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#31
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Registry Problems...
Daave wrote:
I often use their Shields Up page at https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 in order to make sure all my ports are in "Stealth mode." Can you recommend an alternative? The last time I checked the "Shields Up" page, it neglected to check some of the very ports used by Blaster/Welchia, et al. Has that oversight been corrected? Anyway, another site for testing is: Symantec Security Check http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
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#32
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Registry Problems...
Thanks for the reply, all very interesting.
JS "Bruce Chambers" wrote in message ... JS wrote: Why does MS have this article on their web site: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u.../stopspam.mspx Do you really trust Microsoft's official stance for security issues? ;-} Seriously, though, the second sentence of page does say "You should enable the Internet Connection Firewall..." *before* advising the disabling of the firewall. (And remember, the post I to which I replied made no mention of a firewall; it offered disabling the messenger service as a complete solution.) The problem is that turning off the Messenger Service, by itself, does *not* block the wide open TCP and UDP ports that the spammers used to deliver the spam to the Messenger Service for display. With the Messenger Service disabled, those spam deliveries are still continuing, but they're simply not being displayed. It's like pulling the battery out of a noisy smoke detector to silence it, rather than looking for and eliminating the source of the smoke that set it off. The danger of this "treat the symptoms" approach has been more than aptly demonstrated by the advent of the W32.Blaster.Worm, the W32.Welchia.Worm, the W32.Sasser. Worm, and their variants. These worms attack PCs via some of the very same open ports that the Messenger Service uses. Need I mention how many hundreds of thousands of PCs have been infected by these worms since August of 2003? To date, according to my records, I have personally responded to well over 1000 Usenet posts concerning Blaster/Welchia/Sasser infections since last then, and I can't possibly have seen and replied to every one that there's been posted in this period. Now, as for the Messenger Service itself, it generally doesn't hurt any thing to turn it off, although I never recommend doing so. Granted, the service is of little or no use to most home PC users (Although I've had uses it on my home LAN.), and turning off unnecessary services is part of any standard computer security protocol. However, I feel that the potential benefits of leaving the Messenger Service enabled out-weigh any as-yet-theoretical risks that it presents. It will indirectly let the computer user know that his/her firewall has failed by displaying the Messenger Service spam. Think of it as the canary that miners used to take down into the mine shafts with them. There are others, of course, who disagree with me on this point and advise turning off the service because it isn't needed; you'll have to make up your own mind here. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#33
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Registry Problems...
JS wrote:
Thanks for the reply, all very interesting. You're welcome. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#34
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Registry Problems...
Bruce Chambers wrote:
Daave wrote: I often use their Shields Up page at https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 in order to make sure all my ports are in "Stealth mode." Can you recommend an alternative? The last time I checked the "Shields Up" page, it neglected to check some of the very ports used by Blaster/Welchia, et al. Has that oversight been corrected? Good question. Which ports would these be? Anyway, another site for testing is: Symantec Security Check http://security.symantec.com/ssc/home.asp Thanks! -- Dave |
#35
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Registry Problems...
Daave wrote:
Good question. Which ports would these be? UDP ports 135, 137, and 138 and TCP ports 135, 139, and 445 -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#36
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Registry Problems...
Bruce, I actually couldn't agree with you anymore. However, the problem is most people don't understand how to make their computers secure and some could care less, they don't want to take the time to learn how. That is why I recommended GRC's shoot the messenger because it is any easy tool for people like that to use to shut off the service. As I said. I agree 100% with you. -- Danny Wareham, President WareSoft Software XP Smoker - The Hot Performance Booster for Windows XP http://www.xp-smoker.com Popular Software at Great Prices http://www.waresoftsoftware.com "Bruce Chambers" wrote in message ... Danny Wareham wrote: That sucks! I hate messenger spam. Make sure everyone who reads this disables the messenger service. Here is an easy freeware program for those that don't know how to do it: http://www.grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice. Merely disabling the messenger service, as Gibson's utility does, is a dangerous "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to threats such as the W32.Blaster, W32.Welchia, and W32,Sasser worms. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're actually providing a useful, if unintentional, service by acting as a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and your only advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. Was this truly helpful? Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you've been, replies, "Well, don't do that." The only true way to secure the PC, short of disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; just installing one and letting it's default settings handle things is no good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more about using a computer than used to be necessary. Gibson is a very poor source for computer security advice. Gibson has been fooling a lot of people for several years, now, so don't feel too bad about having believed him. He mixes just enough facts in with his hysteria and hyperbole to be plausible. Despicably, Gibson is assuming a presumably morally superior pose as a White Knight out to rescue the poor, defenseless computer user, all the while offering solutions that do no good whatsoever. Perhaps you should read what real computer security specialists have to say about Steve Gibson's "security" expertise. You can start he http://www.grcsucks.com/ -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#37
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Registry Problems...
Wow! I need to proofread better. What a difference a space makes! I wrote: I actually couldn't agree with you anymore. I meant: I actually couldn't agree with you any more. -- Danny Wareham, President WareSoft Software XP Smoker - The Hot Performance Booster for Windows XP http://www.xp-smoker.com Popular Software at Great Prices http://www.waresoftsoftware.com "Danny Wareham" wrote in message ... Bruce, I actually couldn't agree with you anymore. However, the problem is most people don't understand how to make their computers secure and some could care less, they don't want to take the time to learn how. That is why I recommended GRC's shoot the messenger because it is any easy tool for people like that to use to shut off the service. As I said. I agree 100% with you. -- Danny Wareham, President WareSoft Software XP Smoker - The Hot Performance Booster for Windows XP http://www.xp-smoker.com Popular Software at Great Prices http://www.waresoftsoftware.com "Bruce Chambers" wrote in message ... Danny Wareham wrote: That sucks! I hate messenger spam. Make sure everyone who reads this disables the messenger service. Here is an easy freeware program for those that don't know how to do it: http://www.grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice. Merely disabling the messenger service, as Gibson's utility does, is a dangerous "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to threats such as the W32.Blaster, W32.Welchia, and W32,Sasser worms. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're actually providing a useful, if unintentional, service by acting as a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and your only advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. Was this truly helpful? Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you've been, replies, "Well, don't do that." The only true way to secure the PC, short of disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; just installing one and letting it's default settings handle things is no good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more about using a computer than used to be necessary. Gibson is a very poor source for computer security advice. Gibson has been fooling a lot of people for several years, now, so don't feel too bad about having believed him. He mixes just enough facts in with his hysteria and hyperbole to be plausible. Despicably, Gibson is assuming a presumably morally superior pose as a White Knight out to rescue the poor, defenseless computer user, all the while offering solutions that do no good whatsoever. Perhaps you should read what real computer security specialists have to say about Steve Gibson's "security" expertise. You can start he http://www.grcsucks.com/ -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#38
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Registry Problems...
Hello Danny, Sorry to butt in but can you tell me where I can learn about
Registry Basics I need the knowledge to understand what I am doing if I was to try and fix registry or remove redundent registry. I have not had a chance yet to look at yours but certainly going to have a look if it will remove or clean my registry without doing any harm as I have my first Laptop (1 Year) which has been quite a headache with unwanted software etc attached to it. It is a VAIO-A417S which I have had to recover approx 7 times in one year, so am nervous about touching registry. Even now I am not sure what I am talking about as it has been a steep learning curve with VAIO unlike the standard PC. Best regards. "Danny Wareham" wrote: Wow! I need to proofread better. What a difference a space makes! I wrote: I actually couldn't agree with you anymore. I meant: I actually couldn't agree with you any more. -- Danny Wareham, President WareSoft Software XP Smoker - The Hot Performance Booster for Windows XP http://www.xp-smoker.com Popular Software at Great Prices http://www.waresoftsoftware.com "Danny Wareham" wrote in message ... Bruce, I actually couldn't agree with you anymore. However, the problem is most people don't understand how to make their computers secure and some could care less, they don't want to take the time to learn how. That is why I recommended GRC's shoot the messenger because it is any easy tool for people like that to use to shut off the service. As I said. I agree 100% with you. -- Danny Wareham, President WareSoft Software XP Smoker - The Hot Performance Booster for Windows XP http://www.xp-smoker.com Popular Software at Great Prices http://www.waresoftsoftware.com "Bruce Chambers" wrote in message ... Danny Wareham wrote: That sucks! I hate messenger spam. Make sure everyone who reads this disables the messenger service. Here is an easy freeware program for those that don't know how to do it: http://www.grc.com/stm/shootthemessenger.htm I realize that you're trying to help, and that such an intent is commendable, but please don't post potentially harmful advice. Merely disabling the messenger service, as Gibson's utility does, is a dangerous "head in the sand" approach to computer security that leaves the PC vulnerable to threats such as the W32.Blaster, W32.Welchia, and W32,Sasser worms. The real problem is _not_ the messenger service pop-ups; they're actually providing a useful, if unintentional, service by acting as a security alert. The true problem is the unsecured computer, and your only advice, however well-intended, was to turn off the warnings. Was this truly helpful? Equivalent Scenario: You over-exert your shoulder at work or play, causing bursitis. After weeks of annoying and sometimes excruciating pain whenever you try to reach over your head, you go to a doctor and say, while demonstrating the motion, "Doc, it hurts when I do this." The doctor, being as helpful as you've been, replies, "Well, don't do that." The only true way to secure the PC, short of disconnecting it from the Internet, is to install and *properly* configure a firewall; just installing one and letting it's default settings handle things is no good. Unfortunately, this does require one to learn a little bit more about using a computer than used to be necessary. Gibson is a very poor source for computer security advice. Gibson has been fooling a lot of people for several years, now, so don't feel too bad about having believed him. He mixes just enough facts in with his hysteria and hyperbole to be plausible. Despicably, Gibson is assuming a presumably morally superior pose as a White Knight out to rescue the poor, defenseless computer user, all the while offering solutions that do no good whatsoever. Perhaps you should read what real computer security specialists have to say about Steve Gibson's "security" expertise. You can start he http://www.grcsucks.com/ -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#39
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Registry Problems...
I have found this to be correct also, Bruce.
I've used registry cleaner software to try and clean the register and have found myself pulling my hair out when the PC would boot up after fixing "SUPPOSED" errors!!!!! Now I baackup the register entries after anything has been installed and use REGEDIT.EXE and my own 2 eyes to clean the thing! Hex2EBCDIC, a fellow computer nerd "Bruce Chambers" wrote: Adam wrote: This might be to general of a question, but I believe that I am having problems with my registry. What specific *problems* are you actually experiencing (not snake oil some program's bogus listing of imaginary problems, created with the primary purpose of selling you a useless product) that you think can be fixed by using a registry cleaner? ? Is there any way, preferably free, that I can fix these problems? Certainly. Start Run Regedit.exe. Correct the specific key(s) that's causing your specific problem. I tried to download a program to fix them, but they wanted me to purchases the program to actually take care of my registry problems, which they said I had something like 347 of. Avoid snake oil solutions. If you do have a problem that is rooted in the registry, it would be far better to simply edit (after backing up, of course) only the specific key(s) and/or value(s) that are causing the problem. After all, why use a chainsaw when a scalpel will do the job? Additionally, the manually changing of one or two registry entries is far less likely to have the dire consequences of allowing an automated product to make multiple changes simultaneously. The registry contains all of the operating system's "knowledge" of the computer's hardware devices, installed software, the location of the device drivers, and the computer's configuration. A misstep in the registry can have severe consequences. One should not even turning loose a poorly understood automated "cleaner," unless he is fully confident that he knows *exactly* what is going to happen as a result of each and every change. Having seen the results of inexperienced people using automated registry "cleaners," I can only advise all but the most experienced computer technicians (and/or hobbyists) to avoid them all. Experience has shown me that such tools simply are not safe in the hands of the inexperienced user. The only thing needed to safely clean your registry is knowledge and Regedit.exe. If you lack the knowledge and experience to maintain your registry by yourself, then you also lack the knowledge and experience to safely configure and use any automated registry cleaner, no matter how safe they claim to be. Further, no one has ever demonstrated, to my satisfaction, that the use of an automated registry cleaner, particularly by an untrained, inexperienced computer user, does any real good. There's certainly been no empirical evidence offered to demonstrate that the use of such products to "clean" WinXP's registry improves a computer's performance or stability. I always use Regedit.exe. I trust my own experience and judgment far more than I would any automated registry cleaner. I strongly encourage others to acquire the knowledge, as well. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. -Bertrand Russell |
#40
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Registry Problems...
"Adam" wrote: This might be to general of a question, but I believe that I am having problems with my registry. Is there any way, preferably free, that I can fix these problems? I tried to download a program to fix them, but they wanted me to purchases the program to actually take care of my registry problems, which they said I had something like 347 of. Oh and I am running Windows XP Professional on a Dell notebook. Thanks. i don't realy understand to munch of these but here is what I did when I had the same problem. Start you pc in safe mode, make the changes you need to do (specialy the ones to log in windows) an restore your system to an earlier time preferible to a point of time when your system was runing ok and "BINGO" everything will be as it was. good luck. Raf. |
#41
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Registry Problems...
"Adam" wrote: This might be to general of a question, but I believe that I am having problems with my registry. Is there any way, preferably free, that I can fix these problems? I tried to download a program to fix them, but they wanted me to purchases the program to actually take care of my registry problems, which they said I had something like 347 of. Oh and I am running Windows XP Professional on a Dell notebook. Thanks. |
#42
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Registry Problems...
"Adam" wrote: This might be to general of a question, but I believe that I am having problems with my registry. Is there any way, preferably free, that I can fix these problems? I tried to download a program to fix them, but they wanted me to purchases the program to actually take care of my registry problems, which they said I had something like 347 of. Oh and I am running Windows XP Professional on a Dell notebook. Thanks. Go to download.com, find TweakNow Regcleaner it's a free download. While you are there find CCcleaner another free download. Both work great. |
#43
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Registry Problems...
Adam,
Your best bet is to: A) Use REGEDIT from the MS-Dos command prompt of the Windows Run option. B) Export your registry files to your hard drive. C) Use Notepad to open the files (DO NOT USE REGEDIT TO OPEN THE FILES) D) Use the Notepad FIND command to find programs you have removed such as games like Doom or something. E) Delete the entries yourself. F) Use REGEDIT to Import the files back into your registry. From personal experience I have messed up more little duckies with registry clean programs which clobbered the register and I was unable to boot the system!!! "Adam" wrote: This might be to general of a question, but I believe that I am having problems with my registry. Is there any way, preferably free, that I can fix these problems? I tried to download a program to fix them, but they wanted me to purchases the program to actually take care of my registry problems, which they said I had something like 347 of. Oh and I am running Windows XP Professional on a Dell notebook. Thanks. |
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