Along the lines of computer security issues, has anyone had experience with
anonymity networks or proxy servers? I’m interested is exploring this and
would appreciate any pros or cons on this subject. I have a Dell desktop
running XP. Don
On Fri, Oct 8, 2010 at 1:28 AM, Kenneth Whyman SC <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> Thank you for sharing your experience with both myself and the rest of
> the group. Sometimes the old of adage of "If it ain't broke, don't fix
> it" works very well, as it has to this point for you. If you're looking
> to get Office out of the way sometime in the future, take a look at
> Openoffice and its recent derivative, LibreOffice. They boh read and
> write in Office 2003 format as well as the OpenDocument (ODF) format
> that is taking hold in the open source community. Both are also able to
> read Office 2007, but not write it, sorta. M$ is particularly reluctant
> to allow open access to document formats from the current Office suites.
> Linux with WINE to support any legacy Win32 programs would be another
> effective solution to being hogtied by Gates and company. Just be
> prepared for the learning curve with either option. Linux can look and
> feel similar to Windows to a point, so long as you don't use the command
> line. Small note: Windows Is Not an Emulator, WINE for short, is a way
> to trick Windows programs into thinking they're running on the right
> operating system instead of Linux, much like how newer Windows can trick
> programs made for older Windows and DOS into working properly. In both
> cases, games have the worst luck. Not a tremendous problem for some out
> there, however. If anything else crops up, feel free to ask the group
> for more help. Best wishes for safe computing. P.S.: Good call on
> Firefox. It has saved my bacon more than once. :)
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] Getting Rid of Viruses
> From: computer9f <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Tue, October 05, 2010 5:47 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Thank you. I ought to be alright then.
>
> Yup, you are right, Kenneth, WGA lets MS do very bad things to your PC.
> If it thinks you might have a pirated copy it is able to disable your
> OS, delete files, etc. - and of course MS never makes a mistake, and
> they are so easy to get ahold of to correct such a problem. I let WGA
> run once when I downloaded a few hot fixes and patches that I wanted to
> keep and install myself, after which I did a system partition restore
> back to a time before I downloaded WGA. As I said, I don't allow
> Microsoft to do unsupervised "updates" to my PC (I purchased a Retail
> Version of XP SP2 so I could reload my OS if I needed to - and I have my
> own copies of the patches and hotfixes that I want on my machine in that
> case).
>
> I have Windows Error Reporting disabled completely in Services, as well
> as services that allow remote access. SP3 does add "spyware" and
> "controlware" to XP, not the least of which is NAP, which, whatever
> vendors claim it will or will not be used for, puts the technology in
> place for serious tampering with personal computers (euphemistically
> described as "bringing a PC into compliance"). SP3 doesn't expose one to
> nearly as much as Vista/Win7, but it's as much as MS could do with the
> XP OS.
>
> I had one bad experience with WinLiveID where MS tried to cripple the
> old version of MSMoney (2004) I was using - thank goodness I could
> restore a prior image of my system partition to a time before I tangled
> with "Live," and get everything back to the way it was before. Perhaps
> I'm a dinosaur, but I like what I have, it does what I want, and I never
> get viruses, trojans, malware, or other invasions (including from MS). I
> don't even get spam in my email. I use a temporary, throw-a-way web
> address for anything new, with the site name in the email address, so if
> that site never spams (or "shares") the temp address, then I can send
> them one of my real addresses.
>
> I know Internet Explorer has always been a risk and other MSOffice apps
> contain risks also, even if you don't actually use them, but what can
> you do? -that's MS for you. I don't run I.E. and have it set on maximum
> security (so it practically won't run anyway) along with my firewall set
> to warn me if I.E attempts to run. It should never have been allowed to
> be part of the OS - that was an attempt to bankrupt Netscape. So glad to
> have Firefox. I think MSOffice is my only real exposure. I do run MSWord
> 2003 (the only part I installed), but after a week or so, I restore an
> image preceeding that use, catch up any important changes I've made
> (from my online computer diary) during that time, and make a new image,
> thus negating any Word activity on the system partition. It's a pain,
> but I'll probably use it until I find another decent word processor -
> and I'll use XP as long as it functions okay for me, but I do see Linux
> in my future. I have programmed on Unix using a form of Linux, so it
> shouldn't be too much of a culture shock for me. I am, in fact, nervous
> using Word2003, since it does "phone home" every time it runs - and I
> wouldn't run it at all if I couldn't restore an earlier image of my C
> partition afterward. The older versions of Office don't "phone home" - I
> should probably go back to Word2000 until I find another WP that I like.
> Is there anything else I may have overlooked? --AnnaSummers
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kenneth Whyman SC
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Monday, October 04, 2010 12:22 AM
> Subject: Re: Getting Rid of Viruses
>
>
> The access I speak of is Windowes Genuine Authentication, WGA for short.
> It is how Microsoft verifies that you are using a genuine copy of
> Windows and conforming to the license agreement. WGA would allow
> Microsoft to disable your Windows if you are using a pirate copy or
> using your license key on more than the number of systems it is
> authorized for. The Windows Update utility uses WGA constantly to
> determine your elegibility for security patches and other upgrades.
> Windows Error Reporting is another way Microsoft can look at your
> system, for the purpose of helping you fix problems, or to let Microsoft
> gather info for making security patches and the like. Internet Explorer
> is exposed to attack as it is a part of the operating system, even if
> you're not using it to actively browse the Internet. Service Pack 3 to
> my knowledge has no extra features over Service Pack 2 to allow
> Microsoft to spy on you beyond what I have outlined. Windows Live is a
> set of programs that are separate from Service Packs, and that is
> another story altogether. There is a place in each Live application to
> opt out of monitoring that is designed much like Windows Error Reporting
> to phone home when the program experiences an error condition. That is
> all the monitoring I am aware of in the Microsoft operating system and
> application suites.
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] Getting Rid of Viruses
> From: computer9f <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Sun, October 03, 2010 3:30 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> Hi Kenneth,
>
> How is it that Microsoft has access to my OS with XP SP2? (assuming of
> course, that I run NO Microsoft "Live" applications or use a "winliveid"
> (or something like that) for anything)
> I have disabled any services I don't want, including the ones that make
> possible any kind of "remote access." I have disabled any ports that I
> don't use. My firewall is set up to not let Microsoft apps access my PC
> without asking me first. I don't use I.E.. I have downloaded and
> manually installed any patches or hotfixes that I wanted on my PC - I've
> never let Microsoft just "update" or "install" anything on my PC. Are
> you saying I'm still vulnerable to Microsoft invading my PC without my
> permission? I know they built in ways to violate my PC in SP3 and with
> WinLiveID & other "Live" (cloud) apps, but I thought I was safe. How can
> MS access my OS, given the above? I hope this isn't so.
>
> Thanks,
> AnnaSummers
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Kenneth Whyman SC
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2010 8:26 PM
> Subject: Re: Getting Rid of Viruses
>
>
> I will respectfully disagree with your advice to stop with Windows XP
> SP2. That is a highly insecure operating system. Windows XP SP3 is a
> much more secure operating system, and the only way with XP to get any
> kind of support or security updates beyond making the jump to Windows 7.
> I will recommend bypassing Vista altogether as a very unstable and
> unworthy Windows operating system, below even Windows 9x Millennium
> Edition on my list of things to avoid. Microsoft already has access to
> your OS with XP SP2, so SP3 is not going to change that. Beyond that
> little bit, the rest of your post is sound advice.
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: Re: [PCBUILD] Getting Rid of Viruses
> From: computer9f <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Thu, September 30, 2010 3:35 pm
> To: [log in to unmask]
>
> You got McAfee on your PC because McAfee paid Dell to put it on your
> hard drive (without asking you if you wanted your hard drive space used
> up that way) and it is improbable that you could ever get out all the
> pieces of it out of your registry, even if you uninstall it.
>
> I preface this by saying that I use XP SP2 and Outlook Express and have
> no plans to go any further with Microsoft. When XP SP2 won't do what I
> need, I'm moving to Linux. I'm not willing to give Microsoft carte
> blanche access to my PC, which is what I would have to do for SP3 or for
> Vista or Windows7. So everything below applies to XP - whether it
> applies to later MS systems, I have no idea.
>
> I have used Avast Anti-Virus, Zone Alarm Firewall, Spywareblaster
> spyware/adware guard for many years with never a problem. All are free,
> but if you want auto-updating with Spywareblaster it is $9.99 per YEAR
> (and well worth it IMO). You must be sure all the Windows "security"
> stuff is disabled. I know these are better than MS offerings and the
> not-free (Symantec, McAfee, etc). I've never had a virus or trojan or
> malware in the last 10 years (or spy/ad ware after installing
> Spywareblaster). I used to run AdAware and SpyBot, but eventually
> stopped because, since I started running Spywareblaster, they never
> found anything. I do also use a router with a hardware firewall.
>
> The best insurance you can have is a simple backup COPY (not a
> proprietary backup file that requires particular software to
> read/restore) of your documents/email store and an image-file creator,
> such as Acronis True Image for your C: drive: system, registry, &
> installed programs. You really need two partitioned hard drives to do
> this effectively (internal hard drives are now pretty cheap and quite
> easy to install).
>
> Drive 1 - C:\ system/registry and installed programs
> D:\ My Documents (all of your files, including email "store" - there is
> a way to
> move these to a different partition & still maintain MyDocument
> pointers)
> Many applications allow you to redirect their data to a different
> folder.
> G:\ Pagefile (fixed size to fit into partition with a bit to spare)
>
> Drive 2 - E:\ backup COPY of partition D: (Second Copy Backup will
> maintain this easily)
> F:\ image files of partition C: (Acronis True Image)
>
> With this, there is pretty much nothing you cannot recover from except a
> lightning strike - and even that if you copy partitions E:\ and F:\ to
> an external drive occasionally. Even a hard drive crash won't hurt your
> data, because you have a redundant copy of everything on your second
> hard drive. Using this system, you would of course, turn off System
> Restore on all drives, as it would be unnecessary. You could restore
> your system (registry/programs) to any earlier date for which you saved
> an image file (even to the very beginning of a new computer) without
> affecting your data at all (including email store).
>
> And of course, good sense. Don't ask a site to "Remember Me" unless it
> is innocuous information with security like "useridme" and
> "password4me"; don't visit questionable sites; use Firefox instead of
> Internet Explorer; if you keep sensitive information on your PC, then
> zip it into AES encrypted files with something like WinZip or SecureZip
> (then you don't have to encrypt your backups). Roboform is a great
> password / form filler if your master password is good.
>
> AnnaSummers
>
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