Why was my question deleted?

[Guest]

I want to know how to get into Services so I can block wireless access. With
Windows XP, I'd use the Run command, typing in services.msc. Also, how do I
disable Remote Access?

 

[Michael]

(Vista Home Premium, administrator account)

to start services:

Start
type services.msc in the search box, hit return

or use the run command, type in services.msc and return

Michael

 

[Guest]

Not sure how you intend to block wireless access with services, but
services.msc is still there in Vista (at least on most of the SKUs).

What are you trying to do?

 

[Guest]

Thank you. I think I did do a search but it didn't come up. I couldn't find
the Run box. I just got a portable computer with Vista on it, and I'm
completely confused. I downloaded something that was supposed to be a manual
from Microsoft, but my computer couldn't read the files.

I'm used to XP Home on a PC. Is the account that came up when I first turned
the laptop on the Administrator account?

I'm afraid to stay on the laptop exploring without first disabling the
wireless capability, which in Services was Wireless Zero Configuration.

I used to disable Remote Access on my PC by going to the Help index, which
directed me to the right place. I think it was a My Computer tab.

The Vista interface is so different. I'll check the tab you suggested.

 

[Guest]

I disable Wireless Zero Configuration in Services. What is an SKU? I have
Vista Home, which came on the laptop. Judging from my experiences with XP
Home, it might not have everything the Pro edition has.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to do either. I'm just afraid to use the laptop
until I'm certain that no one can connect through the wireless. I don't
intend to put the laptop online ever. I have had terrible experiences when I
try to go online, so I'm only going to go online with the PC, as I'm doing
now.

I'll check the links and hope I can understand them. I would really
appreciate simple directions on how to make the laptop invulnerable. Since I
don't intend to plug it in or set up an Internet connection, I think I only
need to worry about wireless.

Thank you.

 

[Steve Thackery]

Elizabeth, you are trying to do this the hard way.

If you want to make your system invulnerable to the outside world, you can
disable the wireless (and any other network ports) very easily. Follow this
sequence:

1/ Click the Start orb

2/ Right click on Network, and click on Properties

3/ In the left panel, click Manage network connections

4/ On each network connection icon, right click and select Disable

This will disable every network port on your computer. If you just want to
disable the wireless port, that would be fine. Incidentally, lots of
laptops have a button somewhere which lets you switch off the wireless
connection. Look for one with a picture of a radio aerial on it.


If, for some reason, you can't see "Network" when you've clicked the Start
orb in step 2/, do the following sequence first:

1/ Right click the Start orb, and click on Properties

2/ Click on the Start Menu tab

3/ Click the Customize... button

4/ Scroll down the list until you see 'Network', and tick the checkbox

5/ "OK" all the way out.

You will now be able to follow the sequence above to disable your network
ports.

Hope this helps. Let us know how you got on.

Steve

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE/WM]

Run box: WinKey+R

Thank you. I think I did do a search but it didn't come up. I couldn't
find
the Run box. I just got a portable computer with Vista on it, and I'm
completely confused. I downloaded something that was supposed to be a
manual
from Microsoft, but my computer couldn't read the files.

I'm used to XP Home on a PC. Is the account that came up when I first
turned
the laptop on the Administrator account?

I'm afraid to stay on the laptop exploring without first disabling the
wireless capability, which in Services was Wireless Zero Configuration.

I used to disable Remote Access on my PC by going to the Help index, which
directed me to the right place. I think it was a My Computer tab.

The Vista interface is so different. I'll check the tab you suggested.

 

[Otto Normalverbraucher]

I disable Wireless Zero Configuration in Services. What is an SKU? I have
Vista Home, which came on the laptop. Judging from my experiences with XP
Home, it might not have everything the Pro edition has.

I'm not sure what I'm trying to do either. I'm just afraid to use the laptop
until I'm certain that no one can connect through the wireless. I don't
intend to put the laptop online ever. I have had terrible experiences when I
try to go online, so I'm only going to go online with the PC, as I'm doing
now.

I'll check the links and hope I can understand them. I would really
appreciate simple directions on how to make the laptop invulnerable. Since I
don't intend to plug it in or set up an Internet connection, I think I only
need to worry about wireless.

Most laptops have a switch to disable the wireless adapter.

 

[Paul Adare]

Most laptops have a switch to disable the wireless adapter.

Some do, I would not say that most do.

--
Paul Adare
MVP - Windows - Virtual Machine
http://www.identit.ca
"The English language, complete with irony, satire, and sarcasm, has
survived for centuries without smileys. Only the new crop of modern
computer geeks finds it impossible to detect a joke that is not clearly
labeled as such."
Ray Shea

 

[Michael]

Elizabeth

You should be able to disable the wireless interface hardware.

Start
right click on computer
select properties
select device manager in left pane
under network adapters there should be an entry for the wireless unit
right click on it, select properties
select the driver tab
select disable (no uninstall)

this should keep it off, when you want to trun it on again repeat steps and
'enable'

Michael

 

[Guest]

Elizabeth, I think you are misunderstanding what the wireless software does.
Having Wireless Zero Config permits you to easily connect to a wireless
network, either at home, at work, or at your favorite corner coffee store.
Having Wireless Zero Config, or even an active wireless network adapter, is
NOT the same as inviting the world to party on your laptop.

First, your laptop does not advertise itself to anyone; not unless you go
through some rather unintuitive steps to set that up.
Second, the laptop does not accept unsolicited inbound connection requests
over wireless; again, unless you go through those same steps. If you have a
laptop with a live wireless network card that is not associated to a network
nobody can connect to you.
Third, your computer will never connect automatically to a new wireless
network without asking you first. It will, however, automatically connect to
a wireless network that you have used in the past, if you told it to do so
when you first connected to that network.
Fourth, even if you are connected to a wireless network, or any other
network for that matter, your firewall, which is on and configured by
default, would stop all inbound connections as long as you tell the computer
you are on a public network. The computer will ask you when you connect to a
network what type of network it is. If you chose public your computer
essentially turns into a black hole that nobody can connect to.

Putting the laptop online is absolutely no more risky than putting your
regular computer online as long as you keep the computer patched, use the
built-in firewall feature, and make sure your anti-virus program is up to
date. It is a bit easier for an attacker to see what data you are sending
over a wireless network if it is unsecured, but that is about the only
difference.

I really think you are not only trying to do this the hard way, you are
trying to protect against almost non-existent threats. The only potential
threat there is against a wireless network card that is not associated to a
wireless network is if there is a vulnerability in the network card driver.
That has happened before, but if you use the built-in driver, Microsoft
Update will patch it. If not, then the manufacturer of your computer will
provide patches. Instead of trying to figure out how to strip useful
functionality out of your computer I would recommend you spend the time
figuring out how to find patches from your computer manufacturer.

BTW, a SKU is a "Stock Keeping Unit." It is used to denote the various
versions of Vista, such as Home Basic, Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, and
so on. As you noted, not all SKUs come with all the components.

 

[Guest]

First of all, thank you all very much. I feel that my laptop is safe and I
can finally get some work done.

There was a switch on the bottom, but it wasn't a toggle. It slid and
snapped back, like the kind that release something so it can be opened. But
it didn't seem to be connected to anything. It wasn't mentioned in the
literature accompanying the computer.

Jesper, thank you for the information. You write in a very clear way. I
think I will buy your book. But I would like to ask you one question. Could
you get into my computer if I were using wireless to access the Internet? Do
you know anyone who could?

The person who is hacking me is obviously a computer professional. He knows
Microsoft totally. No firewall or antivirus has ever been able to keep him
out for more than a few hours. I had to turn off automatic updates because he
inserted a virus disguised as an update.

He doesn't use viruses to control my computer. He does stuff that I might
conceivably do if I were a "power user." I'm not sure if I can even explain
this example, but you might be familiar with it. I caught it because I have
an earlier version of MSWord. I found Version 8 in the Administrator's area.
He set up some weird program that sent everything from my computer, including
my thumb drive, to an Outlook Express page, which he could access. I think he
somehow used Word as a server. This is way over my head. I'm just guessing.

Your advice would work for nearly anyone else using a computer, but this guy
is obsessed and very skilled.

 

[Guest]

First of all, thank you all very much. I feel that my laptop is safe and I

can finally get some work done.

Glad to hear that.

There was a switch on the bottom, but it wasn't a toggle. It slid and
snapped back, like the kind that release something so it can be opened. But
it didn't seem to be connected to anything. It wasn't mentioned in the
literature accompanying the computer.

My Dell D620 has one of those. Other computers have a virtual switch that
you activate by using the FN key and one of the keys on the keyboard. I can't
think of a single laptop that does not have a hardware switch to turn off the
wireless stack though.

Could
you get into my computer if I were using wireless to access the Internet? Do
you know anyone who could?

First, the question you ask has nothing to do with wireless. From where I
am, it makes no difference whether you are using wireless or wired
networking. Wired v. wireless only matters if I am in the vicinity of your
computer and you have an improperly secured wireless network. Even if that
were the case, the worst I could do with it would be to see what traffic you
send and receive, and probably modify it. That's the extent of where wireless
makes a difference. Even on some wired networks I can do the same, so it
really makes very little difference.

A properly secured wireless network is every bit as safe as a wired network,
even more so in some circumstances. If you build one at home, make sure you
get one that supports the WPA2 protocol, and then make sure you implement it.
I do not know of a single wireless router that implements it by default but
the manuals always tell you how.

A public wireless network is exactly that - public. On that network someone
that is in the vicinity can see your traffic. If your traffic is not
sensitive, that won't matter. If your traffic is encrypted, such as web-based
shopping usually is, then they can't see it.

As for whether I, or someone else, can get into your computer: yes, that is
possible, but it has nothing to do with wired v. wireless. The easiest way
would be to send you an e-mail with some kind of malicious attachment and
fool you into opening it. You sound like the paranoid type though, so that
may not work. If not, then usually the attacker would resort to using
unpatched vulnerabilities, and if you keep up to date on patches, and you
have a firewall, the job is very difficult.

The person who is hacking me is obviously a computer professional.

Hmm. Are you saying that you are being hacked? What do you base that
assessment on?

He knows
Microsoft totally. No firewall or antivirus has ever been able to keep him
out for more than a few hours. I had to turn off automatic updates because he
inserted a virus disguised as an update.

I can tell you that it is virtually impossible to insert a virus disguised
as a Microsoft update, using Automatic Updates. The system is designed to
reject any such updates. Your computer verifies that all updates deployed
using Automatic Updates come from Microsoft and rejects them otherwise.

He doesn't use viruses to control my computer. He does stuff that I might
conceivably do if I were a "power user." I'm not sure if I can even explain
this example, but you might be familiar with it. I caught it because I have
an earlier version of MSWord. I found Version 8 in the Administrator's area.
He set up some weird program that sent everything from my computer, including
my thumb drive, to an Outlook Express page, which he could access. I think he
somehow used Word as a server. This is way over my head. I'm just guessing.

I really do not understand what is happening here or what you are basing
these conclusions on. What you are saying does not entirely make sense. It is
extremely rare for a home user (I am assuming you are a home user) to be
specifically targeted; if you have been attacked it is likely with something
non-specific to you. Regardless, if you believe you have been attacked, or
are under attack, I would highly recommend you call Microsoft's security help
line. They can help figure out what is going on much more easily than any of
us can in the newsgroups. If you are in the U.S. or Canada the phone number
is 866-PC-SAFETY. If you are elsewhere in the world, go here:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/gp/securityhome, and select your
region on the right-hand side to get the number in your part of the world.
Security support is free.

 

[Guest]

Hi - I left your post on this because it has been so long since I've been
able to get online that you probably would have forgotten what you wrote.

I agree that wireless is no more dangerous than wired. It's just that I can
carry a portable with me wherever I go, while a PC is vulnerable once you
leave your home. No one will get a chance to attach my laptop to the Net by
wire, so wireless is the only thing that concerns me.

The reason I took so long to answer this was because I went out for a few
hours and found my PC trashed when I returned. I managed to get
Ctrl-Alt-Delete and saw that my CPU was running at 100% constantly, while my
programs showed zero. They opened, but only ten minutes after I clicked on
them, and they closed immediately. In DOS, I tried Return to Last
Configuration that Worked. It didn't help.

DOS worked perfectly. If I'd known what to do, I probably could have fixed
it.

When I tried to reformat, I got the message NTLMD is not present.

Finally, after removing and replacing the battery, I was able to reformat.

Of course, this was done in conjunction with an illegal entry to my
apartment. Law enforcement has yet to recognize that we are living in an
electronic age, and electronic hitmen and stalkers exist. They at least are
doing something about child stalking, and I salute them for that, but they
have a long way to go.

Probably they wouldn't have been able to fool a computer expert with a phony
Microsoft update, but if I see a little square with kb123456, I'm taken in.

Windows is deceptive. It doesn't reflect what's going on in the guts of the
machine. For instance, the hacker moves the clock back to make it appear that
whatever he did happened when I was at home. Occasionally he forgets to
return it to the correct time. I can usually fix this through Windows, but
once I had to go into DOS to make it work.

I didn't know about the Security Help Line. I will certainly call them. I
didn't know that such a thing existed. If it isn't too expensive, I'll ask
them to help me. Thank you very, very much for letting me know about them.
I've often wondered why large organizations didn't do something to track down
really malicious hackers. Most are harmless. I really wouldn't care if one
put a quiet little Trojan on my computer. But this guy is determined to keep
me from doing the research I need.

Thank you yet again.