Internet problems

[yachtsmanbill]

Yesterday and today, everything seems wayy sloww on the bozoputer. I am on a new WAMMADYNE CPU since 1-5-07 and all was good. Then BAMM! Ive tried several re-boots and system restores to no avail. Is it mine or has anyone else encountered this too? All my regular HTTPs are doing this. I just got a popup from SAMS that noted a server problem as well.
I think its part of the terrorist conspiracy. They hit you below the belt when you least expect it. ws

 

[Boss Lady]

there is computer worm sweeping the globe called the "storm" worm. It started in europe and is now affecting us. It comes in an email and infects windows computers, and turns them into dumbots, they are slowing down the whole internet. If you are running Linux or Mac you are probably ok, it sucks to be you if you are still using a suck ass microsoft product. The hackers who hatched this have already compromised a couple of credit card companies so get ready for a whole new era of identity theft, and the powers at be have been trying to keep a lid on this for the last few weeks, because we are all screwed, thank you bill gates for such a wonderful product. Windows was named properly, because everyone can see what ever they want stored on you computer, including your personal information. I have a seperate computer running linux that is only used for connecting to the internet to do surfing and email.

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, its a major problem..... you may have picked up something from unsafe computer sex

In all seriousness, if you don't have Windows Defender go get it (free download from Microsoft) and also grab a copy of AVG Free Edition (anti-virus/trojan software). Those two, plus Spybot, will keep you reasonably safe - BUT - you still need some kind of firewall between you and the net or eventually you'll have something "fun" show up.

Don't even get me started on Microsuck.

 

[yachtsmanbill]

Thanks guys! Tomorrow Ill have the S.O. pipe in here for some more input. Shes a gigantic MAC fan and teaches web design and all the other stuff at a local college. We probably have 6 computers on here at any given time and 2 are G5s.
Maybe with the HOYC we can start our own Domain server thingy ws

 

[Pascal]

Storm Worm is a 6 year old bug, are you sure about that?

Discovered: June 6, 2001
Updated: April 15, 2002 04:50:44 PM PDT
Also Known As: DoS.Storm.Worm
Type: Worm

W32.Storm.Worm is a worm that seeks out Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) systems that have not applied the proper security patches. Any such systems that it finds are then infected with the worm. The payload of this worm performs a denial-of-service attack on http:/ /www.microsoft.com


Peacom is a new one, classified as Moderate risk by symantec... but you have to be brain dead to get caught... it's an EXE. anyone launching an unkonwn executable deserves to be without a computer for a month !

i've been using computers for over 20 years now, i've yet to suffer a loss or serious issues because of MS products so I don't understand all this MS bashing. heck, windows is dirt cheap and comes with evrything you need to use your computer : browser, email, word processor, networking. all free. years ago, you'd have to buy each piece of software and having spend hours and hours setting up and running a Netware network i'm still in awe at what XP does.

blaming MS for all the problems is like crediting al gore for inventing the web it's like blaming gun manufacturers for murders, car manufacturers for accidents.

PS
I moved this to the sandbar where it belongs

 

[MikeP]

I've been using my wife's office laptop in the wireless mode here in Ixtapa, Mexico and haven't noticed any reduction in speed on the internet at all. In fact, the wireless network here at the hotel is faster than the cable modem at our apartment in Mexico City.

Like Pascal, I've been using MS Windows and the internet for a lot of years and have never had a problem at all. I have never used anti-virus software and it seems to me that the people who use it have the most trouble with viruses.

Of course, it's in the interest of anti-virus software companies to ensure there are plenty of viruses to "eliminate." So I've always wondered who actually creates all these viruses. I guess If I wanted to create a cure for something, I'd invent the disease first so I'd have a market.

 

[Boss Lady]

They have resurrected the original Storm, and are using a mutated version, totally new tactics for infecting and deploying it, to get around the countermeasures. the problem with microsoft is that once infected you computer can be doing some pretty nasty things and you wont even know about it as a user. Hackers have more control over you computer than you do from the keyboard, because microsoft limits the users control of the system, but hackers get access at the system level. You will hear people bash microsoft because they flat refuse to fix the security problems associated with their products. They were gaining shares of the internet backbone server market until a worm almost shut down the entire internet, this was when their share approached 30 percent, they have lost significant amounts since then. You get all those cool features because your computer is wide open. The browsers and java are wide open too. It was all built in so the marketing people can obtain the information they want. They do all kinds of evil things with cookies and scripts. while no product is perfect, microsoft falls short of even 30 year old security practices. But they have the masses and the rest of us suffer. I betcha if you ran a few scans of you computer you will find tens, if not hundereds of malware cookies hiding in the background, you won't know if you dont look.

 

[Boss Lady]

It finally hit the mainstream here is the Fox news report from the 26th of January 2007. http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,247098,00.html

 

[Starman]

I use Norton and Spyware.

I also have Hotmail for my everyday emails accounts. If I rcv an email not from some one not on my list, it goes to a junk folder. When I open the junk folder, I can pick what is actually good and legit, and trash the rest.

Have never gotton a virus from an email.

But there are other things a person can do as well.

Run your spyware at least every 3 days. Manually delete all cookies and temp folders at least once a week. ( I prefer manual deletion because it seems more thorough) .

I run Norton every week and stay up to date on subscription service.

The big thing, if you are not sure who the email came from, trash it !

 

[MikeP]

I scan the system several times a week for all the mal ware, addware, spyware, etc. The scans occasioally find an item or two but that's it. I find all of this to be mostly scareware. It's kind of like saying it's dangerous to walk in NY city at night. It's not unless you are someplace you have no business being anyway and you are paying no attention to what's going on around you.

Internet's the same way. If you pay attention to where you are and what you are doing there's very little risk.

As I said, I've been on the internet since the mid 80's when I didn't even know it was called the internet - using a 1200 baud modem from Alaska to connect to some music-related sites in NY. I started with Macs, switched to MSW in the mid 90's and have been using both again since last year.

I've never had a problem of any kind and I basically quit going to stores 10 years ago and buy virtually eveything on the Net since them. I download songs, videos, and all sorts of items from all sorts of sites.

Maybe I've just been lucky but I pay a lot of attention to my Security settings and I do use FireFox/Thunderbird rather than IE/Outlook on the windows machines. Whether that has any real effect I don't know - I just prefer those programs and the way the function; I didn't switch to them for any security reasons though I suspect they may be superior. On the Macs I use Firefox but use Apple's Mail program rather than Thunderbird because IPhoto will automatically reduce the size of photos and export them to the mail program. This is really handy and quick for sending photos via email - you don't have to mess with resizing the photos with a separate program. You just select the photos and tell it to email them and it reduces the size to the size you select and posts them on a blank message template. Add the message and you're done. It's a real time saver.

Sorry, I seem to have digressed considerably...

 

[Boss Lady]

Mike you have managed to avoid problems by switching to Firefox and Mac (BSD operating system) because most of the malicious stuff is aimed at IE/Outlook software. They are the two primary portals for exploitation due to the popularity of them and makes a lot of windows users unwitting accomplices in some very malicious activities when they are able to take over an unprotected/suseptable computer. A lot of users never experience problems so all this seems like a lot of bruhaha. But I can assure you this is a very real and serious issue compounded by the millions of users who don't know or don't take security seriously. firefox has some better security features than IE but it still is very open to exploitation. Anytime a program recieves executable code from the net, (java, flash, cookies, etc) it is vulnerable.

 

[Pascal]

cookies executable ? that's a new one !

common sense is more important than what browser, email client or OS you're using... look at how many people set up wireless network and leave them wide open !

i know it's cool thse days to bash and blame MS for everything, in a way it's understandable has the advances in features MS provide for free is putting a lot of experts out of business... take networking, 5 years ago it was impossible for the average guy to setup a network at home or office.. now anyone can do it.

 

[SKYCHENEY]

Pascal,
I see your point. But, 5 years ago the average guy could set up a Windows 98 network. Even 10 years ago MS made it easy to network. Before that, Novell, which was much more difficult, but the average guy could still do it, I did and I'm no expert.

Shhhh.....don't tell those people to secure their wireless networks. I need those when I'm in a new anchorage or on the road.

 

[Pascal]

Correct, windows has had network support since W for Workgroup 3.1 but until 98 and XP, installing the drivers for cards, etc... was more than the average user coudl handle.

Novell Netware... that was the first network i setup for my office.i think it came on 12 floppies...

 

[MarioG]

Not too worry, MS VISTA will save the world...