security with Defense+ for instructions on how to do this and for more information about how to install CIS.

As it was so kindly pointed out to me more than once in the forum for the 10 things you should do before, during, and after reinstalling Windows article, an image of the Windows operating system can be made when you have it installed and configured the way you like. There is a legitimate and compelling reason to image your system after an install or reinstall. A system image can be created and used in the future to reinstall Windows with both the latest service pack and all security updates up to the image creation date already in place. And there is a way to do it with freeware — at least for owners of Maxtor or Seagate hard drives.

MaxBlast 5 is freeware application that is essentially Acronis True Image Home lite. The Seagate version is called DiscWizard and is also free to Seagate hard drive owners. You must have a Maxtor or Seagate hard drive installed in your system in order to run MaxBlast 5 or DiscWizard.

For more information about how to create a system image using MaxBlast 5, please read Partition Imaging with MaxBlast 5.

Editor’s Note: According to Stephen Lawton, Senior Director, Strategic Marketing, Acronis Inc., Acronis True Image supports hardware RAID in all of its products and software RAID is OS-dependent. It really depends on how the manufacturer implements software RAID in order to know if it’s supported. The best way to determine if your software RAID is support in Acronis True Image is to boot the system from an Acronis Rescue Disk. See the accompanying discussion thread for more details.

There are two partition images that you should consider creating after a Windows install or reinstall. The first image is an image created after Windows is loaded and you have made all the changes to personalize Windows the way you like it.

The second image should be created after you have downloaded and installed all the important updates and the service pack, if any. You should also consider running an anti-virus scan set to its high or thorough setting prior to imaging. You want to create an image that is Trojan and virus free.

I thought long and hard about whether I should submit this article for publication. I realize that the security issues discussed here aren’t near the top of most people’s list of concerns and for good reason. It is difficult if not impossible to assess the security risk after an install or reinstall. The Vista installer warns you about additional possible security risks if you do not connect to the Internet to get the latest updates. This is a relatively insignificant issue compared to any possible security risks immediately following a clean install or reinstall of Windows.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions. I doubt if anyone including Microsoft can tell you whether Windows Firewall and Defender is sufficient to protect your computer until all the important security updates are in place. I can tell you that your computer is more vulnerable until the service pack and all the important updates are downloaded and installed.

Neither can I tell you, patient reader, what security option you should choose. Whether to use Windows Firewall and Defender or to install a third-party Firewall like Comodo Internet Security and lock down the network traffic with network security rules, I leave it entirely up to you, depending on the option you feel most comfortable with.