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Author Topic:   Computer help?
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 270 of 297 (358354)
10-23-2006 4:01 PM
Reply to: Message 268 by iano
10-23-2006 3:54 PM


Re: For Iano
Would both firewalls be running or would PC-cillin turn off the windows one and leave its own running.
I would guess that both firewalls are active. But I'm mainly a unix person, so not the best source of Windows info.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 268 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 3:54 PM iano has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 271 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 4:06 PM nwr has seen this message but not replied

iano
Member (Idle past 1941 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 271 of 297 (358358)
10-23-2006 4:06 PM
Reply to: Message 270 by nwr
10-23-2006 4:01 PM


Faith/nwr
Righto NWR.
I'm no geek myself. But I can't see the harm in leaving IE open if Faith doesn't open new pages/sites.
Faith. You there sis? We'll try turning off your firewalls and see if that lets things flow. I tried the IP you gave and got a bit more by way of response than before. Let me know if you're there and I'll explain how to turn off the firewalls. You can leave things like that a half hour then turn them back on and start working the net again

This message is a reply to:
 Message 270 by nwr, posted 10-23-2006 4:01 PM nwr has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 273 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 6:21 PM iano has replied

Percy
Member
Posts: 22394
From: New Hampshire
Joined: 12-23-2000
Member Rating: 5.2


Message 272 of 297 (358372)
10-23-2006 4:59 PM
Reply to: Message 268 by iano
10-23-2006 3:54 PM


Re: For Iano
iano writes:
No ones said so far but I presume Faith could see what I am doing if I'm connected?
Yes. It looks like a ghost has taken over the computer.
--Percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 268 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 3:54 PM iano has not replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 273 of 297 (358390)
10-23-2006 6:21 PM
Reply to: Message 271 by iano
10-23-2006 4:06 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
Sorry I had to be away from the computer a while, Ian, and will again in about an hour or maybe a little less.
I guess you could talk me through turning off the firewalls now if you're there.
Edit: I clicked on PC-cillin and it's obvious how to disable that one in two places, for internet security and for viruses -- aren't both the same thing? Anyway, they are two separate parts of the software.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 271 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 4:06 PM iano has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 275 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 6:38 PM Faith has replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 274 of 297 (358394)
10-23-2006 6:38 PM
Reply to: Message 269 by crashfrog
10-23-2006 3:54 PM


Re: For Iano / gasby
Presumably they're going to try to sell you AOL for Broadband, or convince you not to cancel your AOL account, etc. I'm sure they'll be very happy to remind you - constantly - that you can still use all the AOL services you know and love over your new DSL connection.
They've sent me a letter confirming that they've officially ended my AOL service -- although I can still use it the way I always did so far. I have no idea what this means. It's a separate icon on the desktop, with the IE icon -- no AT&T icon. They already sold me AOL for Broadband -- that appears to be what this is, although it's through AT&T, or SBC global -- it's a one-year deal, after which I pay full price if I keep it. Meanwhile I don't understand what's happening.
It used to be notoriously difficult to cancel AOL service. Maybe that's still true. The customer service people really go for the hard sell.
This is the weirdest possible way to go about it if that is their aim.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 269 by crashfrog, posted 10-23-2006 3:54 PM crashfrog has not replied

iano
Member (Idle past 1941 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 275 of 297 (358395)
10-23-2006 6:38 PM
Reply to: Message 273 by Faith
10-23-2006 6:21 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
Right. There are two possible firewalls: Windows own and the one that came with Pc-cillin. They act as barriers to people invading your PC (which I am attempting to do)
1st:
Without a firewall, any clicking on things allows stuff to enter your PC from the web so when without a firewall you'd best not click on anything. No click = no incoming data = no incoming bad stuff. After disabling firewalls click on nothing on the web. After disabling firewalls let it about 1/2 hour then re-enable your firewalls before working the web again. Confirm understood
2nd
Disabling Windows firewall.
Click on "start"
Click on " control panel"
Click on "Security centre"
Click on " Windown firewall" (down the bottom)
Tick the "off" (not recommended)" dot on the pop up screen that you get and ok that. Affirm anything that comes with it
3rd
Click to open PC-cillan (it's probably on your taskbar.
See if you can find something that says "firewall on" and see if you can find a way to turn off the firewall and affirm warning messages that may occur. Follow your nose on this as I'm not familar with what it looks like.
4th
Irrespective of what happens. In 30 minutes or so: turn on your firewalls. It will have either worked or no. Ensure your firewalls are back on before clicking on the web pages
5th
Okay this message and begin.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 273 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 6:21 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 276 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 6:41 PM iano has replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 276 of 297 (358396)
10-23-2006 6:41 PM
Reply to: Message 275 by iano
10-23-2006 6:38 PM


OK Ian, I'm turning it all off.
Sorry Ian. I did disable PC-cillin for a few minutes WHILE I was on EVC forum. It's enabled again but who knows.
HOWEVER, I'm now going to go off the internet and turn them both off for thirty minutes and you can do as you please. My daughter will turn them both back on in thirty minutes if I am out, which I expect to be.
Edited by Faith, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 275 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 6:38 PM iano has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 277 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 6:51 PM Faith has replied
 Message 278 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 7:17 PM Faith has not replied

iano
Member (Idle past 1941 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 277 of 297 (358401)
10-23-2006 6:51 PM
Reply to: Message 276 by Faith
10-23-2006 6:41 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
If you can disable all of PC-cillan then fine. That will disable the PC-cillin firewall. Better to poke around to find the firewall bit though and disable that alone. To be sure. But...
Figure out if you can do that first but don't do it yet. Confirm you've found where there is the option of disabling the PC-cillin firewall then get back here and confirm. Then we'll set a 30 minutes tryout. On my go you disable the PC-cillin firewall and the Window firewall as described.
In 30 minutes you renable them and get back here to say so. (If you find the Windows firewall is already ticked as "off" when you go to disable then leave as is - its already off)
Edited by iano, : No reason given.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 276 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 6:41 PM Faith has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 279 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 9:47 PM iano has not replied

iano
Member (Idle past 1941 days)
Posts: 6165
From: Co. Wicklow, Ireland.
Joined: 07-27-2005


Message 278 of 297 (358405)
10-23-2006 7:17 PM
Reply to: Message 276 by Faith
10-23-2006 6:41 PM


Re: OK Ian, I'm turning it all off.
Missed the bit above about you turning off the internet. Without internet connected I have no way to connect. Will email you tomorrow.
Night sis

This message is a reply to:
 Message 276 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 6:41 PM Faith has not replied

Faith 
Suspended Member (Idle past 1445 days)
Posts: 35298
From: Nevada, USA
Joined: 10-06-2001


Message 279 of 297 (358421)
10-23-2006 9:47 PM
Reply to: Message 277 by iano
10-23-2006 6:51 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
If you can disable all of PC-cillan then fine. That will disable the PC-cillin firewall. Better to poke around to find the firewall bit though and disable that alone. To be sure. But...
Figure out if you can do that first but don't do it yet. Confirm you've found where there is the option of disabling the PC-cillin firewall then get back here and confirm. Then we'll set a 30 minutes tryout. On my go you disable the PC-cillin firewall and the Window firewall as described.
PC cillin has a disable-internet security button and a disable-virus protection button or soemthing like that. Two buttons anyway. I can disable both or one or the other. Windows security is pretty straightforward.
Just let me know when. I should be here most of tomorrow.
I closed AOL but IE is always "on" isn't it? Or do I have to maximize it for it to be open?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 277 by iano, posted 10-23-2006 6:51 PM iano has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 280 by nwr, posted 10-23-2006 10:20 PM Faith has not replied
 Message 281 by Taz, posted 10-23-2006 11:36 PM Faith has not replied

nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 280 of 297 (358422)
10-23-2006 10:20 PM
Reply to: Message 279 by Faith
10-23-2006 9:47 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
A little clarification here.
You do not need to have IE open to be connected to the internet. Closing IE just closes your browser. It doesn't close the internet. With DSL you should be connected all the time.
When you open AOL, that temporarily assigns you a different IP address. Your computer still has the SBC address, but you can't do much with it, because Windows will want to use the AOL address for everything. So if you want Iano to be able to connect to your SBC IP address, you do need to close AOL. However, it does not matter at all whether you keep IE open or not.
You might have to also shutdown the Windows firewall. You can find it with
START -> Accessories -> System Tools -> Security Center
(that's from memory - I hope I have it right). If you normally run with PC-Cillin firewall, then it is probably safe to leave the Windows firewall permanently off.

Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

This message is a reply to:
 Message 279 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 9:47 PM Faith has not replied

Taz
Member (Idle past 3292 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 281 of 297 (358430)
10-23-2006 11:36 PM
Reply to: Message 279 by Faith
10-23-2006 9:47 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
You seem a little paranoid about people getting control of your computer and do some evil thing like take over the world with it. Mind telling us why the suspense?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 279 by Faith, posted 10-23-2006 9:47 PM Faith has not replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 282 by nwr, posted 10-23-2006 11:43 PM Taz has replied

nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


Message 282 of 297 (358431)
10-23-2006 11:43 PM
Reply to: Message 281 by Taz
10-23-2006 11:36 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
gasby (to Faith) writes:
You seem a little paranoid about people getting control of your computer and do some evil thing like take over the world with it. Mind telling us why the suspense?
She should be concerned. This is not paranoia. This is wisdom.
As I write this, there are thousands (perhaps millions) of computers that have been taken over by criminals, and are being used for illegal activities including extortion and identity theft. And I am talking of the computers owned by ordinary end users on cable and dsl connections.

Compassionate conservatism - bringing you a kinder, gentler torture chamber

This message is a reply to:
 Message 281 by Taz, posted 10-23-2006 11:36 PM Taz has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 283 by Taz, posted 10-23-2006 11:51 PM nwr has replied

Taz
Member (Idle past 3292 days)
Posts: 5069
From: Zerus
Joined: 07-18-2006


Message 283 of 297 (358435)
10-23-2006 11:51 PM
Reply to: Message 282 by nwr
10-23-2006 11:43 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
Then do what I do and don't have anything on your computer that might lead to your demise.
Besides, it's a brand new computer. What could she possibly have on there that could enable someone to do some evil thing with her identity or whatever? The worst that could happen is she'd get a virus from a geek in a garage somewhere... what are the chances of that happening?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 282 by nwr, posted 10-23-2006 11:43 PM nwr has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 284 by crashfrog, posted 10-24-2006 12:08 AM Taz has not replied
 Message 285 by nwr, posted 10-24-2006 12:12 AM Taz has not replied
 Message 286 by Percy, posted 10-24-2006 9:26 AM Taz has replied

crashfrog
Member (Idle past 1467 days)
Posts: 19762
From: Silver Spring, MD
Joined: 03-20-2003


Message 284 of 297 (358439)
10-24-2006 12:08 AM
Reply to: Message 283 by Taz
10-23-2006 11:51 PM


Re: Faith/nwr
What could she possibly have on there that could enable someone to do some evil thing with her identity or whatever?
If you go to the wrong webpage, with the wrong settings for ActiveX and Javascript, IE will drop one of a hundred nasty rootkits right onto your machine. The risk is even greater on broadband if you're not behind some kind of NAT. The really nasty rootkits ping their information back to the hacker; he just drops in and takes control of your machine, raids your files, turns your machine into a spam-sending zombie. The next thing you know you're persona non grata on the internet and your ISP cuts you off before you get them in trouble with a spam blacklist.
Look, the days when everybody knew that "Good Times" was a myth and you couldn't get a virus from an email are long over. The viruses will simply install themselves to your PC without you needing to do anything at all. Of course one of the first things it'll do is disable your virus protection software.
The worst that could happen is she'd get a virus from a geek in a garage somewhere... what are the chances of that happening?
If your computer is at all connected to the outside world, I'd say about 100% if you wait long enough. Bought an iPod lately? About 10,000 of them recently shipped infected by a common Windows virus. Every now and then a virus makes its way onto the gold master for one or another commercially avaliable software packages and infects another couple thousand people.
Something on the order of 60% or more of PC's are infected with some kind of malware. The best defense these days is a healthy dose of paranoia. Seriously. Learn to be PC paranoid.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 283 by Taz, posted 10-23-2006 11:51 PM Taz has not replied

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