Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

[W. Watson]

Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a PC
with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it, and
see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet to
test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had the
smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was from MS
warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that I should
modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage for about 5
messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I got back. I
disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The message went out
properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the smtp address. All
seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine now. I'll be
looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker and some freebie
firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[Gerry \(The MOTH\)]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...


"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:99Tti.56198$5j1.21991@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a
> PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it,
> and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet
> to test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had
> the smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was
> from MS warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that
> I should modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage
> for about 5 messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I
> got back. I disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The
> message went out properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the
> smtp address. All seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine
> now. I'll be looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker
> and some freebie firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
> --
> Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)
>
> Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

W2k? I use the free ZoneAlarm firewall which allows you control over which
apps can connect to the internet, but why are you installing such an old OS
as W2k, if its an old system I'd look at installing a linux base OS.

--
Gerry (The MOTH)

 

[Malke]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

W. Watson wrote:
> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend
> a PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try
> it, and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the
> internet to test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under
> attack. I had the smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that
> looked like it was from MS warning that some bad thing was terribly
> wrong with SMTP, and that I should modify the registry. I had gone into
> the house from the garage for about 5 messages and about 20 or more
> messages were stacked up when I got back. I disconnected, and fixed it
> off line, and got back on. The message went out properly, but briefly
> appeared while I was fixing the smtp address. All seems well. I hope
> some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine now. I'll be looking for AVG (I
> think that's the name) for virus checker and some freebie firewall. Any
> suggestions for a firewall?

Wipe the machine and start over. I can't believe you actually connected
a Windows computer to the Internet before you installed a firewall. This
is very basic security and perhaps you shouldn't be "helping" other
people with their computers. ZoneAlarm will run on Win2k and I believe
Comodo will also.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

 

[Gerry \(The MOTH\)]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...


"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
news:uEVGz7O2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
>
> Wipe the machine and start over. I can't believe you actually connected a
> Windows computer to the Internet before you installed a firewall. This is
> very basic security and perhaps you shouldn't be "helping" other people
> with their computers. ZoneAlarm will run on Win2k and I believe Comodo
> will also.
>
>
> Malke
> --
> Elephant Boy Computers
> www.elephantboycomputers.com
> "Don't Panic!"
> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

I helped a neighbour out a few months ago when her new PC wasn't working,
she'd got a family friend to setup the system and he had told her you didn't
need a firewall, Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware for Windows Vista it was just a
waste of money. Luck for her the Vista firewall was set on as default.

Some, in fact most people are PC Dummies. Even when you sit them down and
explain to them about it, they just ignore you. Classic example the
Bro-In-Law, I setup his new laptop with ZoneAlarm, AVG, Spybot, SpyBlaster,
Firefox, etc.. Told him if he was downloading anything from the internet to
check it before he opened it, one month later he said his PC was slow and
when i said have you been virus checking everything you download he said yes
apart from music via Limewire (I didn't install that crap for him), he
thought he didn't need to check that. Where did he think it came from?
I left him to it as I wasn't spending hours trying to sort this problems.

--
Gerry (The MOTH)

 

[W. Watson]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.

Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
> "W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
> news:99Tti.56198$5j1.21991@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
>> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a
>> PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it,
>> and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet
>> to test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had
>> the smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was
>> from MS warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that
>> I should modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage
>> for about 5 messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I
>> got back. I disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The
>> message went out properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the
>> smtp address. All seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine
>> now. I'll be looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker
>> and some freebie firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
>> --
>> Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)
>>
>> Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>
>
> W2k? I use the free ZoneAlarm firewall which allows you control over which
> apps can connect to the internet, but why are you installing such an old OS
> as W2k, if its an old system I'd look at installing a linux base OS.
>

--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[W. Watson]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Your "helping" remark is way off the mark. I'm not going to waste time
explaining this to you. Just stick with what I presented in the message in
the way of questions--virus protection and firewall.

Malke wrote:
> W. Watson wrote:
>> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly
>> friend a PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I
>> thought I'd try it, and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon
>> as I got on the internet to test whether I could mail myself a msg,
>> the PC was under attack. I had the smpt address wrong, and a message
>> popped up that looked like it was from MS warning that some bad thing
>> was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that I should modify the registry. I
>> had gone into the house from the garage for about 5 messages and about
>> 20 or more messages were stacked up when I got back. I disconnected,
>> and fixed it off line, and got back on. The message went out properly,
>> but briefly appeared while I was fixing the smtp address. All seems
>> well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine now. I'll be
>> looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker and some
>> freebie firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
>
> Wipe the machine and start over. I can't believe you actually connected
> a Windows computer to the Internet before you installed a firewall. This
> is very basic security and perhaps you shouldn't be "helping" other
> people with their computers. ZoneAlarm will run on Win2k and I believe
> Comodo will also.
>
>
> Malke

--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[W. Watson]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

My 91 year old neighbor has been using a Win98 PC on and off for several
years for communicating with his relatives. His old PC just can't hack it
any more, s/w and h/w wise. His relatives and grandchildren sometimes want
to use it when they visit him. He would like to jump to DSL at some point.
It's as cheap as the dial-up he's on.

I'm putting him on training wheels until he proves he can handle and use
w2k. If he wants to extend his reach beyond e-mail, it will be to use
Google. If he screws up the computer, I can wipe it all out and re-install
w2k in 30 minutes with an e-mail and browser (not MS). This guy is no dummy
at 91. His limitations are more physical than mental. One can also think of
a competition for him. He's proud that he can operate a PC at his age, and
demonstrates that pride to the older people he knows and his relatives.
He'll do just fine. He does not linger in the past. This is not so much
about technology as it is about the mind. If he wants DSL, I'll install it
for him, but first we go on training wheels.

Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
> "Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
> news:uEVGz7O2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
....
>
> I helped a neighbour out a few months ago when her new PC wasn't working,
> she'd got a family friend to setup the system and he had told her you didn't
> need a firewall, Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware for Windows Vista it was just a
> waste of money. Luck for her the Vista firewall was set on as default.
>
> Some, in fact most people are PC Dummies. Even when you sit them down and
> explain to them about it, they just ignore you. Classic example the
> Bro-In-Law, I setup his new laptop with ZoneAlarm, AVG, Spybot, SpyBlaster,
> Firefox, etc.. Told him if he was downloading anything from the internet to
> check it before he opened it, one month later he said his PC was slow and
> when i said have you been virus checking everything you download he said yes
> apart from music via Limewire (I didn't install that crap for him), he
> thought he didn't need to check that. Where did he think it came from?
> I left him to it as I wasn't spending hours trying to sort this problems.
>

--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[Gerry \(The MOTH\)]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...


"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
newsP%ti.33248$C96.5785@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net...
> He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
> computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.
>

Does it need to be Windows? As I said why not try a Linux Operating System?
I've always been a Windows user over the last 20 years, but have recently
moved to using Ubuntu 7.04 (www.ubuntu.com) linux distro as a dual system
with Windows XP on my laptop.
I intially tried it as something to do while I was away from home working,
but I've ended up using Ubuntu as my main OS for all internet related
access. Ubuntu can be installed in 20 minutes and I feel is more safer. When
you install a linux OS it comes with a built-in firewall with all ports
block, and its up to you which ones you open. Also there are no viruses for
linux.
If your neighbour is only interested in Internet and eMail I'd suggest using
Opera browser (www.opera.com) as you can setup both in this one application.

I'm only mentioning Ubuntu as this is the OS I installed, there are loads of
other ones, see www.distrowatch.com and check the specification on his P3 to
see which one will suit.

--
Gerry (The MOTH)

 

[W. Watson]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Yes, Opera is very good. I'm giving him SeaMonkey. I use it. My wife likes
Firefox. If he screws up, I can fix it easily. I have lots of past
experience with Linux/Unix, but no longer use it, and I would not be in
synch with any problems he might encounter. My world is along way away from
my past, and my time is not devoted to keeping up with the latest computer
stuff*. Safe and easy stuff is what I want him his PC. See my comments below
in the thread on dealing with him and other elderly folks.

I'm going to ask him to buy McAfee's firewall, and I'll install AVG for him,
as well.

* However, I'm just finishing building a new PC with SATA drives, PCIe, and
other latest gadgetry, but my interests are a long way from this sort of thing.

Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
> "W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
> newsP%ti.33248$C96.5785@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net...
>> He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
>> computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.
>>
>
> Does it need to be Windows? As I said why not try a Linux Operating System?
> I've always been a Windows user over the last 20 years, but have recently
> moved to using Ubuntu 7.04 (www.ubuntu.com) linux distro as a dual system
> with Windows XP on my laptop.
> I intially tried it as something to do while I was away from home working,
> but I've ended up using Ubuntu as my main OS for all internet related
> access. Ubuntu can be installed in 20 minutes and I feel is more safer. When
> you install a linux OS it comes with a built-in firewall with all ports
> block, and its up to you which ones you open. Also there are no viruses for
> linux.
> If your neighbour is only interested in Internet and eMail I'd suggest using
> Opera browser (www.opera.com) as you can setup both in this one application.
>
> I'm only mentioning Ubuntu as this is the OS I installed, there are loads of
> other ones, see www.distrowatch.com and check the specification on his P3 to
> see which one will suit.
>

--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[BoaterDave]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Just thought I'd say Hi - and thank you for helping others in the way you
have described, Wayne.

I do think that on this occasion Malke was rather unkind in her (I believe)
comment, but it was understanderble too. As you've now noted, a great deal
has changed on the 'net since 9/11 and in the past couple of years in
particular! Spyware is now considered as much a risk as viruses, so don't
forget to use an anti-spyware programme too!

David

***********************************************************************************


"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:aa0ui.47742$YL5.44511@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
> My 91 year old neighbor has been using a Win98 PC on and off for several
> years for communicating with his relatives. His old PC just can't hack it
> any more, s/w and h/w wise. His relatives and grandchildren sometimes want
> to use it when they visit him. He would like to jump to DSL at some point.
> It's as cheap as the dial-up he's on.
>
> I'm putting him on training wheels until he proves he can handle and use
> w2k. If he wants to extend his reach beyond e-mail, it will be to use
> Google. If he screws up the computer, I can wipe it all out and re-install
> w2k in 30 minutes with an e-mail and browser (not MS). This guy is no
> dummy at 91. His limitations are more physical than mental. One can also
> think of a competition for him. He's proud that he can operate a PC at his
> age, and demonstrates that pride to the older people he knows and his
> relatives. He'll do just fine. He does not linger in the past. This is not
> so much about technology as it is about the mind. If he wants DSL, I'll
> install it for him, but first we go on training wheels.
>
> Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
>> "Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
>> news:uEVGz7O2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> ...
>>
>> I helped a neighbour out a few months ago when her new PC wasn't working,
>> she'd got a family friend to setup the system and he had told her you
>> didn't need a firewall, Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware for Windows Vista it
>> was just a waste of money. Luck for her the Vista firewall was set on as
>> default.
>>
>> Some, in fact most people are PC Dummies. Even when you sit them down and
>> explain to them about it, they just ignore you. Classic example the
>> Bro-In-Law, I setup his new laptop with ZoneAlarm, AVG, Spybot,
>> SpyBlaster, Firefox, etc.. Told him if he was downloading anything from
>> the internet to check it before he opened it, one month later he said his
>> PC was slow and when i said have you been virus checking everything you
>> download he said yes apart from music via Limewire (I didn't install that
>> crap for him), he thought he didn't need to check that. Where did he
>> think it came from?
>> I left him to it as I wasn't spending hours trying to sort this problems.
>>
>
> --
> Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)
>
> Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[Jim]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...


"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
newsX%ti.47734$YL5.8493@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net...
> Your "helping" remark is way off the mark. I'm not going to waste time
> explaining this to you. Just stick with what I presented in the message in
> the way of questions--virus protection and firewall.
>
Ok, here is my procedure:
I never connect a computer to the internet until after I have installed an
anti virus program and activated
at least the Windows firewall.
Jim

 

[LadyDungeness@Fish.Net]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Zone Alarm. Get the free version. Go to Grisoft.com and look for
Free AVG. Update it immediately and run a full check.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 05:10:29 GMT, "W. Watson"
<wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote:

|Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a PC
|with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it, and
|see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet to
|test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had the
|smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was from MS
|warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that I should
|modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage for about 5
|messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I got back. I
|disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The message went out
|properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the smtp address. All
|seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine now. I'll be
|looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker and some freebie
|firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?

 

[LadyDungeness@Fish.Net]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Nonsense. I run XP successfully on a P3.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 08:02:07 -0700, "W. Watson"
<wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote:

|He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
|computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.
|
|Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
|> "W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
|> news:99Tti.56198$5j1.21991@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
|>> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a
|>> PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it,
|>> and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet
|>> to test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had
|>> the smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was
|>> from MS warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that
|>> I should modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage
|>> for about 5 messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I
|>> got back. I disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The
|>> message went out properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the
|>> smtp address. All seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine
|>> now. I'll be looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker
|>> and some freebie firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
|>> --
|>> Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)
|>>
|>> Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>
|>
|> W2k? I use the free ZoneAlarm firewall which allows you control over which
|> apps can connect to the internet, but why are you installing such an old OS
|> as W2k, if its an old system I'd look at installing a linux base OS.
|>

 

[LadyDungeness@Fish.Net]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Please do not spend money on AV. And please do not use McAfee. Too
many conflicts. AVG has worked beautifully for me. Update it
automatically daily.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:26:37 GMT, "W. Watson"
<wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote:

|Yes, Opera is very good. I'm giving him SeaMonkey. I use it. My wife likes
|Firefox. If he screws up, I can fix it easily. I have lots of past
|experience with Linux/Unix, but no longer use it, and I would not be in
|synch with any problems he might encounter. My world is along way away from
|my past, and my time is not devoted to keeping up with the latest computer
|stuff*. Safe and easy stuff is what I want him his PC. See my comments below
|in the thread on dealing with him and other elderly folks.
|
|I'm going to ask him to buy McAfee's firewall, and I'll install AVG for him,
|as well.
|
|* However, I'm just finishing building a new PC with SATA drives, PCIe, and
|other latest gadgetry, but my interests are a long way from this sort of thing.
|
|Gerry (The MOTH) wrote:
|> "W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
|> newsP%ti.33248$C96.5785@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net...
|>> He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
|>> computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.
|>>
|>
|> Does it need to be Windows? As I said why not try a Linux Operating System?
|> I've always been a Windows user over the last 20 years, but have recently
|> moved to using Ubuntu 7.04 (www.ubuntu.com) linux distro as a dual system
|> with Windows XP on my laptop.
|> I intially tried it as something to do while I was away from home working,
|> but I've ended up using Ubuntu as my main OS for all internet related
|> access. Ubuntu can be installed in 20 minutes and I feel is more safer. When
|> you install a linux OS it comes with a built-in firewall with all ports
|> block, and its up to you which ones you open. Also there are no viruses for
|> linux.
|> If your neighbour is only interested in Internet and eMail I'd suggest using
|> Opera browser (www.opera.com) as you can setup both in this one application.
|>
|> I'm only mentioning Ubuntu as this is the OS I installed, there are loads of
|> other ones, see www.distrowatch.com and check the specification on his P3 to
|> see which one will suit.
|>

 

[LadyDungeness@Fish.Net]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

You won't help your Bro-in-Law, and you "help" elderly folks by
setting up dangerous systems. Are you a Moth? I think you are THE
BUG in their systems. Some friend. NOT.


Lady Dungeness
Crabby, but Great Legs!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


On Tue, 7 Aug 2007 13:59:45 +0100, "Gerry \(The MOTH\)" <Gerry
(TheMOTH)> wrote:

|
|"Malke" <notreally@invalid.invalid> wrote in message
|news:uEVGz7O2HHA.6128@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
|>
|> Wipe the machine and start over. I can't believe you actually connected a
|> Windows computer to the Internet before you installed a firewall. This is
|> very basic security and perhaps you shouldn't be "helping" other people
|> with their computers. ZoneAlarm will run on Win2k and I believe Comodo
|> will also.
|>
|>
|> Malke
|> --
|> Elephant Boy Computers
|> www.elephantboycomputers.com
|> "Don't Panic!"
|> MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User
|
|I helped a neighbour out a few months ago when her new PC wasn't working,
|she'd got a family friend to setup the system and he had told her you didn't
|need a firewall, Anti-Virus or Anti-Spyware for Windows Vista it was just a
|waste of money. Luck for her the Vista firewall was set on as default.
|
|Some, in fact most people are PC Dummies. Even when you sit them down and
|explain to them about it, they just ignore you. Classic example the
|Bro-In-Law, I setup his new laptop with ZoneAlarm, AVG, Spybot, SpyBlaster,
|Firefox, etc.. Told him if he was downloading anything from the internet to
|check it before he opened it, one month later he said his PC was slow and
|when i said have you been virus checking everything you download he said yes
|apart from music via Limewire (I didn't install that crap for him), he
|thought he didn't need to check that. Where did he think it came from?
|I left him to it as I wasn't spending hours trying to sort this problems.

 

[Richard Urban]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

I would suggest that you download and burn the following programs to a CD:

ZoneAlarm Free version
Ad-Aware Free version
Avast Antivirus (it updates automatically - AVG needs a manual update)

Disconnect your 91 years old friends computer from the internet. Wipe the
computer and start fresh.

Install the ZoneAlarm firewall program. Install the Avast Antivirus program.
Install Ad-Aware.

Shut down the computer. Plug in the internet connection and restart the
computer. The antivirus program will update itself automatically after the
Firewall has been made operational (follow any pop-up informational windows
to do this). Start Ad-Aware and do a manual update to the latest definition
files.

You can go into the Ad-Aware options and set the program to update
automatically every time the program is started. You would do this only if
you are connected to the internet via a high speed connection. You can also
set Ad-Aware to automatically check everything it finds for removal.

Make it as easy as you can for the elder gent. I do, for the senior citizens
computers that I work on.

Never... "never"..... ***NEVER*** connect a computer to the internet without
having a firewall and competent antivirus installed. Not even for installing
the operating system. The computer may become infected before the O/S has
been completely installed.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)


"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:99Tti.56198$5j1.21991@newssvr21.news.prodigy.net...
> Well, life is grim out there on the internet. I built an elderly friend a
> PC with W2k on it and finally got his modem working. I thought I'd try it,
> and see if I could send a msg. Of course, as soon as I got on the internet
> to test whether I could mail myself a msg, the PC was under attack. I had
> the smpt address wrong, and a message popped up that looked like it was
> from MS warning that some bad thing was terribly wrong with SMTP, and that
> I should modify the registry. I had gone into the house from the garage
> for about 5 messages and about 20 or more messages were stacked up when I
> got back. I disconnected, and fixed it off line, and got back on. The
> message went out properly, but briefly appeared while I was fixing the
> smtp address. All seems well. I hope some $@#$! virus isn't on the machine
> now. I'll be looking for AVG (I think that's the name) for virus checker
> and some freebie firewall. Any suggestions for a firewall?
> --
> Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)
>
> Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>

 

[Andrew Taylor]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

I am running a P111 - 850 with 256 MB RAM and a 40 Gb HD with XP Pro and it
runs fine.

--
Andrew Taylor
Toronto - Canada
~

"W. Watson" <wolf_tracks@invalid.com> wrote in message
newsP%ti.33248$C96.5785@newssvr23.news.prodigy.net...
> He can only afford a P3 at this stage. XP and Vista would overburden the
> computer. Vista would likely be a disaster for him.
>

 

[LadyDungeness@Fish.Net]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 20:08:09 -0400, "Richard Urban"
<richardurbanREMOVETHIS@hotmail.com> wrote:

|Avast Antivirus (it updates automatically - AVG needs a manual update)

Incorrect. AVG updates automatically. AVG has an option to update
manually.

 

[Richard Urban]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Not the free version, last time I installed it on a computer.

--


Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)


<LadyDungeness@Fish.Net> wrote in message
news:lu4lb3tk2ge9o3ndkb8npv5vopoivcvik5@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 8 Aug 2007 20:08:09 -0400, "Richard Urban"
> <richardurbanREMOVETHIS@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> |Avast Antivirus (it updates automatically - AVG needs a manual update)
>
> Incorrect. AVG updates automatically. AVG has an option to update
> manually.
>
>

 

[W. Watson]

Re: Attack Launched within Minutes of Signing on for First Time ...

Although this is undoubtedly an interesting topic in and of itself, I wish
someone would comment on the mechanism of the attack. That is, the virus or
whatever that detected the smtp problem. I have my doubts that it actually
invaded him machine. To me it seemed more like a pop-up, since it asked the
user to modify the registry.

Andrew Taylor wrote:
> I am running a P111 - 850 with 256 MB RAM and a 40 Gb HD with XP Pro and it
> runs fine.
>

--
Wayne Watson (Nevada City, CA)

Web Page: <speckledwithStars.net>