Re: [HolyGeek] Hardwired

Tue, 07 Sep 2004 05:31:54 -0700

Hi Lobster -
 
:)

Ed Jason <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:

Hello Joyce,


>Dear Friends -
>
>Does anyone know of any software firewalls that load and run in dos at boot time?


No

but this guy might

http://www.grc.com/su-firewalls.htm

plus lot's of info for those so inclined

 

Thanks for the useful link!

. . . meanwhile I would recommend a hardware firewall as
a start and it really seems to me that you would be happiest with Linux
FreeBSD or Mac OS as the level of security is higher

You're correct about hardware firewalls - but the thing is, my router has a hardware firewall built it, and whatever is going in gets through anyway.

I do have a linux box and a couple of Macs (they are old), and am happy with them.

This particular computer is one i want to keep on Windows, for a number of reasons. It is an older Compaq laptop and i don't want to make it a linux computer - had looked into that last year (and someone from HolyGeek - Suleyman, i think - btw where is he? - sent me a link in that regards).

I have no doubt that most security problems (as Mr Gibson on his web site makes clear)
are created by bad software and incorrect set ups.

Again, i think you're right. This particular computer has not been reimaged in several years, and while the configurations are ok, things have a way of getting corrupted over time.

Also, a couple of weeks ago i had upgraded Yahoo Messenger - bad move. I had not used Yahoo Messenger for IMing in many months, but started using it ONLY because it is the only way that i am notified when incoming mail arrives for my yahoo account. It kept nagging me about upgrading and finally i said yes - huge mistake. The new Yahoo IM client is much to fat for this old box and it brought everything to it's knees - even typing simple sentences in wordpad was a time warp experience - it behaved as though i was in type-ahead mode - i would type and type and then a long delay later, the words would appear... Horrible system response.

I uninstalled Yahoo IM totally and things improved - except it had added the Yahoo toolbar to IE - those are nasty features, the custom toolbars, because they are spyware, themselves, tracking things.

I spent 3 hours the other day trying to move my ports from closed (which is fine)
to stealthed which is ultra secure - it is POTENTIALLY possible for someone to crash your
machine from a distance if they have nothing better to do . . .

Well then, lets find them something better to do!!!!

:)

The other evening, i had ICQ open. I heard that awful sound ICQ makes when there is a new system message - you know the one? unmistakable. I looked at the client, and there was nothing flashing next to the system message box, but my computer immediately black screened. Very clearly, whatever was sent through ICQ brought my system down.

I am now only rarely launching ICQ.


It was 3 hours wasted  

Sorry to hear that. Time is precious.


For me the question is how can we secure our head
from our own lack of a firewall?

:) If you figure it out, put it in a bottle and sell it in the health foods section of the market.

 


:-)

Lobster

Thanks for the helfulness, as usual Lob.

love and peace,

joyce

PS - Discovered by accident yesterday that right after loading aol, something is causing my computer to launch an additional dialup session - to somewhere else... as though my computer is literally trying to phone home to someone else's system.

When the firewall prompts to run this app, i answer "deny" and so far no ill effects at this end.

Gosh, i wish computing were just a matter of true plug & play... we plug it in and we play... without all of this extra nonsense. Who has the time?

 



Do you Yahoo!?
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages!
Yahoo! Groups Sponsor

Get unlimited calls to

U.S./Canada

Yahoo! Groups Links

Reply via email to