Re: Success With Windows98 BUT


"Peter Crosland" <g6jns@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:EPSdnSHFXYiB6CLXnZ2dnUVZ8iGdnZ2d@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"Mark McIntyre" <markmcintyre@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
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EW wrote:
I connect to the Internet on my Windows98 machine by Ethernet cable
and able to browse the web with no problems ! There is a green light on
the Ethernet card and the routers Ethernet LED lights.

However I would like the old "blinking" lights in the tray or a similar
application to indicate a connection. This would enable me to
enable/disable the connection as is possible with Ethernet via XP.

Why bother? It doesn't cost any different, and you don't get any
advantage by disabling it.

Although I use the Win98 desktop often for the Internet I still use it
for word processing, my music library etc. and don't like the idea of
the Internet connection being automatically switched on at bootup and
closed on shutdown.

I don't think you need to worry, provided your router has its firewall
feature enabled, and you have antivirus protection on the PC. But if its
a real peace-of-mind issue for you, why not put the router on a
powerstrip that you can easily switch off?

The problem is the unpatched holes in W98 that the firewall and anti virus
will not protect against. Powering off will only protect for the duration
of the disconnection. The only sensible solution is to upgrade the OS.

Peter Crosland


XP and Vista are also full of security problems, that is why you see auto
updates every few weeks. So for the weeks before the updates your
browser and firewall have not been protecting you anyway. If you learn
about UPNP and UDP and IPv6 you will see why they should all be
disabled from "modern" operating systems. Even a MAC and a PC
using LINUX is vulnerable. Security is only as good as the user allows
it to be. If they are careless they will become victims and a lot of the
time it is common sense. You wouldn't send your bank details to a
person saying they had £25million, or pay them transfer fees - but some
idiots do. It's similar using some web sites, people will click on things
they shouldn't or disable security as advised!
Use a hardware firewall, also use a software firewall and anti-malware
and spyware programs, switch off java and active-x, disable scripts,
switch off IPv6, use a HOSTS list, use a popup blocker, disable upnp,
do not allow ports on the router to stay open all the time, then use
antivirus programs - whichever suits you.
Don't "click here" in return for the world, don't give personal details,
don't go to sites that are naughty and don't use pirated software. Most
pirated software is infected, which is why companies never remove it.
They make sure people break their PCs. Pirated software installs
various nasty extras and makes changes without permission. Some
sites will even state incorrectly that trojan key generators are a
"false positive" and to disable the antivirus! Some idiots do this too.
So if you want to stay safe there is a lot more to it than people think.
It's often down to how gullible a person is as to whether their system
is infected or not, which also links with intelligence levels!



.

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