Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles (thread 2) Daily Terror Threat

DEBKA ^ | 11/03/03

[Mossad1967]

Al Qaeda again threatens New York, Washington and Los Angeles

Link to Thread #1

[WestCoastGal]

That post is hysterical. Maybe we can win some of them over with "Dizney Land" LOL LOL LOL

Maybe if we threaten them with banishment from Disneyland their wives will get them back in line. I doubt it.

[WestCoastGal]

One other thing, could someone respond in Arabic to this person asking if he got an answer because you also want to go to ""Dizney Land""

[brucecw]

I think it is possible that visitors to a site -- if they have pre-existing holes in their computer security -- can be attacked just by virtue that anyone lurking there with bad intentions can do some digging and spot them if they want to.

This should be underlined and in bold!! In general it's not difficult to track down the computer belonging to a particular Internet user (sometimes attaching a real name to that user rather than their "screen name" can be a bit of a challenge but don't count on that).

Besides an up-to-date virus scanner, it's essential that you keep up with security updates for your operating system - for example, for Windows systems use the IE option tools->Windows Update. You may not want all of the updates offered but in general you should apply all of the ones that are security-related.

Personally I'm always appalled by the number of people who surf the web with their PC directly connected to the Internet. This exposes all of your computer's network ports to anyone who wants to try to connect to one of them, and if the port happens to be open, all kinds of mischief can happen. It is possible to close the ports from software, or to get a software firewall, but IMHO it's much safer to use a hardware firewall. You can get basic inexpensive boxes that incorporate a simple firewall and a small network switch for under $100 - this would allow 2 or 3 computers in your home to surf the net simultaneously as well as providing an added level of security. The boxes are even cheaper if you get them on eBay - often available under $50.

The Microsoft email apps (Outlook and Outlook Express) are notoriously vulnerable to security hacks in email. My personal recommendation is to avoid them altogether. The two applications I'd recommend would be Eudora and Mozilla 1.6. Both have options for free downloads. Eudora is an extremely well-done email application, and Mozilla is the follow-on to Netscape and includes a web browser, web composer, and email/news application. Both are much more resistant to email viruses than Outlook/Outlook Express, have spam filtering options, and (in the case of Mozilla) popup blocking. However even if you do decide to dump IE, you should still keep it up-to-date since there are some exploits that can use it even if it's not currently visible due to its close relationship to the OS.

The spyware finder apps like Ad-Aware are good to have and a good way to try to maintain some of your privacy on the web, but don't expect that they can provide perfect privacy. The web is like the mall, not like your bedroom. However most of the spyware that these applications remove isn't malicious in the sense of attempting to hijack your computer or financial information; it's "just" trying to record your surfing habits for statistical purposes and perhaps correlate that with who you are in "real" life if it's able to do so.

NEVER, NEVER click on an executable email attachment or download software unless you're very sure who sent it or who produced it. Pictures (*.jpg, *.gif, *.png) are OK - they don't have executable code, or at least if they do, your computer won't try to execute it; but screen savers (*.scr), PIF files (*.PIF), and other executable files (*.exe, *.com, *.bat) can all be very dangerous if they were written by a malicious programmer. This is especially true of files at places like Kazaa!!! (Not that anyone here would use Kazaa :-). Something like 2/3 or more of the programs at swap sites like Kazaa are hacked in some way. If you must download one, put it on an isolated machine that you don't care about :-).

Perhaps it's best to think of the Internet as someplace like a rug bazaar or a flea market where the operative word is always caveat emptor!

[DAVEY CROCKETT]

You are correct. It was all over the news down here I couldnt beleive it. And on top of that Congressman Zack Wamp was on the next night to tell us he had been informed it was coming...what a goof!

[Letitring]

I just saw that too, over at Jill's site. Glad you posted that, maybe somebody can tell us what it says.

[Letitring]

Opps, 2B, should have read further. Thanks.

[molly162]

I have no idea if it is the same EOM, it could be one of the jokers in the pack. On the bright side he/she/they/whoever did me a favour and forced me to revise my security : )

[appalachian_dweller]

Re post #1463

Pretty bad! This is the reason I follow this thread! Thanks very much for that information....I think.

You won't hear about that on the news.

[brucecw]

Dumb question - I use netscape and mozilla mail - will this help me in any way against the nefarious goings on on various web sites

It's not a dumb question. In general Netscape (7.0 and above anyway) and Mozilla mail (preferably Netscape 7.1 or Mozilla 1.6) are much more secure than Outlook/Outlook Express. I'm not sure I could say that Netscape/Mozilla is that much more secure than IE though there are a couple of exploits that IE is vulnerable to that Netscape/Mozilla are not - these are relatively obscure. The big issue is that Outlook/Outlook Express are security seives.

Part of this of course is that they are minority products so they aren't as attractive to hackers or crackers, but the developpers are also much more responsive to fixing security holes than is Microsoft.

The other advantages are that they have some very good email spam filtering and popup blocking. You can also (and probably should) block Java and Javascript within email.

[null and void]

I'm 100% hunt and peck programmer by trade.

You're a hunt 'n' pecker??? I thought you were happily married!

*ducking*

[appalachian_dweller]

>> we will have a whopper of a toga victory party <<

That would be KEWL. A country wide toga party!

[Selene]

Federal officials visit Yuma desert to speak with agents

BY LOUIE VILLALOBOS, Staff Writer
Jan 29, 2004
http://yumasun.com/artman/publish/articles/story_9396.shtml

U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials stopped in Yuma County on Wednesday to see what resources local U.S. Border Patrol agents will use to prevent illegal immigrants from dying while crossing the desert in the summer months.

---

WHY WHY WHY are they wasting time on this? Are they even trying to keep them out?

[molly162]

Yes I'm on the case and will be happy to update you with what I find if it is relevent to the current situation.

[freeperfromnj]

A couple of things I’ve been researching and trying to tie together which probably doesn’t mean a whole lot – but I thought I throw it out here anyway. It relates to belly of the eagle; trains; geographic location; tunnels; and a power co. Keeping in mind the jihad poster who supposedly crossed from Mexico into Texas. There is a Texas border city called Eagle Pass. Check it out on google. Could be nothing but a tinfoil chase, but I found it interesting nonetheless.

[Velveeta]

A heck of a first post! Glad you have unlurked, welcome.

[Velveeta]

Where would I look on my computer to check if I've been infected or infiltrated? Computer illiterate here! I can point, click and google but that's about all.

[Malsua]

>>another dumb question i am sitting here with zone alarm - and various times it is blocking internet access to my computer TCP PORT 135 from 12.75.69.128 what does this meahn??<<

Port 135 is the Microsoft Remote Procedure call listening port(RPC). Unpatched windows machines are vulnerable on this port to several worms such as the Blaster worm. The computer at 12.75.69.128 is 128.cleveland-09-10rs.oh.dial-access.att.net. Someone in Cleveland Ohio on ATT has blaster and they are attempting to infect you with the worm.

For ease of use, go to http://grc.com and download unplugandpray, dcombobulator, killthemessenger and run them. They will allow you to stop these 3 major vulnerability spots. Steve Gibson is an internet security guy and anything you get from his site is safe.