Re: Home network security WAS Re: upgrade from 98 to XP

[eric -dot- dunn -at- ca -dot- transport -dot- bombardier -dot- com]

>>Ugh. Not GRC!  Steve Gibson is to the security industry what Enron is to
>>"employer of the year lists"...a complete fraud. Although he has a basic
>>grasp of security issues, most of his stuff if just outlandish posturing
>>and emotional manipulation.

With that kind of language being used, lets not forget Andrews connections with
BlackICE security products. Hardly an unbiased view.
I'll check out www.grcsucks.com as Andrew suggests, but who supports that site?
Seems strange to blame someone of posturing and emotional manipulation with that
kind of tone.

>>Steve's Leaktest for example has to be one of the biggest jokes on the
>>planet.

Then if this is the case, why did BlackICE attempt to foil the test by detecting
traffic to only grc as Steve Gibson claims? Sounds like a BlackICE cover-up and
that Gibson has a valid point.

>>Steve's Leaktest doesn't tell you anything other than your PC
>>can send HTTP packets - which virtually any PC in the world could do.

But his point that spyware and other 'unauthorized' activity should be monitored
and blocked on your PC is a valid one. Something BlackICE seems to admit as they
tried to bypass the leaktest but not address the overall problem. And he has a
very good point. Shouldn't outbound traffic be monitored and controlled? Yes,
any PC and any program can send out HTTP packets. But should they be allowed to?
The whole question seems to be whether a firewall is any good if it doesn't
detect once the enemy is behind the wall.

>>Steve has some backdoor deal with ZoneLabs and
>>therefore thinks the only decent product is ZoneAlarm. Zone is okay, but
>>it certainly has its weaknesses.

And Andrew has some very 'Frontdoor' deals with BlackICE and he doesn't discuss
any of its weaknesses. Personally I'd like to learn about the weaknesses of both
products. It was quite sometime ago that I went to the grc site, but doesn't
Gibson recommend others including Freeware and some of the products he himself
sells?

>>I wouldn't waste much time listening to Steve Gibson. Go to a real
>>security site like Security Focus.

I think the trick is to never take any one person or group's word as gospel and
to always take the advise of someone who voraciously supports or attacks any one
product with a grain of salt. Pretty basic intelligence really.

I'm no expert, indeed I'm a complete novice, but I do like to learn all I can.

Eric L. Dunn



^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Did you know you can get RoboHelp certified?
To learn how, visit http://www.ehelp.com/techwr. Be sure to also check out
our special pricing offers and promotions for RoboHelp 2002.

---
You are currently subscribed to techwr-l as: archive -at- raycomm -dot- com
To unsubscribe send a blank email to leave-techwr-l-obscured -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com
Send administrative questions to ejray -at- raycomm -dot- com -dot-  Visit 
http://www.raycomm.com/techwhirl/ for more resources and info.