[Qcwa] Solve all your computers problems my way!!!

[qcwa@mailman.qth.net]

I have a few things to comment about in operating systems.

First of all, I do use Linux 90 percent of the time (both
Slackware and Mandrake primarily), but do use MS stuff.

It is true that most viruses are written for MS stuff, the
sad fact remains, that there is very little danger to Linux
users out there in computer land. I have never gotten a virus
in my life, yet I have been on lists that have been devastated
by virus infections. Although MS stuff is targeted, one of the
reasons that it is targeted so much is that they have left themselves
wide open to attacks. Some people use a dual boot situation
where their computer boots to Linux for internet junk and
MS whatever for everything else.

For instance, only in the latest edition of Outlook Express can
you limit to html. Yet you cannot stop Outlook from trying to 
display HTML no matter what you do!. That is a potential entry
point for virus infection. When I do use MS WIN 98 SE now, I 
use Pegasus email reader because it allows me to save messages
whole without trying to decode active X controls, java code, or 
whatever. If I get a message with a virus, it gets saved just like
all other messages. I look at all of my messages with a little 
hex editor (a line editor like edit should also do the trick).
If there are any attachments, I used a little Unix utility
(that is written for MS code) called Munpack. This unpacks the
attachments (most of the time) and allows me to examine the 
attachments.
Anything that ends with .com or .exe gets junked no matter what. 
I use a dumb utility called view to view Word documents (which can
contain a malicious script embedded in a macro). By not allowing
Windows to use file associations to open attachments, you can
go a long way to avoid email viruses. If any of you have problems
with email viruses, I would suggest that you use Pegasus or 
another
email reader which does not automatically try to open attachments.
Also by saving the messages from the mailbox to a text file, you
don't execute any html which can also contain a virus.

If you understand HTML and look at the message, you can use an
html reader to read the message if it does nothing strange. 

Also, viruses like to cloak themselves to look like things they
are not. You might see a file called script.vbs and it is really
an executable. By using Munpack on a saved text file, you can see
what you are dealing with.

Linux is not immune, but it is not a target ether. I use ether
Kmail from KDE or Pine. Pine is as dumb as you can get. As I have
said, in all the years that I have been online (I got into the 
computer field in 1970), I have never gotten a virus so I think
I know a little about what I am talking about.

I won't get into the holes in IE Explorer (or Netscape for that matter)
You guy can go to the Register for a summary of those problems. 
But
if you use explorer, turn off Java and Java scripting, and autoupdate
and you will help stop viruses from entering via IE. Problems like
overflow errors can't be helped, but (usually) the kinds of errors
generated by overflow conditions will not cause serious problems
(assuming you are not running a server).

I use Konqueror as my web browser(with java and scripting 
disabled).
I do not get viruses that way ether. But I have had problems with 
sites
trying to put on packet sniffers and other malicious code. I thought
that I was completely safe as I have all my protections set for my
internet account so that I cannot execute most of the bad 
commands
or get out of my directory. I had a lot of services running (daemons
for you fanatics). Well one day, I was reviewing my Apache log
(I use Apache local host for a form in KDE for entering data to 
a MySQL database). I noticed that some of the nation wide news 
sites
tried to execute cmd.exe or command.com in Windows 
directory(s).
Although it would never work with Linux, it shook me up a bit
I was extremely angry over this.

For you MS users, there is a problem with commercial sites trying 
to put packet sniffers on you computer (register them believe it or 
not). 
If you go to the adaware site, you can download a package that 
detects 
packet sniffers it will stop them cold.
I suspect that some of you ot's out there might be in for a surprise if
you do down load their produce (Free). I know a person who had 
over 50 
packet sniffers attached to his registry.

Well, I cut back to all but necessary services and tighted Apache 
down
a lot. They still tried to get a session started (to register a
sniffer I assume). I finally set up Linux to run with out any 
unnecessary services ( I  start Apache outside of an Internet 
session).

Because I am not an internet power user and do not have my 
computer 
that accesses the net tightly connected to any other computer, I 
decided not to use the Linuxs firewall (ipchains) as it seems to
be a waste of time for small guys. But I have to keep on my toes
to make sure that nothing bad happens. 

I suggest that if you guys are worried about viruses via the net,

1. Get a email reader such as Pegasus which allows you to save 
the
   email message to a text file. 

2. Turn off Active X controls as well as Java and Java script in IE.
   If you need these services, you can turn them on for specific
   sites, but beware, they invite problems. Also stop autoupdate
   (allows sites to automatically install software without your
    being aware of what is going on).

3. Get the AdAware program which checks for packet sniffers.

4. To keep a good attitude, go to (I think) bugnosis.com (not sure   
   of spelling). They have a product that scans web pages for bugs.
   There are commercial sites with bugs on them. Usually not 
dangerous,
   but they are annoying privacy problems (especially to the people 
who
   own the web pages)..


Donno, I hear about how Good MS stuff it, yet by using Linux I have
never been infected with a virus.

Henry, K7WAR

>
>Hi Joe and thanks for the reply,
>
>        The ramlink sounds suspiciously like a ram drive, which 
PC/Mac
>users can also use, but with native (on-board memory.  If you only 
have
>a total capacity of 16MB, the transfer will be pretty darn fast.  You
>are wrong in comparing that to a PC hard drive, since it is often
>feeding many tens of MB into memory.  If I had a ram drive set up 
on my
>PC, say a 128MB ram drive, my transfer rate would be very close 
to the
>speed of the chips;  in the nanosecond range.  The floppy I 
remember
>from the old C-128 days - I had them too back in the mid 80's.
>
>        Well, I never claimed a virus had actually been written for the
>Commodore PC's that could affect the ROM, but I still stand by 
my