[softwarelist] Re: Another Windows horror story

In article <9b3FfbIHBZbHFwJ2@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
   David Pilling <flist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> In message <333e63554f.tim@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Tim Powys-Lybbe 
> <tim@xxxxxxxxx> writes
> >Have you any idea how it got onto your machine?  Is there a learning
> >point there for the rest of us?

> I believe off a web site. The usual problem is that one looks something 
> up on Google and then jumps off to many web sites. No memory of which 
> they were and not ones that one is familiar with.

> Such random web sites often throw up all kinds of pop ups and adverts.

> I'd say the big warning sign was that Internet Explorer crashed - 
> completely. I think that crash was the virus making use of a flaw in IE 
> to install itself.

> The lesson is keep automatic updates on.

The second lesson if I may...
Don't use *!@***** Internet Explorer for general day to day use.
Windows updates are the only time MIE gets a use on my machines. I did
once have a Firefox extension that allowed the updates to be done via
Firefox, but at one point MS fiddled something on their update site and
the extension wouldn't work, but that was some time ago, so I don't know
the state of play ATM.

There are still some applications, that when you click on Help, or an
Update check, immediately fire up MIE, at which point I stop the browser,
then copy and paste the URL to Firefox.

Dave S

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