True enough and don't forget good old common sense and practicing safe
computing. don't open up attachments unless you're expecting them. Make
sure
your system displays file extensions so you don't get spoofed by a virus.
Keep your OS, mail handler and internet browser up to date, especially
with security
patches. The recent issue of the Internet Tourbus e-zine claims that if
you practice tips like these, you don't need an antivirus package. I
don't necessarily
agree, but IMHO, all of the tools and safeguards in the world won't do as
much for you as good old common sense.
Christopher
Christopher J Chaltain
[log in to unmask]
David Poehlman <[log in to unmask]>
Sent by: "VICUG-L: Visually Impaired Computer Users' Group List"
<[log in to unmask]>
01/30/2004 02:35 PM
Please respond to David Poehlman
To: [log in to unmask]
cc:
Subject: Re: [VICUG-L] PC minimal security
There is no one size fits all approach here. You need to determine your
uses and needs. I ran for years with just a good anti virus package that
I
kept up to date. When I first connected to cable, I got a firewall. I
found that one of my computers the one still on dial up was collecting
spyware/mall ware so I obtained an anti spy ware program. When I went
wireless, I dropped the software firewall in favor of the hardware
firewall
in my router/access point and now, I run spy ware on both pcs.
To provide some perspective, if one is using a connection via dial up and
infrequently and in short bursts, neither a firewall nor a
spyware/mallware
dector/remover is needed but everyone must use an antivirus package unless
you never connect to the internet in which case, you might never see this
message. I read a ton of stuff about this and most of it I disagree with
but that probably has something to do with the fact that I don't go after
advertising or want to pal up to the software perveyors. I'm not saying
that safe computing is enough because that does not hold any more since
you
can go to a web site and have a worm dropped on your pc but I am saying
that
most of the time, this stuff is over rated.
One thing I have asked myself and others and have not been able to find an
adaquate answer for is Why suddenly, manufacturers of networking equipment
distribute a firewall software package with their firewall router? About
the only answer I can think of is to protect your computers from one
another
and in some ways, that seems silly.
Flame off.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Lynn Evans" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, January 29, 2004 12:02 AM
Subject: Re: PC minimal security
Hello Dino and all interested parties:
I agree. We should all be practicing safe computing. Good protection is
made
up of 4 elements: . FIREWALL, VIRUS PROTECTION. SPY WARE KILLER and
backup
your document file. You may have to perches the anti virus software.
Please don't let the information below scare you off. The programs you
need
can be downloaded from the internet for free. Do a little at a time. Put
up
a firewall and work on the rest in the following weeks.
We are working with computers here and it would benefit us all to pick up
on
the computer jargon. I use Kim Komando's web site for the information
below.
www.komando.com
There is a web site for the non technical approach. However the owner is
into self promotion of his e books on computer tricks and tips. The web
site
is http://www.newbieclub.com/ and you can find tutorials here and sign up
for his weekly newsletter.
1 Put Up A Barrier To Intruders With A Firewall
A firewall should be installed along with anti-virus software.
Firewalls can be either hardware or software. If you have a home
network and a router, the router probably includes a firewall. Be sure you
have enabled it. Check the instructions. Router firewalls are very
capable.
However, relatively few home users have routers. So they need
software
firewalls. Some anti-virus packages include firewalls. There are also
numerous stand-alone firewalls made. At least two--ZoneAlarm
(http://www.zonelabs.com) and Outpost (http://www.agnitum.com) are free. I
use and recommend ZoneAlarm.
Home firewalls hide your computer from snoops. The computer has a
number of communication points, called ports. These are used to send data
to
the Internet from the computer. Intruders use sniffing programs to find
computers with open ports. The ports can be used by backdoor programs to
send information--for instance, your credit card numbers-- to a computer
on
the Internet. Firewalls make these ports invisible.
Firewalls also block unauthorized transmissions from your computer
to
the Internet. So even if someone succeeds in planting a Trojan horse on
your
computer, a firewall will keep it from sending information to the
Internet.
The firewall will tell you a program is transmitting. You will have the
choice of permitting the transmission, or blocking it.
Windows XP has a firewall built in. It is not enabled by default.
So,
unless you enabled it, it is not running. XP's firewall does a good job of
hiding computers. But it does not block outbound transmissions. So I do
not
recommend it. However, it is better than nothing.
A firewall is crucial to your computer's security. Install one
today.
Once it is configured, you'll hardly know it is there. But it could save
you
a lot of grief
2 and 3 Anti virus software and spy ware.
Problems in exterminating a virus
Q. I believe I have a virus on my computer. I scanned it with my
anti-virus software, which did not find anything. What else can I do?
A. Be sure that your anti-virus program is up-to-date. This is very
important; new viruses show up constantly. You can download updates
from the manufacturer's Web site.
You can also use online scanning programs. These two are free:
Panda-- http://www.pandasoftware.com/activescan/
HouseCall-- http://housecall.trendmicro.com/
If you still come up clean, you probably are not infected. All major
brands of anti-virus software are updated regularly. It is very
unlikely that you have a virus that is unknown to these companies.
Sometimes, poorly developed spyware programs can make computers flaky.
Spyware is often included with downloads of free programs from the
Internet. These programs track your Web browsing habits and report them
back to a computer on the Internet. That information is used to tailor
ads for you.
It is easy to track down spyware. You can find and delete it with
Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) or Spybot Search and Destroy
(http://www.safer-networking.org/). Both programs are free. They also
must be updated regularly.
Occasionally, a new program can make a system unstable. This is not
likely, but if nothing else works, try uninstalling any recent hardware
and software
4 Back up your document files and keep them in a safe place.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dino Cardamone" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, January 27, 2004 9:32 PM
Subject: PC minimal security
> Hi all.
>
> I am finally getting scared and motivated enough to do some preventative
> security on my system.
>
> Is there anywhere I can go to get a really clear, dummie language,
> adequately functional, description of where to get inexpensive software
for
> Virus Protection, Firewalls and Spy software?
>
> I'm looking to get the most protection, with the least amount of
technical
> side effects, and also the least amount of cost, and difficulty in
> installation and maintenance.
>
> Thank you very much.
> Dino Cardamone
> Pittsburgh, PA USA
>
>
> VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
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VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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VICUG-L is the Visually Impaired Computer User Group List.
To join or leave the list, send a message to
[log in to unmask] In the body of the message, simply type
"subscribe vicug-l" or "unsubscribe vicug-l" without the quotations.
VICUG-L is archived on the World Wide Web at
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