Unprotected PCs Fall To Hacker Bots In Just Four Minutes

Techweb ^ | 11/30/2004 | Gregg Keizer

[zeugma]

New old news I guess, but it helps for folks to be reminded occasionally.

The main point that should be taken from this, even though it is not explicitly stated is that if you are going to be connected to the internet, especially if your are nailed up with a broadband connection, it is critcal that you have a hardware firewall to hide your PC from the hackers.

Also, if you're browsing, don't use IE unless you absolutely have to. Mozilla or Firefox will help keep a lot of nastiness from your computer.

[Ulysses]

bump for later...

[lysie]

I always appreciate your point of view, backhoe.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

In addition to Firefox, a good router for a firewall and regular spyware searches and cleanings, I recommend the use of Outpost Personal Firewall. It's free, small and damned effective.

For the sad truth is that a hardware firewall/router will NOT protect your PC from attacks initiated from behind the firewall. Such attacks are initiated by spyware that has already infected the PC. Without something like Outpost, you're a sitting duck.

Get Them Shields UP!

[Prime Choice]

Unprotected PCs Fall To Hacker Bots In Just Four Minutes

And lo...100% of them are Windows.

Man...you'd think with the obscene amount of money that Herr Gates makes that he could actually afford a decent security audit of his company's crapware.

[lilylangtree]

Thanks!

[Question_Assumptions]

And remember, boys and girls, that no computer is safe in the hands of a user willing to run an infested executable, click "OK" without paying attention, or authorize an executable to run as a privileged user without thinking.

[martin_fierro]

FREE PC PROTECTION: (Not an exhaustive list. Your results may vary. Void where prohibited. For entertainment purposes only. No wagering, please. Whattayawantfernuthin'.) (Thanks, but "Buy a Mac" doesn't qualify as "FREE PC protection")

Alternative browsers: Mozilla Mozilla FireFox Opera AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition: Free anti-viral protection Popup ad killers: Bayden Systems Popup Popper: Blocks popup ads well in MSIE Shoot the Messenger: Close that friggin' Messenger in Windows XP Spyware removers: Spybot S&D AdAware MailWasher: Good for pre-screening & bouncing SPAM Windows Update: At least install the critical ones ZoneAlarm: Excellent Firewall Test your firewall from without with: ShieldsUP! DSL Reports Port Scan Test your firewall from within with LeakTest LAST BUT NOT LEAST: Explore Linux as an alternative OS, without installing it on your hard drive, via a free bootable CD-ROM! Download Knoppix (or one of these other Linux distributions), burn the ISO file onto a CD-ROM, and reboot with the CD-ROM in its drive. If you later want to install Knoppix on your hard drive, here are some tips.

[stylin_geek]

While I've been running some sort of firewall since I first got DSL 5 years ago, I still think the companies that provide broadband service and sell their hardware are completely irresponsible, in that they don't provide any sort of firewall built into the hardware they supply.

[Publius6961]

The most secure system during the experiment was the one running Linspire's Linux.

This is the relevant useful statement in the whole post. At least for today.

[b4its2late]

BTTT

[ThinkDifferent]

Very true. Ultimately we're going to need some sort of OS-enforced sandboxing, so the fluffy bunny animation doesn't get to read your address book or make network connections.

[Delta 21]

Is it safe?

[governsleastgovernsbest]

I bought a new laptop a few months ago. At the time, there was a worm in circulation causing computers to shut down. Sure enough, within an hour, my computer got infected and started shutting down, etc. I was astounded and outraged.

I run Firefox rather than Windows on my computers now, and seem to encounter fewer problems. I did use Zone Alert, but found it was too intrusive and also interfered with my wi-fi system so have deleted it.

[Slump Tester]

I'm running a Windows 98 box with Zone Alarm. I have a dial up connection, so it's not even online that much.

In only 2 or 3 months since I installed my updated Zone Alarm, it's detected and stopped 27,190 intrusions!

(Gee, I wonder why my dial up connection is running so slow?)

[ThinkPlease]

Four minutes? That's nothing. I have a group of like machines at work. In 2001, I got them and installed 2000 SP2(I think) on all of them. I turned one off and kept it as a cold spare. In July 03, one died. I took the cold spare, and turned it on. By the time it finished booting (90 seconds), it was hacked by the RPC virus, and rebooted just before the login screen came up. If I were a cracker, I would have beamed at the beauty of the creation. As a Sysadmin, I was seriously horked off.

I replaced the whole lab with OS X boxes this year, and haven't been happier.

[Redcloak]

Is your PC lifting its skirt at every passer-by on the Internet? Find out here.

[angkor]

it is critcal that you have a hardware firewall to hide your PC from the hackers.

Agreed. The Linksys firewall/router is down to about $49.00, and there's no excuse for not having one (or something similar).

I've been on DSL for 4 years and not been hacked or even touched once beyond the outside of the firewall, which is under constant and unsuccessful assault.

Finally, honeypot tests I saw years ago agreed with the above story, and in one instance a scripted attack found the machine, installed a trojan horse (remote control) program, and disconnected within 10 *seconds*.

[ThinkDifferent]

Agreed. The Linksys firewall/router is down to about $49.00

And that's on the expensive side. I got a Netgear wireless router/firewall about a year ago for $30 after rebate. I'm surprised that ISPs don't include firewall functionality in cable and DSL modems.

[jellybean]

The second, dubbed the LSASS vulnerability, was first disclosed in April, 2004, and led to the Sasser worm.

I got hit with this one earlier this year. I had to wipe out my hard drive and reinstall the OS.

I use Armor2Net firewall, which has a stealth setting making my computer invisible while on the net.