Full Disclosure mailing list archives

Re: Re: January 15 is Personal Firewall Day, help the cause


From: "Exibar" <exibar () thelair com>
Date: Thu, 15 Jan 2004 15:33:58 -0500


   So you're telling me that if I don't run Windows and I don't run
Outlook
that I'm 100% safe?  Horsesh*t!

You are very much safer.  Our mail server receives on the average day 70
viruses from cracked Windows machines, and none from cracked Linux
machines.
We still receive several Nimda hits a day, and none from cracked Linux
machines.

 But not 100% safe though...  there are Linux viruses,  what about all those
e-mails that
try to steal my SS# and CC#'s?  Education is the key, not the OS that you
run or don't run.


 If I install Linux and not Windows XP (for
example) I'm safe?  There isn't anything else that I have to do?

A default install of a modern Linux distro includes firewalling rules
by default, and is fairly safe.

there aren't any holes in that Linux distro?  there sure are, pleanty of
them.  Oh, so
the Personal Firewall is protecting the user... interesting, aren't there
Personal Firewalls
for Windows OS's?  Tons of them....


   Why not EDUCATE the end-user on how to use Windows and Outlook
safely?

Because it is impossible to use Windows safely; the very design of the
operating system is flawed.  This is not just my opinion; it's also that
of Bruce Schneier and many other people, some of whom lost their jobs

  it IS possible to use Windows safely, with Education of the user.  Teach
them
how to setup a Personal Firewall, hardware firewall, and Yes, AntiVirus.


Why?  We have no machines that are susceptible to the viruses that are
in the wild.  We do, of course, drop .exe, .com, etc attachments on
our mail server, but that's just to save disk space and stop annoying
messages from filling our mailboxes.

I don't buy that you block them ONLY to save disk space and stop annoying
messages...
don't buy it at all....

We have since 1999, and haven't had any problem.  If you don't use
Windows,
you don't need anti-virus software.

 Ignorance is bliss they say...  If you honestly and truely believe what you
say, more
power to you.  I honestly hope that nothing bad happens to your systems due
to a virus
outbreak that A/V software would have taken care of....

 Ex

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