On Fri, 2007-04-20 at 11:08 +0930, Tim wrote: > He had a USB ADSL modem. So, your computer is (almost) directly > connected. I can't really remember which version it was, now. > The reason I asked is that it really isn't a good idea to take a pre Service Pack 2 Windows XP computer and plug it into the Internet because it doesn't have a firewall protecting it by default. Had your friend been using a cheap router between his PC and the ISP's modem, he wouldn't have caught any virus because he would've gone straight to Windows Update and patched the system to a state of relative safety. Your point regarding the inherent insecurity of Windows XP (at least as far as pre Service Pack 2 versions are concerned) has merit because Microsoft, to my knowledge, has always had some kind of packet filter available for NICs but hasn't enabled them by default. Microsoft still has a lot of security issues concerning its products, despite its Trustworthy Computing Initiative, and I don't see that problem going away anytime soon. I guess the only point I want to make is that regardless of the security weaknesses of the product, there are steps that can be taken to make it more secure. Blindly plugging any unpatched system into the Internet, especially one without firewall protection, is never a good idea. Tom
