Broadband internet?

[ssullivan]

Originally Posted by Chuteman

SS: Thanks so much for explanation that even my much less than 100% functioning brain cell head can understand.
I hear You on storing sensitive data but worry sometimes that acct#s / passwords/pins "linger" as we access over & over again. Also wondered if exposure increases if you agree to "remember me" (cookies?) option on websites. Have looked at the ID Vault but not convinced of value especially on my desktop.
This whole "security" concern has delayed my laptop purchase for awhile......not to mention the benefit of tech / price advances.
Thanks again

Any time...

You are correc that your browser can store your passwords, *if you tell it to*. Usually the first time you go to a site asking for a password, the browser will ask you if you want it to "remember" the password. The key here is to tell it not to remember the password. This way, your password is not stored on your computer.

I am fuzzy on the details of if a browser encrypts your password when it is saved (I assume it does), but the encryption may be easy to break. This part about the browser encrypting your passwords is all a guess. Never had to deal witht that before. But, if you want to be 100% safe, remember the passwords in your head and keep them there. Don't use your browser to remember your passwords.

All of that is the same on WiFi or cellular.

Funny aside (don't get scared):

A lot of people like to say WiFi is so insecure because anyone can just grab your signal and get your data.

Well, I hate to break it to the doomsday folks out there, but you can do the exact same thing with a WIRED ethernet cable. Yup... you can either pick up the signal from inductance or simply splice right into the wire and join the network. Pretty simple stuff. As you send information across the internet you have no idea where it's going (Ok, you can find out if you're technical), and it may pass through a less than secure building where someone could easily intercept your email messages as well.

My point? The paranoia about WiFi "villians" is blown out of proportion by the media. A wire (ethernet cable) is just as insecure.

[DaveyJones]

Originally Posted by Therapy

That's it, Enjoy!


I saw that at the end of all the "Greek" LOL!!

I know how you feel.

The basic principal is to setup a secure tunnel to somewhere that has an internet connection such as your house or office.

And you can access your local network securely and browse the internet as if you were home using such tunnels for each thing you want to do.


While it's not any different from being there at least your not vulnerable to local hackers that might be interested in what your doing.

[DaveyJones]

Hey! Anyone tired of Vista telling you what to do?


SWITCH TO LINUX!!!


Just kidding..


No really, SWITCH TO LINUX.


If you can't or don't want to there is still a glimmer of hope.

Check out these things I did to make Vista behave.


Disable the prompts 'Are you sure you want ...'


Open Control Panel. If you have the Vista style start menu click start and right click Control Panel and click run.
At the top right of the window type the word user in the search bar and you will see User Access Control (UAC). Go in and turn this option off.

No more nagging.




Windows Defender..


I don't know who thought this up but it's just plain annoying. Fortunately you can get rid of it.

If you feel you need to be protected then maybe it's for you.
The truth is if you enter your personal information anywhere in a computer with the exception of a known secure website using https:// in the address such as your bank then there is nothing that can protect your information.


Disable it like this..


Open Windows Defender with the shield icon in the task bar.
Click Tools and go to General Settings.
Scroll down to Real Time Protection Options.
Uncheck Real Time Protection.
Save and close Defender.

If you see the Run command in your start menu click it and type msconfig in the open: box and hit OK.
Otherwise go to the start menu > Accessories > Command Prompt and start it. When the Command Prompt window comes up type msconfig and press enter.

Select the Startup tab.
Find Windows Defender and uncheck it.

Other Resident Aliens..


While your in the StartUp settings look for things that might be unnecessary like Adobe Acrobat, Office, Skype, Messenger, Quick Time and other such things.
If you don't really want them to come up and run all the time disable them. You can still use them when you need them.

Click OK and reboot.


What about viruses?

I use the free version of AVG. Never had a problem. Look up AVG free on google.


Interface...

If you just hate the interface (as much as I do) and want your old computer interface back you can get the classic start menu and task bar.
Right click on the task bar and click properties. Go to the Start Menu tab and select the Classic Start Menu.
While your in there you might want to see what Toolbars are enabled. Quick launch is not bad if you use it. Otherwise turn it off. If you don't see any other ones that you know what they are and want them turn them all off.
The Notification Area can also be customized. If you have a string of icons on the right side of your task bar that you never use and don't even want them there you can set those options for each icon to show or hide.


Browser...

I use Firefox. Personally if IE was the only option for an internet browser I'd throw my computer overboard.



There is a lot more you can do but these are the basics.

[hellosailor]

Sean-
"People can break INTO your computer over WiFi. There are ways to jump into your computer over WiFi. " The only difference between breaking into your computer via WiFi versus a hardwired LAN, is that someone needs to "break in" via the cable versus via the radio. If you are networked--at all--you can be broken into, if you are not attending to security.
Even on a dial-up modem, or a cellular modem, you are logging into a port on a router, someplace, and that port has an IP address. As does your computer. There are folks out there who scan these pool addresses (which are known and collected) for unsecured computers, and even five years ago it only took 15 minutes to get scanned (and hacked if you weren't secure) over any of the major ISPs dial-up lines.

So much for security.

VISTA is a PITA about security and confirmations, because MS has gotten flack for the past ten yeares about HAVING security features--but setting the defaults to DISABLE them. So now, the default is to lock things down and shut them out--and even XP took a lot of flack for "breaking" networking by disabling defaults. VISTA goes one further, because it enables security (by default) and it includes much better default tools. During the early coding for VISTA, MS actually shut down all development projects and scrapped some core code, while all programmers spent nearly two months learning what "security" had to mean for all ongoing project.

Not that I love Chairman Bill--but two months of shutting everything down and putting back revenues, is a major committment. I give them credit for that, even if it was 20 years overdue.<G>

Satellite (or as I call it, SkyFi) is now down under $3000 for a commercial self-erecting "box", which will self-erect a dish, locate itself, and lock into a satellite typically in less than one hour. That requires a static location, i.e. not pitching or rocking or moving though. Versus $1000 for a home dish (retail, installed) and service for either one starts arround low DSL speeds for $75/month. What they don't tell you is that your bandwidth IS throttled, so all users will get some, and they also block some common ports (like the ones commonly used for other ISPs email) so you don't get "real" internet until you pay over $100/month.

In the aftermath of Katrina and satellite systems being maxxed out, there were supposed to be two or three new players and new satellites going up last and this year, some on higher frequencies to use smaller dishes, too.

As your signal gets beamed in a fairly tight beam (not readily intercepted) up to the satellite, and everything coming down to their earth station is encrypted, that's pretty secure. Subject, of course, to how well someone can hack past their earthstation's router, just like any other. Hughes doesn't like to talk to the public, and the Direct--- division like to pretend what they do is really difficult stuff. It isn't, they're just good at pulling wool over eyes. Lots of RVers have more accurate info on their web sites.

Speaking of which...M'god! The prices on classA motorhomes. No wondering you're doing it yourself. Start with a school bus chassis, or what?

[Sandero]

Just curious here... How many wireless users in this "group" have been hacked? Is this rare or fairly common? We all know it is possible.

[mohave_steve]

defjef,

In my experience it is EXTREMELY rare for an individual or small office to be the victim of directed hacking. As the majority of us connect in a manner that our IP address changes periodically and is not readilly identifiable.
By far the most common targets for hackers are Web servers with static IP addresses. Stationary and very public targets.

That said: I have personally observerd a frieghtening number of individuals and businesses that unknowingly leave themselves open to random attacks by hackers.

Examples:

A Texas Cardiologist office that plugged thier DSL connection into thier network with no security measures whatsoever. Practice, patient and payroll data were accessable to anyone who looked in the right place.

A Phoenix Dentist, similar circumstance, made available to any who looked a great deal of personal and practice business information.


Someone who has an Internet connection and way too much time on thier hands can still find a vast number of vulnerable computers by using readilly available tools to scan ranges of IP addresses looking for security openings.

Is it easy to say " I want to break into defjef's computer" and successfully accomplish the task?

NO!

[Sandero]

Thanks for the answer.

[DaveyJones]

Most people would not know if they were hacked or not.

A lot of people's computers come down with all kinds of problems.

Most of them I assume they caused themselves.

However there was one guy recently who's computer was totally wacked out with worms and viruses after he left it online at a motel. Could be a coincidence but there is not a real sure way to know what happened. I'm pretty sure he was not downloading things you should not download because he's about 65 years old. Not saying it's impossible but I think it's unlikely.

The thing is he has all of the usual security garbage updated and running.


People do these things for fun.


I check my system logs on my computer at home from time to time. There is a constant influx of attempts to attack my computer.

The attack is not initiated by a person. It's a worm on another computer on the internet. There are thousands of these windows servers that are infected on the internet. While they cannot affect my system if I had a windows server it would join in on the party.

Windows 98 can also carry worms that will not affect it. When a newer system like win2k or xp is connected on the same network without the proper updates it is immediately infected.

[hellosailor]

Estimates from various people "in the business" including Vinton Cerf (one of the real fathers of the internet) often say that 25% of all personal computers are already owned by a trojan, often used to create the plague of email spams we all get.

Hooking up to an unprotected line, with a firewall that asks you every time there's an uninvited connection attempt coming in, really can be a wake-up. Dial-up, broadband, coffee shop, airport...any one of them will do.

[grant.temeraire]

Whatever happened to Broadband Express? I let my service with them lapse (I have all the equipment). Now I can't find them. Does anyone know if they even exist anymore?

My marina has internet but it is painfully slow. I work from my boat and need higher speed.

Thanks