In Rocco <
[email protected]> had this to say:
My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:
If I am on a secure website (with a lock) and I open another window in
Internet Explorer, one without a lock, am I still secure on the first
website in the first window? Additionally, if I am listening to a
radio station online, can I open a window in Internet Explorer and go
to my secure bank website, and be safe with the information I
transmit?
Thanks for any information!
Okay... No one more qualified than I has answered your post but I want you
to know that I'm just a Galen and what I'm about to say isn't really valid
and I want you to research it on your own.
If you are in one window and you open a new one while the first is still
secure so to speak you run the risk of the second one being insecure if you
have things like allowing scripts to copy/paste information from your
clipboard. I know of NO known exploit of this but I can tell you truly that
this would be a risk. If you're in one site turn off the rest if the site
you're in is secure and you want to insure there's not a risk. Also, before
you go to ANY other site, copy/paste ANY silly information or just plain
disable it in your security settings as you should have alread. While you're
there disable cross-site scripting... Do so... You don't have to thank me,
you only have to do it to insure you're as safe as you can be. I do a LOT of
buying online. We spend, in my home, as much as $6800 USD (last month only
which is NOT normal) online each month. Last month was a record. No
purchases were made from my wife's laptop because I don't trust it nor the
security measures she keeps. She agrees.
Now... The radio station... That's a whole new ballgame... How are you
listening to it? Is the software you're using to listen secure? Do you know
for a fact that nothing is being leaked to the 'net when you listen? No? You
surely don't. If you say you do then you're either hoping for the best and
trying to fool me or you're just saying so without knowing the risks. I'm
anal about security but not so anal as to prevent you from getting a great
deal of entertainment from your PC. Make sense? I hope so... Either way..
What are you running? Is it secure? Does it run in the background? What are
your firewall settings for it?
The Windows Firewall or Internet Connection Firewall is VERY good at
blocking inbound threats and will happily continue doing so for as long as
your system is clean. It does NOTHING to prevent outbound threats however.
If you want to be secure and KNOW what is accessing the internet then I'd
recommend Outpost Personal Firewall (pro or paid) at
www.agnitum.com and
anyone here will tell you I'm biased because I've helped to develope it for
the past three or four years. I actually have a paid version of ZoneAlarm so
that I can see what they are doing now that they've settled down a bit in
the morals department. I figure so many people use them that it's in my best
interest to be able to support their product. I'll leave any personal
comments aside for now. I've tested and it does work as well as most other
software personal firewalls. I will not deny that.
At the same time, I'd shut off what ever else you're doing. Your personal
identity is important and playing with it on the information superhighway
(please try to REALLY think of it as that instead of the good ol' safe
internet) is something you need to ensure you do properly. Turning off
un-needed services when doing so (like this radio feature) is a good start
in preventing any data leakage. Security is a process and not an application
and you are responsible for being a good member of the cyber community.
That being said you show you already are in that you're willing to ask
before doing and I, for one, respect that.
Galen
