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Copy sensitive material to a CD, take the CD out and erase the data from the computer when you are not in a secure area.
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| technofile
Al Fasoldt's reviews and commentaries, continuously available online since 1983
D r . G i z m o
'Worm' warning just a scam? And what about security for wireless networks?
April 7, 2004
By Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, Al Fasoldt
Copyright © 2004, The Post-Standard
An e-mail popped up and said it detected a "worm" in my system and I should contact your business to get protection for my PC. How do I do this? Please advise. -- L.B., via Tampa Bay Road Runner
The doctor has no business except advice to the tech-lorn. He also would not sponsor advertising in slimy popup ads such as the ones that pretend to be warnings. (The doctor also doubts that L.B. saw an e-mail message popping up. More likely, the popup was designed to look like a real warning but was either a Web popup or a Windows Messaging popup. (The Windows Messenger service allows anyone to send messages to any Windows PC that has the Messaging Service installed and running. Unfortunately, Microsoft turned it on in default Windows installations until a few months ago.)
The doc urges L.B. to block popup windows using any of the methods now available. A free method for Windows users is to install Web Washer Classic, from www.webwasher.com. Mac OS X users have popup blocking built into Apple's Safari Web browser.
Windows users should disable the Messaging Service (also called the Windows Messenger Service). The doc's pal has helpful info on his Web site, too. Use "message service" as the search term at http://aroundcny.com/technofile.
I've heard a lot about the lack of security for wireless networks. These networks, however, are my primary way to access the Internet. Is it best to avoid checking any sensitive information when I take my iBook (Apple notebolok computer) on the road, or is there anything I can do to protect my information? -- R.M.
The doctor is an all-or-nothing kind of security guy. He's in favor of maximum security for computers that connect to the Internet through wireless networking. The doc has seen demonstrations in which anyone with a wireless notebook computer can connect to any of dozens of unprotected wireless computers. And in every case, the user of the computer being violated had no clue anything was happening.
The doc recommends full encryption for all wireless connections. (Look in the setup or preferences of your connection software.) Be sure you have a firewall running, and store all truly sensitive and personal information away from your notebook computer whenever possible.
Apple's iBooks and PowerBooks can burn CDs in a few minutes using their internal CD burners, and some Windows notebooks do the same. The doc recommends copying sensitive material to a CD, taking the CD out of the drive and then erasing it from the computer when you are not in a secure area.
Dr. Gizmo saves his data using Al Fasoldt's notebook computer. You can send a note, a book or just a letter to the doctor or his pal at Technology, Box 4915, Syracuse, NY 13221. Or send e-mail to afasoldt@twcny.rr.com.
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