[thelist] RE: [OT] blaster worm punishment

[Val Paliy]

Hello Kristian list,

Sunday, January 30, 2005, 3:17:26 PM, you wrote:

KR> Hello Val, list...

KR> On Sun, 30 Jan 2005 14:41:35 +0200
KR> Val Paliy <valeriypaliy at yandex.ru> wrote:

>> What  really  helps is a good fire wall. You do not have to purchase a
>> huge,  costly  corporate  solution  if you are, for example, running a
>> Windows-based  computer  at home. Do not blame MS for everything - the
>> way  I  see it is this - when you install their OS onto a machine, you
>> have  to  supply it with a set of tools, tweakers, etc. that will make
>> your  OS function the way you want it. It's sort of "Build it yourself
>> after you buy it" thing.

KR> To throw in a rather unpopular thought on that, here: Sometimes it ain't
KR> just about adding new blinking tools and gimmicks

You  are  absolutely  right about the blinking tools; however, some of
these  tools really do work - for example I was running WinXP Pro on a
Celeron  333  MHz  machine  and  it  was  not  as slow, as most higher
performance  computers without them. Anyway - when you install a tool,
test  it  to see if it does what it's supposed to do and delete it, if
it does not. Of course, you should make a backup of your system before
experimenting to make sure no data is lost if anything goes wrong. You
could  always  experiment  at  home  (do not forget to backup just the
same)  and  bring  the  software  that  works  to your boss to have it
installed there :-)

KR> and useless crap like
KR> ZoneAlarm

ZoneAlarm  is not the best choice, and again - it depends on where you
are using a fire wall. My suggestion would be - if you like a piece of
software  and  would like to try and even buy it afterwards, save your
time  -  go  out  on the Net (using a library or an internet-cafe) and
read  other people's feedback on the product. Caution not to go to the
software  producer's  web  site  - Kristian is right - 50% of them are
simply trying to get your attention.

KR> (running a firewall atop a workstation doesn't really make
KR> things better),

But  it  does  make  life easier :-) When you get 50 attacks a day and
your  fire wall is on guard - you get a better sleep at night. Running
a  fire  wall  along  with  a  good anti-virus sure helped. How do the
intruders  use  exploits?  They have to send a set of commands through
your  ports  or  a  script,  right?  Fire wall is good for ports where
anti-virus  is  good  for scripts and all the files. You are basically
all set, the only thing is - you will have to chose the right software
for your workstation.

KR> you should be aware that adding software to your system
KR> just increases its complexity and also the chance to run into severe
KR> software failures.

True.  That's  why  I  said - feel the software, read for feedback and
then install it.

KR> A very basic recommendation, so, is just to get some
KR> things set up right, to either learn how to do things the right way or
KR> to (if too lazy or too short on time for that) let someone who knows do
KR> that for you.

I do not trust anyone except for myself to play around with my system.
Getting  help  is  a good thing, but how can you be 100% sure that you
will not get a little present (say, a trojan or key-logger) along with
the  help.  Resume: use certified computer stores, not simply the guys
you  know  that  are  good  with  computers - besides a possibility of
getting  a  "present",  if you do not know what you are doing, how can
you be sure he does?

The  other  problem is that some users are simply not willing to admit
not  knowing  what  they  are  doing,  and  trying to "fix" everything
themselves.

KR> Actually, some of our customers were struck by severe
KR> virus attacks lately, and the reason obviously used to be the same all
KR> the time: They didn't know what they were doing... "Surfing the web" on
KR> Windows XP with administrative privileges surely ain't a good idea, same
KR> it ain't clever to trust that user accounts are restricted enough to
KR> prevent your system from being severely damaged in case something goes
KR> wrong;

Exactly. That's why we need system administrators :-)

KR> same way those folks violently resist the idea of running
KR> software a _little_ more secure - why use Firefox or Thunderbird if MSIE
KR> and Outlook Express comes shipped with your PC? Of course, every
KR> software is buggy, but some is more than others. Computer and/or ISP
KR> advertisement sometimes is making things all so easy, "just get your
KR> computer, click on "start", get connected...". Doing so nowadays is the
KR> best way to be doomed...

Yep.  That's  why  not  only we have to use the software that's better
(and  free  most of the time) but also to promote it to others to make
life easier.

KR> Just my $0.02 on that, now tar and feather me. :)

+ 0.02 from me :-) 0.04 total :-) Anybody else?

KR> Kris

-- Val

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Best wishes and warmest regards,
 Val AKA M at ntis.                         
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Mail: mailto:valeriypaliy at yandex.ru
Home: http://www.valeriypaliy.narod.ru/
Blog: http://www.livejournal.com/users/valeriypaliy/
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