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To all people who absolutely must persist with windows and aren't yet
ready to switch to free open source software:

Could you PLEASE ALL FIX YOUR SECURITY! Like, NOW!!!!

1) Don't EVER open an attachment unless you're expecting it and you know
the sender.

2) Run a good firewall - ZoneAlarm is a reasonable free one, and there are
better ones available for payment or via covert channels

Make sure to block off all incoming and outgoing connections on ports 135
and 139 at the very least

3) Please stop using software that promotes infection - software such as
Outlook, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer.

Install Pegasus, Eudora, Mozilla or Opera instead.

I am just so sick and tired of all your freakin viruses chewing up my
bandwidth and server processor cycles.

I am even more ****ed off when I receive bounce messages accusing me of
sending viruses that never left my system (new viruses spoofing my email
address in the From: header.

Thank you very much in advance.

Regards
EB

On Sat, 23 Aug 2003 03:59:10 +1200, "Joe Citizen" <>
wrote:

>But if we all switch to open source the virus writers will target it, and
>you'll be affected too.
>
>

There are counters to that argument, such as Apache; 60% market share
and almost bullet-proof according to those who know it better than I
do.

Hard to obtain an unbiased optinion, but FWIW

http://www.idg.co.nz/webhome.nsf/UNI...B?OpenDocument

Steve B.

this quote is from Evil Bastard of Sat, 23 Aug 2003 02:55 :
>
> To all people who absolutely must persist with windows and aren't yet
> ready to switch to free open source software:
>
> Could you PLEASE ALL FIX YOUR SECURITY! Like, NOW!!!!

hear hear ! well said

Unfortunately, most Windows users do so because they don't know any better.
For most users, their PC comes with Windos installed, and that's as far as
they get.

But you're absolutely right, a good rule of thumb is to avoid Microsoft
software wherever possible. Just changing to Mozilla, Open Office, Opera,
et al, will greatly reduce your risk of infection, even if you have to stay
on the Windos OS.


Peter

this quote is from Joe Citizen of Sat, 23 Aug 2003 03:59 :

> But if we all switch to open source the virus writers will target it, and
> you'll be affected too.

That rather shows your ignorance of the topic.

For one thing, the open source software is far less vulnerable than the
Microsoft stuff. Open source is not immune, but it is a lot safer than MS.

Secondly, open source community creates a rich diversity of products. This
diversity is an inherent obstacle to malware because the virus writer has
to cope with so many different products (very very difficult). Conversely,
the monoculture that Microsoft seeks to impose means a virus writer needs
only to crack one product to wipe out a big portion of the population.

Fortunately, more people are becoming aware of these facts, and are
realising that Microsoft is ripping us off. MS is making obscene profits
peddling substandard goods. In any other consumer product, this would be
against the law, but somehow MS gets away with it. See ...
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydispl...toryID=3519276


Peter

>
> 3) Please stop using software that promotes infection - software such as
> Outlook, Outlook Express and Internet Explorer.
>
> Install Pegasus, Eudora, Mozilla or Opera instead.
>

I have yet to discover a Pegasus user who can either send or receive images
for our amateur radio newsletter without having to call for help. The
Pegasus directory names on the top bar are apparently not those that Windows
uses. I was unable at first go to transfer images received with Pegasus to a
friend's photo processing program, because I could not find their location
within Pegasus by using 'Find' in Windows98SE.

Keep Windows updated, use something like Symantec Systemworks.

The problems I had with Windows were all self-inflicted, like dodgy
downloads interrupted halfway.

Henry

>
> Fortunately, more people are becoming aware of these facts, and are
> realising that Microsoft is ripping us off. MS is making obscene profits
> peddling substandard goods. In any other consumer product, this would be
> against the law, but somehow MS gets away with it. See ...

Wrong there is nothing in the Sales of Good Act or Consumers Guarantee Act
that Microsoft has violated, indeed it's not actually Microsofts
responsibility to fixm but rather the trader of the product

this quote is from Rupert of Sat, 23 Aug 2003 08:44 :
>> Fortunately, more people are becoming aware of these facts, and are
>> realising that Microsoft is ripping us off. MS is making obscene profits
>> peddling substandard goods. In any other consumer product, this would be
>> against the law, but somehow MS gets away with it. See ...
>
> Wrong there is nothing in the Sales of Good Act or Consumers Guarantee Act
> that Microsoft has violated, indeed it's not actually Microsofts
> responsibility to fixm but rather the trader of the product

So, you say Microsoft can produce whatever shoddy, bug ridden software they
like, but it is the poor retailers' responsibility to fix it all up?
Tell me, does MS give the retailers the source code so that they are able to
fix it?

No? I didn't think so.


Peter

"Evil Bastard" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
newsan.2003.08.22.14.55.15.920039@127.0.0.1...
>
> To all people who absolutely must persist with windows and aren't yet
> ready to switch to free open source software:
>

I will awitch to open source software as soon as you offer constructive,
easy to understand help on how to setup the things that I want to do without
telling me to RTFM.

--
"It's what you learn after you know it all that counts."

"cowboyz" <> wrote in message
news:bi62bf$5ff$...
>
>
> "Evil Bastard" <postmaster@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
> newsan.2003.08.22.14.55.15.920039@127.0.0.1...
> >
> > To all people who absolutely must persist with windows and aren't yet
> > ready to switch to free open source software:
> >
>
> I will awitch to open source software as soon as you offer constructive,
> easy to understand help on how to setup the things that I want to do
without
> telling me to RTFM.
>
Seeing as Windows is so easy in comparison, can you tell me how to turn off
the tool tips please?

"Joe Citizen" <> wrote in message
news:h5r1b.123903$...
> But if we all switch to open source the virus writers will target it, and
> you'll be affected too.
>
>

Only partially true. Virus writers may very well target open source
software.
Open source is of course a generic term that describes apps written to run
on Windows as well as other operating systems, so lets assume that this
poster means free operating systems like Linux and BSD
But the flaws in Windows which enable viruses to propagate have been caused
by Microsofts opt in security model, and the identical nature of the
unsecured default suite of internet applications.
With Linux some distribution vendors may adopt a similar model for
convenience and some may be more secure out of the box. Linux installs are
completely modular and may have nothing in common except the kernel and the
gnu base.
Its really down to how the file sharing and internet communication
applications are set up.
Windows can be secured without Anti virus products by eliminating the
fundamental exploits.
Thats what each Linux distro attempts to do, and the reason for the
identical security advisories each time one of the open source building
block apps needs a security update.
Windows 9x had so many vulnerabilities that the best that could be done was
to parse incoming code with anti virus software. Windows XP eliminates many
of the fundamental exploits, so it is a positive step.