On 21/09/04 13:39, "walter" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Given the ongoing discussion re virus software: in our home, we have > three Macs on an Aiport network that connects to the internet via an > Airport Extreme Base Station. My understanding is that the Base Station > provides some level of security, inasmuch as it 'masks' our Macs behind > its IP address. Am I correct in assuming that in these circumstances we > are fairly secure from direct attack, and that the main route from > which a virus/malicious attack could come is as an email attachment or > Word Macro? And that hence, given that we never open any attachment > unless we know that the person sending it, was supposed to do so, we > should be fairly secure? Probably I am wrong, and if so I am sure you > will soon disabuse me of my mislpaced confidence. I've no antivirus at > all, just the Panther Firewall, but of course we have File Sharing on > all the time, because of the home network. I turned off Guest Access by > using a little program called XGuest. Is this living dangerously?
I think you're mostly right. If you're not running any service that you don't need and have most ports closed on your base station, the only threat can come from within some email attachments. I had a number of Macs on broadband access for quite a few years now and never had any problem. My wife, who insisted to have a PC, has all kind of problems. Her PC is probably infected by every spyware, adware and virus out there even though she's been running Norton Anti Virus since the beginning. She's starting to be desperate as Outlook Express is acting strangely, for instance, she now has to enter her email password every time she's checking her email. In the authentication dialog, there is a checkbox to save her password and saving her from having to enter it every time but for some unknown reason, the checkbox is always disabled. I'm planning to let her suffer for some time, while me and our 2 children enjoy our Macs so that maybe, in the end, she will understand better why I stay away as much as I can from PCs and Windows... -Laurent. -- ======================================================================== Laurent Daudelin Developer, Multifamily, ESO, Fannie Mae mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Washington, DC, USA ************************ Usual disclaimers apply *********************** -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> For digest mode, email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subscription questions: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> --------------------------------------------------------------- >The Think Different Store http://www.ThinkDifferentStore.com ---------------------------------------------------------------
