Security Risk?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob Newman
  • Start date Start date
B

Bob Newman

A general question please. I am running XP Pro with an "always on" cable
modem internet connection. All other factors being equal, am I at any
greater security risk if I keep IE6 or Firefox running constantly as opposed
to closing it after each use?
 
I don't think it would matter. The browser wouldn't be actively
loading a web site, so it's just sitting there. I have a few money
conscious customers who leave stock ticker sites running most
all day long.
 
In theory the more you're on line the more you're open for business to
those dam hackers etc.
ie they have all night to play their dangerous game.

Check here for your vulnerability levels; this can give you a nasty
shock!

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Scroll down to proceed button; lot of useful data here
 
A general question please. I am running XP Pro with an "always on" cable
modem internet connection. All other factors being equal, am I at any
greater security risk if I keep IE6 or Firefox running constantly as opposed
to closing it after each use?
Click to expand...

Run a good software firewall and consider getting a broadband router that does
NAT.
 
Bob Newman said:
A general question please. I am running XP Pro with an "always on" cable
modem internet connection. All other factors being equal, am I at any
greater security risk if I keep IE6 or Firefox running constantly as
opposed to closing it after each use?

--
Click to expand...

No. Leaving the browser open exposes you to no greater risk that closing it
when not in use. Web pages are "stateless" applications. All the damage
that can be doneby a web-page, has been done by the time you are viewing it
in your browser.

The single greatest value and most effective tool in securing your computer
is a broadband router. If you do not have a broadband router between your
cable/dsl device and your computer, then shut down your computer and run,
don't walk, to the nearest computer shop to buy one.

carl
 
Bob,

Make sure to at least have Windows fully patched (especially SP2) and
Windows Firewall enabled. That is a bare minimum. Outsiders don't come in
through Internet Explorer unless you visit their website(s). Don't use
Firefox. Firefox is "fool's gold" in that the software is new, raw and the
security holes more blatant yet people think it a security solution because
it is not IE. I wouldn't use Firefox. The first time Firefox got installed
on a computer here is the first time we caught a virus in years (through one
of its gaping drive-by vulnerabilities). Internet Explorer vulnerabilites,
on the other hand, tend to be the obscure type as its code is long hardened
(and, as well, Microsoft has an aggressive patching schedule).
 
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