Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Run Fast, Run Naked - An alternative approach to internet security
GoGov ^ | July 2, 2005 | GoGov

Posted on 07/02/2005 11:27:16 AM PDT by BJungNan

Run Fast, Run Naked
Alternative Approach to Internet Security

Sometimes the best way to win the game is not to play it at all. What has all the net security programs, spy ware blockers, pop up blockers, firewalls and the like gotten you? In many cases, slower net browsing, a whole lot of configuration headaches and time to maintain all those programs.

Running naked may be the answer for you.

Running naked on the internet means running completely open with no spy ware protection programs, no pop-up blockers, no anti-virus software. Just a simple open connection.

Before you go into shock at someone suggesting dropping all internet security measures, read on. Running Naked really means running two computers: One for fun and another with all the normal net security.

What's To Steal?

If you had nothing of value in your car, your car was a low cost clunker that no one would want, would you leave your doors locked? Of course not. No one is going to try and get in it. With a computer on the internet it is essentially the same. If you don't have anything anyone could want, what is the point of locking it up?

Put in terms of the internet, if you don't do online banking, if you don't buy or sell on the internet, if all you do is browse the net for news, entertainment and an alternative to television, what's to protect?

Most people do more on their one computer than just browse the net. Internet banking and bill paying is very convenient, as if buying (and selling) on the internet. It is these other activities that are good reason, very good reason for every security measure you can afford or master.

But everything else you do outside of banking and bill paying and involving money on the internet decreases your security. The longer you are on line, the more you and your computer are exposed. So, for the important stuff, limit your time on the net.

Get A Second Computer - A Clunker

What exactly do you need to browse the internet. The newest latest and greatest computer with tons of megs and clock speed. Nope. You can browse the internet on a P-II, 400 Megahertz computer and a simple graphics card as quickly as you can with any other computer. Go one step further and run completely naked and you net browsing will fly. With a dial-up connection you will zing. Add a cable modem connection or DSL and you will get every bit of streaming video you could ever want to see on the so-called slow, outdated used computer.

Pick one up at Salvation Army, Good Will or other thrift store used for about $50.00. Monitors at these stores are anywhere from $2.00 to $20.00 for a good resolution.

This will be the internet computer you use to read the news, post to online forums, do research and whatever else you do to entertain yourself on the internet.

Now, you can not run this computer forever without some security measures. But this one is simple. You simply format your hard drive once on month (or more often if you like) and wipe away anything anyone may have dumped on your system. Start fresh, new, clean and Fast!

Your Other Computer - The fancy one you bought

This is your second computer. It rarely goes on line, never stays online and only goes online as long as needed to complete your banking, bill paying, buying, selling or other data sensitive activities. And, when you are done with this activities, you unplug the modem or phone cable - the best firewall in the world is a unplugged cable!

For this computer, use all the normal internet security. We have a basic site set up here with our recommendations for your net security.

That's it. That's our solution. Two computers. One for browsing that is completely open, unlocked, unblocked and naked. Another that only goes online for short periods of time and follows all the recommendations for safe internet use.

So now, Get Naked and Run Fast!


TOPICS: Extended News; Miscellaneous; Technical
KEYWORDS: computer; computers; internet; internetsecurity; virus; viruses
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last
To: MikeinIraq

If you use a computer for nothing but internet, redoing everything will only take about thirty minutes


41 posted on 07/02/2005 1:11:54 PM PDT by Asphalt (Join the NFL ping list ...everything NFL... FReepmail Asphalt to get on|FReeper Since 10/10/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: omniscient

perhaps


42 posted on 07/02/2005 1:12:07 PM PDT by Asphalt (Join the NFL ping list ...everything NFL... FReepmail Asphalt to get on|FReeper Since 10/10/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
I had an opportunity to pick up several PC's with 500MHZ processors for $10 each.

I set them up with XP Pro (bare bones) and then, after configuring them the way I like with Internet favorites, etc used Ghost (Symantec) to create an ISO image of the hard drive.

I use them for Internet browsing mostly. I gave my folks one, and sent one off to my daughter to beat on.

I was able to bump the RAM to 512meg so, even though they are antiques by todays standards, they are plenty quick for this kind of duty.

The best thing is, if anything goes wrong with them, I just throw the CD into the tray and reboot.

12 minutes later I reboot again and go about my business.

I have a "Download" folder for anything I grab off the Internet and It's easy to dump that over to one of my other machines before I reimage.

I've even set on up as a Linux/XP dual boot without any problems.

So I guess I don't "Run naked" - I still wear shoes ;'}
43 posted on 07/02/2005 1:27:57 PM PDT by rockrr (Gregorovych Nyet!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan

Better than get a "second computer", set up a small second virtual pc using one of the VM software packages such as Microsoft's.


44 posted on 07/02/2005 1:30:00 PM PDT by AmericaUnited
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: murdocj

Thanks for the explanation. I was under the impression that your IP address, open ports, CLSIDs, etc., wouldn't change when you re-installed the image, and the machine would therefore look identical to anyone building a zombie database. If you're running nekkid, then getting the actual exploit onto your machine isn't the difficult part, right?


45 posted on 07/02/2005 1:34:22 PM PDT by Gondring (The can have my Bill of Rights when they pry it from my cold dead hands.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 17 | View Replies]

To: Asphalt
Interesting idea. Without a pop-up blocker, however, you will have seventy windows open withen the first twenty seconds

It is not quite that bad with pop-ups. I avoid sites that have many of them (like Drudge).

But, clicking away a pop up is a lot faster than slowing down your connection by filtering for them. In other words, do you slow down all traffic so you don't get a pop up or just click away the few that you do get.

I would rather run faster and click once in a while to get rid of the pop up window. With pop up blocker you are slowing all traffic as your connection deals with the stuff.

46 posted on 07/02/2005 2:22:49 PM PDT by BJungNan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 39 | View Replies]

To: Fiddlstix

What are you trying to download to my system with that link? As soon as I clicked it, I got a message of a download about to happen.


47 posted on 07/02/2005 2:25:21 PM PDT by BJungNan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 12 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
I THINK it was a .wav file. Or a sound file if you aren't up on the (dot) extensions

If you right click on the link, then properties, you can read the address of the link.

http://home.granderiver.net/~capnjim/wav/thestreak.wav
48 posted on 07/02/2005 2:28:07 PM PDT by Dr.Zoidberg (Children's classic songs updated for Islam "If you're happy and you know it, Go Kaboom!")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: omniscient
In theory a good idea. In practice, totally unworkable. What about downloading, online gaming, e-mail, etc. and trying to maintain preferences, cookies, etc. Who except a masochist would want to perpetually be in a state of reformatting, restoring, reinstalling, reconfiguring, reupdating, etc.?

It is not all that much trouble to reformat and reload. We are not talking a ton of programs to reinstall if you go with this idea. Basically you are turning your computer into a TV for the internet - that's what has you online 90% of the time.

As for email, better to use the free services for your email than to run on your own machine. I would never do that. Outlook is a virus magnet.

49 posted on 07/02/2005 2:28:25 PM PDT by BJungNan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 19 | View Replies]

To: cooldog
The author of this piece is a moron (or a maroon, depending on how long one's been a Freeper). More than half the risk of the trojans and virii and other comprimises is that they turn your machine into zombie, cranking out virus or spam emails by the tens of thousands,...

How many zombies and trojans stay on a machine after the hard drive has been reformated? I think you missed something there.

50 posted on 07/02/2005 2:30:43 PM PDT by BJungNan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 26 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan

Try Ad Muncher. It works at a low level, uses only a small amount of memory, and stops the banner ads and popups before they download to your computer. Therefore web pages load faster, not slower.

Since I first installed it on this computer it has blocked 171,000 ads and saved 1.4 gigabytes of graphic ad files downloaded to the temp internet files. On many web pages the ads take longer to load than the substance.

As for the argument of this article, sure it's annoying to have to load antispyware programs, and they do use some memory, but your computer will slow down a lot more if you let the adware multiply on it.


51 posted on 07/02/2005 2:35:15 PM PDT by Cicero (Marcus Tullius)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan

Another stupid idea. I have a hardware firewall that doubles as a router ($80), MS (free) antispyware, AVG (free)antivirus, and I have no spyware, and no viruses. It also helps to use web based email.


52 posted on 07/02/2005 2:37:32 PM PDT by js1138 (e unum pluribus)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
"If you had nothing of value in your car, your car was a low cost clunker that no one would want, would you leave your doors locked? Of course not."

This is hideously ignorant and irresponsible advice. Leaving your keys in the ignition is an actual crime in most states. Keys or no keys, leaving your car generally unsecured subjects you to lawsuits for creating an attractive nuisance. If you abandon your vehicle and some idiot gets himself killed joyriding in it, you can be held legally responsible for his death and the injuries he caused to others.

53 posted on 07/02/2005 2:50:21 PM PDT by Fabozz
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Arkie2

No kidding. "Running naked" is quite possibly the dumbest idea I've heard of to deal with spyware.


54 posted on 07/02/2005 2:53:09 PM PDT by July 4th (A vacant lot cancelled out my vote for Bush.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Arkie2
Not a good idea. If you run naked you will soon be swamped with ... trojans

Maybe thats the goal ? ;-)
55 posted on 07/02/2005 2:59:30 PM PDT by festus (The constitution may be flawed but its a whole lot better than what we have now.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan

I like Drudge, however. Have him as my homepage. With FireFox I get no pop-ups


56 posted on 07/02/2005 3:04:54 PM PDT by Asphalt (Join the NFL ping list ...everything NFL... FReepmail Asphalt to get on|FReeper Since 10/10/04)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
What are you trying to download to my system with that link? As soon as I clicked it, I got a message of a download about to happen.

It should have opened media player and played the old song "The Streak". I don't know why it tried to download.

57 posted on 07/02/2005 3:12:15 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (This Tagline for sale. (Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
From the article:

"...If you had nothing of value in your car, your car was a low cost clunker that no one would want, would you leave your doors locked? Of course not. No one is going to try and get in it..."

If it's a low cost clunker that runs can, someone would want it - it can be used as a getaway car in the commission of a crime.

Also, some people just like to vandalize and destroy things. People like this would get inside and just tear up whatever they could with a screwdriver or a knife or whatever just for the sheer joy of destroying another person's property.

That's the other reasons why you lock things up.

I wouldn't want my Internet PC to be hijacked and/or made to crank out malicious e-mail.

58 posted on 07/02/2005 4:50:46 PM PDT by Screaming_Gerbil (Let's Roll...)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: BJungNan
How many zombies and trojans stay on a machine after the hard drive has been reformated? I think you missed something there.

None, of course -- but with this "idea," and Windows, you'll be reformatting/reinstalling or restoring an image every 12 minutes, unless you enjoy having your machine used for nefarious purposes. On an older machine, you'll be spending far more time staring at progress bars than you will surfing -- all for the sake of speed?

This is the definitely the dumbest idea I've seen in quite a while.

59 posted on 07/03/2005 5:21:43 AM PDT by browardchad
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: browardchad
This is the definitely the dumbest idea I've seen in quite a while.

I tried it and the Internet browsing speed is noticeably faster. Much faster. Why would that be?

60 posted on 07/03/2005 8:51:26 AM PDT by BJungNan
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 59 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-85 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson