First Steps

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by bfg9000
Thanks that helps !

XP has nothing to do with wireless security. It's your settings that matter. Use WEP and MAC association for maximum 802.11 security.

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
You get owned before you finish doing that.

I have yet to be owned though my router has a built in fire wall so that's likely why. I just don't worry about stuff like software firewalls.

reguading wireless secuity; I have a wireless LAN at home which I leave wide open and have for two years now. So far nothing has happened though my neighbors kid sometimes surfs off my cable connection with his laptop. I don't mind as it doesn't cost me anything and he rarely does it since they also have cable.

It's part of living in a nice neighborhood.

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by bfg9000
Thanks that helps !

You asked a yes or no question.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Oerdin
I have yet to be owned though my router has a built in fire wall so that's likely why.

That would do, if you have a decent switch. A friend of mine got an el cheapo switch with a firewall, but the default is to let everybody in

[Asher]

Originally posted by alva
And from what I've read, neither will be MS's. Once they get out of the Beta stage, it will be a paid service too.

They haven't decided yet, and honestly I'd be surprised if they did charge for it. It's in their best interest for it to be free.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger
You get owned before you finish doing that.

This is FUD -- I've installed many vanilla Windows XP computers and then downloaded the Windows Updates, and never once have they been "owned".

Take your FUD elsewhere.

[Hot Mustard]

Originally posted by Asher

This is FUD -- I've installed many vanilla Windows XP computers and then downloaded the Windows Updates, and never once have they been "owned".

Take your FUD elsewhere.

I think it largely depends on the location and time of day. When I lived in North Vancouver I used to get tons of hack attempts just after prime evening hours. When I moved to Yaletown (downtown Vancouver), they greatly reduced.

If you lived in an affluent suburban area with enough script kiddies and happened to go online for the first time when they're running their scanners - you could get borged before protecting yourself. Assuming decent download speeds and little wasted time though - the chances are probably slim.

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by Asher
This is FUD -- I've installed many vanilla Windows XP computers and then downloaded the Windows Updates, and never once have they been "owned".

Take your FUD elsewhere.

I know, facts go against the massive MS propaganda machine aren't going to sit well with you. Yet your single data point, even if true, isn't going to do anything to recent studies about how insecure non-harderned Windows boxes are on the Internet. The average time before an attacker finds and invades such a machine is less than 10 minutes.

[Asher]

Those "studies" were a joke, and in no way correspond to the real world apparently. Link me to them and I'll walk you through it if you want.

[ixnay]

Originally posted by chegitz guevara


Why this, rather than Spybot or Adaware? Also, as MSN always tries to download a spyware on my PC when I'm using IE, I'm not sure MS's the most objective vendor.

I read a study that showed that Giant Spyware (Now MS Spyware) did the best job out of any spyware removal programs with a 60% success rate.

That's compared to about a 45% success rate for Spybot & Adaware combined.

Ah, here it is: http://windowssecrets.com/050127/#story1

[alva]

Anti-virus experts at Sophos have discovered the first piece of malware to attack Microsoft's new anti-spyware product, currently still in beta.

The Troj/BankAsh-A Trojan horse is designed to steal passwords and online banking passwords from unsuspecting Windows users. The Trojan horse also disables Microsoft AntiSpyware, currently available only as a beta download from Microsoft's website, attempting to suppress warning messages that Microsoft AntiSpyware may display and deleting all files within the program's folder.

"This appears to be the first attempt yet by any piece of malware to disable Microsoft AntiSpyware, but it may be the first of many such future attacks," said Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant for Sophos. "As Microsoft's product creeps out of beta, and is properly released and is adopted more by the home user market, we can expect to see more and more attempts by Trojan horses, viruses and worms to try and undermine its effectiveness."

Sophos experts have warned that, besides disabling Microsoft's anti-spyware product, the Trojan horse also targets users of UK online banks such as Barclays, Cahoot, Halifax, HSBC, Lloyds TSB, Nationwide, NatWest, and Smile.

"More and more malware is being written by criminals, designed to steal bank account information from innocent computer users," continued Cluley. "All internet users need to ensure their computers are properly defended with the latest up-to-date protection software, and make sure they are not putting themselves in jeopardy."

The British banking industry has published information about how online bank users can help stay safe online at www.banksafeonline.org.uk.

Sophos continues to recommend that businesses ensure their computers are kept automatically up-to-date with the very latest protection against viruses, spam and malicious spyware.

http://www.sophos.com/virusinfo/articles/bankash.html

[Agathon]

I have no idea of why Nuclear wants to connect the thing to the net.

Use it for games, that's all it's good for.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Asher
They haven't decided yet, and honestly I'd be surprised if they did charge for it. It's in their best interest for it to be free.

http://news.com.com/Windows+anti-spyware+to+come+free+of+charge/2100-7355_3-5577202.html?tag=nefd.top

Windows anti-spyware to come free of charge
Published: February 15, 2005, 10:49 AM PST
By Robert Lemos and Dawn Kawamoto
Staff Writer, CNET News.com

update SAN FRANCISCO--Ending speculation about whether it was shifting to a paid model, Microsoft said on Tuesday that it will provide customers with its new anti-spyware software for free.

The pledge, made by Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates during his keynote speech kicking off the RSA Conference 2005 here, comes after the company had been testing its AntiSpyware application--technology it acquired with its purchase of security software maker Giant Software.

"Just as spyware is something that we have to nip down today, we have decided that all licensed Windows users should have that protection at no charge," Gates said.

The initiative is part of Microsoft's efforts to strengthen security for home and business users of its Windows desktop software. Consumers are not always aware of the dangers of such threats as spyware, viruses and "phishing." A study published last October found that more than 80 percent of consumers had been infected by spyware.

While Microsoft turned its attention to general software security three years ago with its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, the spotlight on consumers began a year and a half ago, after the MSBlast worm infected millions of home PCs. The worm taunted Microsoft's founder with the message, "billy gates why do you make this possible? Stop making money and fix your software!"

Microsoft introduced the beta, or test version, of its Windows AntiSpyware application last month. The program is designed to protect Windows PCs from spyware--software installed on computers without their owners' knowledge. Typically, spyware generates pop-up ads or keeps track of people's Web surfing.

Windows AntiSpyware is Microsoft's answer to a threat that came essentially as a surprise to the software giant. Gates acknowledged that the threat appeared on the company's radar over the last year and said the company had to do better this year.

"We need significant advances to make sure this (threat) does not spread like it did this year," he said.

The company also gained a valuable spyware-reporting network, dubbed SpyNet, in the Giant acquisition, Gates said. The tool identifies potential spyware on PCs connected to the network. It then asks customers if they want to clean the software and reports back to Microsoft what code has been removed.

"We can see what (malicious software) is being downloaded and make sure the signatures are kept very up-to-date," Gates said, adding that the company gets about a half million reports a day of spyware through SpyNet. Nearly 3 million users participate in the SpyNet program, he said.

One security company welcomed the Microsoft announcement but struck a note of caution about the company's expansion into security software.

"I am glad to see Gates is focusing on securing the desktop," said Gregor Freund, chief technology officer of Check Point Software, which develops desktop security software. "However, there are some serious downsides to Microsoft's approach. Just by entering the security market, Microsoft could stall innovation by freezing any kind of spending of venture capital on Windows security, which, in the long run, will lead to less security, not more."

Microsoft has recently been making buys to bolster its security lineup. After closing its aquisition of Giant, the software giant last week said it plans to buy enterprise security software maker Sybari Software, a business-focused move.

During his speech, Gates also said Microsoft will release a new, more secure version of its Internet Explorer browser, which will launch separately and in advance of the next version of Windows, aka Longhorn.

IE 7.0 will use security features available in Microsoft's most recent security update to its operating system, Windows XP Service Pack 2, he said.

The company also plans to bring together its various update services and offer a single place to get security updates for each class of customer. The software giant will centralize Windows, Office and application updates through a consumer service called Microsoft Update, Gates said. Microsoft Update is similar to Windows Update and includes the Automatic Updates feature, plus access to security and reliability updates for Office and other Microsoft applications that run on Windows, a Microsoft representative said after Gates's speech.

Small and midsize businesses that have many PCs to manage and that want some control will be offered another service, dubbed Windows Update, he added. Large companies can exercise more control using Systems Management Server, also known as SMS.

Customers last got a major security upgrade from Microsoft in August, when the company launched Windows XP Service Pack 2, aimed at locking down computers. The operating-system revamp took more than nine months to complete and added a central security interface, a better firewall and several under-the-hood improvements to lock down Windows PCs.

Microsoft is spending fully one-third of its $6 billion research and development budget on security technology, Gates said Tuesday.
Separately, Gates said a planned Windows Server 2003 update, expected later this year, would ship "next year." A Microsoft representative said Gates was referring to the software maker's next fiscal year and that the update, code-named R2, is still on track to ship this calendar year.

[Tassadar500]

Good.

[Nostromo]

Lord Nuclear's pc probably came with SP2 to begin with. Very nice PC, btw