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Post by Deleted on Dec 3, 2005 20:57:49 GMT
Couldnt think where to put this, but as it concerns the whole site, I thought it the most appropriate place...
{mods can move this post if necessary]
When I logged in, my firewall came up saying an attack was made on my PC. I logged out and tried again. Same thing. Good job my firewall blocked it.
Not that hot on PC-technical stuff so this 'attack' has led me to beleive it could be linked to the url of this site, so that when you tap it in, you automatically get sent this virus thing [Trojan]. I have this site set as my homepage. Any PC-techno-wizards can put me right or wrong if they so wish.
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Colin
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Post by Colin on Dec 3, 2005 21:11:01 GMT
Couldnt think where to put this, but as it concerns the whole site, I thought it the most appropriate place... {mods can move this post if necessary] Seems the appropriate place to me - I aint that good with techie stuff though........ |
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Post by Tomcakes on Dec 3, 2005 21:11:34 GMT
Hmm, it's unlikely to be linked to this site *directly*, BUT it might be something in the ads which is throwing the firewall into a huff though.
Usual stuff: If you're running a Windows system you should be firewalled and AV'd though. But being fully firewalled and AV'd is useless without a measure of common sense - don't download dodgy files with names like "porn.avi.exe", don't use software like MSIE or MSOE, don't accept attatchments you're unsure about, don't click "yes" to anything without checking what you are agreeing to and don't allow anything through a firewall without checking WHAT it is (NB just because something is called "Winx.exe" doesn't mean it IS a Windows system utility). Also read all .bat files before executing them (Rclick > Edit), it's possible to write a simple "virus" using a .bat file in 5 characters should you wish. If you're unsure about anything, do a quick google of the web or grep a security site.
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Post by oliver on Dec 4, 2005 22:24:05 GMT
Excellent advice tom - are you a computer person? This forum hasn’t given me any problems - I agree with the advertising suggestion, as you didn’t type the URL wrong if its your home page. BTW there is lots of scams for if you type google.com wrong - be very careful with this one! Just to add to that, when don’t use MSIE is mentioned Firefox is a great alternative and it makes reading this forum much easier with tabbed browsing. IE is one big security hole - well anything with MS in the beginning usually is  I here SP3 is coming out for XP soon  |
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 4, 2005 22:36:39 GMT
Yes, as has been said before here, Firefox doesn't seem to give problems AND is safe.
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Post by Chris W on Dec 4, 2005 22:53:03 GMT
Mark Just to add to the comments made already (all of them accurate), I'd suggest you install (& regularly update - updates are normally published weekly, usually Fridays) a couple of anti-spyware applications - the two I personally use are freely available on the internet: namely Spy-Bot Search & Destroy and Ad-Aware (links below): Spy-Botwww.safer-networking.org/en/spybotsd/
Ad-Awarewww.lavasoftusa.com/support/download/I personally find them very user friendly and both tend to find little suspicious and erroneous agents that the other misses. Also as Oliver & Phil mentioned, FireFox is an excellent browser (freeware) and has only in the past few days been updated again to version 1.5 (see link below to install): www.mozilla.com/firefox/I don't want to be the bringer of bad tidings, but the reason why IE has so many known holes, is because until recently there has been no other mainstream browser application out there to make it work while for virus/scammers to try to write bugs for. As FireFox becomes more and more mainstream security holes will be found & exploited for those using FireFox - regular users of FireFox will know that they are prompted that updates are available occasionally. One other thing I'd suggest would be to regularly visit the Microsoft update site to check that your machine is fully patched up - seems obvious I know, but you'd be surprised how many people fail to do this - see another link below ;D: update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-usOh & by the way you need to be using IE to be able to update/patch your machine - the update check on your machine will not work if you're using FireFox to browse to the site (that's Microsoft for you  ) Hope these comments are of use  Regards Christopher |
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Post by antharro on Dec 4, 2005 23:02:58 GMT
There's some good advice in this thread. I'll just add, if you're not running any anti-virus software, AVG is free and I highly recommend it. free.grisoft.com |
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 4, 2005 23:04:34 GMT
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 4, 2005 23:13:51 GMT
ChrisW: I've just looked at the Mozilla page and it is offering version 1.0.7 for english (british) and version 1.5 for english. Any idea of the differences?
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Post by Chris W on Dec 4, 2005 23:42:48 GMT
ChrisW: I've just looked at the Mozilla page and it is offering version 1.0.7 for english (british) and version 1.5 for english. Any idea of the differences? Phil Having just checked the site out (using FireFox of course ;D ;D ;D) the Download link states "Download Firefox 1.5 for Windows, English (5.0MB)" To me it just means that this is the new updated & revamp version and have just removed the work 'British' - thinking about it though, the fact that it states 'English' could mean that our cousins on the other site of the 'English' borders won't be able to use it ;D ;D ;D... oh dear, hope I haven't started a war by saying that If you scroll down the Mozilla FireFox page (the link on my previous post) it does state the reasons/advantages of installing/running this updated version. |
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Chris M
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Post by Chris M on Dec 4, 2005 23:47:34 GMT
Oh & by the way you need to be using IE to be able to update/patch your machine - the update check on your machine will not work if you're using FireFox to browse to the site (that's Microsoft for you ) I haven't tried this myself, but I believe that there are ways of updating windows while using firefox. One of them is to download and install the "user agent spoofer" extension (to to Tools -> extensions -> get more extensions) then search for "user agent spoofer"). When it is installed you can choose what you want your user agent to be - Any wesbite can ask your browser what type of browser it is and what sort of computer and operating system it is running on. Most sites just collect this for their stats (which is how they know what percentage of people use IE and firefox, etc), but some do clever things with it. What Microsoft does with its update site is that it only allows Internet Explorer to access the update site and blocks the others. What the user agent spoofer does is that when it gets asked what sort of browser/computer/OS it is it lies! Instead of saying "I'm Firefox 1.07" it says "I'm Internet Explorer 6", and the server says OK IE, you can come in. On the subject of extensions I cannot recommend "adblock" highly enough - I have not seen an ad on this forum since the first day I visited! Chris Chris |
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Post by Chris W on Dec 4, 2005 23:56:57 GMT
Chris Speaking personally I only use IE to check for updates/download from the MS website - otherwise I use FireFox. Having said this I did note that the 'Friends Reunited' site failed to load on FireFox today (got a message of a error on line 13), but did seem to open in IE when I checked.... as they say... nothing's perfect...! ;D |
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Post by oliver on Dec 4, 2005 23:58:07 GMT
With the spoofer I assume it changes the http request header but do you know if it does it for all pages or just for MS. Im thinking you could encounter problems if some servers depend on what browser your using. (for example some pages have 2 javascript functions for different browsers)
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2005 0:00:59 GMT
I here SP3 is coming out for XP soon Oh dear, another Service Pack that likes to distruct machines? Need a bloomin' firewall just to protect my PC from them! Yes, as has been said before here, Firefox doesn't seem to give problems AND is safe. AND if you go to a site that has an automatic download / dialer, you can cancel the download as you have to accept if you want to actual download the file. AND i always use Firefox. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2005 0:33:26 GMT
yes you are quite correct , avg is one of the best anti virus progs available, its free and sits nicely in the background and doesnt slow yer pc down like some other anti virus progs , highly recommended
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Chris M
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Post by Chris M on Dec 5, 2005 0:59:03 GMT
With the spoofer I assume it changes the http request header but do you know if it does it for all pages or just for MS. Im thinking you could encounter problems if some servers depend on what browser your using. (for example some pages have 2 javascript functions for different browsers) It changes the user agent string for all the pages, but it only does it when you tell it to. It adds a setting to the tools menu where you can choose what you want your user agent string to be, it deafults to true (unless you tell it to default to something else) so you just need to change it to IE when checking MS update, and refrain from visitng any sites that it could cause problems with while you are doing so. As soon as you have finished at MS update then you can go back to telling the truth and browse whatever sites you want. Chris |
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Post by oliver on Dec 5, 2005 10:02:15 GMT
I don't want to be the bringer of bad tidings, but the reason why IE has so many known holes, is because until recently there has been no other mainstream browser application out there to make it work while for virus/scammers to try to write bugs for. As FireFox becomes more and more mainstream security holes will be found & exploited for those using FireFox - regular users of FireFox will know that they are prompted that updates are available occasionally. Just to add to that - the main reason IE is a big hole is that that the browser is directly tied to the operating system and so an attack on IE means an attack on Windows. Firefox, on the other hand is an application which runs like any other program and so difficult to connect to the OS. As you say FF is updated regularly - they are usually quick in fixing problems - probably as its Open Source means there are lots of contributors. Oh dear, another Service Pack that likes to distruct machines? Need a bloomin' firewall just to protect my PC from them! Oh yeah SP2 was a nightmare for lots of people - SP3 includes IE7 which is supposedly better than Firefox with tabbed browsing and RSS feeds - I doubt I will be using it though  ! It changes the user agent string for all the pages, but it only does it when you tell it to. It adds a setting to the tools menu where you can choose what you want your user agent string to be, it deafults to true (unless you tell it to default to something else) so you just need to change it to IE when checking MS update, and refrain from visitng any sites that it could cause problems with while you are doing so. As soon as you have finished at MS update then you can go back to telling the truth and browse whatever sites you want. Seems like a good idea, I like getting lots of random extensions for FF . I am lucky because the windows update actually works on my PC from the system tray! - WOW |
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Post by Chris M on Dec 5, 2005 10:29:41 GMT
I don't want to be the bringer of bad tidings, but the reason why IE has so many known holes, is because until recently there has been no other mainstream browser application out there to make it work while for virus/scammers to try to write bugs for. As FireFox becomes more and more mainstream security holes will be found & exploited for those using FireFox - regular users of FireFox will know that they are prompted that updates are available occasionally. Just to add to that - the main reason IE is a big hole is that that the browser is directly tied to the operating system and so an attack on IE means an attack on Windows. Firefox, on the other hand is an application which runs like any other program and so difficult to connect to the OS. As you say FF is updated regularly - they are usually quick in fixing problems - probably as its Open Source means there are lots of contributors. Oh yeah SP2 was a nightmare for lots of people - SP3 includes IE7 which is supposedly better than Firefox with tabbed browsing and RSS feeds - I doubt I will be using it though ! It changes the user agent string for all the pages, but it only does it when you tell it to. It adds a setting to the tools menu where you can choose what you want your user agent string to be, it deafults to true (unless you tell it to default to something else) so you just need to change it to IE when checking MS update, and refrain from visitng any sites that it could cause problems with while you are doing so. As soon as you have finished at MS update then you can go back to telling the truth and browse whatever sites you want. Seems like a good idea, I like getting lots of random extensions for FF . I am lucky because the windows update actually works on my PC from the system tray! - WOW My windows upadate works from the system tray as well, but windows does crash every time I try to use the search! Windows explorer also crashes whenever I try to view my linux partition, but other programs can read it without any problem. I tried sharing it at one point but when it was access remotely it cause my PC to reboot! |
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Post by oliver on Dec 5, 2005 10:57:41 GMT
My windows upadate works from the system tray as well, but windows does crash every time I try to use the search! Windows explorer also crashes whenever I try to view my linux partition, but other programs can read it without any problem. I tried sharing it at one point but when it was access remotely it cause my PC to reboot! Stupid Windows I imagin that the linux file system and windows one are different and windows explorer is expecting FAT32 or NTFS ... here is an application that will let you view the linux partition: uranus.it.swin.edu.au/~jn/linux/explore2fs.htm |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2005 14:30:11 GMT
Oh yeah SP2 was a nightmare for lots of people - SP3 includes IE7 which is supposedly better than Firefox with tabbed browsing and RSS feeds - I doubt I will be using it though ! I dont like tabbed browsing anyway. |
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Post by Tomcakes on Dec 5, 2005 17:19:56 GMT
Why not? If you open a fresh browser window you just use more memory!
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2005 17:23:08 GMT
Why not? If you open a fresh browser window you just use more memory! Do you see a face that cares ? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 5, 2005 18:42:49 GMT
Oh yeah SP2 was a nightmare for lots of people - SP3 includes IE7 which is supposedly better than Firefox with tabbed browsing and RSS feeds - I doubt I will be using it though ! I dont like tabbed browsing anyway. *blink* *blink* *blink* What's wrong with tabbed browsing? |
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Colin
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Post by Colin on Dec 5, 2005 20:07:54 GMT
If we all did things the same way, it would be a boring world!! Lets accept we all have our likes and dislikes, and leave it at that?
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Post by Tomcakes on Dec 5, 2005 20:10:56 GMT
Why not? If you open a fresh browser window you just use more memory! Do you see a face that cares ? That wink surely looks as if it does . But the *point* of tabbed browsing is that it uses much less memory - thus everything else runs faster! Especially with Bindoze's memory "black holes". |
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Post by Chris M on Dec 6, 2005 17:44:53 GMT
I don't know how I ever coped before tabbed browsing. I've got 18 tabs open at the moment (this site, LU map, Time Team forum, three ongoing stories I dip in and out of plus the index to the story site, a tab each for the three sections of another forum, My watchlist at the Wikimedia Meta-wiki, My watchlist at Wikipedia, My watchlist at Wikimedia Commons, the tab I'm using to upload photos to Wikimedia Commons, and four categories of photos at the commons). This is the low end of average for me. I have been known to have upwards of 40 open at once!
Chris
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Post by antharro on Dec 8, 2005 2:27:58 GMT
Mmm, tabbed browsing is a good thing (tm). And Firefox 1.5 is pretty good too, rounds the edges of the old 1.07. I use IE6SP1 for Windows Updates, or more correctly "Microsoft Updates" and website testing, and that's it. Firefox gets everything else, and Opera gets a look in occasionally.
As for Windows and memory handling, well, it's not good. Then again, I work with AthlonX2 4800+s with 4Gb RAM, so you tend not to notice memory leaks unless they make the system crash hard!
I'm a fan of tabs, but Chris..... 40 tabs?!!?! ;D
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Post by Deleted on Dec 8, 2005 7:30:25 GMT
 What is tabbed browsing exactly? |
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Post by setttt on Dec 8, 2005 8:00:43 GMT
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Phil
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Post by Phil on Dec 8, 2005 11:40:36 GMT
On the subject of extensions I cannot recommend "adblock" highly enough - I have not seen an ad on this forum since the first day I visited! Chris Chris are you saying adblock blocks the ads at the top of the homepage etc? I've got adblock installed and it works well generally but I still get the banner ads here!!!! OK - so perhaps it helps if I switch the right filters on |
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What is tabbed browsing exactly? 
