First off…I’m not one of those “build-a-cabin-in-Idaho-and- stock-it-with-enough-small-arms- for-an-Army” paranoid schizos…
But for you “Windows” users…do you get just a little paranoid jolt up your spine, when as you’re quietly purusing “The Forum” and one of Uncle Billy’s “Window’s” Updates begins to automatically download? As far as I know he could be loading microscopic Borg assimilation programs or something…
Because when it comes to Uncle Billy…resistance IS futile…
You can turn that automatic update off.
Or, you could just run linux, and update things whenever you want to. Or, setup automatic updates that download from open source repositories that couldn’t give a flying f$$$ about your personal data.
“First off…I’m not one of those ‘build-a-cabin-in-Idaho-and- stock-it-with-enough- small-arms- for-an-Army’ paranoid schizos…”
Actually, that sounds like a nice retirement plan. :)
whispers in your ear
get a mac.....
D: True…true…
But there’s the rub…we sorta “want/need?” the updates (because anyone who has used “Windows” for any length of time knows the “bugs” and snags you can run into even if you DO update…and Uncle Billy does make things convienent with the automatic updates…
I don’t know…you still get a little “uneasiness” when that update starts…
My brother Dirty Huey calls Macs “Overpriced See-N-Says”. LOL. The computer goes CRASH!
I'm just testing the theory that Macs remove the users sense of humor via some sort of weird radiation.
You don’t want to automatic update or register ANY windows products. If you have even one unregistered windows product on your computer they then know it. This is not urban legend, I personally know someone (not my cousin’s best friend’s sister’s chiropractor’s favorite client) who had someone else’s copy of windows on his computer. His computer stopped working correctly, when he finally called Microsoft they TOLD HIM that the problem was his illegal copy of windows. Microsoft has a number of back doors into your computer, when they are found they just say ‘oops! did we do that’ and maybe change the program. I avoid Microsoft when ever I possibly can.
Yes automatic updates can be very convienent. But many of these updates are completely unnecessary for the average user. Most of these updates are for security patches that are associated with needs for networks. Yes, some updates are to fix errors within the OS, but they are generally released at the same time, if not soon after, the OS itself is released to the public.
I never let any piece of software do any type of automatic updating.
As for Big Brother watching over us there is software to protect you from what connections come in and go out of your computer. I would suggest getting a firewall (provided you have computer knowledge). Also, i would suggest getting something called Adaware from www.downloads.com. It’s freeware and what it does is to find all those cookies, backdoors, sidedoors, etc that track what you do and will remove any of which you choose.
If you have Windows XP at your house, Microsoft is FORCING registration yearly. If you don’t the OS will not work. Unless you have a copy of the corporate edition you are stuck with them getting into your computer.
But how do you know the downloads you mentioned don’t have spyware in them?
Actually, if you want to be paranoid (I know that was not the intention of your post), read the newspapers and take notice of certain things that should set off alarms. I don’t know if you caught the story of the two pilots that were drunk (I think they drank like a gallon of beer or something insane like that) and they caught them by the time they came in by the hotel checking their time card electronically. They could tell what time they came in (read able to track you). They want to start giving people tickets via ez-pass for speeding(not sure where you are, but in NY we have some quick access scanner to use at toll booths). This one rental car company was charging people for speeding in their car via the GPS locater in the car. That’s unlawful and one guy who got the ticket sued and won, but it just shows that with the advancement of technology packaged as something to make life easier can always be used to keep an eye on you.
That’s being too wary. There are ethical coders out there that feel as though what spyware does is a huge invasion of privacy, hence how Adaware was recreated. While that would be a good scam, it wouldn’t make the creators very much money because very few people who “surf the web” have any clue that they are programs and cookies tracking their movements. Therefore, there is little demand for this type of software. You have to trust that one sheep in the herd isn’t disguised as a wolf.
err…um…let me try that one again…“you have to trust that at least one of the sheep in the herd isn’t a wolf in disguise”…yeah… you know what i mean
Hide your Windows box behind a firewall (read: Linux, UNIX), do to active scanning of all TCP and UDP ports on all your machines. Do the same to your firewall from someplace else. You can make things much “safer” or more “private”.
Also, you could get a Sun machine running Solaris for $995 (Sun Blade 100, Solaris 9). Sun is, afterall, trying to be the anti-Microsoft of big business.
But, then again Linux is free…
But, then again, the Redhat Up2Date agent takes a snapshot of your whole system and uploads it. Cross reference that with a web log, and they know what you haven’t patched, and can get into your system.
The only real solution is to educate yourself about the computer you have, and then protect yourself as best you can. It kind of goes without saying that not pirating your software helps when you’re trying to get suppport from your OS/software vendor…
–Zippy