In article <kksad1hbih6mmjh43c0vcfhrsr19ogssj0@4ax.com>,
no.spam@invalid.com says...
> On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 10:04:36 -0400, Louise <none@nospam.com> wrote:
>
> >Win XP Pro, SP2 with MS firewall turned off. Heavy home/office user
> >with cable ISP. Use Firefox 85% of the time. Use Outlook as my
> >email/pim.
> >
> >I'm wondering whether I really need to run the amount of security
> >software I'm running or whether it's taking too much overhead.
> >
> >I have a Linksys NAT router. I run Sygate Pro. I run Avast with all
> >the shields active.
> >
> >I used to run Spysweeper only when I actually wanted to scan my machine
> >every week or so.
>
> It all depends on what sort of internet lifestyle you have.
>
> You say you are a heavy office user, what does that mean? Do you run
> web/mail/proxy/mySQL servers for example? Vulnerabilities in server
> software could allow an intruder to completely own your box despite
> the things you have right now. For this kind of situation you want to
> look into things such as hardening your server/OS and using security
> apps that monitor processes and prevent hijacking (ProcessGuard is
> absolutely the best).

I don't run a server. I do access webmail on one host server that gets
approximately 100 pieces of spam/day. I also run GoToMyPC and access my
machine from outisde on a somewhat regular basis.
>
> As a heavy home user do you install and experiment with a lot of stuff
> from non mainstream sources? If you're not installing stuff regularly,
> it tends to go the overkill side.

I don't install a lot of non-mainstream stuff as I always try to be
careful. I run Firefox, Trillium, and several small utilities such as a
batch file creator, but nothing really "experimental".

>
> I would ditch Outlook, but that's more of a precaution than a
> necessity. You should be alright but you never know where the next
> security flaw is going to be. And be certain there will be.

I love Outlook and have used it happily for many years. It syncs with
my Palm Pilot and although I know it's "risky", I don't want to part
with it. I'm running Avast on the high setting for Outlook and I use
SpamBayes. Beyond that, I never open attachments without scanning them
and I hope I stay safe. I do keep a few Ghost image backups about 3
weeks apart from one another.
>
> Rootkit technology is only in its infancy so be on the lookout for new
> preventive measures as this evolves. Right now, I think only
> ProcessGuard type apps would be effective against it.
>
So, with the above clarifications. You suggested I might be on the
"overkill side", and that is my suspicion as well. What would you not
run, or not leave running, to reduce the "overkill"?

TIA

Louise