Virus risk assessment

I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
from unknown sources.

I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it advisable
to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the virus risk
negligible?

Before You Connect a New Computer to the Internet
(the reinstall qualifies it as a "new computer")
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/before_you_plug_in.html

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE/OE, Shell/User, Security), AH-VSOP


wrote:
I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
from unknown sources.

I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it advisable
to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the virus risk
negligible?

In alt.comp.virus, wrote:

I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
from unknown sources.

...that you know of. g

I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it
advisable to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the
virus risk negligible?

If I didn't do email or download applications on the computer, I
wouldn't worry too much about viruses. I would, however, definitely want
a firewall on it. And I would use a modern, secure browser.

--
-bts
-When motorcycling, never follow a pig truck

Beauregard T. Shagnasty said the following on 10/20/05 10:07 PM:
In alt.comp.virus, wrote:


I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
from unknown sources.


..that you know of. g

I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it
advisable to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the
virus risk negligible?


If I didn't do email or download applications on the computer, I
wouldn't worry too much about viruses. I would, however, definitely want
a firewall on it. And I would use a modern, secure browser.

Dude, any networked pc is swimming in shark-infested custard (*that*
includes the net). Use an av prog, plus a firewall, plus anti-spyware,
regardless of how little you use the machine on the net.Why take the risk?

rEo

On 20 Oct 2005 13:51:47 -0700, wrote:

I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
from unknown sources.

I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it advisable
to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the virus risk
negligible?

Making virus risk negligible involves more than just low useage. It
requires knowledge. This little primer might help for starters:

http://www.claymania.com/safe-hex.html

Some of us don't use realtime av, but that doesn't mean we don't use
av. Scanners such as Spybot and Ad-Aware are also desirable.

Art

http://home.epix.net/~artnpeg

From:

| I have an oldish Windows 98 computer I use for off-line work and
| occasional dial-up Web browsing. I do not download software or files
| from unknown sources.
|
| I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer. Is it advisable
| to put anti-virus software back, or does my usage make the virus risk
| negligible?

You can get a virus or Trojan simply by browsing a bad web site.
You have to make sure that *all* Critical Updates to the OS and the Internet software you
use are installed.
This will help mitigate many threats.

As Art suggested, make sure you read about Safe Hex practices.

Beside the anti adware/spyware software suggested by Art, I also suggest one of the
following...

AVAST -
http://www.avast.com/i_idt_1016.html - FREE

AntiVir -
http://www.free-av.com/ - FREE

AVG -
http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5 - FREE

--
Dave
http://www.claymania.com/removal-trojan-adware.html
http://www.ik-cs.com/got-a-virus.htm

PA Bear wrote:

Before You Connect a New Computer to the Internet
(the reinstall qualifies it as a "new computer")
http://www.cert.org/tech_tips/before_you_plug_in.html

Protect Your PC
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/

In addition to PA Bear's excellent advice, if you meant that you
re-installed Windows 98, check out this info from MS:

(http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/d...ds/default.asp)

Using the latest SP for your Windows OS is usually a good idea from a
security standpoint.

Ron :-)

wrote:

I have an oldish Windows 98 computer.
I have recently re-installed Windows on this computer.
occasional dial-up Web browsing

X-HTTP-UserAgent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 5.01; Windows 98)

If you have completely re-installed Win-98 (presumably - second
edition) and if you have only a dial-up connection to the internet,
then the risk of some "mal-ware" entering your PC is very low.

The default installation of Win-98 is set to disable file and print
sharing, and you will not have certain other services running that
make Win-2k and Win-XP (sp1 and XP-gold) vulnerable. For example, you
will not be vulnerable to anything just by making a dial-up connection
to you ISP. You *might* experience a DOS, but you will not be
vulnerable from an open port or service point of view.

Your biggest risks will be with e-mail and web browsing.

The first thing you should do after installing Win-98 is to start IE
(I think it will be IE4) and go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and begin downloading everything it suggests. Be prepared to spend
hours on your dial-up connection doing this.

Alternatively, it might be better if you go he

http://exuberant.ms11.net/98sesp.html

and download the "UNOFFICIAL Windows98 Second Edition Service Pack
2.0.2"

Here is a link: http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4131.html

If you have access to a faster internet connection (maybe a friend's
house, or your place of work, etc) you can get that file and burn it
on a CD and bring it home. It contains all Microsoft updates for
Windows 98. It's about 16 mb in size.

It's probably a better or more comprehensive and "thoughtful" or
optimized set of patches than what Micro$lack is pushing through MS
updates. If I were installing Win-98 from scratch, I would use it
(I've got it downloaded and will give it a try when I build my next
P-4, 3 ghz 512mb PC with Win-98).

Does anyone know the date that Macro$haft will remove Win98 material
from windowsupdate?

In any case, after you bring your Win-98 (and Internet Exploiter) up
to date, you might want to get your adobe acrobat reader updated, as
well as java (does Sun release updates for java vulnerabilities?).

After that, depending on how thourough you want to be, you could
obtain

- a hosts file
http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
- Ad Aware
- Spybot (search and destroy)
- Spyware Blaster

After that (or, instead of that), you could install a virus scanner.
If you have an old Norton Antivirus CD kicking around (NAV 2000, 2001,
or 2002) or Norton System Works (same 3 years) then you can install it
and update your virus definitions. It's up to you if you want to turn
on full-time virus scanning, or just scan suspicious files when the
need arises.

One more piece of advice:

NEVER NEVER NEVER leave your PC running 24/7 if you keep your phone
line plugged into your modem.

Either turn off your PC when you're not using it, or unplug your modem
from the phone line.

There are known pieces of mal-ware that will dial out in the middle of
the night and make long and expensive phone calls to far-away places
and will leave you with hundreds or thousand dollar phone bills. No
matter how secure you think your computer is, having it rack up a big
phone bill doesn't compare with the nuisance of cleaning some virus
off your PC. You will not win an argument with your telco company.
They will get their money from you, or they will kill your credit
rating in the process.