Do Me A Favour

[nellie2]

Have a read of this and then send your MP an email and ask him/her if Parliament are going to look at this report any time soon and if any of the recommendations are going to be adopted and when... and if any aren't, why not??

The Internet, Security and the House of Lords

[catgate]

Whilst not wanting to be negative about this serious problem I can not see any MP getting out of bed to stop anyone making false claims for fiscal gain. It is the life blood of today's "commerce" (or should it be connerce). It is the life blood of politics.

How many advertising journals do you get through you door promising weight loss, longevity, beautification, free gifts, cheap loans, etc. etc all of which are as false as Dolly Parton's frontage.

There was once a thing called the Trade Descriptions Act. That has long since been blown wide open mainly because those who passed the legislation could find more "rewarding" things to do with the money that was needed to keep it operational.

I shall certainly do as you ask, ( I am not unknown to my MP!) but I think he might not be over enthusiastic.

[nellie2]

Thank you, I have written to my MP too.

The internet and computers are still very new to our society... their capabilities grew so quickly that we were left wondering what hit us I think.

We can't be apathetic about this though... keep lobbying, it will happen one day!

[Mike567]

Sorry to say this but i really find it a waste of time.

The government cannot stop websites distributing programs full of malware, how ever much i dislike it you will never stop this.

how ever the internet is setup you will always be infected with malware, it can be installed in your system using java, javascript, flash and another one i cant think of which is mainly used under internet explorer.

their are a lot more ways of sending them out for example once a machine recieves a virus it scans through millions of ip ranges sending viruses to the ip's through open ports.

due to the fact you cannot stop anyone distributing malware you need to focus on securing your computer like promoting linux or telling firefox etc to have things automatically disabled like the mentioned scripts above.

overall your mp cannot do anything to fix this it really is upto the software producers and the end user to protect your computer.

[nellie2]

Sorry to say this but i really find it a waste of time.

It's that sort of attitude that will end up killing this internet!

The government cannot stop websites distributing programs full of malware,

Yes they can... I know of websites that are taken down on a daily baisis.. not by the government I grant you, but by volunteers who like me, think this is important and worth the effort.

You only have to look at what the FTC is achieving example here to know that something CAN be done about this.

The I'm alright jack attitude just doesn't wash with me... It's ok for me, I know what I'm doing, I can clean my computer and if I really have to then I can reformat and re install. I take regular backups and know how to reload an image if I have to. I'm aware of what's happening on the internet and I will know the instant my computer is compromised or attacked.

Not everyone can do what I can do, not everyone has the time or the inclination to learn. Yet they can go out tomorrow and spend a few hundred quid on a computer and connect up to the internet and enter no mans land with very little technical know how at all.

It's a bit like smearing someone with bacon grease and then sending them swimming in a pool full of crocodiles!! Without them knowing what a crocodile is or how to avoid a crocodile or what a crocodile can do to them.

I spoke to my MP about this about 18 months ago.. there is a lot more going on in the background than you realise. But wheels turn slowly and funding is hard to come by.

You have a vote... you can make a difference by telling your political representatives that this issue is important to you.

Not only cleaning up the web.. but educating users too.

It's just not good enough to sit behind a firewall and think to yourself that there is nothing you can do... Security is big business in the business world but it's all about avoiding attacks and breaches, there is very little pro-active work going on. We need to change that and the only way we can start to change it is by making ourselves heard.

So don't tell me that it is a waste of time... the day I concede to that statement is the day I pull out my pipe and switch the TV back on.

[Mike567]

Sorry for having a opinion in the subject.

I do not believe they can do anything, the best they can do it make new laws and close down distributors in the UK.

but as i tried to say the current way the internet is built you will not stop malware being passed on be it through physically placing it on a system or viruses spreading.

from what i understand you want the government to take down the websites that are sending out malware, can they not already do this under the computer misuse act.

if anyone is interested i remember reading a while ago about something like the internet being built by a university which stops many of these issues.

i will try and look for the site doubt i can find it again though.

and lets not slam my opinions please, would rather someone try and explain why their opinion is better over my one.

I am all for taking these websites down but i cannot see it being done, it is a major problem and is growing every day.

[nellie2]

Of course you are entitled to your opinion, I just don't agree with it and I am VERY passionate about this subject!!

The internet started at CERN, or at least the WWW did. Here is some gumph on that http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/clic...ine/4317521.stm

[Scarecrow Man]

you will always be infected with malware, it can be installed in your system using java, javascript, flash and another one i cant think of which is mainly used under internet explorer.

ActiveX

A friend of mine recently had the regional police show up at his house, and take his computer. They had a warrant. The reason they took it, was because he was host to over 500 trojan viruses and was participating in DoS and DDoS attacks daily. He of course had no idea about this.

Something has to be done.

[-pops-]

The problem is that this is a global phenomenon and our members of parliament, if they can be bothered to stir themselves at all, have no influence outside of these shores.

It has to be tackled on a worldwide basis otherwise it is a voice in the wilderness. The problem there is that many countries don't recognise there is a problem, don't care if there is a problem or may even be conspiratorial in causing the problem in the first place. That, combined with the places of origin being disguised so easily and the fact that they can be moved around with such ease makes policing almost impossible unless the draconian measures adopted by places like China are put in place - the ensuing outcry would cause a tsunami the world over.

[andsome]

I will certainly write if only to feel that I have done my best. As pops says though, this is global, and I doubt whether anything can be done by the bunch in Westminster, even if they want to in the first place.

[Mike567]

it was like shutting the casino sites down, they just hosted their servers in another country.

If i really did think anything could be done i would be bombarding my MP with letters.

[nellie2]

You are right.. it has to be dealt with on a world wide basis.. and this isn't going to be easy.

But sitting back and admitting defeat before we have even begun isn't very positive is it?

[Mike567]

no one is admitting defeat, we stop them by blocking ports, running anti virus and spyware scans.

I think you need to be on the software developers backs more let them take more responsibility, like force firefox to disable things like java and try to promote noscripts more.

or convince people to run their browser in the guest account which will stop a lot of problems at least make microsoft point it out more.

[andsome]

All done as requested. :D

[Dencandy]

No Mike567 NOT the Guest Account for surfing - that one's the most insecure of all (see "Microsoft Windows XP - Networking and Security" by Ed Bott & Carl Siechert). Use a Limited User Account for safe surfing (see the same book).