Virus Alert on Fishing Site

[KickerWormz]

I was looking up swimbaits on the internet last night. I actually got a virus on a fishing site!?!?!?! The fishing site was "fishingportal.com" You guys/gals be careful. I was lucky and had my Norton antivirus up and running.....Just a little info for my fellow fishermen.

Darren

[BassnG3]

Did you try to download from the sight? How did you get it?

BassnG3

[TwoBits]

Virui can enter your computer through your browser while your visiting the site.

This is part of a problem with IE 6 . Microsoft has " released the code " ( and I'm not a geek and have no idea what that exactly means ) and it has allowed hackers and virus writers a chance to study how to get to your computer.

You need to update your browser and get Microsoft's latest patches to block the holes in your browser. Go to Windows/update, that should get you started.

I've gotten virus and still get occasional virus from the Bass Fishing Home Page.

Its gettin rough to be on the internet these days. You should have a good anti-virus software( I use McAfee , which has proven to be more up to speed than Norton ) and you need to make sure its updated frequently, daily if possible........., a hardware firewall like a router..... and a software firewall. You can get a good free software firewall from Zone Alarm. Just do a search for Zone Alarm or you can download it from CDNet. Its high rated and free if you don't want their spam and pop up stopper.

And you need software to detect spyware which is also becoming more and more of a nuisance, its more than just a cookie these days. I use Spy Bot at this site http://security.kolla.de/ , Ad-Aware from Lavasoftusa.com , and I just got a new one yesterday that deletes a lot of junk the others miss. Its called CrapCleaner and its really good. It was sent to me through email and I've no idea where to go download it.

This is a lot to do, but these virus threats are very real. My ISP, Cox Communications, is warning people to go get the Windows update to close those security holes. Its not as simple as the old days.

[woodsac]

TwoBits is right. The new breed of worms and trojans do not require you to even be on your computer. The newest ones (like Sasser) can enter your computer through a LAN connection (cable, DSL, T1). There is nothing to download or open. It is very important to use a firewall if you have high speed access.

The best thing you can do is like he said, update and use an antivirus program. Go to www.windowsupdate.microsoft.com and follow the directions. If you don't do this on a regular basis, you'll be amazed how many 'critical' updates there are for your computer!

[TwoBits]

And if you get a hardware router, its been my experience that the wireless routers are just a bunch of trouble. Your cordless telephones can knock off the connection, among other things. It's a constant hassle to keep them connected. Course, this is if your networking behind the router.

Just to use the router as a firewall a wired router would be very inexpensive. I've seen them for $20 after a rebate.

My router is a D-Link 514 wireless which I'm using in a wired mode. I have a cable connection. Before I got the router, I had the McAfee softwre firewall that provided me with a log of all the traffic that had hit my computer. I was amazed at how much the software firewall was stopping, up to 30 hits a day from all over the world. All kinds of backdoor trojans. Then I got the hardware firewall and it knocked it down to 2 or 3 hits per week. It really filtered out a lof of that crap.

What bothers me though, is whats getting in that I don't know about. I deleted three minor viruses yesterday from my daughters computer.