Victor Laury wrote:
>
> List,
> I was under the incorrect assumption that Internet security was only
> necessary for large corporations. Well, I know better know. My computer was
> acting unusual. New steps in the startup procedures were added, Strange
> folders suddenly appeared. Every time I would log off the network, the
> "connect to the network" dialog box would pop up. If I was logged on, but
> doing nothing, there was still outgoing traffic. I found that a shadow file
> of every email that I had read or sent was being created.
>
> I asked the one IT Pro at work that I respect and he told me that "Someone's
> having fun" Get a firewall program". I installed Norton Internet Security
> and it found 3 trojans installed. Since then, the hacker has been blocked
> twenty times, as he, she, it has tried 6 variations of trojans and other
> methods to regain his playground.
>
> Hopefully, the hacker didn't find anything to vital and now blocked, will go
> away. I've been told that at times they retaliate by certain methods once
> blocked. I hope that this does not happen as well. Please install a security
> device soon on your machines. There is shenanigans afoot.
>
> Victor
> 70 SRL 31113136
> Los Angeles
> http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumList?u=123073
> SoCalROC http://www.ameri-eagle.com/datsun/
Yep, you may remember this comment from a recent post I sent when I resubscribed
to the list last month.
> BTW on a completely different subject. I recently was forced to learn quite a
> bit about Windows based home computer security and how to set up your computer
> so that you are not at risk while on-line. I have run a small home network for
> years and found out the hard way how poorly Win9x deals with that situation
>when
> someone launched an attack on our network--in fact I found out how poorly
>Win9x
> deals with computer/net security period, and how much you need to do yourself
>to
> ensure you are safe. I was appalled to find out that the default settings for
> many Win9x options leave you wide open to attack. And for those who are
>assuming
> it was because I was on a cable modem, think again, this was prior to my
>switch
> to @home.com. In fact it was one of the reasons we switched ISPs. Ultimately
> that attack cost me hundreds of dollars in hardware and software, forced all
>my
> computers down for almost a full week, resulted in considerable permanently
>lost
> data, and cost me more time than I care to consider. If anyone is interested I
> recommend the following sites;
>
> https://grc.com/
> http://nanoprobe.grc.com/x/ne.dll?qg0diq1u
> http://webwasher.com
> http://www.thelimit.org/
> http://www.moosoft.com
>
> If anyone wants to know more or would like some help with this area contact me
> privately.
Once you have a static ip address, or one that persists for more than a short
dial-up session, you are an easy target for the hackers, crackers, and script
kiddies. However, as I noted above, even a dial-up is at risk. NO ONE should be
on the internet nowadays without some sort of protection. BTW, as you will find
out if you check into this more, the Norton software is not very good and offers
only minimal protection. You can find out just how much protection it offers by
going to the ShieldsUp site at https://grc.com and having it test your shields
and probe your ports. You may be in for a bit of a shock. There are also other
sites that will test all 65k ports on your computer and tell you which are open
and therefore constitute a security risk.
I recommend people use ZoneAlarm as their personal firewall. It does a much
better job and it's free. I now have the pro version which costs about $30-$40.
It is better if you have a home network and share your high speed connection
over your home network as I do (I use MS's ICS and it works fine, though it is a
bit tricky to get set up the first time). Steve Gibson (the g in grc.com) rates
ZoneAlarm higher than any other product. Everyone should check out the sites I
list above as a start. I suggest The Cleaner, WebWasher, Adaware, and ZoneAlarm
as a basic setup for any Windows based computer. As I said before, if you want
help, let me know.
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