The other thread on the new IB security device has me concerned at my computer being vulnerable to trojans and other attacks, whereby someone could control my TWS. What I would like is some ideas on how I can lock down my computer to make it as secure as possible. At the moment I do general web browsing/email and trading on the one PC. I am planning to do a fresh install of Win XP on another computer and install only the TWS and Sierra Chart on it. I presume it would be safer to have a dedicated trading machine. Currently I am running Windows Defender, AVG free edition and Spybot. Should I put these on my new trading only PC as well or are there better programs I can use? Also, is it possible to lock down my internet connection so it only communicates with TWS and nothing else? How do I go about this?
A pc dedicated to trading is the best idea. No surfing, email, etc. on that PC. Another thing: hardware firewall. Netgear, with SPI is a good deal.
Or get a Mac. I do all of the above and then some.... No hassles, no viruses, no fools controlling my computer. Remember .EXE files dont launch in OS X, and if you run Parallels, any crazy windows issues are contained in the windows environment.... Using OS X Mail for your email, Safari or Firefox for your webbrowsing, etc.... But then TWS runs in Java which works GREAT under OSX.. No Fuss, No Muss.....
Use the comodo pro (free) firewall. It lets you be very fussy about what you let talk to what and how it can do it. That plus an external firewall in your router makes you very safe (with virus checking on board). Not browsing or mailing makes you still safer. Not making any of your other local pcs "known friends" makes you safer (so everything is regarded by comodo as enemy). To be honest I don't think its that necessary but you can achieve it doing that. How are you getting SC updates onto the machine?