Is It Safer to Be Logged Out?

[M and D]

I like to log out of my account (i.e. return to the Welcome screen) when I'm not going to be working at my computer for awhile, like overnight.

I have a cable connection, and 'wake-on-lan' is not enabled. I also have a router (Dlink) and a firewall (Zone Alarm).

Is it safe to leave my computer at the Welcome screen? I mean, safe against attack from the internet. Between the router and the firewall, I figure nothing's going to get into my computer anyway, but if something managed to get on my computer in spite of it all, if there's no one logged in, an attacker couldn't do anything malicious on my computer. Is that correct?

Steven
P.S. My account is password protected.

 

[David H. Lipman]

From: "M and D" <[email protected]>

| I like to log out of my account (i.e. return to the Welcome screen) when I'm not going to
| be working at my computer for awhile, like overnight.
|
| I have a cable connection, and 'wake-on-lan' is not enabled. I also have a router (Dlink)
| and a firewall (Zone Alarm).
|
| Is it safe to leave my computer at the Welcome screen? I mean, safe against attack from
| the internet. Between the router and the firewall, I figure nothing's going to get into my
| computer anyway, but if something managed to get on my computer in spite of it all, if
| there's no one logged in, an attacker couldn't do anything malicious on my computer. Is
| that correct?
|
| Steven
| P.S. My account is password protected.

With a NAT Router and software FireWall the PC is well protected and should be safe to be
left on at a login screen.

If you are logged on it is strongly suggested that you require a password for teh
screensaver.

 

[M and D]

Yes, I also think I'm well protected behind a router and firewall. That's not actually what I'm asking about.

I like to try to stay one step ahead of what's coming down the internet pike. In the admittedly unlikely event that some malicious software manages to get past my router/firewall combination, can that malicious software cause any harm on my computer, given that no one is logged on yet the machine is still running? If that is a possibility, I am safer to turn my computer off rather than leaving it running at the Welcome screen.

Steven