[LINK] Novarg / Mydoom / Shimg worm update

[Howard Lowndes]

On Mon, 2004-02-02 at 10:31, Tom Worthington wrote:
> At 1/29/2004 04:12 PM, Chirgwin, Richard wrote:
> >Tom wrote:
> >[big snip]
> >
> > > ... install personal firewall software.
> >
> >... they're not particularly friendly to the non-tech user. ...
> 
> Point taken. But the Zone Alarm approach, where it asks you if a program 
> should be able to access the Internet or act as a server seems reasonable. 

I disagree.  Does the message "iexplore.exe is attempting to reach
218.214.47.111:80" mean anything to Joe Sixpak?  Unlikely; and this is a
typical ZA message.

> They could add a list of names of commonly used software so you would get a 
> more useful message. The typical Linux install, where it asks if you want a 
> workstation or a server and sets security accordingly, is a reasonable 
> approach.

JS: "Duh.  Hey Barney, what's the difference between a workstation and a
server?"

> 
> Perhaps there is an opportunity here for ISPs to charge extra for providing 
> less service by blocking services which the average user would not use.  ;-)
> 
> What I think needs improving is the interface on the home routers, if my 
> little wireless router is a good example. It provides a poor web based 
> interface and talks about IP addresses.

...and lets not get into the vagaries and insecurities of WEP here.

> 
> 
> 
> Tom Worthington FACS tom.worthington at tomw.net.au Ph: 0419 496150
> Director, Tomw Communications Pty Ltd ABN: 17 088 714 309
> http://www.tomw.net.au PO Box 13, Belconnen ACT 2617
> Visiting Fellow, Computer Science, Australian National University
> Publications Director, Australian Computer Society
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Link mailing list
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-- 
Howard.
LANNet Computing Associates - Your Linux people <http://www.lannetlinux.com>
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