Page 4 of 4 FirstFirst ... 234
Results 31 to 39 of 39

Thread: Malicious Spyware

  1. #31
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    797
    Jenniferdoes,

    It will protect you on a dialup. You can shut it down when you're not online.

    The marketing on firewalls to aDSL and cablemodem customers is that if your computer is running, you are online, even if only your desktop is running.

    Deep dark woods? sounds like Vermont. I have aDSL, half a mile away from me they have dialup. We are answering the call however, check out http://www.ecfiber.net
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

  2. #32
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    Hello Jennifer,

    Yes it does say that it is for DSL and cable. But I think that really means "especially recommended for DSL and cable" The point being that people with those sorts of connections tend to leave them on 24/7, so are permanently at risk with the same IP address. They really need a firewall.

    Because dial up uses your voice line, people only tend to use it when they need, and switch off afterwards. That means that they are only exposed sporadically, and get a new IP address each time (typically).

    When I look at the requirements part of their website it only specifies "internet connection".

    This is what I would expect, as it is a software firewall and is really only interested in traffic, rather than the transportation means. After all your Norton Firewall works just fine, as does your Windows XP one?

    Incidentally, you should only have one software firewall running at once. Same with interactive AV. Any more and you risk a serious performance degradation, particularly with Norton.

    (yes, it still exists for those of us who live in the deep dark woods)
    I too have dial-up and a 56.6 in most of my machines (I also have a couple of external ones). My ADSL will only work from my home along my static landline.

    My experience (living in what is very much a rural, agricultural area) is that it is reliable in remote locations where there is none of that wireless crap, cable or whatever. Sure, I could get mobile ADSL, but that is not cost justifiable for me.

    Anyways, I have quite a few (older) customers who only need dial up, the time and way in which they use the internet, so I need a few "reference machines"

    EDIT:

    Y'all see that! a guy goes out for a six-pack and ddddc jumps in and hijacks him
    Last edited by nihil; June 30th, 2008 at 02:54 PM.

  3. #33
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    17
    Thanks ddddc, I understand.

    When I download ZoneAlarm, then won't I need to disable the Windows firewall that is running now? Also, do you know if it will slow down my OS anymore? I'm noticing now, even with the quicker version of Kaspersky, my system is quite a bit slower than usual -- I almost wonder if I'm going backwards sometimes

  4. #34
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2008
    Posts
    17
    Hey nihil!

    Thanks for the information.

    If we moved 5 miles down the road, there are all kinds of options but here, no cable, no dsl, satellite is 400 bucks to install and 60 a month - definitely not doable with 4 kids to feed and gas prices eating us all alive.

    So, after I ran the Norton removal (thank you!), my Security Center shows Windows Firewall, and Kaspersky Antivirus.

    Now I need to download ZoneAlarm, disconnect, disable Windows Firewall (please tell me how), then run ZoneAlarm?
    Last edited by jenniferdoes; June 30th, 2008 at 03:15 PM.

  5. #35
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    OK Jennifer, let's go through the sequence of events?

    1. Activate Windows Firewall & get ZoneAlarm

    2. Disconnect from the internet.

    3. Install Zone Alarm.

    4. Reboot.

    5. Connect to internet and look for Kaspersky updates, before this, I expect you will get a load of stuff from Zone Alarm, just say no thanks or next, and continue with the free product installation. In the settings bit, the first option should be moved up to "high" (it is a slider thingy) and you turn off the alerting (it will drive you mad otherwise, and will still warn you about anything important).

    6. Reboot

    ZoneAlarm might ask you about the Windows firewall. Allow it to disable it if it asks, otherwise will will check later.

    Then run CCleaner to get rid of the debris

  6. #36
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    797
    Nihil,

    You're lucky you're on the other side of the pond or I'd have the six pack too, anything good? Newcastle maybe?
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

  7. #37
    Senior Member nihil's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom: Bridlington
    Posts
    17,188
    No, although I do drink it. Old Peculier was on offer, so I went for it

    http://www.theakstons.co.uk/ales/view_detail.php?id=9

    Morlands "Old Speckled Hen" is worth a visit too

    http://www.oldspeckledhen.co.uk/

    There are many others....................

  8. #38
    Disgruntled Postal Worker fourdc's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2002
    Location
    Vermont, USA
    Posts
    797
    Wow that's a first, getting carded to get on a non pr0n website!

    The next time I'm in a more metropolitan area I'll try to find them, we've got some good microbrews in the area but the imports don't seem to find their way in.
    ddddc

    "Somehow saying I told you so just doesn't cover it" Will Smith in I, Robot

  9. #39
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2001
    Posts
    127
    I know the problem seems to be solved but I'd like to put in my two cents.

    If you have a slow system I would recommend Sunbelt Personal Firewall as it is not as bloated as Zonealarm.
    http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Home...onal-Firewall/

    If you have limited RAM, you can install FreeRAM XP Pro (http://www.yourwaresolutions.com/software.html). It will help to keep the memory from retaining unused data and let you monitor memory usage.

    Also, if the work you do really is with sensitive data, you really should think about backing up your data and reinstalling. I've cleaned out many machines where I had to run several antivirus and antispyware as well as rootkit detection to get everything out (at least I got everything I could find). So there is always a chance things could still be hiding.

    As far as prevention, aside from the standard warnings of not opening attachments in email and using text only email as well as safe browsing habits, there are a few things to help keep you safe.

    Use CCleaner to get rid of temp files as malware likes to hide there.
    http://www.ccleaner.com/download

    Keep your software updated. Especially Java, Quicktime, and Adobe Reader (I use Foxit http://www.foxitsoftware.com/pdf/rd_intro.php), since these are often neglected and always end up having exploits.

    As far as antivirus, I really like Kesperskey. If you explore the settings you can set the detection to be more aggressive in finding malware. If that is too bloated for your system NOD32 (http://www.eset.com/) is a good replacement. I personally like eEye's Blink (http://www.eeye.com/html/products/blink/index.html). It is a bit of a heavy program (at least older versions) but protects against many "zero day" exploits in windows and has a nice vulnerability assessment feature that scans your system and programs and tells you what exploits they may contain and where to get patches and upgrades for them.

    I would also recommend having a limited user account for daily use and installing Sudo for Windows (http://sourceforge.net/projects/sudowin/) so you can have administrative access without having to log into a different profile.

    That's about all I have to offer without going overboard. Hope this is useful.

    Note to Nihil: I hadn't heard of A-Squared. Looking forward to adding it to my arsenal and giving it a try.
    Last edited by CyberB0b; July 3rd, 2008 at 03:12 AM.
    sandwich.

Similar Threads

  1. FTC holding spyware workshop - speak up!
    By ric-o in forum Spyware / Adware
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: March 10th, 2005, 07:09 PM
  2. Replies: 12
    Last Post: February 9th, 2005, 08:11 PM
  3. 2004 Spyware Mini Tut
    By StatiCoR3 in forum The Security Tutorials Forum
    Replies: 4
    Last Post: August 12th, 2004, 12:11 AM
  4. FAQ About Spyware And Spyware Security
    By Spyder32 in forum The Security Tutorials Forum
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: July 24th, 2004, 07:31 AM
  5. Spyware Information., tools/tips for removal of spyware.
    By saintakaagni in forum Spyware / Adware
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: February 4th, 2004, 11:48 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •