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Pastimes : Computer Learning -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: rrufff who wrote (36747)	9/12/2003 5:00:50 PM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110652

"I wasn't disputing your answer" i know that. this is a learning thread. i personally don't view much of goes on around here as disputing. i view it as learning. however you asked "Does your answer remain the same if" and i am pointing out to you that it was not my answer, but that of security experts. consequently i can't address all of the things that you mention because i have never used a wireless connection. i'm not the one to help you with those ideas. hth

To: rrufff who wrote (36747)	9/12/2003 5:16:12 PM
From: mr.mark	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 110652

having reread your question i see that there is something i feel comfortable addressing for you... "I would imagine city vs rural is a factor and whether I am Bill Gates or just Joe Sixpack, but assuming I'm no special target, can I minimize the risk down to a a statistically insignificant number?" you are mistaken in your belief or perception that who you are has something to do with whether you are a target. it does not... most of the time. the person who tries to hack your network or break into your machine is doing so primarily to a) see if he or she can do it b) use your pc in a larger Denial Of Service attack against someone else c) store stuff on your hard drive d) use your broadband connection e) cause you problems sometimes online bank accounts are compromised and i'm sure money is stolen. but hackers don't usually know and don't usually care who they are attacking. they are going after a machine, not an individual. IMO, this misconception (why would anyone want to mess with me, i'm not bill gates) is widespread and lends itself to even more "social engineering" successes for the hackers. people think the hacker has somehow researched them and their family and deemed them unworthy of cyber attack. so they don't put together a good security layer. and they get compromised. it then can be said that the individual participated in his or her own attack (the key to social engineering) by not tightening up defenses. hth