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browser vendor may not matter
I'm not sure the browser vendor matters as much as it used to.

You touched on this in your article: outbound firewall protection only works if you are diligent about keeping track of the programs you allow to get out. Yet nearly everyone will necessarily have to let their browser make outbound connections to the world. Most people will think, "if I'm clicking on it, I'll be able to tell if it's causing a problem." Or they'll admit that they can't tell for sure, but need the flexibility.

Which leaves your system with a hole a virus can drive a truck through: All it needs to do is the runtime equivalent of "start C:\temp\sendtomykeyloggersite.html", and the user's default browser will dutifully fire up and connect to the site. I haven't thought the details through but it's probably pretty easy to suppress the browser window.

Of course, if the default browser is Internet Explorer, the possibilities are limitless thanks to access to VBscript, but even Javascript in Mozilla can do a lot of damage.

So I don't think outbound firewall protection will help much. Inbound protection will protect against worms. Strong anti-virus protection and common sense will help for email-borne viruses, and here I _would_ recommend a non-MS product that is less prone to automatic execution of attachments.

I think what I'd like most is a fool-proof way to restrict any new application from launching without user confirmation.
Posted by: GDF   Posted on: 07/02/04 You are currently: a Guest | Members login | Terms of Use
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Have you tried Netscape  waicri@... | 07/02/04
Exactly  llamee | 07/02/04
Do you run the latest version?  AxleMunshine | 07/02/04
Have you tried Netscape  mystic100 | 07/02/04
Netscape has had more than it's fair share of problems  balsover | 07/02/04
Netscape 7.1 is OK but  Bill4 | 07/03/04
MS and keystroke Loggers  amaughan | 07/02/04
So how did you know you were Jacked ?  stephensfam | 07/02/04
Alternate Browsers  don.chambers@... | 07/02/04
Never Happen.  jmervyn | 07/02/04
No Outbound Block sad & Firefox 0.9 happy  tbbrickster_z | 07/02/04
browser vendor may not matter  GDF | 07/02/04
Microsoft should improve application security  alan maughan | 07/05/04
Point of Order - outgoing connections & startup control  jpivonka@... | 07/06/04
The solution is so easy and enjoyable...  MTMacPhee | 07/02/04
but _NOT_ on your wallet!  riff7raff | 07/02/04
$2000 is too much?  Wings_z | 07/02/04
Those aren't all the costs  home_user | 07/02/04
As wings says, get an eMac  MTMacPhee | 07/02/04
The cost of changing to a Mac is more than just the list price  balsover | 07/02/04
I'm da man!  MTMacPhee | 07/02/04
re: da man  home_user | 07/02/04
They don't?  MTMacPhee | 07/02/04
Linux & Mozilla a safe haven for now..  riff7raff | 07/02/04
Linux & Mozilla a safe haven for now but...  dave_anderson99 | 07/02/04
May be u r not old enough  laci2126 | 07/04/04
...for now but they will always be safer than any M$ product ...  indigo_z | 07/05/04
Keystroke Loggers, etc, ad nauseum  Wings_z | 07/02/04
Palladium  PB_z | 07/02/04
Irresponsible journalism  bullwinkle_z | 07/02/04
Nonsense!  jpivonka@... | 07/06/04
Why outbound filtering is a waste of time  JohnJ_z | 07/09/04
You're still wasting you're time.  Irritated User | 07/02/04
Dave, you are the one that needs a realilty check  balsover | 07/02/04
Using "something called a port"? Really!  jpivonka@... | 07/06/04
I Agree  chapgen | 07/02/04
Too Late!!!  Andre Velloso | 07/03/04
Too Late!!!  Andre Velloso | 07/03/04
Is it, or is it not? The true fate of the ICF's outbound connection control  jpivonka@... | 07/06/04
Not  JohnJ_z | 07/09/04
Outbound blocking? BAD idea.  syrynxx | 07/06/04
Outbound blocking is a good idea, and easily managed too  jpivonka@... | 07/06/04
Outbound blocking -- irrelevant idea  JohnJ_z | 07/09/04
Properly configure your IE browser!  AlmostBandwidth | 07/06/04
microsoft wish  spam@... | 07/08/04
For ANDRE  Fabulous | 04/19/07

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