Posted: 7/5/2006 3:33:44 PM EDT
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I've always been a little skeptical about the whole "update" thing... I always thought it just cluttered up your hard drive and slowed down your computer... In the past, I've had trouble using some programs that changed appearance after the updates... (IE: Windows Media player) Right now, I have 2 laptops and 1 PC sitting on my desk logged on to windows update... Laptop #1 says 9 high priority updates and 6 software,optional Laptop #2 says 47 high priority and 9 software,optional PC says 47 high priority 2 software,optional and 1 hardware,optional Just curious what y'all have to say about this... TIA, ART |
IN THE NAME OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, UPDATE WINDOWS. UPDATE IT FREQUENTLY. The updates plug gigantic holes that come with the OS by default. All software needs to be updated regularly. |
You should unplug your machine from the internet. Seriously. Bad guys port scan all day looking for computers like yours. |
Yeah so the hardware and DECENT software firewalls I'm running don't do SHIT for that, neither does the fact that I havent had ANY virii, spyware or hacking events in the past 3-4 years. |
Firewalls are great. It's sort of like this: A firewall is like locking your front door. Not updating Windows is like leaving your back door open. Firewalls can be overcome, and some of these glitches in Windows make a firewall irrelevant. There is one, for instance, that practically hammers a machine the moment it goes live on a network. Trust me on this: You NEED to update your OS software, and your other software too. With a lot of these bugs, just going to a website is enough to allow someone to execute code on your machine and take it over, and they use trusted ports (like port 80) to do it. We deal with security incidents all the time, and the primary reason for them is not having updated software. No firewall is going to help you with that. |
Same here, run a good firewall and antivirus and you'll be good to go. I'm using zonealarm and avg antivirus, both free. (although the paid version of zone alarm is worth it) |
Unfortunately that isn't true. There are exploits out there that will zip right past a software firewall and an anti-virus package that will let someone have full rights to your machine. Some of these exploits can be triggered simply by viewing a junk-mail message in Outlook Express. Plugging those holes is a REALLY good idea. |
You definetely need them. If a security hole in software was discovered, the only way to fix it is to update the software from the company. In your case, Microsoft. Just use the on-line update tool and it is easy and unless you have high speed internet connection, I would guess it may take awhile. Oh and for all those people that buy and setup wireless home networks with those so called plug-n-play security features, NOT! You must manually do it or anyone with a wireless capable computer can gain network access. Remember Keep Operating system updated Update Anti-Virus programs Here is a great sight for any home owner on computer security. www.cert.org/tech_tips/home_networks.html |
That is what a NAT box is for. I only have one port forwarded and that port resides on a Linux box with a proper firewall on it. |
I'm on a speedburst'd Comcast line... (Been seeing 17-21mb d/l speeds  )All 3 of the computers are already done updating.  Also... Both laptops are on a secured wireless network. I learned how to do that here:  www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=468511 |
FYI: For some that download this patch, you can turn it off by going to: IN MSIE>Tools>Manage Add-Ons Click on the that add-on and click on the "disable" button and clck on "okay" and you're done. |
That is what a lot of people said before the last Genuine Advantage update. Then It failed a random group of legit OEM users around the globe... My wife's XP was on of them. her copy is legit yet I had to do a WGA patch to keep it working because someone at MS screwed up. So I've turned off MS auto updates on our 3 systems. I get my windows updates through Autopatcher now. The other Update alternative is Windiz Update which works with any browser except IE. |
I should also note I don't use MS IE or Outlook/ Outlook Express. And good mail servers filter most of the spam Though I tell you what, if my machine gets compromised because of me not updating, I will post and apologize for my obstinance. Edit for spelling. |
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Man... I wish I hadn't updated the older laptop... It's moving along at a slow crawl right now... 650mhz cpu / 12G Hd / 512mb ram I think I'll end up reinstalling the whole op system and start out with a clean, no-frills install. The laptop came originally with Win98 or Win2k. WinXP Pro SP2 seemed to run good on it until I did all the updates. |