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Helpdesk180
Joined: 15 Jul 2007
Posts: 1
Location: 180 Fonda Road,Waterford, NY 12188
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 Posted: Wed Aug 01, 2007 8:06 pm Post subject: I've wondered - HOW did they get that on/do that to our PC? |
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Some times the strangest things appear on the kid's computer. After a lot of fussing, digging and fixing, I got to the Bottom Line - since I doubt they did it intentionally, I'm not sure it really matters , and I guess it could even have been me!  Not everyone comes down with a cold the day they catch it. I'd like to hope my goal is to guide their use of this window on the world, not just place blame. 
I recently read Ryan Singel’s article in the April 07 issue of PC World outlining the "Zero-Day exploit". I thought I might share some of what I found. If you have some ideas, I'd be interested in them too...
It is becoming common for Hackers to find a loophole in the code of a program – and using that to attack not only a single PC, but thousands of web sites and PC’s all at once. You don’t have to click on a single thing to get a virus, and the "Good Guys" don’t have a single day to protect you! That makes it tough to blame the kids, and tough on us as parents as well.
As a responsible parent, you have probably set up firewalls, anti-virus and anti spam protection, and even restricted your kids to a set of sites you have come to find are "safe". That’s as it should be, but "safe" can change in a minute. In July ’06, an ad for deckoutyourdeck.com was tampered with, and sent to mySpace, Webshots and thousands of other sites all at the same time. Millions of folks were hit with spyware and adware as a result. Would you expect deck furniture to be hazardous?
When asked why fixes take at least several days to become available, one Microsoft application spokesperson said: | Quote: | | We have to test security updates to make sure they will work with 28 different languages and every Operating System that supports the application. |
Remember - hackers target Everyone In The World at the same time! They also know that many, many people don’t bother to update their system every few days, if at all.
Just installing an anti-virus program is NOT ENOUGH. Right out of the box, it is often months old and everything that has been recently released onto the Internet you HAVE NO PROTECTION FROM WHATEVER. If you are relying on a program more than 2 years old, don’t just renew your subscription – buy a new version that has more advanced detection capabilities. Then run the update feature on every computer you have at least once a month, if not weekly. Often you can set this to run automatically - IF the computer is ON at the time you set.
By the way, that “deck” ad used a technique that had been rendered ineffective over 6 months earlier, but millions of people were not immune because they had not bothered to click on Windows’ "check for updates" to get the fix. Just as we check the expiration date on our kid’s food every time we buy groceries, we have to regularly check their PC to keep it healthy too!
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Dr Randy Cale
Site Admin
Joined: 05 Jul 2007
Posts: 34
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| Posted: Sat Aug 04, 2007 10:51 pm Post subject: Common Mistake |
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After reading your post, it reminds me of the many times...now growing...where families discover that their son or daughter is reading, listening, or watching violent, disrespectful, or obscene materials over the Internet, and mom/dad had no idea.
Others parents find that emails and IM's are filled with language and attitudes that we view as unhealthy.
Yet, the tendency is to pull back from monitoring teenage use on the computer, and view our children as more capable of making good judgements. However, the world available on the Internet is not akin to any world we have seen before. Everything...yes...everything...is available on the Internet.
And everyone, with every kind of intention, is seeking ways to connect with children and teenagers to "fulfill" their intentions.
Does it make sense to think that a 15 year old is capable of having the understanding and savvy to deal with the influence of an experienced adult seeking to deceive and harm them? I don't think so.
Is it wise to think that violent video games have no influence just because we see no immediate response?
Do we really believe that our 16 year old can continuously listen to MP3's of violent, authority hating, racially degrading music...and it will not influence them 
I think not. 
So, I hope your post is a reminder: we cannot easily assume that our monitoring software is protecting adequately. We need to stay on top of this.
More to come...
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Randy L. Cale, PhD
Licensed Psychologist
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