"Jim Hawkins" <jimhawkins@manx.net> wrote in news:13q6stgmm0m6883
@news.supernews.com:

> You buy a new computer, connect in to the internet and
> proceed to download your choice of ant-virus software,
> firewall, and possibly other security-enhancing stuff.
> But in the half-hour or more it takes to do all that, your pc is
> wide open, and with the frequency of probing attacks these
> days, a variety of undesirable agents could be installed and
> hidden before the anti-malware gets going.
> So why don't computer retailers offer machines with anti-malware
> stuff already installed ?
>
> Jim Hawkins

I once put a vulnerable machine on the network as a test. It was infected
in 8 seconds.

I once re-installed windows XP on a machine and forgot to unplug the
network cable.
I remembered and unplugged the cable before it got to the 'log in' screen.

The machine was already infected.

NEVER hook a vulnerable machine to the network. Download the latest AV
program and definitions on another machine and transport via CD or thumb
drive.

As of OE as a news reader or mail client, do you leave your car with the
engine running and the doors unlocked?
Microsoft[in the head] software was designed, from the ground up, like a
car with no ignition key and no locks on the doors.
Over the years, they have drilled holes in the door and used self tapping
screws to tack on hasps and loops to allow you to hang a padlock on the
door,
but 15 seconds with a screwdriver and the hasp is undone. 1 second with a
pry bar and the hasp is popped off.

Vista has spot welded the hasp onto the door but requires you to unlock 2
locks each time. After a while, most people will leave the locks off [or
press the 'go' button without reading the message].










--
bz

please pardon my infinite ignorance, the set-of-things-I-do-not-know is an
infinite set.

bz+acs@ch100-5.chem.lsu.edu