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 Ker SamSpade I heard this article on NPR last night and decided to respond. What do you think? To someone who is familiar with the computer security field the report Computer Security Tips with Hiawatha Bray came as no surprise as Ive heard the same thing many times. These reports are catered to the less computer savvy and are often intended to frighten people into buying new security software. I am here to tell you that these reports prey on peoples fears and that often extra computer software is not needed for more security. For the average windows user they need not worry about hackers because Windows is not a very network friendly operating system, it does not run many networking services such as ftp and telnet. The main causes of Windows viruses are from people downloading file attachments from e-mails that should have looked suspicious in the first place. This problem, however, is slowly going away as more internet service providers such as AOL detect e-mail viruses before they are downloaded. The other main cause for Windows problems is infrequent updating of the Internet Explorer browser through Microsoft Windows update, which can even be set to run automatically on Windows XP. Because these two big problems are becoming two smaller problems the need for additional computer security software is shrinking. The Computer Security Tips report also commented on the vulnerabilities of wireless networking. Although in more densely populated areas it should be a large concern to keep your wireless network from being used by anyone walking by, this should not be a huge concern for the everyday home user. Most wireless access points also allow the setting of a password that without which other computers will not be able to access it. This system is also not one hundred percent secure, but it is a tradeoff between security and convenience. I personally run a wireless network in at home and have set them up for friends and checking the log files I have never seen any unauthorized usage. Unless youre running a UNIX type operating system, which if you have no experience I do not recommend running over the internet unprotected because of the many networking services that it can run, you are pretty safe from internet related attacks. Just remember to keep updating your software and be frugal in your e-mail attachment downloads and you should be safe. A virus scan once in a while is also a good idea, especially if you downloaded something you arent sure about, but if you take care of your system your computer should remain clean. James Ford A.k.a. Kernel SamSpade of Cyberarmy.com Replies:
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2003-07-01 17:33:13