_Replying to a message_
By: Jeffrey E. Harris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: Jeffrey E. Harris <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
On: Sunday, March 11, 2001, 11:11:47 PM
Re: [Miami] Re: Cable Modem tests
Hi Jeffrey,
TS>> You do have to deliberately elect to share files and printers, for
TS>> one thing. And, Windows stupidities aside, they oughtn't to be
TS>> shared to the web, as a default action for MODEMs. Though, LAN type
TS>> of internet connections to the web are likely to be available, by
TS>> default.
JEH> That's the problem. The sharing capability that Microsoft provides in its
JEH> consumer products, Windows 9X and ME, are simply password protected -
JEH> there is or is not a password and the password controls either read only
JEH> or read and write. It was never designed to be a very secure mechanism,
JEH> and unfortunately, short of putting up a firewall, there is no way to
JEH> distinguish between a LAN connection and a Internet connection.
Passwords are often sent in the clear, too. So anybody able to snoop the
network, can capture the passwords. They're often /only/ hidden from the
person typing them in.
JEH> Windows NT and 2000 provide better security, but still there is no
JEH> difference between access over the Internet and over a LAN.
Windows seems to have a bad time determining what is local, or internet
traffic. If you look at the indicator, on the bottom of the IE web
browser, it's often wrong (particularly when browsing the net, on a
computer behind a gateway).
TS>> But, it is possible that simply leaving your file sharing in a
TS>> publically accessible condition may be sending stuff out onto the
TS>> internet that makes a pest of itself, all by itself.
JEH> There is no question about that. I myself discovered that Microsoft's
JEH> critical notifier service, which is designed to alert users when Microsoft
JEH> releases a new patch for their software, was trying to access the Internet
JEH> about every 30 seconds (and the only way I knew was that I have my
JEH> firewall - on my other system - configured to deny access to the Internet
JEH> by default). I quickly uninstall that service *chuckles*.
I was thinking more about networking handshaking, stuff that annoyed
/other/ people.
My own critical update notifier, is set for 5 minutes. I can't change it
and I can't remove it; it re-instates the original settings, each boot up.
TS>> e.g. the usual Windows networking behaviour, such as the typical
TS>> spurious NetBIOS connection attempts we all get while on the net.
TS>>
TS>> Mostly "that's" harmless. Though, if you're vulnerable, you might
TS>> end up accidentally sharing your files with a complete stranger, who
TS>> may take advantage of that. Hackers, on the other hand, are always
TS>> on the prowl for such a gifted opportunity.
JEH> Yes, and that's one of the major problems in the Windows design.
JEH> Fortunately, MS appears to be moving away from NetBIOS and more to pure
JEH> TCP/IP.
I'm not so sure that's a good idea. If you don't want file access across
the net, now you can simply disassociate the file sharing protocol (e.g.
NetBIOS) from the TCP/IP protocol. If everything is using TCP/IP you have
to wade into firewalling at a much more technical level.
JEH> <rest of text deleted>
While you're doing /that/, please delete the signature of the person
you're quoting, and the list signature, too. You only /need/ to quote the
actual text you're replying to. I'm not trying to be harsh, or picky, but
it's best to not bother with the un-needed stuff at all.
--
Bye,
Tim.
http://www.picknowl.com.au/homepages/Tim_Seifert/
mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(Modbury, near Adelaide, South Australia)
Video productions, electronics engineering, service and technical
support, and more. For further information, visit the web site.
*** DO NOT SEND JUNK MAIL ***
--
To unsubscribe send "unsubscribe miami-talk-ml" to
"[EMAIL PROTECTED]". For help on list commands send "help" to
"[EMAIL PROTECTED]".
