~ Hey newbies ~ With power comes responsibility

[mechBgon]

Interesting article: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/12/01/honeypot_test/

An XP PC running SP1 was breached by an intruder through a hole that the Sasser worm used, only four minutes into the test. Within fifteen minutes two intrusions took place, one using the MS Blaster hole. Within ten hours hackers had established an irc channel and the machine was broadcasting its vulnerabilities to the world at large.

My grass-roots effort to help is here. Some of the things that people can attend to, both during initial Windows setup and on established Windows installations:

• Firewall protection
• Antivirus protection
• Windows patching
• Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer testing
• Secure your Administrator-class accounts with (gasp) passwords. Strong ones.
• For daily usage, use a Limited account
• and I guess it kinda goes without saying... don't be a 'tard and install junk you don't know where it really came from! 😛

Your WinXP or Win2000 system is a versatile and powerful tool, and you can use these principles to help ensure that no one gets to use it for public harm. Work on it, folks 🙂

If you need an advanced virus/malware/spyware removal guide and/or help, check out Schadenfroh's thread in Software.

 

[amdskip]

My machines have all windows updates installed-service pack 2 and sav is updated. How much of a risk is it not having service pack 2 installed? I install it whenever I do fresh installs but not existing installs.

 

[mechBgon]

There was some good info flyin' around in this thread, although the OP was getting beat up a little in the process 😱 It appears that besides the software and hardware Data Execution Prevention options, SP2 also involved a recompilation of the key OS stuff that reduced its inherent potential for exploitation.

 

[newbiepcuser]

Yes, did you call my name?

 

[mechBgon]

Oh, there you are 😀

 

[shilala]

bump for wisdom