Video card remains on

  • Thread starter Thread starter Drew
  • Start date Start date
D

Drew

When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains connected to my
network which is in turn connected to the internet thru a router.

Does this make my computer mo vulnerable to attacts?

Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer os off?

Drew
 
The video card is powered by the PCI or AGP bus and power to
the bus should be off when the computer is shutdown. Are
you sure you have power management set to shutdown?

The video card "remains connected to my network" doesn't
make sense.


| When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains
connected to my
| network which is in turn connected to the internet thru a
router.
|
| Does this make my computer mo vulnerable to attacts?
|
| Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer os
off?
|
| Drew
|
|
 
Drew said:
When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains connected to my
network which is in turn connected to the internet thru a router.

Does this make my computer mo vulnerable to attacts?

Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer os off?

Drew
Click to expand...

Why do you think that the video card is connected to the Internet when
the computer is shut down?

Since the video card is powered by the AGP or PCI bus, it will shut down
*if* the computer is shut down. The video card might have an IEEE 1394
Firewire port attached? That port should also shut down with the
computer. The Firewire probably shows up as a Network Connection. If
you are not actually connecting via Firewire, then just disable the
connection in Network Connections. I presume that you are actually
connecting to the Internet through an Ethernet LAN connection, which is
not a part of the video card, and it shuts down with the computer also.

Q
 
Drew,

You may be confused! The video card can not connect to the network. You
might be meaning that the computer main box (not the keyboard or monitor).
It is normal that the computer's network connection is still powered on
whenever the computer is turned off (Windows Shutdown). Most of the
computers, out there, do not completely shutdown and still keeps some power
on. This is known as 'Stand-by', which can be configured so that the
computer can resume the power faster.

Since you have a router, the computer is protected from most "hacking"
attacks. Just make sure you still run anti-virus software since a router
may not protect the computers from viruses, unless the router documentation
states it clearly.
 
Please excuse me -

I meant to say "network" card instead of "video" card! Please excuse me.

The message should read:

When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains connected to my
network which is in turn connected to the internet thru a router. A light
on the card glows, I guess indicating that it is still on..

Does this make my computer more vulnerable to attacts?

Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer os off?

Drew
 
| Please excuse me -
|
| I meant to say "network" card instead of "video" card! Please excuse me.
|
| The message should read:
|
| When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains connected to my
| network which is in turn connected to the internet thru a router. A light
| on the card glows, I guess indicating that it is still on..
|
| Does this make my computer more vulnerable to attacts?
|
| Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer os off?
|
| Drew
|
|

Hi Drew -

The light on your network card remains on because your motherboard supplies
backup power to it in order to support the "Wake on LAN" function. In the
case of computers installed in networks, wake on LAN allows the computer to
be powered up remotely (when enabled in the BIOS) so that a system
administrator can maintain the system without having to physically pay a
visit to it (in order to install software, apply updates, etc.).

Read through your system/motherboard manual and look for an entry in the
system BIOS to disable the Wake on LAN function. This will likely *NOT*
cause the light to go out when the system is shut down, but will prevent it
from being started remotely.

When the Wake on LAN function is turned off in the BIOS, the presence of
backup power to the network card does not make you any more vulnerable to
attacks -- how could it: your hard drive is not running so your data is not
available. Additionally, your router probably acts as a hardware firewall,
making your computer to appear "invisible" to the internet.

There are really only a few solutions which you could implement to turn off
the light on your network card:

.. Plug your computer into a power strip and turn the power strip off after
you turn the computer off
.. Turn off the switch on the back of your power supply
.. Unplug your computer

Jef
 
Thanks Jef -

One more question. My router does not have a firewall. I intend to replace
it soon with one which does. In the meantime, could someone on the internet
have the same power as a system administrator to power up my computer
remotely?

Drew
 
| Thanks Jef -
|
| One more question. My router does not have a firewall. I intend to
replace
| it soon with one which does. In the meantime, could someone on the
internet
| have the same power as a system administrator to power up my computer
| remotely?
|
| Drew
|

Hi Drew -

As I mentioned before, check your system/motherboard manual for an option to
disable Wake on LAN. Most systems I've encountered have this disabled by
default, but it's wise to check. If Wake on LAN is disabled there would be
no way for someone from the Internet starting your system remotely.

If your router is like most, it receives a public I.P. address from your
Internet Service Provider. It then assigns a private I.P. address to your
computer (this is what's considered a NAT Firewall). It's highly unlikely
that some miscreant on the Internet would continue after pinging your public
I.P. address for open ports and find a way to your computer through your
router -- I'm not saying it can't happen, but I have never seen it happen
before.

In the meantime, for maximum protection, use either Windows XP's built-in
firewall, which blocks in-bound traffic, or a third-party firewall, such as
ZoneAlarm (free version available for Personal Use at
http://www.zonelabs.com), which blocks both in-bound and out-bound traffic.
To enable XP's built-in firewall, right-click "Local Area Network" in your
Network Connections and click on Properties in the drop-down menu -- click
on the Advanced tab and place a checkmark in the Firewall box.

Jef
 
Yes, best install your choice of firewall, I like Zone
Alarm.


| Thanks Jef -
|
| One more question. My router does not have a firewall. I
intend to replace
| it soon with one which does. In the meantime, could
someone on the internet
| have the same power as a system administrator to power up
my computer
| remotely?
|
| Drew
|
|
| "Jef Norton" <[email protected]>
wrote in message
| | > | > | Please excuse me -
| > |
| > | I meant to say "network" card instead of "video" card!
Please excuse
| me.
| > |
| > | The message should read:
| > |
| > | When my new xp computer is off, the video card remains
connected to my
| > | network which is in turn connected to the internet
thru a router. A
| light
| > | on the card glows, I guess indicating that it is still
on..
| > |
| > | Does this make my computer more vulnerable to
attacts?
| > |
| > | Is there a way to turn the card off when the computer
os off?
| > |
| > | Drew
| > |
| > |
| >
| > Hi Drew -
| >
| > The light on your network card remains on because your
motherboard
| supplies
| > backup power to it in order to support the "Wake on LAN"
function. In the
| > case of computers installed in networks, wake on LAN
allows the computer
| to
| > be powered up remotely (when enabled in the BIOS) so
that a system
| > administrator can maintain the system without having to
physically pay a
| > visit to it (in order to install software, apply
updates, etc.).
| >
| > Read through your system/motherboard manual and look for
an entry in the
| > system BIOS to disable the Wake on LAN function. This
will likely *NOT*
| > cause the light to go out when the system is shut down,
but will prevent
| it
| > from being started remotely.
| >
| > When the Wake on LAN function is turned off in the BIOS,
the presence of
| > backup power to the network card does not make you any
more vulnerable to
| > attacks -- how could it: your hard drive is not running
so your data is
| not
| > available. Additionally, your router probably acts as a
hardware
| firewall,
| > making your computer to appear "invisible" to the
internet.
| >
| > There are really only a few solutions which you could
implement to turn
| off
| > the light on your network card:
| >
| > . Plug your computer into a power strip and turn the
power strip off after
| > you turn the computer off
| > . Turn off the switch on the back of your power supply
| > . Unplug your computer
| >
| > Jef
| >
| >
|
|
 
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