The cost of being online

[Jeff Hansman]

In my tray I now have:
* Trend Micro AV
* Spysweeper 3.0
* Cloudmark Spamnet
* Zone Alarm
I wouldn't think of connecting to the outside world for email or web access
without these, and I know I could buy a package the ostensibley does it all,
but I just have to chuckle that it's come to this. Hell, I remember when I
used to dial up my local BBS and AV software wasn't even available. How
times have changed......

 

[Lothar Kimmeringer]

In my tray I now have:
* Trend Micro AV
* Spysweeper 3.0
* Cloudmark Spamnet
* Zone Alarm

In my tray nothing of that can be found, but I have Brain 1.0
installed and have no problems at all with viruses, worms,
trojan horses or other malware trying to get access to my
system

I wouldn't think of connecting to the outside world for email or web access
without these,

So you trust in the promised functionality of all of these
programs? You know that there are no side-effects coming
up with the coexistance of all these programs? You can be
sure that the programs are always on the most current state,
knowing all existing malware that can arrive at your site?

and I know I could buy a package the ostensibley does it all,
but I just have to chuckle that it's come to this. Hell, I remember when I
used to dial up my local BBS and AV software wasn't even available. How
times have changed......

They haven't changed very much. My configuration:

- A dedicated router connecting to the internet rejecting
all incoming traffic except explicitly defined forwarding
rules to specific systems inside the network.
- Deactivation of all services e.g. Microsoft Windows is
offering to the open world (like file-shares and lsass).
Hence no "Personal Firewall" is needed to block incoming
traffic (that doesn't come anyway because of the router),
because there is no service waiting on that port, leading
to the effect that the connection is refused by the IP-stack
anyway.
- Non-usage of Outlook (Express) for mail- and news-communication.
90% of all malware arriving, tries to take advantage of one
or more "features" of this program to install themselfs or
hide their true intentions.
- Non-usage of Internet Explorer for surfing the web, avoiding
the many (still with SP2 of XP) existing security flaws of
this program
- Usage of OpenOffice instead of Office or the mostly pre-
installed Word to avoid macro-viruses.

Frequent scanning-sessions with a virus-scanner never showed
me an installed virus/worm/whatever within the last 10 years
and still counting.


Regards, Lothar
--
Lothar Kimmeringer E-Mail: (e-mail address removed)
PGP-encrypted mails preferred (Key-ID: 0x8BC3CD81)

Always remember: The answer is forty-two, there can only be wrong
questions!

 

[Michael]

In my tray I now have:
* Trend Micro AV
* Spysweeper 3.0
* Cloudmark Spamnet
* Zone Alarm
I wouldn't think of connecting to the outside world for email or web access
without these, and I know I could buy a package the ostensibley does it all,
but I just have to chuckle that it's come to this. Hell, I remember when I
used to dial up my local BBS and AV software wasn't even available. How
times have changed......

I dunno when you started on BBS's, but viruses were pretty rampant back
in the late 80's. I never got hit fortunately, but most everyone who
filetraded did. But yeah, there were no IE exploits or spyware back then.

Rootkits and trojans on unix have been around ages though, in one form
or another.

The only secure system I ever had was my Wyse terminal.

michael

 

[Julian Moss]

In my tray nothing of that can be found, but I have Brain 1.0
installed and have no problems at all with viruses, worms,
trojan horses or other malware trying to get access to my
system

I had Brain 1.0 but initially it made a lot of errors. But it's a
self-learning program and I agree, it works well: I've never had a
virus actually infect my computer in 18 years of usage.

 

[Richard S. Westmoreland]

In my tray I now have:
* Trend Micro AV
* Spysweeper 3.0
* Cloudmark Spamnet
* Zone Alarm
I wouldn't think of connecting to the outside world for email or web access
without these, and I know I could buy a package the ostensibley does it all,
but I just have to chuckle that it's come to this. Hell, I remember when I
used to dial up my local BBS and AV software wasn't even available. How
times have changed......

The openness of our operating systems and the openness of our networks are
to blame.

Windows was never meant to be secure, just easy to develop for and use.
TCP/IP was never meant to be private, it was built for public use.

We'll never get rid of these extra programs and protocols until the
funamentals are fixed. What we need is an entirely new operating system
architecture, and new Internet infrastructure. Both built on the basis of
confidentiality, authentication (or in the case of a new Internet, complete
anonymity), and integrity at the core.

I'm willing to start on such a project. Any volunteers? ;-)

 

[Guest]

Yeah, well, they say it would only take an unprotected system 20 minutes (I
think that's too longer, personally) connected to the Internet before a worm
found it and infected it.

 

[Hercules Smackbottom]

In my tray I now have:
* Trend Micro AV
* Spysweeper 3.0
* Cloudmark Spamnet
* Zone Alarm
I wouldn't think of connecting to the outside world for email or web access
without these, and I know I could buy a package the ostensibley does it all,
but I just have to chuckle that it's come to this. Hell, I remember when I
used to dial up my local BBS and AV software wasn't even available. How
times have changed......

You can re-live the good old days if you telnet into scn.org (Seattle Community Network).
This system runs as a classic BBS, you can set up an e-mail account using Pine, you can exchange messages
on a bulletin board, and you can transfer files back and forth using zmodem (does anyone remember
what that is?). Every now and then I log onto SCN and I remember, and remember, back to the eighties, and...
who needs a World Wide Web anyhow?

 

[Jeff Hansman]

Ah, good ol' zmodem. Now there was a protocol for the ages. When the Web
started becoming ubiquitous, I recall wondering what all the fuss was about.
Now I know.....

You can re-live the good old days if you telnet into scn.org (Seattle Community Network).
This system runs as a classic BBS, you can set up an e-mail account using

Pine, you can exchange messages

on a bulletin board, and you can transfer files back and forth using zmodem (does anyone remember
what that is?). Every now and then I log onto SCN and I remember, and

remember, back to the eighties, and...