Journeyman
Senior member
Here's the scenario... House has DSL hookup, shared through a Netgear RT314 router. File/Print Sharing is enabled, but all shared resources are password protected. 2 computers: mine running Windows 98SE, downstairs running 98 FE. Little sis (downstairs) uses AOhelL Instant Messenger, and recently had some of her MP3 playlists deleted, and some files renamed (things like a song called "Bitch" being changed to her name - not accidental stuff) on her by an outside source. Thankfully nothing serious...yet.
My best guess was that AIM opens up some large security holes (that kind of crap usually does), and reading around it seems like I was probably right. There's no way I'll be able to get sis to stop using it altogether (it's her only link to the outside world), but we're going to upgrade her to the new ("secure" - hah) version. Is there anything else I can do to minimize the chance of this being a problem in the future? Software, registry patches, etc.?
My best guess was that AIM opens up some large security holes (that kind of crap usually does), and reading around it seems like I was probably right. There's no way I'll be able to get sis to stop using it altogether (it's her only link to the outside world), but we're going to upgrade her to the new ("secure" - hah) version. Is there anything else I can do to minimize the chance of this being a problem in the future? Software, registry patches, etc.?
