Several videos on poor Windows security

Macaholic · Jan 6th, 2006, 03:44 AM

Some is basic stuff many of us already knows, but:

How and where Spyware gets installed and the hassle to get rid of it. Good old ActiveX controls:
http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-5604583.html

How Sober Virus works:
http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-5995224.html

Phishing vs. pharming:
http://news.zdnet.com/2036-2_22-5798698.html

And, in the video linked from the page, below, a demonstration of how fast a new, unprotected PC can get infected:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/computer-security/

applelovrforlyf · Jan 6th, 2006, 03:57 AM

Wow, it takes a whole minute! Thank goodness for Apple!

ArtistSeries · Jan 6th, 2006, 09:14 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by applelovrforlyf
	Wow, it takes a whole minute! Thank goodness for Apple!

Aren't you complaining about your Mac accounts being "hacked"?

It was 20 minutes - and to be fair, there is very little background on how the test were run - What version of the OS, latest patches or not, did it have an anti-virus....

But thanks Macaholic, the more information a PC user has, the better off he is (without going into fear-mongering territory)

ArtistSeries · Jan 6th, 2006, 09:19 AM

	Quote:			Originally Posted by Macaholic
	And, in the video linked from the page, below, a demonstration of how fast a new, unprotected PC can get infected: http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/computer-security/

Ironically, the freeware they use to demo the connections to the computer advertises:
One USB Flash in the Wrong Hands... and Your Firewall is Useless
<b>iPods</B>, other small storage devices pose security risk
http://www.protect-me.com/freeware.html

Macaholic · Jan 6th, 2006, 09:30 AM

Grabbing at straws, AS.

Of the millions upon millions of computers out there, how many would fall into the scenario you describe? Relatively few

Now, how many of those millions upon millions of computers out there fall under the CBC's scenario? Way WAY more

And the risk you describe -- as the ad says -- is not particular to iPods but rather ANY portable disk or RAM-based device. And the person doing such a nasty thing is already "behind the wall" because they probably work at the place this is happening at. Pointing a finger at that is ridiculous, as no computer system no matter how secure can be completely protected against its own users.

But just plugging it into the internet??

BOOM!

ArtistSeries · Jan 6th, 2006, 09:40 AM

Macaholic, you mean you don't update your OS?

	Quote:
	He hooked up a PC with default Windows settings to the internet: It had no anti-virus software, no firewall, and no operating system patches.

There is a fine line between being disingenuous and just an Apple zealot....

No one is arguing that MS XP is less secure.

Macaholic · Jan 6th, 2006, 10:13 AM

Eh?!

Of COURSE I upgrade my system and, if I was a Windows users, I would make every effort to close up my Windows PC prior to connecting it. The problem is that there are many millions of Windows users out there who are not knowledgeable about their computers. Given the size of the userbase, it is this ignorance that the hackers take advantage of in such great numbers.

There's less chance (and I'd say zero probability) of infection with a Mac under its default configuration. So, average Joes who buy a Mac are in MUCH better shape and are MUCH more secure.

You know, you're an insufferable person, AS? You remind me of Ted Kaczynski, and I bet he's a real drag at parties too.

HowEver · Jan 6th, 2006, 10:16 AM

At my place of employ, a few days ago we were advised that visiting *any* unkown website (as in, *any* website) was a risk until Microsoft updated their security. This morning we were advised to run a security patch.

I thought it was a hoax, but of course it only corrects one of the thousands of holes in Windows.

	Quote:
	3 January 06 Infosec Advisory: Graphic Rendering Engine Vulnerability and Exploits Why is this a concern? Microsoft has released a Security Advisory regarding a vulnerability in the Graphics Rendering Engine. This means that many graphics viewed from computers running Windows are potential threats. Note that MacOS and Linux/UNIX are unaffected. This vulnerability came to Microsoft's attention after exploits were already in circulation. How do I deal with this? In order to mitigate against infections and compromises the following practices are recommended: 1. Keep your anti-virus definitions up-to-date 2. Do not visit untrusted web sites 3. Graphical e-mail attachments should not be opened 4. Do not download graphic material through peer-to-peer (P2P) channels Information Security continues to monitor the situation and will release updates if more information becomes available.

	Quote:
	6 January 06 Graphic Rendering Security Update Microsoft has released a security update for the "Graphic Rendering Engine" vulnerability. Your local tech support will ensure your desktop machine is updated, unless they tell you otherwise. For your home computer, if it is not set up to do an automatic download/installation for Windows Updates, you should ensure you do the update manually. This patch resolves a critical vulnerability in the Microsoft family of operating systems. Please apply these patches ASAP. More information can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/sec...n/advance.mspx Updates can be initiated by visiting: http://www.windowsupdate.com

Macaholic · Jan 6th, 2006, 10:18 AM

EDIT: Oops! HowEver jumped in with a post before I did. The following is not addressed to HowEver, but rather to ArtistSeries:

And pardon me for being picky, but that quote in your post appears to bee attributed to me, where I in fact did not say that. Fix it, and give proper attribution to that quote.

And as for that quote, what's wrong with it? When a person installs Windows, how are updates applied to it?? Via the internet. And what default state of security does the off-the-disk Windows install have?? Not much. So, unless the user knows what they're doing -- and most off them don't out there -- there's a peck of troubles that could happen.

ArtistSeries · Jan 6th, 2006, 11:16 AM

Macaholic, I understand that you may 'love" all things Apple and Steve Jobs. Really.
At fist it was annoying to see someone with such a school boy like crush on SJ and all things Apple... then it was like "oh my god cute"... So I take it in stride.

My point is that you come a posting all things trying to bash Windows whenever you can. Some taken out of context to try and make "oh my god Apple" seem like the end all be all of. Now, you are free to drink up all that Apple Koolaid that you want.

You posted a link showing an Windows machine being infected. The video was over a year old and showed something out of context. What version of the OS was it? Was any recent patches in it? Microsoft does update XP on a regular basis - not that I'm expecting you to be up to date on XP.

The links that you gave are great but your focus is about bashing XP instead of giving information in a truthful manner.

Apple is more secure out of the box and will remain so because it's based on BSD. Oh my god, I have to run, some dude looking like SJ just passed my window...