Safety on Computers

[dew7]

   I thought it might be nice to have a thread where people might address their concerns about computer safety.  The topics could include firewalls, anti-spyware, passwords, virus protection, etc.  Windows XP pro. has been plauged with security problems and I would like your comments about how it stacks up in security compared to other operating systems.

[Drunken Chinchilla]

I never really care that much about security in windows etc. Theres nothing on my computer worth stealing and so what if someone can read my emails, kinda sad for them to have nothing else to do really. The only things that do annoy me are those stupid pop up ads that get stuck in your registry, they REALLY piss me off.

[racx_00]

pop ups are the most annoying things that u can get off of the net , i remember getting a pop up thing called i-lookup and the only way i could get rid of it was by formatting my computer

So IMHO Windows should have better security than it does at the moment , cos Windows is just like an open field without gates

[Drunken Chinchilla]

I always here people saying this but really, what are you saying?? Surely if you download something yourself its your fault and not windows?

[Say]

Im a bit like dew7 is, I completly hate spyware and everything related, as well as worms, trojans and such, I do have Adware6, Norton and others related

and yeah I do monthly mantainance to my pc because I must, sometimes I get like... + 300 m In just weird web junk

[Storm]

Windows XP pro. has been plauged with security problems and I would like your comments about how it stacks up in security compared to other operating systems.

I don't know enough about OSs or computer security to comment on that. I actually thought XP was supposed to be more secure, what with the built-in firewall it has and all

[B'rrr]

hmmm.... I don't have any virusses ever and never been hacked (with actual damage done) yet... never used any protection though.... but then again, I'm not often on internet too ....oh wait, I am!! ; )

[dew7]

http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Upcoming/index.html

This website has many security problems associated with the NT source code.  That is why I am so wary of switching to XP pro.  Plus, as someone who knows some programming, knows how to set partitions, update drivers, flash the Bios, etc. I need the flexibility that Dos allows and that is why I plan to stick with 98SE until somehow it becomes too unstable, is fully unsupported, doesn't work with any new games, doesn't recognize any new hardware, etc.  Let's start with what programs you use to protect yourself from adware.  I use Adaware, CWShredder, PestPatrol, SpySweeper by Webroot, SpywareBlaster, HOSTS files, etc.  If you want to know the whole list I will tell you.  This is just a few of the programs I use to protect my business and personnel PC.  I also use a test PC to test out hotfixes from Microsoft that I need that have not been fully regression tested by Microsoft.  I welcome all comments.  Have a great day!

[Yonkey]

Personally, I'm not that paranoid about security.  I install the patches from Windows Update often enough, use ZoneAlarm for my firewall and Norton AntiVirus 2003 (which is set to auto-update).  

I also have AdAware but don't run it that often cuz I don't get much spyware/adware crap.  

[dew7]

   My system gets only a little bit of Adware that trickles through.  About once a week I will have one or two adware pieces that got around SpywareBlaster and must be eliminated by Adaware, SpySweeper by Webroot, PestPatrol, etc.

[Jeysie]

Hmm. I know you asked about spyware, but I never get any spyware, so I'll just list the whole shebang, since there's not a lot of it anyway.

I have ZoneAlarm for a firewall. The free version... since I have dial-up, it's more for curiousity than anything. If/when I ever get cable or something like that, I may spring for the Pro version.

For virus protection, I use an "indie" sort of program called NOD32. It has great virus detection, and has the same sort of features as McAfee or Norton... it's just a heck of a lot smaller in disk space and RAM/resource usage, and IMHO is easier to keep updated. (Costs about the same, too.)

I use an ad-blocking HOSTS file to, well, block ads.

For my browser I use Opera. I tend to surf with plug-ins and Java turned off, unless I come across a page that really needs it. Then I can just flick them on with a couple button presses. Whee! I keep javascript enabled (because that's ubiquitous enough to be worth leaving on), but I have Opera set to "Open requested pop-ups only".

I use Opera's cookie manager to only let through the cookies I need for my forums and other sign-in thingys, and have it block everything else. Opera allows you to turn off referrer logging, but I do not for the fact that you need it enabled to be able to get past many servers' hotlinking prevention scripts. Such is life.

I don't really keep up with Windows updates much, to be honest. I seldom have any errors, and most of the security stuff has to do with Internet Explorer and Outlook (Express) anyway... and I've uninstalled both IE and Outlook with a program called 98Lite. (Great program... makes almost everything in Windows installable/uninstallable, so you can get your Windows setup nice and clean. I very rarely have the BSOD show up anymore. There's a version available for Win XP, too!)

Finally, as I said, I never get spyware. Opera doesn't run Active X and never automatically installs stuff, and I always research a bit whenever I want to download a new utility to make sure it doesn't have any spyware in it.

(I personally feel adware in and of itself isn't necessarily a bad thing... it's basically just a program that displays ads. It's when the program bases those ads off keeping track of your surfing history and other stuff you didn't volunteer that it's an issue, IMHO.)

Peace & Luv, Liz

[Jeysie]

What risks or danger to security or compatibility does the program pose?  It would be nice to be able to unistall Outlook Express and Internet Explorer, even though I currently use those programs.

It shouldn't pose any risks to security at all that I know of. From what I can tell, the gist of it is that it makes available the built-in install/uninstall options for certain features that Windows usually hides, and ties them in as extra modules in the Windows Setup section of Add/Remove Programs.

It also can "unhook" IE from the OS, leaving just the bare-bones MS HTML engine. You can then reinstall IE as being more "stand-alone" if you really want to keep it. (Personally, seeing as how you're worried about security, I'd switch to Mozilla/Firebird or Opera... not only are they more secure, they're much better browsers, IMHO. But anyhoo...) You can even remove the MS HTML engine altogether, if you like. The problem with removing the MS HTML engine, though, is that you have to make sure you don't have any programs installed that need it.

You can also choose to swap in the Win 95 Explorer shell, while still keeping most of Win 98's other features. I did this myself, and I find the Win 95 explorer shell to be a lot faster to get around, plus it actually remembers the settings I give it.

As for compatibility, you do have to keep track of which programs you have installed need which components. But you can always reinstall stuff if you need it, so it's not that big a deal.

If you further want to clean things out, I recommend getting yourself a Registry Cleaning program. Not M$'s RegClean one, but a really good one. RegCleaner and RegSeeker are two nice ones.

Peace & Luv, Liz

[copycat]

Outpost is the firewall. AVG is the virusscanner, don't get any spy- or adware.
Plus, I can't find the option, but it would seem NS7 replaces ads with the text 'AD-SIZE'. I've got four of them at the bottom of this page.

[Yonkey]

I'm not sure if this is really safety related, but I also use Google's popup blocker.  It's my favourite one.  

[copycat]

I've configured my NS7 to black all unrequested popups. I don't need goggle for that. And to search, I just need to type in the think I'm searching for in the location bar, and move one line down.
Oh and, about that ad-sizing, it would seem that's my firewall, and not the browser. ;-)
For Windows XP updates, I've yet to find out how to let my current firewall allow those connection because I sometimes see messages related to windowsupdate appear in the ' Blocked' menu.
Anyway, this pc is just meant for private pruposes, not for work, I've got a laptop for that. Also, there's ZoneAlarm on the Win98SE-pc that's acting as a server, so I've got two firewalls watching my connection.

EDIT: I just went to grc.com and, while I'm not in 'full stealth' mode, there's just a couple of ports 'closed' (which is still not too bad, I guess, given my situation).

[Jeysie]

And to search, I just need to type in the think I'm searching for in the location bar, and move one line down.

Yeah, I love that sort of feature, especially when it's built-in! I've got Opera set up for uh... Google, Wikipedia, Opera Forums, Mobygames, and the Internet Movie Database. It's gotten to the point where at work, we have IE5, and I catch myself trying to search by typing in "g "steel bearings" " or whatever. (The g is for Google... each search option has its own letter shortcut.)

Peace & Luv, Liz

[dew7]

   Copycat, you should switch to the free ZoneAlarm which will stealth mode all ports except for one and it stealths that on a as needed basis.  At grc.com read the information about ZoneAlarm.  I do not use a popup block because I do not get any popups because of my all my other programs.  I connect via cox cable and also have a hardware firewall on my router to block out bad traffic.  Hopefully, my system is mostly secure.  I also use a battery back-up for when brownouts (quick black outs) happen.  Thanks for all the posts and have a great night.  

[racx_00]

I has Pc-cillin for my virus scanner but it isnt very good so i got avast

[copycat]

  Copycat, you should switch to the free ZoneAlarm which will stealth mode all ports except for one and it stealths that on a as needed basis.  At grc.com read the information about ZoneAlarm.

I tried (free) ZoneAlarm before this one, but I couldn't find an option to allow me to access my server. It (ZoneAlarm) kept blocking it.

[Yonkey]

Did you try configuring the two security zones with (free) ZoneAlarm: Internet Zone Security and Trusted Zone Security?  Define only your LAN IP range (i.e. 192.168.x.x) on the Trusted Zone and make sure no incoming/outgoing is being blocked.  I had a LAN last year and this worked fine for me.