Downloading of SP2.

THanks Charlesvar. I have a cable connection so I'm always online. I'll go and check the GoBack and ZA forums and report back.

Alicia

 

I read on the ZA forum that version 5.1 will be detected by XP SP2 installer and it will turn off the Windows XP firewall which is normally enabled by default.

I also read on the GOBack forum that version 3.1 and up are compatible with
XP 2.

I have a cable always on connection. Neither ZA or GoBack said to disable their software before installation of XP 2. Do you think I should still do that? Has anyone else installed XP 2 with ZA and GoBack?

Alicia

 

Hi Alicia,

I still think its a good idea. This is a major install and if you read SP2 install instructions - close all open windows (understand that's Boilerplate), but in this instance a good idea.

Shutting down ZA is not a big to-do. Right click ZA tray icon and shutdown. Its not as if its required that ZA be running, SP2 will detect ZA, running or not.

Regards - Charles

 

I (they) downloaded sp2 yesterday (8-24). Installed with no problem. System re-booted with Win firewall off. No problems. Have since disabled Norton firewall and turned on win firewall. No problems.
However, my laptop at home is still waiting. Both high speed cable.

 

Alicia, one thing I forgot to add, if you're not running your Browser, you're not on-line, cable connection notwithstanding.

Regards - Charles

 

No problems installing SP 2

Alicia is correct. I downloaded and installed SP 2 this morning without a single hitch. I have the free version of ZA and it was detected during installation, thereby automatically turning off XP's built-in firewall. I'm up and running... smoothly and fully patched, with ZA in place.

 

Correct about what james?

The issue is not about whether it would work or not, but about something called "best practices" which if one does a very complicated upgrade to a system says to shut down application processes to cut down on the chances of something going wrong. This is no more or no less than what MS advises to do in their SP2 articles.

Regards - Charles

 

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was notified yesterday that there was an update to download and install, but when I agreed to proceed nothing happened. Guess I'll wait for another notification. oh well, had time to do a full backup today... just in case.

Alicia

 

Hmmmm. Not really.

Online = "connected to the Internet" and most broadband users are set up to connect to their ISP (either directly by being given an IP address or indirectly via their router/switch) as part of the start-up routine when they power on the PC.

Granted, you have no presence on the world wide web but are certainly connected to, and therefore a part of, the internet.

There are even a few bad critters around these days that can do evil things to you via the browser code providing a vulnerable spot unless you are behind a good firewall or fully patched or both.

 

Hi Newt,

I wrote that in the sense that there isn't any traffic in w/o the Browser, I did use the term on-line. The context is whether one can shut a Firewall off or not.

Regards - Charles

 

On an "always on" cable connection, there IS traffic, all the time, even when the browser is closed. WeatherBug is a good example, or Symantec. If you use an ad blocker, it will go online to check for new versions of its database. If you enable MS to go online (which you will if you set your firewall to auto detect "safe" programs that want to access the net) then your system clock will time synch with the server, AU will query if any updates are available, etc.
Lots of programs are set to run at startup, by default, and, if the setting is not turned off inside the program, will also "phone home" at regular intervals. Off the top of my head: MusicMatch Jukebox, Quicktime, ICQ, Norton Utilities, Adobe Acrobat are examples. Even Word from MS Office is set to go online every time it is opened, by default.

I know there are people who rely solely on a hardware firewall, or XP's one way built in firewall, and SP2 shows promise as a better one, indeed, but I will shut off or disconnect the modem before I shut down my 3rd party firewall. No exceptions! (Well...okay, one time I shut it down for Dave, just to prove a point...) If you are online, you need a firewall. I prefer a two way one, but it has been well argued that if nothing bad can get IN, nothing bad will go OUT. I just like to know every little detail of what my comp is doing! The logs from your firewall program should tell you exactly when and where your computer is accessing the internet when your browser is closed, too.

Johanna

 

Charles - I sorta figured that was what you meant but while there is less chance of it, you will have some traffic out and a probe could certainly knock on the door if it happened to try your IP address. NAT on a router will take care of stopping that but for a PC that connects directly to the modem, I'd have to say that while your chances of being eaten alive when your browser and email aren't active is less than otherwise, there is still a real risk.

For instance, W32.Sasser.Worm spreads by scanning randomly-chosen IP addresses for vulnerable systems. If it finds yours and you don't have the MS04-011 patch applied, you will be infected rather quickly.

Worm_korgo uses the same random IP scanning tactic as do a few others.

Lsass isn't the only vulnerability although it is one of the more popular since there are still quite a few systems out there that don't have this patch.

Even if your ISP has a good border firewall to stop scans from the outside world, chances are 99%+ that one or more other PCs within the ISPs network are infected.

 

Ok, thanks Newt. I guess that's why people get on/off switches for modems or just pull the plug.

Regards - Charles

 

Hi. Folks, Good news for me. SP2 downloaded last evening without any problems. All programs appear to be working OK. The new 'Security Centre' indicates that the status of Norton Antivirus cannot be read. Symantec website FAQ's state that a 'fix' will be downloaded via 'live update' to deal with that.

I have gained a lot of knowledge by reading the various posts in what has become a very long thread. Many thanks to all. Regards, William.

 

charlesvar--

My understanding is that if you have broadband (DSL or Cable) and have your modem and your PC on, you are connected to the internet all the time and there is traffic. You just cannot see it without the browser on. Turning off the modem, however, will disconnect you. And I think shutting down the PC, even if not the modem will disconnect you.

 

williamdp--Welcome to the club!! Enjoy.
You will have lots of security messages in the coming days. Good luck in figuring out what to do!! And you may find your settings in IE Tools|Internet Options|Security tab|Custom Level have been changed. Also you will have Windows Messenger and Windows Firewall and Popup Blocker activated. If you already have another firewall and popup blocker, you may want to turn the Windows versions off.

 

Yes, got that from what Newt wrote. Everyone that I know with high speed connections have cut-off switches.

Regards - Charles