Wireless networking numpty question..

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi Guys,
Last question coming up, honest, lol

I am running a desktop PC with XP home and totally up to date
Anti-virus stuff.
I also have a laptop running win98SE with NO AV stuff because it is
not used on the web at all.
I have just bought a wireless LAN outfit with a PCI card for the
desktop and a PCMCIA card for the laptop.
You with me so far?
OK, If I connect to the internet with my laptop, is my laptop
protected from getting a virus by my desktop PC or do I need to have
the AV stuff on my laptop too?
Cheers,
Steve

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"a Smith" <voodle@vooOIdle.SPAMNOfreeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
news:1093024878.61018.0@iris.uk.clara.net...
> Actually, if the PC is being used to share the connection, as in XP's
> Internet connection sharing, then it will have something similar to a
> firewall (NAT, so nothing can connect directly to the laptop without the
> laptop initiating the connection).
> I think that's fairly safe, and laptops slow down a lot with AV software
> because of the slower hard disks. If your PC can't get a virus, then
there's
> no risk of it passing the virus on over the network, so your laptop is
safe
> from viruses partly because of your pc and partly because of the fact that
> because of the way the connection sharing works, your laptop will not be
> directly accessible from the internet.

Okay. I assumed that since he had a wireless setup, the card in the laptop
would connect to the internet via a wireless access point like a router and
not through the desktop.

--
Tara

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

The answer given is not actually wrong, but the conclusion is wrong.

NAT -- which internet connection sharing will provide -- doesn't protect
against virus' or even all types of malware, although it is an essential
part of network security and it does protect agains many of the problems
that you can run into.

His laptop is NOT safe without antivirus software.



Tee wrote:

> "a Smith" <voodle@vooOIdle.SPAMNOfreeserve.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:1093024878.61018.0@iris.uk.clara.net...
>
>>Actually, if the PC is being used to share the connection, as in XP's
>>Internet connection sharing, then it will have something similar to a
>>firewall (NAT, so nothing can connect directly to the laptop without the
>>laptop initiating the connection).
>>I think that's fairly safe, and laptops slow down a lot with AV software
>>because of the slower hard disks. If your PC can't get a virus, then
>
> there's
>
>>no risk of it passing the virus on over the network, so your laptop is
>
> safe
>
>>from viruses partly because of your pc and partly because of the fact that
>>because of the way the connection sharing works, your laptop will not be
>>directly accessible from the internet.
>
>
> Okay. I assumed that since he had a wireless setup, the card in the laptop
> would connect to the internet via a wireless access point like a router and
> not through the desktop.
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

"Steve" <i_hate_gardening@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
news:7d7a6638.0408200801.83e3335@posting.google.com...
> Hi Guys,
> Last question coming up, honest, lol
>
> I am running a desktop PC with XP home and totally up to date
> Anti-virus stuff.
> I also have a laptop running win98SE with NO AV stuff because it is
> not used on the web at all.
> I have just bought a wireless LAN outfit with a PCI card for the
> desktop and a PCMCIA card for the laptop.
> You with me so far?
> OK, If I connect to the internet with my laptop, is my laptop
> protected from getting a virus by my desktop PC or do I need to have
> the AV stuff on my laptop too?
> Cheers,
> Steve
Steve:

Put the A/V on your laptop. Also put a firewall on it, like Zone Alarm.
You should do this to all the computers in your home network. When setting
up your network be sure to use the security feature of encryption as well.
I for one have a NAT server connecting to the DSL modem. All 5 computers in
my house have A/V on them and Zone Alarm. I also use encryption in my
wireless portion. I also use Ad-aware and Spybot weekly on them to remove
the spy ware that most sites seem to want to install on your PC. This has
kept me relatively safe, but not fully safe. (There ain't no such thing.)
However the hassle of doing the initial configuration and the weekly
maintenance is nothing compared to having to lose everything and start from
scratch every time a new virus comes around. I got hacked once because I
failed to take these precautions. Some spammer took over one of my machines
and sent out a nifty email message to a few million intimate friends letting
them know of his nice gambling site in the Caymans. I nearly lost my ISP
account because of it. It won't happen again to me. But I am sure the
Spammers will be happy to have easy access to your machines if you don't
follow my advice.

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

My experience is that Zone Alarm and other firewalls cause more problems
than they solve, and are not necessary if you are behind a router (or
any other type of "NAT" host) and have good AV software.

The best AV software, however, is useless unless it's update. ALso, you
need to install the "critical updates" from Microsoft's "Windows Update"
function. Both the AV updates and "Windows Update" updates need to be
done at least weekly or so, daily when a major new virus outbreak is
occuring.


Richard Johnson wrote:

> "Steve" <i_hate_gardening@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:7d7a6638.0408200801.83e3335@posting.google.com...
>
>>Hi Guys,
>>Last question coming up, honest, lol
>>
>>I am running a desktop PC with XP home and totally up to date
>>Anti-virus stuff.
>>I also have a laptop running win98SE with NO AV stuff because it is
>>not used on the web at all.
>>I have just bought a wireless LAN outfit with a PCI card for the
>>desktop and a PCMCIA card for the laptop.
>>You with me so far?
>>OK, If I connect to the internet with my laptop, is my laptop
>>protected from getting a virus by my desktop PC or do I need to have
>>the AV stuff on my laptop too?
>>Cheers,
>>Steve
>
> Steve:
>
> Put the A/V on your laptop. Also put a firewall on it, like Zone Alarm.
> You should do this to all the computers in your home network. When setting
> up your network be sure to use the security feature of encryption as well.
> I for one have a NAT server connecting to the DSL modem. All 5 computers in
> my house have A/V on them and Zone Alarm. I also use encryption in my
> wireless portion. I also use Ad-aware and Spybot weekly on them to remove
> the spy ware that most sites seem to want to install on your PC. This has
> kept me relatively safe, but not fully safe. (There ain't no such thing.)
> However the hassle of doing the initial configuration and the weekly
> maintenance is nothing compared to having to lose everything and start from
> scratch every time a new virus comes around. I got hacked once because I
> failed to take these precautions. Some spammer took over one of my machines
> and sent out a nifty email message to a few million intimate friends letting
> them know of his nice gambling site in the Caymans. I nearly lost my ISP
> account because of it. It won't happen again to me. But I am sure the
> Spammers will be happy to have easy access to your machines if you don't
> follow my advice.
>
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

I don't think that you will "get probed constantly" if you are behind a
router or other NAT server (meaning that you have a private rather than
public IP address). You do have a public IP address if connecting
directly to a cable or DSL modem, or if using dial-up. But you don't if
you are behind a router (or other NAT device).

Certainly you need one or the other (NAT or firewall), but I've found
firewalls to cause more problems than they solve (although the one in XP
Service Pack 2 seems to work fine).


Richard Johnson wrote:

> Barry:
>
> I do keep current on updates. But, I disagree with you on Zone Alarm or
> other firewalls. I for one do take my computer out, and do dial up as well
> as Verizon Wireless connections. There I get probed constantly. ( I turn
> off notification but keep the blocking.) If for some reason someone gets in
> and gives me a virus, Trojan, or other nasty, and I hook back into my
> network before I realize it, having Zone Alarm on the other machines and my
> machine assures isolation.. If I need to share files from one machine to
> the other, after the rover has been checked, I can allow windows to make
> connections. (But not until then, and only when I say to make a connection.
>
> Rich
> (Hit the wrong reply, Barry, this was meant for the group.)
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:4127BAE7.6040304@neo.rr.com...
>
>>My experience is that Zone Alarm and other firewalls cause more problems
>>than they solve, and are not necessary if you are behind a router (or
>>any other type of "NAT" host) and have good AV software.
>>
>>The best AV software, however, is useless unless it's update. ALso, you
>>need to install the "critical updates" from Microsoft's "Windows Update"
>>function. Both the AV updates and "Windows Update" updates need to be
>>done at least weekly or so, daily when a major new virus outbreak is
>>occuring.
>>
>>
>>Richard Johnson wrote:
>>
>>
>>>"Steve" <i_hate_gardening@yahoo.co.uk> wrote in message
>>>news:7d7a6638.0408200801.83e3335@posting.google.com...
>>>
>>>
>>>>Hi Guys,
>>>>Last question coming up, honest, lol
>>>>
>>>>I am running a desktop PC with XP home and totally up to date
>>>>Anti-virus stuff.
>>>>I also have a laptop running win98SE with NO AV stuff because it is
>>>>not used on the web at all.
>>>>I have just bought a wireless LAN outfit with a PCI card for the
>>>>desktop and a PCMCIA card for the laptop.
>>>>You with me so far?
>>>>OK, If I connect to the internet with my laptop, is my laptop
>>>>protected from getting a virus by my desktop PC or do I need to have
>>>>the AV stuff on my laptop too?
>>>>Cheers,
>>>>Steve
>>>
>>>Steve:
>>>
>>>Put the A/V on your laptop. Also put a firewall on it, like Zone Alarm.
>>>You should do this to all the computers in your home network. When
>
> setting
>
>>>up your network be sure to use the security feature of encryption as
>
> well.
>
>>>I for one have a NAT server connecting to the DSL modem. All 5
>
> computers in
>
>>>my house have A/V on them and Zone Alarm. I also use encryption in my
>>>wireless portion. I also use Ad-aware and Spybot weekly on them to
>
> remove
>
>>>the spy ware that most sites seem to want to install on your PC. This
>
> has
>
>>>kept me relatively safe, but not fully safe. (There ain't no such
>
> thing.)
>
>>>However the hassle of doing the initial configuration and the weekly
>>>maintenance is nothing compared to having to lose everything and start
>
> from
>
>>>scratch every time a new virus comes around. I got hacked once because
>
> I
>
>>>failed to take these precautions. Some spammer took over one of my
>
> machines
>
>>>and sent out a nifty email message to a few million intimate friends
>
> letting
>
>>>them know of his nice gambling site in the Caymans. I nearly lost my
>
> ISP
>
>>>account because of it. It won't happen again to me. But I am sure the
>>>Spammers will be happy to have easy access to your machines if you don't
>>>follow my advice.
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>