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| Thread ID: 46876 | 2004-07-08 11:31:00 | How do I stop this ~ from showing up on my desktop? | stu120404 (268) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 250743 | 2004-07-09 05:51:00 | For goodness sakes Jim! Elementary precautions will avoid much of that rubbish: Don't respond to pop-ups, at all. Use Alt-F4 to close anything you didn't intentionally open, not your mouse. Use a firewall to restrict incoming and outgoing access. Don't surf to shonky sites in search of cheap thrills or cheap products. Don't open any attachment unless (a) you know the sender and (b) check what it is very carefully before opening. If we all moved en masse from IE, what do you think the bad guys will do? The alternatives are not vulnerability-free, they just haven't had their potential mined yet. If any one of them assumed 25% of the market held by IE you would very soon see similar security alerts appearing. I'm not saying that MS doesn't have problems, and nor am I saying that some current alternatives don't avoid those problems. What I am saying is that moving town only spares you the atttentions of the local bad guys until they find out where you moved to, and follow you there. A significant proportion of the problem is not a software issue and will only ever be solved by more radical human engineering. Cheers Billy 8-{) :| |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 250744 | 2004-07-09 06:09:00 | I choose not to use OE or Outlook, for exactly the same reason I would not go deer shooting in the bush, while wearing a deerskin suit with a target on the chest. Its not that OE or Outlook are bad, its just that they are way too much of a target and there is nothing forcing me to use the programs. Many OE users are simply unaware that they can use alternatives, and that some alternatives are very good programs. If everyone went to non MS programs, then I am sure those non MS applications would then eventually become the target for the scum that instigate all this, as suggested above. |
godfather (25) | ||
| 250745 | 2004-07-09 06:20:00 | Can we please let this thread die, the question has been answered Thanks :) |
stu120404 (268) | ||
| 250746 | 2004-07-09 06:37:00 | Ah but Billy, Jim B says: "It is much safer for the average surfer to use an alternative browser", not the wise and sensible type like yourself. ;-) > If we all moved en masse from IE, what do you think the bad guys will > do? The alternatives are not vulnerability-free, they just haven't had > their potential mined yet. If any one of them assumed 25% of the > market held by IE you would very soon see similar security alerts > appearing. The big difference between the "alternatives" and MS is that the former are far far quicker off the mark to patch up their products when security alerts do appear. A case in point is the recent release of Firefox 0.9.1 - it has been upgraded to 0.9.2 already, within days, to patch up a security hole. Same with Opera. Where are the patches for IE? ;-) |
Fire-and-Ice (3910) | ||
| 250747 | 2004-07-09 06:54:00 | > For goodness sakes Jim! > > Elementary precautions will avoid much of that > rubbish: I wasn't me that made the recommendation to move away from IE and OE It was made by experts with much more knowledge than you or I Elementary precautions are not something the average person understands unfortunately. |
Jim B (153) | ||
| 250748 | 2004-07-09 07:34:00 | > Where are the patches for IE? ;-) Good question F & I, but as far as I can see they are usually posted in advance of the nasties exploiting them. Case in point is the Sasser worm. Depending on who you listen to, the patch was posted by MS either 13 or 17 days before the Sasser worm was written and released. There was another security alert a few days ago, and the patch is available to anybody who wishes to download it. No prizes for guessing what will happen to those who don't: Exactly the same thing as will happen to Firefox users who don't bother to upgrade. The greatest security hazard is the user. I'm neither all that wise, nor particularly sensible and I suspect that comment was made with your tongue firmly planted in your cheek but thanks for the compliment anyway. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 250749 | 2004-07-09 08:53:00 | I have to disagree in part with you argument . Other browser do not use ActiveX or proprietary scripting to the extent that IE does . Other browsers are not or do not embed themselves into your operating system, they are just application you use on your computer, vulnerable yes but not as direct a pipeline to the OS as IE along with OE . I also believe some more diversity in browsers and email clients makes it harder for a******e's to construct there code to such widespread effect . Not MS's fault that but, a reality we as users should wake up to . The fact that many alternatives allow their source code to be picked over bit by bit, by similar people who identify the bugs in MS products, means it has a more robust development . The only problem I see with the MS products is their vulnerability to exploits, etc, otherwise by and large they are great products and in many, perhaps most, the best you can get for your dollar . Cheers Murray P |
Murray P (44) | ||
| 250750 | 2004-07-09 08:55:00 | > > Where are the patches for IE? ;-) > > Good question F & I, but as far as I can see they are > usually posted in advance of the nasties exploiting > them. Case in point is the Sasser worm. Depending > on who you listen to, the patch was posted by MS > either 13 or 17 days before the Sasser worm was > written and released. Sasser would of got onto ANY unpatched computer not running a firewall regardless of what browser was being used. It had nothing to do with Internet Explorer. In this case we are talking about holes in IE itself rather than Windows. As far as I can see MS released an update patch for Windows (DirectX and others) back on 4 June plus one for "Critical Update for ADODB.stream" whatever that is, on 2 July but more security holes have been discovered since, for which the alternative browsers have patched this week. Not so with IE. > There was another security alert a few days ago, and > the patch is available to anybody who wishes to > download it. No prizes for guessing what will happen > to those who don't: Exactly the same thing as will > happen to Firefox users who don't bother to upgrade. Ditto. > The greatest security hazard is the user. I'm > neither all that wise, nor particularly sensible and > I suspect that comment was made with your tongue > firmly planted in your cheek but thanks for the > compliment anyway. You are way too modest. ;-) Each to his own Billy, but I personally enjoy the extra features that Opera and Firefox offer that are lacking in IE. The extra security is an added bonus. :-) |
Fire-and-Ice (3910) | ||
| 250751 | 2004-07-09 09:04:00 | Fair enough, point taken. I might experiment with some of the alternatives on the PCW disk one day. Who knows, I might enjoy it.:D Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 250752 | 2004-07-09 09:11:00 | The key vulnerability in IE is ActiveX controls which Firefox does not use. If you want more reasons why not to use IE read this article. time to dump internet explorer (www.securityfocus.com) |
Jim B (153) | ||
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