Re: [opensuse] OpenSuse 11

Aaron Kulkis wrote:
James Knott wrote:

[pruned]


TI don't think running Windows XP on a desktop securely is rocket science. My parents have pulled off such a feat -- they've never had any security issues, and of the people I know, they are the least computer literate. My brother is now on OS X, but not because of security issues. He just wanted a better computer with a better OS than what his XP-powered Wintel box was.

Do they run as admin or user? Do they have any applications that force
them to run as admin?


XP PRO *insists* that someone be an 'assistant Administrator' and the first user who is created after the Admin is assigned Admin rights. The thinking here, it seems to me, is that if the Admin gets run over by a bus then the 'assistant admin' has full access to the OS. That is the way I saw/see it - but I may be wrong.

But being a 'normal' user on XP is really a big pain in the arse because you cannot install any new software, or do some maintenance, unless you have Admin rights. Which is why many home users simply run the OS in Admin user mode - even if they know what this means.


[pruned]



"Security" in Windows comes from patching a sieve.

More specifically, replacing one section of permeable wire
mesh with a new section of permeable wire mesh -- BY DESIGN.

The many back-doors in Windows are *NOT* accidental.


Which brings up a very important question requiring an honest answer.

The matter of Windows having deliberate in-built backdoors has been mooted for quite some time.

A number of Windows applications claiming to be Firewalls which not only prevent INBOUND access into the system also claim to prevent *OUTBOUND* unauthorised access to the Internet by applications.

ZoneAlarm, for example, is one such security applications. (I won't go into the details of who owns, or is associated with the company which actually owns, ZoneAlarm but it may be indirectly relevant to this topic of "back-doors" in Windows.)

How, say, such a well known security firewall application as ZoneAlarm handle the back-door issue which is inbuilt into Windows' applications?

Is ZoneAlarm, and similar, capable of preventing back-door traffic, both inbound and outbound, inbuilt into Windows systems?

About 3 years ago (I have the messages somewhere on file) a person (?programmer) found that ZoneAlarm was "reporting" back to ZA servers about the system they were installed on and ZA, of course, claimed that it was a "coding" glitch; there was a fix (I asked the reporter for "The Inquirer" to publish the 'fix') and the "glitch" was fixed. But, in the real world, what do ZA et alia do to handle the inbuilt back-doors in Windows (put there, I have read, at the request of the American Intelligence Agencies - which is one of the reasons why the Chinese governement won't touch Windows with a 10--foot barge pole. And I am *NOT* trying to introduce politics into this discussion!)

This is not simply a MS related question, and therefore may be considered by some to be OT, but what MS, et alia, is forced to do may also be relevant to what pressures OSs such as openSUSE may be subjected to. Dunno, just asking....


Ciao.



--
If you want to know what a man is like, take a look at how he treats his inferiors not his equals.

--
To unsubscribe, e-mail: opensuse+unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxx
For additional commands, e-mail: opensuse+help@xxxxxxxxxxxx

Relevant Pages

  • [Full-Disclosure] Dcom.c - (Shutting it down on 5,000 systems) - a Paul Schmehl Post
    ... If you're an admin and haven't touched this one ... clown...cause they analyze security threats and take actions. ... hasn't entered the Windows world in a secure implementation (that I'm ... A fantasy world exists on every campus where the belief is ...
    (Full-Disclosure)
  • Re: Need help closing security holes in my Windows XP home system!
    ... >>stop using the win xp user account with admin, ... >>windows as the admin, ... then you really don't understand security for the ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: S: ssh worms FAQ
    ... Linux distribution if these policies are not already built-in at the ... Certainly the serious versions of Windows, logging on to a server, have ... having very poor security, but the server versions are capable of good ... NO menace for GOOD admin from there. ...
    (comp.os.linux.security)
  • REPOST of Re: [opensuse] OpenSuse 11
    ... This is a repost of my response to something which Aaron stated - as an expert on Widows security - and which he has apparently chosen to totally ignore because it doesn't suit him. ... Do they run as admin or user? ... The many back-doors in Windows are *NOT* accidental. ... ZoneAlarm, for example, is one such security applications. ...
    (SuSE)
  • Re: SP2 firewall
    ... >> I installed SP2 and I turned off Windows firewall ... >> indicating that I was using my own (ZoneAlarm). ... >> security center turned amber. ... > What settings are added or changed in Windows XP ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)