I decided that I would bow down to pressure, and get myself a verified email address (AOL). I dutifully downloaded the AOL software, and signed on as an already got ISP member. 3 days later, a series of viruses Norton is not aware of happily restructured my hard drives, re wrote the FAT, messed with the Bios, and totally ruined my computer. This is the 2nd in 12 months this has happened. Am I just amazingly unlucky, or is it normal to have one's computer thoroughly fried every few months? This time was far more spectacular that the last though - It deleted the entire contents of 2 20 Gig hard drives, and re programmed the BIOS to make the computer not realize it is a computer. This time, the processor is fried. I think I need to get a Mack.


Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

I'd say you need to stay away from AOL and get a local ISP.

There are viruses attached to things coming to my spot all time disguised of course.
I've never been infected.

I do feel your pain though,even without experiencing it.

[font color=red]Dennis

FTE Adminstration
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Agreed...Many years on the internet, two viruses, both at work....

Never used AOL...

Get yourself a good ISP, and use Norton Antivirus and keep those updates a rolling...;-) ;-)

Schedule the scans as often as you can stand..If you like to leave your machine on all the time (boy is that a debate, but another time on that), set it to run daily at some odd hour you are usually not awake...

1987 F150 Reg Cab, 302MFI, AOD, 3.55 Rear, K&N Filter
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It seems that Norton has things to update every Wednesday.
I update every Wednesday( I was actually updating as I was posting my first reply)and I check again on Saturday's.

[font color=red]Dennis

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Another good reason to avoid "A-Holes online"

AOL has been a bad joke from the beginning.

 

AOL is proof that advertising can make up for product quality.



dj

 

AOL is worthless i can't believe Time Warner got in with them i use Road Runner(also a Time Warner Co)and have never had any problems.

They should'nt say YOU GOT MAIL it should be YOU GOT NAILED.






Wiz

An Equal Opportunity Truck Lover!

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Get Linux. That will solve all of the virus problems.

Roger Lane

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 17-Jul-02 AT 11:06 PM (EST)]I just upgraded to a cable modem and it only took 48 hours before the first hacker attempted to get into my system. But, I had a firewall and it stopped them. But, I really do not like to relay on software so I am upgrading to a router and a newer cable modem.

I realize that will not protect me from a virus so I keep that software up todate and view any thing outside of the norm with: shift-delete.

 

 

#1 I'll bet your system isn't fried. You cannot burn up a CPU unless the voltage jumpers where physically changed on the mb. Though there are viruses that can make your mb think your board voltage has changed. They still cannot burn up the CPU. They just make it look that way.

#2 It is impossible to erase a hard drive, it can only be written over, and 2 20 gig hds would take about 40 minutes of full system resources to overwrite. You would know something was up in a heart beat if that was happening. Your system would be going crazy for that 40 minutes. Even then your hd's would not show empty (like I said before they cannot be earsed). They instead would show full of useless data bytes. What can happen though is a program or "planted bug" that will make your system think it has nothing on the hd or report the hd has only having 1 or 2 megs.

#3 Not even disk formatting (the tool in windows that "earses" the disk) really earses. What it does is allows the used sections of the disk that was storing your information to be over-written. You can undo a disk format by inserting a windows boot disk and at the A:\ prompt type in UNDO FORMAT C:\ This should recover all the information you lost on those hd's

#4 Your systems bios uses a falsh rom. You can download a new copy from the boards manufacturer and re-flash the bios. Before you do that though try clearing the cmos by following the manufacturers instructions. You'll have to open the system and move the cmos jumper, start the system for 30 seconds, then move the jumper back. This should get your old bios back. If not then do the flash bios. No bios can be destoyed, just overwritten.

#5 To protect your bios simply install a password for editing your bios. A program cannot open or write to your bios without knowing the password, and there is no programs that can "sniff" out a bios password as it is not a part of windows.

 

Jumperless mainboards can crispy critter a cpu in a heartbeat. It depends on the level of knowlege the hacker has.

I've seen at least one bug also that writes itself a pass-worded file (typically with a machine code name) that won't allow itself to be overwritten - they then spread onward gradually, renaming critical files and passwording them.

One of the ugliest bugs around is the type that invades a bios and stores itself elsewhere. The only way to get rid of it for sure is to change everything.

One that is ancient history was the Da Vinci bug - it re-wrote or erased the calibration data on hard drives, so that they had to be sent to the factory to be accessed at all. THAT one sent a message announcing it's presence on the machine, and as soon as the machine was shut down afterwards; "SPLAT!" Goodbye hard drive...

I read somewhere once that there are only two effective ways to prevent a hacker intrusion.

Number one: If you have a computer, don't plug it in.

Number two: If you don't already have a computer, don't get one.

Since neither of the above is an acceptable option, a router is one of the best options out there. Though I don't have one yet, I will soon. I also TURN OFF the DSL box when I'm not actively using it, there's a power switch on the back.
And finally - even though it was very expensive, my PC is under a three year total replacement policy.

Anything that can go wrong is covered...

 

I wish one of the really computer knowledgeable folk would come fix my system. I have to rely on the local idiots who come, grumble and say " It's Toast, Dude, you have done a number on it." and then try to sell me another. This particular 'syndrome' has happened to 3 computers of mine in the last few years, and something similar happened to another 2 of them. I sent one board back to the manufacturer who would not replace it under warranty as:

Quote: " The damage evident to the CPU suggests that a person applied a high voltage directly to the connectors."

When it did it's thing, the case was screwed on, the computer was on, and the keyboard and soft off switch were hung. By the time I got to the back of the unit to pull the plug, everything was dead. The Hard drive of that particular machine had nothing usuable or recoverable on it. I have no clue how long the hackers were in the system, so I can say nothing on that, but they DID disable the firewall, they DID destroy the router, the DID desroy all the data, and they DID destroy the CPU. For me to be sure of those facts cost me over $100, not counting the $1000 of the system, and heaven knows the cost of the software and information. The 'experts' including the manufacturer, told me that I had to have done it, because hackers couldn't.. Well I do not have the expertise to do such a thing, but they do not believe that.. So I had to get a new board $240, and find someone to put it in, another $100.. Then 6 months later, the same thing happens again.. I am getting another expert to come take a look, and try to do something with the remains. Now I am using the second last messed with computer, that no longer has the ability to a make noise, and b recognize a sound card or disable the onboard sound chip. So I no longer have the beeps and chirps of a happy computer..

I am seriously considering abandoning the IBM clone completely and getting a Mac network. It will cost a lot, but if it stops the twice yearly total screw up of everything, I will be happy. I am fed up of buying computers, virus software, firewalls, routhers, network cards and other black, blue or yellow boxes, just to have the whole system fried because I either **** somebody off, or try to use a different provider..

Computers are supposed to be useful - my experience tells me that if I am to die of a Stroke or heart attack, it will occur during an incident when a PC is going completely ape, and frustrating me to the point of destruction.

The other gripe I have, seings as how I am venting!! HOW come a company is allowed to load software onto a computer on not give you disks, to recover the system. How come the recovery software they do give you does not recover anything, and how come many companies will only sell you software that you download, and then loose your record, so you can't get a replacement. Huh? Huh? That really annoys me. I have a lot of software that is not easily replaced, sold to me as a download, and I do not have a clue of the web site I got it from. I know I should have written all this down - I actually did, and saved it in a file on my computer.. Duh!! I may well have written it on some paper too, but I have so much of that, I can never find anything.

Oh well. I now know far more about the unpleasant side of computers than I did a few years ago. I just wish I did not have to go through this so often.

Wm
'96 F450 White with Grey interior Crew Cab. Banks Turbo, Intercooler and Exhaust,
Power pack Chip, shift kit, Auxiliary transmission, electronic enhanced transmission control,
16 forward and 4 reverse ratios. 340hp 660ft lb 4 wheel drive, 4.10 gears, 12,ooo# winch

 

I get a lot of my stuff from here.

www.znet.com

www.tucows.com

[font color=red]Dennis

FTE Adminstration
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[font color=blue]78 F-150 429CJ,Silver,Explorer Pkg.
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68-Mustang 289 2v-Sunlit Gold
[/font]

 

stay away from aol lol, they got us twice in 3 weeks