tommy said:
If Microsoft reads this "good" seeing as how I can't seem
find a way of sending this directly to them?
I take great offense to anyone including Microsoft
accessing my computer without my permission! It will be
reported to AOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What makes you think anyone has accessed your computer? (I'll
leave aside the irony of someone apparently concerned about their
security and privacy using AOL.)
No one can access your computer without your permission. If you
haven't taken any steps to secure your computer, then you _have_
granted tacit permission to every malware author in the world to make
themselves at home on your hard drive.
Given today's widely-publicized and well-known hostile Internet
environment, only a fool or a masochist would go on-line without both
a firewall and antivirus protection. People really shouldn't need to
be told to use a firewall or an antivirus application, no more than
they should need to be told not to stick their hands into an open
flame or cross the street without looking.
There are several essential components to computer security: a
knowledgeable and pro-active user, a properly configured firewall,
reliable and up-to-date antivirus software, and the prompt repair (via
patches, hotfixes, or service packs) of any known vulnerabilities.
The weak link in this "equation" is, of course, the computer user.
No software manufacturer can -- nor should they be expected to --
protect the computer user from him/herself.
To learn more about practicing "safe hex," start with these links:
Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/security/protect/default.asp
Home Computer Security
http://www.cert.org/homeusers/HomeComputerSecurity/
List of Antivirus Software Vendors
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;49500
Home PC Firewall Guide
http://www.firewallguide.com/
Scumware.com
http://www.scumware.com/
If you want to use a computer, then it's your responsibility to
learn to do so safely. If that's too much effort for you, unplug the
computer from the Internet.
--
Bruce Chambers
Help us help you:
You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever
count on having both at once. - RAH
