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How Long is Too Long to Update?
StWaldo asks: "I'm sure everyone knows the story about the life expectancy of an fresh, un-updated PC, once it's connected to the internet. What about a PC which just hasn't been updated in a while? I've been deployed in Iraq for the last 9 months, and haven't been able to hook up my laptop to the internet to get updates (I do HAVE access, just can't hook up a personal laptop, gov't only). Before I deployed, I would update my software (system, anti-virus, firewall, anti-spyware, etc) regularly, but as I get closer to coming back to the States and my broadband connection, I'm beginning to wonder what the life expectancy of my PC will be. What's the lifecycle of a security exploit, hack, virus, etc - between discovery/release, propagation, and extinction (or a state approaching extinction)?"
Use a hardware firewall when reconnecting, if at all possible - like the ones in most routers.
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If you have a decent firewall (even the built in windows one could be considered OK) then I do not think you will have a problem with any problems, as the firewall should stop the worms infecting through any exploits and as you are posting to slashdot I assume you will not be opening any suspious attachements.
If you have one, put your laptop behind some kind of NAT. This will at least let you fetch your updates without having to expose yourself to the wild.
Seriously, it isn't that hard. A software firewall installed on the PC would do in a pinch, I guess, but I typically don't like running a machine without something protecting it ANYWAY. Heck, since it is a laptop, when you get back, just ask a friend if you can plug it in his/her router and update from there, if you don't have one yourself.
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Hook it up behind a NAT box and you'll be safe as long as it's not in the DMZ.
This is the approach I use when installing off my original release 2K3 server discs, since apparently the internal firewall is not enabled by default so it gets nuked before it's even done installing if it's unprotected.
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I know I'm being redundant here, but stating it again for purposes of reassurance seems worthwhile. As long as you are behind a good firewall, you should be fine. My family runs two Windows PCs behind solid firewall without any virus protection software at all. They don't swap files over IM, they don't click nonsense (they've learned the hard way), they don't use gnutella, etc. For a year now they've been without a single issue or zombie infection, even with using IE instead of Firefox.