On Wed, 13 Jul 2005 17:11:31 -0400, Louise <none@nospam.com> wrote:

>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.

I also use (among other) Outlook. It serves me well. Besides, it is
heavily used in professional context,.. so onece on gets used to it...
Secundo: En aexample, the Mozilla mailclient is certainly safer,.. but
less potent than Outlook. A user of Outlook Express would gain by
switching to another mailclient, not a user of Outlook imho.

>>
>> 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


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