Full Disclosure mailing list archives

Re: Dumb question: Is Windows box behind a router safe ?


From: Chris <r0ck () operamail com>
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:17:58 -0600

Bullshit.

Screw NAT, screw routers, screw bots.

The *FIRST* thing Steve should be doing is patching his computer.  There is absolutely no freaking excuse for having an 
unpatched or halfway patched computer running Windows whatever.  Microsoft has made Windows Update idiotproof...to the 
point where any average desktop user NOT using it is a moron.

To try to compensate for his lazy, half-assed attitude is just putting a band-aid on the Grand Canyon. 

To think that his unpatched and probably already compromised computer is safe just because it sits behind a router, of 
which he has no idea if it is secured, is the blind leading the blind.

PATCH THAT BOX.  Turn on Automatic Updates, set them to install and reboot automatically, Steve.  You won't have to do 
anything except keep living in the fantasyland you live in now...but at least your computers won't be spewing out 
garbage.


----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Fritscher" <michael () fritscher net>
To: full-disclosure () lists grok org uk
Subject: Re: [Full-disclosure] Dumb question: Is Windows box behind a router safe ?
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:42:06 +0200 (CEST)


Hi Steve,

I hope you haven't caused a storm with aggressive mails here^^
This maillinglist is more about now detected holes in soft- and hardware...

First, you certainly mean not a normal router (which is on most cases 100%
transparent in both directions), but a NAT-router.

What the NAT blocks (in most cases) are incomings connections - But
expecially since XP SP2 this is a very seldom used way to attack
computers.
Nowadays, most bad software use holes in apps - browser, office, flash and
so on which use outgoing connections - which are NOT blocked by a
NAT-router.
So, yes, a bot connectiong to a botnet could be installed if Firefox or a
plugin like Flash, Java, Quicktime and so on has a hole and you browse on
a "bad" site.

Btw, please read about NAT, routing, current bad software etc in the
internet - this will help you understanding the concerns.

Sincerly,
Michael



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