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With iOS, there is not much one can do about malware, if it gets past Apple's gatekeepers. JB-ing the device and slapping on Firewall iP is probably the best thing one can do. However, the barrier for entry for malware writers is very high. It is pretty difficult (and more expensive) for a blackhat organization create a new account with Apple , paying them a C-note a year), and cook up some personal info (like bank accounts and such to register under) to even be able to see iTunes Connect, much less have the app approved. This has done a good job in keeping iPhone users safe

It's done a good job keeping iOS users safe from blackhat malware. Legit apps on the other hand are having a field day mining and selling user data which most people would consider private.

What can help Android immensely would be an app that runs as root and can allow/disallow access to SD cards, contacts, SMS, phone, and networking. There is an app called LBE Privacy Guard which runs as root and offers features that should really be part of Android (perhaps some features behind an Advanced menu.)

Thank you so much. I already had DroidWall, but LBE Privacy Guard was exactly what I've been looking for. It's my phone. I should be able to control what data can be accessed by an app.

Wasn't that when they dropped free updates for w98?

Why yes, it was.
-"Check Point will cease to support Windows 98/98SE/Me with the introduction of our version 6.5 ZoneAlarm"
-"6.5.700.000 was released to the public on June 5, 2006"

Wasn't that when they dropped free updates for w98?

Why yes, it was.
-"Check Point will cease to support Windows 98/98SE/Me with the introduction of our version 6.5 ZoneAlarm"
-"6.5.700.000 was released to the public on June 5, 2006"

They're also editing people's posts under their "terms of use" policy. Mostly it's removing the names of other firewall products, but there's a couple by the main editor "GeorgeV" with no indication of why the edit was made or any placemarker to show where it was made.

Ah, and there's also some posts which have entirely disappeared. Since the unique post ID is common to the entire forum it's hard to detect, and the #x post counter on the right is dynamically generated when the thread is displayed. I did see one post disappear, and then the user re-posted. Here's the details of the new post, which I expect to disappear as well.

http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283543&postcount=40

Unread Today, 01:24 PM
MajorSanchez MajorSanchez is online now
Junior Member

Join Date: Sep 2010
Posts: 1
Default Re: zbot.zeus Notice
Trolling? Barely. Check Point software needs the wrath of the internet unleashed upon them to make them realize their mistakes.

[redacted] attacks make ZoneAlarm.com go down.

[redacted]

et cetera.
Reply With Quote

Attack command redacted because I'm nice

Whoops, that post's gone, too.

Way to go Checkpoint, with one twitch of your marketing neuron you've alienated your loyal users and enraged the script kiddies.

There are posts that reference other threads where this was "already posted," but clicking those links leads you to a vBulletin "No thread specified" page. Presumably ZA has been deleting threads....

See http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283423 and http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283420 for example posts... both those posts reference a nonexistent thread.

Damage control maybe?

There are posts that reference other threads where this was "already posted," but clicking those links leads you to a vBulletin "No thread specified" page. Presumably ZA has been deleting threads....

See http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283423 and http://forums.zonealarm.com/showpost.php?p=283420 for example posts... both those posts reference a nonexistent thread.

Damage control maybe?

because all antivirus software is made by people who are governed by the laws of the united states...

We have 1 of three possible scenarios:

1) The Green Dam developers have fully reverse engineered Cybersitter to the point they can reuse pre-compiled binaries and snippets of code required to call them.

2) Cybersitter's development network has been thoroughly compromized to the point that the Chinese Green Dam developers have fully plagurized another companies proprietary code.

3) Cybersitter has contributed to the development of the Chinese Green Dam and was therefore paid for their effort.

1 is certainly possible. 2 is truly frightening on a number of levels. 3 is just wrong and may be a violation of federal law. As they are a US company, contributing code to the development of a Chinese firewall product could be subject to the same verbiage as a US firewall, i.e something similar to:

Under U.S. law, the Software may not be downloaded or otherwise exported, reexported, or transferred to restricted countries, restricted end-users, or for restricted end-uses. The U.S. currently has embargo restrictions against Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. The lists of restricted end-users are maintained on the U.S. Commerce Department's Denied Persons List, the Commerce Department's Entity List, the Commerce Department's List of Unverified Persons, and the U.S. Treasury Department's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. In addition, the Software may not be downloaded or otherwise exported, reexported, or transferred to an end-user engaged in activities related to weapons of mass destruction.

and/or:

The Software available to download from this Site is commercial computer software as that term is described in 48 C.F.R. 252.227-7014(a)(1). If acquired by or on behalf of a civilian agency, the U.S. Government acquires this commercial computer software and/or commercial computer software documentation subject to the terms of this Agreement as specified in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Computer Software) and 12.211 (Technical Data) of the Federal Acquisition Regulations ("FAR") and its successors. If acquired by or on behalf of any agency within the Department of Defense ("DOD"), the U.S. Government acquires this commercial computer software and/or commercial computer software documentation subject to the terms of this Agreement as specified in 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-3 of the DOD FAR Supplement ("DFAR") and its successors.

(Completely and totally plagarized from the ZoneAlarm legal page, http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/legal.htm )

It's a TRA!^%&#CONSPIRA. . .

Under U.S. law, the Software may not be downloaded or otherwise exported, reexported, or transferred to restricted countries, restricted end-users, or for restricted end-uses. The U.S. currently has embargo restrictions against Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria. The lists of restricted end-users are maintained on the U.S. Commerce Department's Denied Persons List, the Commerce Department's Entity List, the Commerce Department's List of Unverified Persons, and the U.S. Treasury Department's List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. In addition, the Software may not be downloaded or otherwise exported, reexported, or transferred to an end-user engaged in activities related to weapons of mass destruction.

and/or:

The Software available to download from this Site is commercial computer software as that term is described in 48 C.F.R. 252.227-7014(a)(1). If acquired by or on behalf of a civilian agency, the U.S. Government acquires this commercial computer software and/or commercial computer software documentation subject to the terms of this Agreement as specified in 48 C.F.R. 12.212 (Computer Software) and 12.211 (Technical Data) of the Federal Acquisition Regulations ("FAR") and its successors. If acquired by or on behalf of any agency within the Department of Defense ("DOD"), the U.S. Government acquires this commercial computer software and/or commercial computer software documentation subject to the terms of this Agreement as specified in 48 C.F.R. 227.7202-3 of the DOD FAR Supplement ("DFAR") and its successors.

(Completely and totally plagarized from the ZoneAlarm legal page, http://www.zonealarm.com/security/en-us/legal.htm )

• Antivirus (use with firewall)
  • NOD32 ESET (fast, reasonably secure)
  • GData (slower, best possible protection)
  • Avira (fast, highly secure, & free version)
• Firewall (use with antivirus & antispyware)
  • Comodo (free, hard to configure)
  • PC Tools (free, easier to configure)
  • Zone Alarm (pay & free versions)
  • Agnitum Outpost (pay)
  • Jetico Firewall (pay & free versions, hard to configure)
• Internet Security Suites
  • Kaspersky
  • GData
  • BitDefender (cheapest)

That and lock down your browser, by installing Firefox, with NoScript, Better privacy, adblock plus, and deny cookies by default, then enable the cookies you want using the cookingSafe extension. Do that no matter what security software you have installed. Or of course you could save yourself a great deal of trouble by using Linux.

The Internet is becoming less accessible to me as the years go by.

It's less accessible to a lot of people.

There is no need for Flash or Java or JavaScript (to navigate to a URL for example).

When I used Windows I used the ZoneAlarm firewall which allows users to set what websites can use java, objects, and scripts and which can't. However a year ago I switched to OS X and a version isn't made for Macs. I heard NoScript does the same but I haven't tried it yet, and I need to have javascript turned on. My ISP provides webmail as well as filtering. If a message's sender isn't in you online address book, it transferred to a "suspicious" folder which is only accessible online. However webmail requires javascript.

When a Web site says Flash, JavaScript, Silverlight, Internet Explorer or anything else is required then that Website is never again visited.

Even though I have the latest Shockwave and Flash installed I keep having websites say I need to download one or the other to use the site.

Falcon

Given the issues this patch caused with vista, i'm not at all surprised they're putting more thorough testing through on this.

The issue wasn't with Windows, it was with ZoneAlarm (which is not a Microsoft product). And Vista wasn't even effected, only 2000/XP, according to the ZA website:

http://download.zonealarm.com/bin/free/pressReleases/2008/LossOfInternetAccessIssue.html

Specifically, the ZoneAlarm firewall component assumed that DNS queries would always come from a single port. The fix for this DNS vulnerability is to intentionally randomize query source ports. ZoneAlarm simply assumed that DNS queries would only ever come from a single port, and fell apart. From an intrusion-detection standpoint, I could see that change in behavior raising some flags, but apparently ZoneAlarm's initial response was that the patch was defective, which suggests they simply didn't know what was going on.

Does Apple routinely test their OS security updates to make sure they don't break poorly-written third-party software? (I honestly have no idea; I'm not a Mac user.)

ZA suggest that keeping Zonealarm on high and not (yet) installing the MS patch is the better option:

http://forum.zonealarm.com/zonelabs/board/message?board.id=cfg&message.id=52862

I read his post, did you read mine? He said, and I included it, he didn't want to throttle certain websites and I said that's why some people want net neutrality, so their ISP won't throttle websites that won't pay extra.

Logically I think ISPs should be raising prices to their own consumers, because I believe firmly in net-neutrality. And am very much against the sort of double dipping that not having net-neutrality would allow.

Same here, but only after ISPs either build out their network infrastructure or give the subsidies the government gave them to build it out back. The government gave them more than $200 million of taxpayer money. And stop advertizing it as unlimited. They did so to lure customers to sign up with them, and now that people are they are crying.

I am ALSO going to consume considerable EXTRA upload bandwidth to seed that movie to others. And the ISP will be billing ME for that extra upload.

You can't control what programs on your computer has access to the internet? When I used Windows I also used the ZoneAlarm firewall which allowed me to do just that. I didn't get around to installing a firewall on my Linux PC but I have one on my Mac as well.

Anger problem?

The issue is the heavy-handedness with which Microsoft deals with the problems. They say a new version of ZoneAlarm is available now, but I don't see it.

You said, "Better yet, the Knowledge Base article gives a link to a WORKING, UPDATED VERSION OF ZONE ALARM."

The link given in the KnowledgeBase article for ZoneAlarm is to a page that asks for $25 to deliver a Vista compatible update when it is available.

There are many sensible, more gentle ways Microsoft could have handled this rather than just giving a blue screen.

I haven't fully investigated the problems, but it certainly seems that Microsoft is being uncaring toward customers, and I have seen numerous examples of that.

Anger problem?

The issue is the heavy-handedness with which Microsoft deals with the problems. They say a new version of ZoneAlarm is available now, but I don't see it.

You said, "Better yet, the Knowledge Base article gives a link to a WORKING, UPDATED VERSION OF ZONE ALARM."

The link given in the KnowledgeBase article for ZoneAlarm is to a page that asks for $25 to deliver a Vista compatible update when it is available.

There are many sensible, more gentle ways Microsoft could have handled this rather than just giving a blue screen.

I haven't fully investigated the problems, but it certainly seems that Microsoft is being uncaring toward customers, and I have seen numerous examples of that.

I'm curious, did you have a reason for saying it isn't a trollish post? When I wrote it, I didn't think it was trollish. But I'm thinking the single person who marked it Troll is a Gateway fanboy. Are you thinking the same way? (If you had specified this, you may not have been modded troll... but it's just a guess.)

Granted, I like Gateway computers... for what they are. In my opinion, Gateway computers are a step down from Dell, and maybe on par with HP/Compaq. I owned one of the eMachines laptops, which was very good, except for the excessive heat (this = "not concerned about quality"), which ultimately melted the plastic supporting hinges, motherboard components, etc. The tech support was excellent and spoke American english. I still have the laptop, it still works, but excessively hot and the hinges are broken and I'd like to place the motherboard and components in a slimline.

And how does all of this relate to McAfee? Well, in my post I did mention that I felt McAfee is not that great of a product. If I find a user who has McAfee AV installed on their computer, I will attempt to get them to uninstall it and use Grisoft: AVG with the free ZoneLabs: ZoneAlarm SE (please point me to a more feature rich, but free MS Windoze firewall... I want port control with program control!). However, if the user has paid for their license, I'm willing to let them run their license out before replacing it. Mostly, though, McAfee is now making deals with AOL, Earthlink, and other ISPs to bundle a free version of their AV for their users. If I was a little concerned about their quality before, I am now even more concerned about their quality now. Quality before being the ability efficiently clean a PC without being a resource hog; quality now being: Do I trust them now that they are offering services as a bundle... where's the money trail, is it spyware on my PC, is it my (non)personal information from the ISP?

...and the basic version is FREE (as in beer) too. It's pretty damned good at stopping malwares from sending network packets from your Winblows PC to the outside world.

I guess ZoneAlarm registered customers may be surprised in finding how their own original login page works.

Even if you're not a registered user, just follow the link above and enter fake credentials.

The game becomes spicier if you have auto-completion enabled for that form...

Have fun with those antiphishing toys ;)

Original proof of concept courtesy of Elio, original XSS courtesy of .mario.

• Openoffice.org (use word processor, spreadsheet, presentation, database, and similar applications)
• Picasa (view/edit photos)

Internet Tools

• FireFox (browse Web sites)
• Gaim (chat with users of AIM, YIM, MSN, IRC, etc.)
• Thunderbird (e-mail)
• Pegasus Mail (e-mail)
• Macromedia Flash Player (watch Flash animations within Web browser)
• Java Plugin (run Java applications inside Web browser)

Basic Tools

• 7Zip (compress/decompress files)
• EditPad Lite (edit text files)
• vim/gvim (edit text files--advanced)
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (view PDF files)
• PDF Creator (create PDF files)

Security Tools

• ZoneAlarm (firewall - detect unwanted Internet access)
• Avira Antivirus (detect/remove viruses)
• ADAware Personal SE (detect/remove spyware)
• SpyBot Search & Destroy (detect/remove spyware)
• HiJackThis (detect/remove spyware)
• Discombobulator (make Windows more secure)
• Shoot the Messenger (make Windows more secure)
• Unplug-n-pray (make Windows more secure)
• PGP (encrypt/decrypt files or e-mail for privacy) - see admin for more details

Advanced Tools

• Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel for Windows XP (mount ISO images as filesystems) from MSDN
• IMAPSize (manage/search/backup an IMAP mailbox)

Actually, they did, for awhile.

As I've said several times, and had to clarify, once, for no apparent reason, my Automatic Updates control panel, from every way I know to get to it, was entirely greyed out and stuck on "automatic". The only way I avoided updating was avoiding booting Windows, I just ran Linux. I eventually found the registry hack to re-enable the panel that lets me disable updates.

Even if your control panel is greyed out it's still not manditory to run Windows Update. I use a firewall and it allows me to select which programs or components are allowed to access the net, and I specifically set the permissions to disallow any Windows component from accessing the net. I've been using ZoneAlarm for years and I've never had Windows tell me it wasn't going to work because I wouldn't let it contact MS. As many Windows systems are either behind firewalls or aren't connected to the net period I doubt very much MS could mandate users running windows allow thier system this. If they tried there'd be a loud deafening noise.

Yeah, I don't really know how well it rates though I've heard some good stuff and nothing bad yet, but I have, use, and keep updated ZoneAlarm . Some of what I like about it is that it allows me to block embedded objects, java, and scripts on a website by website basis. If I want one website to be able to use any of these I can yet I can still block another from using them. Unfortunately it doesn't work with Netscape over 4.x or with Firefox and that I know of neither of these allows any of the above to be blocked by website, they're either allow all or block all.

How to help prevent spam/viruses. Most of this information is common knowlege for the IT savy but can be a good cluestick for the relatives.
FireFox http://www.mozilla.org/products/firefox/ is a web browser that is much more secure then Internet Explorer. I have been using it for many
months now, it is very stable and has a small fraction of the security problems found in IE.
Ad-Aware http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ is a spyware finding and removal tool. This is one of the best anti-spy ware programs available and should be run at least twice a week.
Spy-Bot http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html is an excellent compliment to AdAware and should be run also twice a week. The combination of both Adaware and SpyBot make for great security.
Trend Micro http://housecall.antivirus.com/housecall/start_cor p.asp has a free online virus scanner that I run once a week. It has found viruses that Norton did not detect.
Microsoft's windows update http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/ should be
checked often to patch your operating system. I would suggest you install the updates.
Zone Alarm http://www.zonealarm.com/store/content/company/zap _za_grid.jsp If you do not have a Firewall router at home or are using dialup. Make sure you have some sort of firewall running on your machine. This one is pretty good and free.

Here is a mini guide I wrote up on how to prevent from getting spam.
1. Do not give out your work email address to anyone not work related. Do not give it out to relatives.
2. Do not use your primary email address to sign up for things online, use a email from hotmail or gmail.
3. DO not use your work/primary email to post on message boards or USENET unless they are closed and protected forums.
4. Do not sign up for free giveaways, even if they are work related.
5. Do *NOT* forward jokes or other such emails. Discourage people from forwarding them to you. These emails hold a massive list of email addresses and will eventually end up in the hands of spammers.
6. Do *NOT* reply to any spam asking to be removed or to "unsubscribe." It just guarantees that you will get more spam as you have confirmed it is a
valid account.
7. Do not buy anything form a spam email. This only encourages the practice.
8. If you get spam in Outlook, go to "File", then "Work Offline" and then delete the email messages. Selecting the email message for deleting opens
it, this can cause a virus to be downloaded or download pictures that have unique tag. With the unique image tag, a spammer can tell when you
opened the email and that your account is valid. By using the "Work Offline" mode, no images will be opened.

You can find these links at my site http://www.friendsglobal.com/

... here's where to get a decent virus scanner - free for personal use - and go here to get a firewall. Do the rest of us a favour and install them, would you?" More seriously, I do think that's worth a mention - for the parents as much as the children.

• For a better antivirus, use NOD32 instead (they never missed a single virus in 6 consecutive years).
  
• For better anti-spam software, use POPfile instead (and it's free)
  
• For anti-spyware, use Spybot instead (and it's free)
  
• For firewall, use ZoneAlarm instead (and it can be free)
  

Personally, I have no trouble dealing with worms proliferating through ports other than those I can control myself (which include HTTP and E-Mail), such as Blaster.Worm and Sasser.Worm, thanks to my ZoneLabs ZoneAlarm firewall, which allows me to protect my computer from intruding -- and protruding -- dangers, easily yet with control. I always recommend this firewall to users of personal computers because I have yet to find a free firewall which protects well yet works so simply. I have read some messages in which it is said that turning on the Windows XP firewall will suffice to protect users against such worms. I must protest against this, as I have a small anecdote of my own.

After having reformatted my computer, I thought it would be safe to activate Windows XP's firewall as an intermediate protection against such threats until I had ZoneAlarm installed. I connected to the Internet, and in less than a minute had Norton Antivirus, which I had updated beforehand, warning me that Welchia.Worm had been able to access my system -- remember Welchia is based on Blaster and uses the same UDP ports to proliferate -- yet the Windows XP firewall was activated. I could say I was somewhat surprised, but then perhaps I wasn't all that much; after all, it is Microsoft software. I do not know if the same situation could apply to Sasser, since it does proliferate through a more commonly used port, but I must still say I have some trouble recommending the Windows XP firewall, even as an intermediate one.

2. Firewall (I use Zonealarm)

3. Mozilla or Firebird and Thunderbird

4. Openoffice

5. Winamp

6. Ad-aware

7. Nero Burning ROM if you have a CD-R or CD-RW

8. Kazaa Lite K++

9. A PDF Viewer (such as Acrobat Reader)

10. A install disk for your favorite Linux Distro. Windows Sucks!

If you're running a Windows box, then the following is mandatory. I even have it all burned to a CD to give to friends. Some free/speech, some free/beer, some shareware.

ZoneAlarm - You MUST have a software firewall for Windows.
Mozilla - I think you know this one by now
OpenOffice.org - Ibid
PuTTY - Not the best interface, but Free ssh/scp client
WinZip - I think XP has its own unzipper, but I suggest WinZip anyway for people. Mostly because I don't deal with people who use XP. I refuse to do computer support for friends who use XP. (I'm making an exception by even talking to you. )

On the Mandrake side, I like using Konqueror. Honestly, the KDE suite, OpenOffice.org, and xmms should give you everything you need for everything. :-)

Although others have said Mozilla as a web browser, I feel that it's too bloated and slow. Try K-Meleon or Opera instead.
CDEx is a great open-source program for ripping your legally-owned CD-audio tracks. Rip them to OGG and feel your 1337ness potential expand.
Try using ZINF instead of WinAmp (bloatware ... I haven't cared for WinAmp since early 2.x) for your sound-playing abilities. The skinning abilites are also a lot better on ZINF, plus it supports more formats than WinAmp does.
If you're not looking at getting the entire OpenOffice.org suite, you can get just AbiWord, which is a great word-processing program. OpenOffice.org, however, is really full-featured and I would say almost a must.
People have already mentioned the free anti-virus software from AVG, but it doesn't hurt to have backups, such as the free online scan from Trend Micro.
As someone else also mentioned, ZoneAlarm is also a great thing to have.
Trillian and/or GAIM are great instant-messaging.

Taking a look through SourceForge and Pricelessware are great places to go and explore on your own as well.

Finally someone mentions a decent firewall program! ZoneAlarm is great, it will alert you whenever *ANY* program tries to open a connection (even Windows) and allow you to allow/deny once/permanently. This is a great way to not only defeat spyware, but also to make yourself aware of what spyware you might have on your computer. It also has a pop-up blocker, just in case you're dumb enough to still use IE...

Finally and most importantly, run ZoneAlarm. This makes it extremely easy to stop hidden windows components from phoning home, and you might just be surprised when you find out what else it's stopping. For example, my HP keyboard driver was trying to contact HP for god-knows-what-reason.

It appears that with every day we are having less money as well. Poo. Which presidents said they would pay off national debt? Get them in here!

Free virus protection: AVG (its at grisoft.com or something. Look at other posts)

Free firewall: ZoneAlarm

Google is your friend.

How would this affect ZoneAlarm and Linksys and D-link routers?

Linux Mandrake is just the latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me in the "required configuration" section of the manual. I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the "bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95, it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive, computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system? Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many complaints. A brief perusal of the features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux would have addressed these problems? The real question that the prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all, Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

install Windows (ouch)

run IEradicator (wonderful little IE remover available here), and make sure Outlook is gone too

install ZoneAlarm, and make sure not to give net access to any MS apps

run Opera and Eudora

enjoy! If evil bureaucrats force use of Exploder/Outlook, install them (after the forcible extraction in step 2) and use only when necessary, giving them one time access privileges only.

The solution is here now for windows users. You can get a firewall that runs on your machine, and allows you to specify exactly what programs are allowed to connect to the internet and how. No more html e-mails and web bugs. No more spyware issues, and best of all, you are protected from hackers out on the internet scanning for insecure machines. And best of all, it's FREE!

Get ZoneAlarm from Zone Labs. Simply restrict outlook to be only able to connect to your mail ports. Then all that html spam is blocked automatically at your firewall. In fact, it's sorta fun to watch what evil things are trying to escape get shot down by your firewall :)

Oh, and you don't have to be a system administrator to use it. It's easier than entering your personal info in outlook.
---

jayers has and excellent point here. I'm running zonealarm . One of the free personal editions, and it has worked wonders on letting me know who is trying to get out of my system. And we'll just say that this is a good thing(tm). I sure don't want MS to know what I really use media player for :). Also you could set up ipchains or whatever the *BSD variant is, it slips my mind at the moment, and only allow through what you allow through, and most of everything that tries to connect over no standard port will be stoped. If you set it up that way.

It's not an original idea - Windows Media Player does reports your playlists back to Microsoft secretly if you don't stop it. Download and run ZoneAlarm, fire up a CD with Media Player, and wait for the warning.

The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a
Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds. Since these humble
beginnings, a multi-million dollar
industry has sprung up to exploit the commercial potential of Linux, but
until recently Linux has eluded mainstream acceptance. However, due to the
recent economic downturn together with uncertainty over changes to Microsoft's pricing policy, Linux is
now being touted as a serious contender to Microsoft Windows. While there
are many other alternatives to Windows, including BSD which is based on SUN's (Stanford University Network - correction by bc) server-grade Solaris operating system,
none have commanded the same level of media attention as Linux.

Linux Mandrake is just the
latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous
versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware,
Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such
as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy
names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from
the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's
perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely
redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free
availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among
cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the
documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me
in the "required configuration" section of the manual.
I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium
processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a
whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously
boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the
"bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are
blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95,
it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive,
computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system?
Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many
complaints. A brief perusal of the
features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many
crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry
standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the
best efforts of the experts at the Internet
Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer
standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By
refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining
its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software
is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that
your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not
work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational
purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games
are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely
available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not
bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by
the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are
commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for
Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular
ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux,
you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the
Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux
Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too
much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux
would have addressed these problems? The real question that the
prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all,
Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need
to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will
be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those
Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system
patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly
wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a
Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds. Since these humble
beginnings, a multi-million dollar
industry has sprung up to exploit the commercial potential of Linux, but
until recently Linux has eluded mainstream acceptance. However, due to the
recent economic downturn together with uncertainty over changes to Microsoft's pricing policy, Linux is
now being touted as a serious contender to Microsoft Windows. While there
are many other alternatives to Windows, including BSD which is based on SUN's (Stanford University Network - correction by bc) server-grade Solaris operating system,
none have commanded the same level of media attention as Linux.

Linux Mandrake is just the
latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous
versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware,
Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such
as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy
names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from
the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's
perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely
redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free
availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among
cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the
documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me
in the "required configuration" section of the manual.
I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium
processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a
whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously
boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the
"bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are
blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95,
it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive,
computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system?
Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many
complaints. A brief perusal of the
features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many
crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry
standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the
best efforts of the experts at the Internet
Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer
standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By
refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining
its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software
is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that
your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not
work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational
purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games
are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely
available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not
bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by
the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are
commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for
Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular
ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux,
you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the
Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux
Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too
much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux
would have addressed these problems? The real question that the
prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all,
Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need
to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will
be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those
Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system
patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly
wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds. Since these humble beginnings, a multi-million dollar industry has sprung up to exploit the commercial potential of Linux, but until recently Linux has eluded mainstream acceptance. However, due to the recent economic downturn together with uncertainty over changes to Microsoft's pricing policy, Linux is now being touted as a serious contender to Microsoft Windows. While there are many other alternatives to Windows, including BSD which is based on SUN's (Stanford University Network - correction by bc) server-grade Solaris operating system, none have commanded the same level of media attention as Linux.

Linux Mandrake is just the latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me in the "required configuration" section of the manual. I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the "bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95, it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive, computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system? Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many complaints. A brief perusal of the features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux would have addressed these problems? The real question that the prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all, Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

The Linux operating system was born in 1991 and was created by one man, a
Finnish student coincidentally named Linux Torvalds. Since these humble
beginnings, a multi-million dollar
industry has sprung up to exploit the commercial potential of Linux, but
until recently Linux has eluded mainstream acceptance. However, due to the
recent economic downturn together with uncertainty over changes to Microsoft's pricing policy, Linux is
now being touted as a serious contender to Microsoft Windows. While there
are many other alternatives to Windows, including BSD which is based on SUN's (Stanford University Network - correction by bc) server-grade Solaris operating system,
none have commanded the same level of media attention as Linux.

Linux Mandrake is just the
latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous
versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware,
Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such
as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy
names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from
the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's
perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely
redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free
availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among
cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the
documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me
in the "required configuration" section of the manual.
I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium
processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a
whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously
boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the
"bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are
blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95,
it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive,
computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system?
Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many
complaints. A brief perusal of the
features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many
crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry
standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the
best efforts of the experts at the Internet
Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer
standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By
refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining
its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software
is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that
your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not
work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational
purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games
are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely
available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not
bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by
the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are
commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for
Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular
ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux,
you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the
Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux
Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too
much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux
would have addressed these problems? The real question that the
prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all,
Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need
to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will
be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those
Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system
patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly
wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

Linux Mandrake is just the latest in a long line of quirkily christened versions of Linux. Previous versions of Linux have been named Red Hat, Slack Ware, Storm and Coral. In stark contrast to the mundane names such as 98, ME or NT preferred by Microsoft, the crazy names of each Linux release hint at its renegade nature.

My foray into the world of Linux began by downloading a "CD image" from the Linux web site. But don't worry, this isn't software piracy, it's perfectly legal! Linux is shareware, meaning that it can be freely redistributed without fear of a visit by the Business Software Alliance. The free availability of Linux is a major reason for its popularity among cash-strapped students and self-styled anti-capitalist hackers.

Before installing new software, it is always advisable to read the documentation. Unfortunately, an unpleasant surprise was in store for me in the "required configuration" section of the manual. I was shocked to learn that Linux Mandrake only runs on Pentium processors, meaning that my hopes of testing the water with my old Gateway 486 were dashed. Furthermore, a whopping 32 megabytes of memory are required to run Linux! Although the advocates of Linux self-righteously boast the efficiency of their chosen operating system and deride the "bloatware" produced by Microsoft, it appears that their claims are blatantly incorrect. Although my humble 486 will happily run Windows 95, it seems that Linux requires far more powerful, and more expensive, computer hardware. Is this really the sign of a lean, mean operating system? Of course not.

Sadly, not even being able to install Linux is just the first of my many complaints. A brief perusal of the features of Linux Mandrake reveals that Linux is sorely lacking many crucial productivity applications. For example, why isn't the industry standard web browser, Internet Explorer, included with Linux? Despite the best efforts of the experts at the Internet Engineering Task Force to encourage adoption of the Internet Explorer standard, the creators of Linux seem to think that they know better. By refusing to adhere to recognised standards, Linux is simply undermining its own credibility.

Similarly, almost all of the world's most popular and widely used software is completely incompatible with Linux! It may surprise you to learn that your copy of Microsoft Office, Outlook Express, or Lotus Notes will not work under Linux. Those who wish to use their computer for recreational purposes are also out of luck, for almost all of the most popular games are unavailable for Linux. Although a wide range of software is freely available for Linux, these pitiful offerings are mostly unfinished, unreliable and do not bear comparison to their commercial counterparts.

Computer security is also an area that seems to have been overlooked by the developers of Linux. In these times when hacking and viruses are commonplace, it defies belief to learn that no anti-virus software is available for Linux. To add insult to injury, there is no Linux version of the popular ZoneAlarm firewall. By using Linux, you are issuing an open invitation to the hordes of ne'er-do-wells on the Internet.

The shortcomings of Linux are obvious. Without even installing Linux Mandrake, I have exposed several fundamental flaws. Surely it is not too much to expect that, after ten years of development, the creators of Linux would have addressed these problems? The real question that the prospective Linux user must ask himself is, "Why bother?" After all, Microsoft Windows comes free with most PCs and there simply isn't a need to replace it, particularly not with a product of inferior quality.

Although it is always tempting to support the underdog, Windows XP will be the deserved victor in the battle ahead. I recommend that those Adequacy readers who are hoping to upgrade their operating system patiently wait for the release of Windows XP, rather than foolishly wasting their time, effort and money on Linux.

Does anyone know how useful (useless) the new Windows XP firewall is at stopping these sort of things? I doubt it does anything, but what about products like Zonealarm? Personally, I think that the best way to limit these sort of attacks is by getting home users to install some sort of firewall (and there are some rather idiotproof ones out there). Although, if the firewall comes up with something like "StupidObviousVirus.exe wants to connect to the Internet. Allow?", most people will still click 'OK', not knowing what they are doing.

I don't want any of the ads, so I use Bugnosis to detect the web bugs and the free WebWasher proxy with IE to scrub out the cruft, which is somehow available for free on Linux, though I'm told that Squid and Junkbusters can do the same. AdSubtract is another alternative that comes packages with the ZoneAlarm firewall these days, but I found it to not be as flexible as WebWasher. Unfortunately there are a few sites that do not work with WebWasher, most notably EBay and no matter how I tell it not to touch EBay's cookies and content, it still blocks something that keeps that site from working.

What is needed is some sort of plugin that works directly with the browser, sets all pages and cookies to be filtered out by default, and which lets you just right click on a page to tell it this site is OK to not filter and remember to let these cookies through. All browsers have the cookie feature, but management is usually a pain with what they provide and often left up to third party tools like all of the above. Sounds like Mozilla has some of this built it, so I'll give it a try...it may be time to make a switch. IE6 is supposed to have some of this cookie control, though I'm not sure if it's to that level of convenience.

I haven't seen an ad or a web bug on pages since I've made that change. I look forward to being popup/under and ad free in the future.

In addition, you might be interested to know that BlackICE completely blocks all network traffic when lanning, and is very troublesome, while Tiny is not. BlackICE, in my experience, also does not actually uninstall properly and continues to run after you have theoretically removed it. This struck me as very strange, and could be a random incident. However, I have had my computer frozen solid with BlackICE running, on Windows 2000, and my opinion of it, like that of Steve Gibson is somewhat low. And yeah, some of you might laugh at Steve Gibson, but I'm not just going by what he says, bear that in mind.

To be honest, when I read that BlackICE was used widely inside Microsoft, I laughed my arse off.

They're selling you high speed internet access. My DSL provider, CapuNet, displays a very sensible article about security in their customer support section. It basically says, your machine is valuble because it has a high speed connection, so do something to secure it. I agree, and that's all they need to say. It is up to the customer to weigh the risks, rewards, and options and act accordingly.

There are plenty of firewall and security products out there, and if your computer gets comprimised, it is not the fault of the service provider. For those hear on /., probably the one that many would be interested in is the NetBSD firewall solution. If you don't have a machine to dedicate as a firewall, there are plenty of others, including free software like ZoneAlarm. One of the funniest things about this, though, is that a lot of the port scans and other intrusion attempts that people get are coming from their ISP. It would be nice if this was to benefit the customer, but I think it's mainly just to keep an eye on the customer instead.

Anyway, the point I was trying to make (badly) is that if you're going to maintain a constant connection to the Internet by all means run some type of firewall if you don't want to get your box compromised. I use ZoneAlarm and couldn't be happier with it. I just passed the Port Probe and "Sheilds Up!" tests at grc.com with flying colors. Some of the scans ZoneAlarm protects me from (as reported by the security checks at GRC):

• Your Internet port 139 does not appear to exist!
• Unable to connect with NetBIOS to your computer.
• Port 21 FTP Stealth! There is NO EVIDENCE WHATSOEVER that a port (or even any computer) exists at this IP address!
• 23 Telnet Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 25 SMTP Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 79 Finger Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 80 HTTP Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 110 POP3 Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 113 IDENT Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 139 Net BIOS Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 143 IMAP Stealth! There is NO [...]
• 443 HTTPS Stealth! There is NO [...]

CookieCop (free PC Magazine utility) and Zonealarm are two free products I use on my winblows systems. CookieCop even allows you to filter cookies set by java script. It runs as a software proxie server (duh!)

One nice thing to do is to entirely block sites that are advertisers. There are maybe a dozen of them. You would be amazed at the speed increase you get. However, a few pages will then choke because of the use of Java script. (accuweather is one where it happens at times)

so the intelligent use of proxie servers and firewalls will let you use your netscrape aggravator or your internet destroyer with java turned on, etc.

Even better is ZoneAlarm (www.zonealarm.com) which is a free-as-in-beer-for-personal-use "firewall" that alerts you whenever a program attempts to initiate or receive connections to the Internet. I've used it since beta, and I was shocked at the number of programs that try to connect... Knowledge is power.