[Vision2020] Stay out of jail - beware of spyware

[Chasuk]

On 1/15/07, Paul Rumelhart <godshatter at yahoo.com> wrote:

> I recommend the following to minimize the spyware threat:

>  1) Get a hardware firewall/router.
>  They can usually be purchased for around 50$.

Great recommendation.  Windows XP does contain a software firewall
that is better than no firewall at all, but a hardware firewall is
best.  I would never dream of surfing the Internet without the
protection of a firewall of some sort, especially when using a
high-speed connection.  It should be done by every Internet surfer,
period, regardless of their previous experiences.  If you can't or
won't spend the $50, then there are better (free) software firewalls,
such as ZoneAlarm.  ZoneAlarm is available here:

http://dl2.zonelabs.com/bin/free/1001_cnet_zdnet/zlsSetup_70_302_000_en.exe

>  2) Stop using Internet Explorer, Outlook, and Outlook Express.

Another excellent recommendation.  The U.S. federal government echoes
this recommendation concerning Internet Explorer.  No, this is not
urban legend.  The United States Computer Emergency Response Team says
this:

http://search.us-cert.gov/query.html?rq=0&ht=0&qp=&qs=&qc=&pw=100%25&ws=1&la=&qm=0&st=1&nh=25&lk=1&rf=2&oq=&rq=0&si=1&qt=internet+explorer&x=4&y=12

IE7 might be better, but it is too early to tell.

>  3) Use a standards-compliant web browser (this ties into point 2).  I use Firefox, and won't go back.

Another pristine recommendation, largely for the reasons explicated in
the US-CERT links (see above).

>  4) Use a standards-compliant email application.  I use Thunderbird, which is made by the same people Firefox is (Mozilla).  It is also free, and is generally safer than Outlook or Outlook Express.

I agree with Paul on this, though there is little reason for most of
us to use a standalone email application at all, any more.  Web-based
email is generally safer, just as powerful (for 99% of us), and
available everywhere.  I personally recommend Gmail.  Gmail is
currently invitation only.  If you would like a Gmail invitation,
please let me know.

>  5) Use an anti-spyware program to search your system regularly for spyware, adware, malware, and trojans.
>  Two of my favorites are Spybot Search and Destroy and Adaware.

Bravo.  Paul has recommended the cream of the anti-spyware crop, both free.

>  6) Run an antivirus program regularly.  AVG (found here:
> http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1) is a nice free program.

Again, bravo.  Again, Paul has recommended the cream of the crop.  In
my opinion, and in the opinion of many other professionals, AVG is as
good as, or better than, the commercial products.

>  8) If you have children, get a program like NetNanny to help you keep them from visiting sites you don't want them to visit.

Here Paul and I part ways.  If you have children of an age that
NetNanny might be tempting, keep the computer in the living room.
Peruse their browser history occasionally and talk to them about
anything that you find which is objectionable.  I have two children
whom I safely navigated to adulthood as they navigated the Internet
hundreds of hours a year, all without mishap.  Yes, the wife and I
both worked full-time.  Nanny software is no replacement for good
parenting.  Besides, any moderately intelligent teen can easily
subvert NetNanny-type products.

>  10) Always keep your software up-to-date.

Yes.  This is more difficult on a dial-up connection, but it is still vital.

>  11) Run a different operating system.  Try out a Mac, or download a Linux distribution such as Ubuntu.

Yes!  I run Windows, but I also run Linux.  If you want a copy of
Ubuntu, I will provide it for you for the price of a blank CD.  If you
provide the CD,  I will provide Ubuntu gratis.

For my credentials, I have been in the computer business for 25 years.
 In excess of 95% of the problems that I have seen (in the last five
years especially) can be blamed on not following the above advice
carefully.  Yes, I am buttressing my advice by using an appeal to
authority, with myself as that authority, but that authority has been
earned by decades of experience.  Still, feel free to ignore me, but I
promise that it will be at your peril.

By the way, by ignoring this advice, you also imperil hundreds of
millions of other Internet users.

To Tom: the argument that "I have been running Windows XP operating
system, MS Outlook, and Outlook Express [without any problem]" doesn't
hold any water.  You have been lucky.  Some people drive under the
influence, and have done so for years, without incident.  They still
shouldn't so it.  Friends don't let friends use Internet Explorer.
:-)

Windows Vista (the next incarnation of the Windows OS) ships on 30
January.  There are many reasons to believe that it will be a vast
improvement over XP.  You can read a very good article about all of
the technical improvements right here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_vista

I'm going to install Vista on the day of its release so that you don't
have to (and because I'm a geek).  I wouldn't recommend this to
everybody, but I expect that I will recommended its *eventual*
installation by everybody, maybe 6 months after release.  Ask me in
six months, I'll have been using it for long enough to be a credible
guinea pig by then.

Chas