From: Jim Stead (gadget@easypath.com)
Date: Mon Aug 30 2004 - 22:11:26 PDT
To All,
I apologize for the length of this, I mean to help...
There has been an increasing level of computer attacks lately, which are
directly related to Internet Explorer. It turns out that "IE" has so many
holes in it that an estimated 75% or more of ALL computer related attacks
are coming through it now.
Historians may note that holes in Outlook or Outlook Express were the main
cause of virus spreads in the past. Today, "spyware" and "malware" have far
surpassed viruses in 'annoyance' level.
True damage to your PC is still at it's worst with a good old fashioned
virus, but if you're running an up to date anti-virus program your
vulnerability to that is limited. Still.. spyware, popups, and malware are
enough to make you want to throw your PC out the window!!!
You see, spyware and malware are injected into your computer when you
visit some websites using IE. These attacks are very tenacious, and some
even evade the efforts of very savvy computer gurus.
To limit your vulnerability I strongly suggest using the web browser
called 'Firefox' by Mozilla. http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/
Firefox is MUCH less vulnerable then IE. In fact, the difference is night
and day. However, Firefox has it's problems too. There are some types of web
sites it won't display properly, and it often forgets how to open certain
kinds of files you find on the internet, even common ones. The solution is
to log off and log back into windows (not very conveinant).
I use Firefox for about 90% of all the things I do now on the Internet. It
has it's problems, and they are annoying, but NOTHING like having your
computer hijacked by spy/mal/pop-upware. I use IE as a backup, for when
Firefox is unable to display a website properly.
If you think you have spy/mal/pop-up ware on your computer (and you
probably do if you're running IE), I suggest you examine your computer with
Ad-aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware . This one is probably
the best tool for most people.
I do not recommend "spy-bot". I have seen it miss a lot of bad stuff.
For those that spend their nights drinking Jolt cola and eating Cheetos...
there is "hijack-this". I have not found a more capable program for
defeating the 'wares'. However, be warned! This program will DEFINITELY
screw up your PC unless you know EXACTLY what you're doing.
The 'wares' are very deceptive as some have found out tonight and they can
also be extremely offensive. Many will pop up images can be of the foulest
things you (or your kids) can image.
Until Microsoft comes up with a solution to the problem, I cannot suggest
strongly enough to move away from IE. Truthfully, the alternatives are not
as polished or as reliable as IE, but they do not have as many
vulnerabilities either.
Try Mozilla Firefox. If you hate it you can always delete it.
Keep up to date with all the MS "critical updates".
Avoid clicking on questionable links...for instance, if you were looking
up info about truck bearings:
The site http://www.big-company.com/large-bearings/bearing_details.com would
be okay.
However, http://www.bigones.com/33E8dhjkf93jkf/wa3wa/shaw/linker.shtml is a
bad one. Look at the link and think about the 'heirarchy' of the folders
before you click on something. In my example above, the first one is
logical..you could see yourself setting it up that way. In the second
example, you have to wonder what the h*ll you're about to click on. Really,
it could be anything (and it's likely one of the 'wares')....
Hope this helps...
Jim
> Do NOT visit the webpage that has the HMMMV ambulance
> trailer!!
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