In message <telecom24.331.3@telecom-digest.org> Choreboy
<choreboyREMOVE@localnet.com> wrote:
> Steve Sobol wrote:
>> Monty Solomon wrote:
>>> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And how long do they have those _new_
>>> machines until they also get polluted and have to be replaced?
>> The sad thing is that it's simply not that hard to protect yourself.
>> We have two computers here that never get infected ... the other one
>> can't be infected because it's not on the Net, but my wife's and mine
>> both are.
> One can't be infected because it's not on the internet. Why is the
> other one safe?
Because these days the only real way to get infected is user
stupidity ...
Free hint: When you get an email from "Microsoft" with a patch, don't
install it.
Configure your browser properly to not install unrequested shit.
Don't install spyware laced crap.
> [TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: And how long do they have those _new_
> machines until they also get polluted and have to be replaced? I'd
> think there might be a market in doing some dumpster diving, retrieving
> those old machines, doing a total init of the hard drive and starting
> over from scratch, reloading them, etc. My pay for same would come
> from refurbishing the old machines with a totally new (and as of
> then unmolested) hard drive, absolutely _loaded_ with all the most
> recent virus protection and spam protection software. Then I would
> sell them for fifty or a hundred dollars each. And I would probably
> load Linux on them instead of Windows, or maybe in addition to Windows
> 2000 or Windows 98. PAT]
What kind of dumbass wouldn't try to sell it for $20?
[TELECOM Digest Editor's Note: _This_ kind of dumbass probably. At the
internet cafe here in town, the guy who runs the place typically
offers his refurbished, reloaded machines for $50-100 each, and
considering how little income I have otherwise I would like to recoup
my expenses (usually a few hours work) somewhere around ten dollars
per hour; in other words a wee bit above minimum wage. But I have
heard Chris (the guy who runs the internet cafe) listen to some very
sad stories from guys then reduce his price to 20-35 dollars on a
specific request for 'hardship rates', which is probably how I would
do it also. In other words, try to make some money for your work, and
as circumsances dictate, give it away.
Also I would like to comment on your allegation 'the only way to get
infected is by user stupidity'. I think that is sort of a harsh
assessment. _Not everyone_ who owns a computer knows everything about
it; some guys work hard; save their money and buy a computer only to
have some virus writer load some crap from a web site onto his page.
Not every program which gets loaded on your computer is there because
you gave an okay to load it in. I am reasonably intelligent, yet I
have had that crap dumped on me before my hands were quick enough to
hit a key combination to stop the load from occurring. PAT]
DevilsPGD (spamsucks@crazyhat.net)