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News item on FireFox security

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zwerg
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News item on FireFox security

#1 Post by zwerg »

According to this article --

http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB1 ... DgyWj.html

-- there are problems with FireFox security, as a veriety of Zeus is being used by crackers in Europe and China. Allowing for alarmist reporting, this still looks unpleasant. Does anyone have definitive information about how this attack affects the various operating systems?

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Re: News item on FireFox security

#2 Post by Bulkley »

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for you. I'm looking for answers. With Linux, we can lock down our systems fairly well. The weak spot is our browser. Now, one can improve browser security by going through a proxy but that's a nuisance and may slow down one's connection. Furthermore, there is no reason to trust a proxy server that we don't own. What I want to know is how to stop a browser from revealing so much about my machine and my browsing habits.

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Re: News item on FireFox security

#3 Post by ComputerBob »

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that Zeus only runs on Windows computers. I think I got that info from a PDF about Zeus, but I don't remember where I saw that.

It's hard to find information about the subject, though since -- as usual -- NONE of the many articles that I found about it this morning mention ANYTHING about the new problem affecting only Windows users. :roll:
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Re: News item on FireFox security

#4 Post by hameau »

If you believe stuff on the Internet, there's an article at Wikipedia.
Nick.

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Re: News item on FireFox security

#5 Post by zwerg »

I find it peculiar that no one interested in protecting honest people from crackers says simply, "For short-term security that may be mid-term or better, do not use Microsoft products on the internet. Next, do not connect any vital systems to the internet -- in other words, stop linking industrial, government and business (control systems for utilities, etc) computers to each other over the phone lines." The fact that a cracker can start with an advertisement and work his way from there into the payroll database of a company strikes me as proof that idiots are in charge. Everything does not have to be connected to everything else. Or?

The popular wisdom has it that Linux and the BSDs are safe simply because so few people use them, which makes their users an unattractive target community for crackers. I disagree.

I tell everyone I know to use Microsoft products only on computers that never link to the internet. I suggest that Apple's OS X is a good alternative for those who currently depend on the GUI to do their work, and are intimidated by a learning curve. Nobody pays any attention to me.

I'd like to learn more and shed my misconceptions. Comments solicited.

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Re: News item on FireFox security

#6 Post by Coco »

hameau wrote:If you believe stuff on the Internet, there's an article at Wikipedia.
That's some scare stuff!
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Re: News item on FireFox security

#7 Post by Coco »

zwerg wrote:I find it peculiar that no one interested in protecting honest people from crackers says simply, "For short-term security that may be mid-term or better, do not use Microsoft products on the internet. Next, do not connect any vital systems to the internet -- in other words, stop linking industrial, government and business (control systems for utilities, etc) computers to each other over the phone lines." The fact that a cracker can start with an advertisement and work his way from there into the payroll database of a company strikes me as proof that idiots are in charge. Everything does not have to be connected to everything else. Or?

The popular wisdom has it that Linux and the BSDs are safe simply because so few people use them, which makes their users an unattractive target community for crackers. I disagree.

I tell everyone I know to use Microsoft products only on computers that never link to the internet. I suggest that Apple's OS X is a good alternative for those who currently depend on the GUI to do their work, and are intimidated by a learning curve. Nobody pays any attention to me.

I'd like to learn more and shed my misconceptions. Comments solicited.
For what it's worth, I agree with you.
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Re: News item on FireFox security

#8 Post by ComputerBob »

Coco wrote:
zwerg wrote:I find it peculiar that no one interested in protecting honest people from crackers says simply, "For short-term security that may be mid-term or better, do not use Microsoft products on the internet. Next, do not connect any vital systems to the internet -- in other words, stop linking industrial, government and business (control systems for utilities, etc) computers to each other over the phone lines."
I know several people who say that, including me. ;)
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Re: News item on FireFox security

#9 Post by bluesdog »

zwerg wrote:Nobody pays any attention to me
The line forms to the right...

Knowing how microcrap is so entrenched in the government/medical/banking etc networks in Canada gives me nightmares.

:(

I once made the mistake of trying to give a live linux cd to a sysadmin for a local community service organization. She literally backed away as if I were proffering crack or something... :roll:

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