System analysis of information security questions for usage of personal computers at home

The article shows the relevance and practical importance of assessment and management problematic of information security (IS) while using personal computers at home (home PC – HPC) not only for their direct users, but also for computers operated in organizations, regions of HPC placement, the country as a whole. In terms of IS there were analyzed the main objectives, the directions and the features of HPC usage by various users; the nomenclature of threats connected with the processes of their information exchange with environment by various channels. The specific character of HPC usage by various categories of users and the influence of their information and telecommunication competence (ITCC) at IS of HPC operation, personal IS of users and information saved by them at HPC are described. The possible practical approaches to estimating the users ITCC, concerning with IS, are specified. Efficiency of the existing and potentially possible methods of home users ITCC increasing, considering the specific character of their contingent, is investigated in detail. Some questions of home users motivation, concerning providing IS of HPC operation, taking into account their personal ITCC, length of their PC service, importance of data stored on them and external carriers, intensity of usage of Internet, e-mail, etc. are analyzed. The existing and potentially possible role of special service organizations for PC service and the possibilities of means for “remote access” application for HPC IS control, their adjustment and so forth are characterized. The paper also considers practically all important questions of effective usage of the program technical means (PTM) to provide HPC IS taking into account ITCC of various categories of home users, efforts undertaken by the PTS developers and the features of their marketing policy concerning the own developments, including free for “home usage” versions of commercial PTS and also special utilities for PC check/treatment. It was concluded, that in most cases the existing possibilities of HPC IS providing are not absolutely applied by their users.