Information Security Comments - Brought to you by JoeUserhttp://security.joeuser.com/rss/comments© 2006 - 2008 Stardock Corporation. All rights reserved.Information Securityen-us2008-05-16T08:15:492008-05-16T08:15:49http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/rss/rss.htmlStardock Rss Generator v1.0, Andrew Powellinfo@stardock.comapowell@stardock.comParaTed2khttp://security.joeuser.com/article/58733 Imagine what would happen if politicians (at any level of government) announced to their constituents that the absolute best defense against any security threat is we all need to wake up and pay more attention to what we are doing.

Any politician who tried it should make sure they have their resume in order because I doubt they would survive the next election cycle.

The sad fact is, no Dept. of Homeland Security or even IT guy at work can be more effective against any level of security threat than a population which actually accepts the fact that they are (not could be) a target.

Hopefully your article will serve as a friendly reminder to everyone who cares to read it. It is not being paranoid to be aware of a threat.]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/58733http://security.joeuser.com/article/58733Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49ParaTed2k on Department of Homeland Security our symbol of security?PurrBallhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 I use Quick Heal Antivirus. Its made in india.
Link]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49PurrBall on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2nise1http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 I used to run AVG for almost a year, until I bought System Mechanic pro5, coming with Kaspersky AV.
Ha! it found 13 viruses/trojans...
Need more?
Som'ing else now, don't compare windows 9x with XP, they don't stand any chance.
I've installed SP2 45 days ago and since then I almost forgot it's in!
Works perfect, IE is much faster and faster than firefox, sorry!
As for attacks? I only got 2 trojans, immediately scanned by Kaspersky and deleted
Consider that very good since I'm on the net almost 16 hours every day!
Keep it up! ]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49nise1 on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2PurrBallhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 So do the WB screenshots I see that have the little sp2 shield in the taskbar mean that their firewall is off??]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49PurrBall on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2PurrBallhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 9x support has been extended to something like 2006/7.]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49PurrBall on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2IT-Monkeyhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 But, if there is nothing else availalbe then its better than nothing.]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49IT-Monkey on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2MasonMhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 I find that Sygate Personal Firewall does a good job for me coupled with AVG and Norton Anti-virus. II keep Norton running at all times, and do additional scans using AVG as it can sometimes catch something Norton missed (which isn't often).

This setup works for me as I use a WiFi card to access the net and during Xp boot-up the firewall is activated before the WiFi card connects. SO far I haven't had any problems with this.

Now if I can only get the WiFi card properly configured under Linux, I'll be all set. grrrrrrrrrrr ]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49MasonM on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2Septimushttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 Easy way for this not to matter. Don't open attachments like "runme.exe" Easy.

These things can only really infect your PC or cause problems if you don't monitor whats happening on your own system... same for any OS.]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49Septimus on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2sunwukonghttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447 A hardware firewall isn't always necessary. Small locations with relatively low bandwidth (incoming and outgoing) requirements can easily get by with a middle of the road solution: a dedicated firewall server. In this case I'd pick a modest machine with OpenBSD (or FreeBSD for those who just can't bear to sacrifice any performance and have the time to tweak).

Workstations with direct access to the Internet are always a problem -- if I had a large time or capital budget, I'd either use UML (User Mode Linux) or FreeBSD to jail the users and their processes, or, for Windows users, I'd pick either of the previous OS's and run Windows within a heavily protected VMWare session.

All of these solutions are for smallish shops that can pay the labour costs, of course. Otherwise, look for your best stateful firewall with IDS within your budget.]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49sunwukong on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2Dr Guyhttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447
For Dial up users, I guess there is no other choice, but for Always on, I recommend the hardware, and not the software. And a very strong AV product. I see where you are not panning the software one, just saying it is insufficient. DO you advocate both? Or is a HW one with a strong AV product sufficient enough for you?]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49Dr Guy on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2kingbeehttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447win9x isnt officially supported altho ms released a free cd containing all the existing patches and fixes.  i wasnt so much referring to security so much as i was the wealth of incompatibilities and anomalies that make each new new version a work in progress.  if nothing else, although i was hammered daily (like everyone else with a cable connection) by the army of 2k/xp systems that had been turned into zombie bots by sasser worms and their variants, hopefully and continuously portscanning the range in search of new victims, i wasnt vulnerable to anything but annoyance.  still i take your point. 


actually what helped me locate the malware on the system i described was sygate's reluctance to permit outbound connections without asking permission the first time (after installation) an application attempts to automatically connect to a remote server.  i temporarily blocked every attempt and from there it was a matter of going thru the log.


im not a big fan of pest patrol necessarily (for the reasons you mentioned) but it did help to quickly (fairly quickly) remove the first 800 or so objects--cookies, favorites, etc--that had invited themselves in.

]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49kingbee on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2kingbeehttp://security.joeuser.com/article/33447i do not use xp because i prefer to stay on the wayback edge of microsoft technology; resolutions for nearly all of win98's problems were finally available by mid 2004 .  what little i know of xp was acquired helping friends to rid their systems of a variety of hijackers, spyware, spamware, adware and lsass related crap.  since ive never used nt or win2k, i wasnt familiar with xp's typical startups or running processes so i had to work my way thru them pretty much one atta time.

i was a bit more familiar with the windows firewall (having run across other online users who were unfamiliar with port configuration) and not terribly impressed with it.

the last time i did the xp cleanup thing, i used several applications to do a lot of the work (pestpatrol, hijackthis, etc), but it wasnt til i installed sygate personal firewall that i was finally able to locate, neutralize and get rid of a buncha particularly persistent parasites.  i dont know what inspired me to consider using a software firewall as a diagnostic tool but im glad i didnt discard the idea out of hand.

]]>http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447http://security.joeuser.com/article/33447Fri, 16 May 2008 04:15:49 -04002008-05-16T08:15:49kingbee on Why not to use Windows Firewall in Service Pack 2