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Linux & Mozilla a safe haven for now..
This weeks headlines are undoubtably the scariest to date. The old Anti-Virus, Automatic update and firewall defense seems a bit shaky now. After the recent Netsky outbreak, I took the decision to set up a second Linux machine which is now my principal Internet facing machine, (behind my router/gateway-firewall) while my XP machine is reserved for non-internet work. I also invested in a gateway-router to beef up my firewall protection a bit. I have recently switched to ZoneAlarm Security Suite on my XP machine as another line of defense.

I recommend this strategy as a means of defending against the current wave of viruses and RATs. However it needs to be noted that Linux is NOT virus proof, and it's only a matter of time before hackers start looking for greener pastures. For this reason, I also use Vexira Antivirus for the Linux machine. As an extra precaution, I never keep any private data on it. The combination of Linux and Mozilla goes a long way to neutering the majority of viruses and I can delete virus infected emails without Norton Antivirus getting chronic indigestion over it. I had to wipe out my mail directory after Norton would not let me go near it after a Netsky infection.

Redhat Linux 9 is certainly very usable and is a far cry from the clumsy old Slackware days of recompiling kernels etc. Microsoft needs to wake up and smell the coffee if they want to slow the migration to alternatives. Whilst there may a formidable suite of applications out there for Windows, there are many users out there that only want a basic machine for browsing, email, wordprocessing etc. Redhat comes with all these and more for free. The setup is a breeze, so there's no geeks required for that. I would highly recommend a low spec machine with Redhat 9 to this category of home user. Whilst Apple is another alternative, it's price pretty much kills it, unless you prefer a work of art instead of a machine that just gets the job done wink
Posted by: riff7raff   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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