BritTim Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 I second ALHOLK's excellent post. There are many dangers lurking on the information superhighway. For instance, * Identity theft. Someone finds out enough about you to use your identity for some nefarious purpose. * Destructive worms. Most people do not realise how incredibly lucky we have been so far. It has many times been technically possible to create worms that would infect over 90% of Windows machines currently connected to the Internet within 10 minutes and then not only erase the complete contents of the harddrive, but even cause certain kinds of physical damage to some machines. * Use your machine as part of a DoS attack (i.e. a distributed attack by many computers aimed at bringing down a service somewhere). While the attack is in progress, you will probably not get anything else done on your computer. There are many other examples. The question is: how lucky do you feel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danish30 Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Hi LaoHuLi, I agree with you and it is exactly the point I tried to make earlier that installing a seperate firewall is over the top for a normal internet user. Considering: cost, setup requiring expert knowledge and most likely it will introduce problems when the user wants to use, certain chat programs, do some online gaming or use other applications requireing specific port configurations. With these factors in mind I think most normal internet users will choose to take their chances without one. Best regards, Danish30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 BritTim and all Thanks for the answers. You've almost got me convinced. I am aware of the Denial of Service attacks, and knew one chap who bought a new laptop, and got a virus that physically destroyed his hard drive. He was not a happy puppy. So can we nonpros get one more summary from those in the know. I run ADSL and would prefer a hardware solution that doesn't break the bank. I say hardware as I have had problems in the past with software such as ZoneAlarm. This may have been due in part to the fact that I participate in the http://setiathome.ssl.berkeley.edu program, so my machine is live all the time and working. Thanks for letting all of us pick your brains. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Here you go These are no more difficult to configure than Symantec, you just have to read the instructions thats all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 ...not only erase the complete contents of the harddrive, but even cause certain kinds of physical damage to some machines. Is this somethng you know for certain? While it is possible to have software that damages hardware I don't recall a virus that has done this. computer-virus mini-faq : 5) There are no viruses which damage hardware by modifying how the mechanical parts run or their electro-magnetic characteristics. There *are* reported instances of specific hardware being damaged by the misuse of specific software. No known viruses damage hardware, and despite many suggestions to the contrary, it is unlikely that one will ever exist. That said, there is a virus (CIH) which corrupts a system BIOS, which is not hardware damage, but is as difficult to fix. With a corrupt BIOS, it is not possible for the system to start; the BIOS chip would need to be returned to the factory to get re-programmed. Hardware write protection of the BIOS should be used whenever possible, as should current anti-virus software. Search Symantec [/i] What is the difference between viruses, worms, and Trojans? Document ID:1999041209131106 Last Modified:07/08/2003 What is not a virus? Because of the publicity that viruses have received, it is easy to blame any computer problem on a virus. The following are not likely to be caused by a virus or other malicious code: Hardware problems. There are no viruses that can physically damage computer hardware, such as chips, boards, and monitors. [/i] If this were a real threat I think you would find it mentioned on http://www.securityfocus.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Ohhh. Read? Instructions??? Is that like a man u al? Thanks, I'll let you know how it goes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danish30 Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 No known viruses damage hardware, and despite many suggestions to the contrary, it is unlikely that one will ever exist. There was one virus, but thats more than 10 years ago on the Amiga 500. This virus could destroy the disk drive on some models. What the virus did was to continiously slam the drive head into the physical stops until you switched off the computer or the drive stopped working. Of course one could argue this was a hardware design fault. Best regards, Danish30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 I agree with you and it is exactly the point I tried to make earlier that installing a seperate firewall is over the top for a normal internet user. Considering: cost, setup requiring expert knowledge and most likely it will introduce problems when the user wants to use, certain chat programs, do some online gaming or use other applications requireing specific port configurations This is FUD pure and simple, people can fill out the form to get a Hotmail or Yahoo email account. They can enter a login or password when asked, and they can certainly double click an icon. Solid-state consumer oriented routers (many of which include firewalls) are very easy to install and configure. You can be resonably sure that if you have a problem many other people have had the same problem and you should be able to remedy it by reading the documentation that came with the router, looking on the manufactures website, searching google, or if worst comes to worst sending customer support an e-mail or calling them. Considering many of these devices are in the $80 and down range thats a real bargain. Many stand alone firewalls are configurable with a web browser that you are already familiar with. No one is expecting anyone to Learn Cisco IOS or how to compose an IP Tables rule. In summary: Cost : less than $50 if your a penny pincher Knowledge : Ability to read English and complete forms with your web browser Problems : Your not alone, read the manual, look on the web or talk to the vendor, its happened before and been noted Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adikgede Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 There was one virus, but thats more than 10 years ago on the Amiga 500. Would it be safe to say that the average Windows user should be more concerned about spilling a drink on their computer or suffering damage in an electrical storm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danish30 Posted September 2, 2003 Report Share Posted September 2, 2003 Would it be safe to say that the average Windows user should be more concerned about spilling a drink on their computer or suffering damage in an electrical storm? Surely it would, my example was aimed at the "never has been, never will be".. but couldn't the same argument be used against the chance of the average Internet/Windows user being attacked by a hacker? Best regards, Danish30 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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