Peachy Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Apparently,Broadband provider Comcast is going to disconnect user PCs infected by worms and trojans that are acting as spam relays. http://www.broadbandreports.com/shownews/40118Hope they help their users disinfect their computers, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Yeah, I hope so too Peachy!Rather interesting development there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martini Lover Posted March 16, 2004 Share Posted March 16, 2004 Lets see. They get disconnected, and then they call and find out why, then Comcast is going to lend tech support to them to remove the bug? We all pay for higher internet costs. You know if they are stupid enough to have a bug, they aren't going to be smart enough to get rid of it. Comcast should include a firewall if needed to these people. It goes back to the same old arguement, should you have to have a licence to get on the internet?People who are unaware of the bug, should be made to go back to dial up, second strike..........off the internet for a month, Third.............gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_P Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 I like the way you think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Interesting - let's see how it plays out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 ...It goes back to the same old arguement, should you have to have a licence to get on the internet?...Perhaps. Or at *least* be required to take a quick course or test on how to keep your computer secured. Seriously, though - how hard can it be?Don't open attachments from unknown sendersIf users actually knew this, it would virtually eliminate propagation of viruses (with the exception to non-user-intervention worms, such as Blaster - which leads me to the next two points...)Keep your AV definitions up to dateAV Software vendors should AUTOMATICALLY schedule definition updates in Windows' scheduled tasks folder. Advanced users (like 99.99% of everyone here in SFNL Forums) will know how to remove it from the task manager.Use a firewallIt amazes me every time I hear about someone who has DSL/Cable and doesn't use a firewall. They might as well leave the door to their house unlocked and have their passwords written on post-it notes on the the monitor.Use something better and more secure than Microsoft Outlook garbageOutlook should be outlawed, and e-mail clients should be *required* to warn a user of executable attachments (like Eudora ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Lets see. They get disconnected, and then they call and find out why, then Comcast is going to lend tech support to them to remove the bug? We all pay for higher internet costs. You know if they are stupid enough to have a bug, they aren't going to be smart enough to get rid of it.I dunno. Last time I checked, you're supposed to *read* things before you agree to 'em. If a user agreed to this policy, then they should know what they're getting into. And according to Comcast's policy, they reserve the right to terminate a user's connection, and aren't required to re-enable it.Excerpt from http://www.comcast.net/terms/subscriber.jsp (text formatting was edited by me for emphasis, and was not in the original policy)No Liability For Viruses: Comcast makes no representation or warranty that any software or content installed on your computer(s) or downloaded from the Service does not contain a virus or other harmful feature and it is your sole responsibility to take appropriate precautions to protect any computer or other hardware of yours from damage to its software, files or data as a result of any such virus or other harmful feature. We may, but are not required to, terminate all or any portion of the installation or operation of the Service if a virus is found to be present on your system. We are not required to provide you with any assistance in removal of the virus. If we decide, in our sole discretion, to install or run virus check software on your computer(s), we make no representation or warranty that the virus check software will detect or correct any or all viruses. You acknowledge that you may incur additional charges for any service call made or required on account of any problem related to a virus or other harmful feature detected on your system. NEITHER COMCAST NOR ITS AFFILIATES OR AGENTS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY DAMAGE TO OR LOSS OR DESTRUCTION OF ANY HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, FILES OR DATA RESULTING FROM ANY VIRUS OR OTHER HARMFUL FEATURE OR FROM ANY ATTEMPT TO REMOVE IT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 epp bGood points - but how do you educate the public to do these things?I'm beta testing XP-SP2 v2505 on a test system. The only thing I have seen thus far is that the firewall is turned on by default. But it is a simple matter of going into Control Panel to disable it.Maybe licensing is the best option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_P Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Don't open attachments from unknown sendersThat was a good recommendation a long time ago. But most modern viruses spread using the names of people you have written to, thus people you know, and some are even disguised to be from your own ISP. The only thing that that recommendation will stop is SPAM, which isn't a bad thing to stop. Good points - but how do you educate the public to do these things?How do people get educated about driving cars? Trucks? Buses?The problem is people relate pcs to bicycles rather than cars. And anyone can learn to ride a bike with just a little training by a parent or friend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichNRockville Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Don't open attachments from unknown sendersThat was a good recommendation a long time ago. But most modern viruses spread using the names of people you have written to, thus people you know, and some are even disguised to be from your own ISP. The only thing that that recommendation will stop is SPAM, which isn't a bad thing to stop. I agree 100%. Most of the people who I have helped setup their anti-virus and firewall software seem to be receiving the attached virus's from people they know.If they are not 100% sure about the file, I tell them to get on the phone to anyone that they know who sends them a file and ask them if they sent it. Or if they had sent a message earlier telling them to expect to receive a file. And of course to keep their AV up dated.I also turn off their Preview Pane. Off download html graphics and off html executables in messages.Works for me (I use Eudora and recommend it highly.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rons Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 How do people get educated about driving cars? Trucks? Buses?The problem is people relate pcs to bicycles rather than cars. And anyone can learn to ride a bike with just a little training by a parent or friend.Most home users think computers are toys to entertain themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 How do people get educated about driving cars? Trucks? Buses?The problem is people relate pcs to bicycles rather than cars. And anyone can learn to ride a bike with just a little training by a parent or friend.Most home users think computers are toys to entertain themselves. Exactly. To them it is game console, a telephone, or maybe a VCR like device. There have been several attempts to build internet only devices, WebTV for example. Yet they have never taken off. Yet for many people that is exactly what they should have. A low/no maintenance device to surf the net and do email. So why hasn't this taken off? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Another question is, why is it so easy to spoof e-mail headers to make it look like you're someone you're not (hence fooling people into thinking that they're opening attachments from known senders). It works too similarly to postal mail: you need a key (password) to check for your own new mail, but you can send a letter (e-mail) saying that you're anyone you want to be. How hard could it be to validate outgoing e-mails by comparing a username (public) and password (private) against its valid aliases (public)? If any of the three are invalid, the server would disallow the e-mail from being sent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlinecomputers Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 The protocols for SMTP mail were written back in the late 70s back when the internet was just the Arpanet, a private network of government and universities. The protocol never assumed that anyone would abuse it so no checks against it are made. ANYONE can launch an SMTP server and send mail. Only register servers can receive mail and that's only because in order to send a mail to mydomain.com the internet, through DNS, has to crosscheck that name with an IP number.Plans are in the works NOW for a system that would allow domain names to publish the names of their SMTP servers. With that system an email could be crosschecked against the list you published. If the IP numbers of the email doesn't match the IP numbers of the listed servers then you'd have the option to reject the mail.Details: http://spf.pobox.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epp_b Posted March 17, 2004 Share Posted March 17, 2004 Plans are in the works NOW for a system that would allow domain names to publish the names of their SMTP servers. With that system an email could be crosschecked against the list you published. If the IP numbers of the email doesn't match the IP numbers of the listed servers then you'd have the option to reject the mail.What thats good to hear! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.