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[Aklyon]

#1 Never use windows vista or 7 . Never use anything other then XP Pro.

#2 Never use the windows that comes preinstalled with a new computer.

#3 Learn how to correctly setup and install windows your self and know what to turn off and what not too.

http://www.blackviper.com/ contains a list for xp on what to turn off and on.

#4 when installing windows make sure that you only have the hard drive you are installing it too connected. And make sure your internet is completely disconnected

#5 Never ever use the wireless internet, even if its your own. A wireless internet is never safe and can easly be hacked into.

#6 never use Internet explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Time...

#7 never under any circumstance update windows.

#8 if you do not plan to use your computer for playing games, Use linux instead. http://www.ubuntu.com/

#9 Never ever use Outlook express for mail. Always make sure you use a mail that you can run in firefox.

#10 Doing anything other then these top listed things 

#1 true for Vista, not for Win7. while XP is awesome, XP is getting old and old Windows versions don't get as many patches, which leaves that many security holes unpatched and vulnerable.

#2 Not everyone is a paranoid lil non-techie. Just uninstall all the crapware before you do anything and make sure you don't have Norton AV.

#3 Wow, something that makes sense!

#4 if you don't know what you're doing, pay someone to do it for you. why do you think computers come with the OS preinstalled?

#5 see #4. use an actual complex password, not 12345, idiot. use better encryption than just WEP.

#6 More paranoia. IE is crap compared to other browsers, but its not spyware.

#7 Utterly Idiotic Idea. this isn't the Mac where you are mostly (NOT totally) safe-ish. this is Windows, where AV software is required.

#8 For computer-literate people only.

#9 You got Outlook Express to work?

#10 F that.

[Blacken]

That site (and others) provides descriptions of what the service actually does and is needed for. Obviously, you'll want to enable/disable different services depending on your needs, but I'm not sure how much benefit this really has, in practice (it's probably a lot smaller than some people would tell you). I can't vouch for or against that site's recommendations in particular.

BlackViper's dumbass tweaker section is one of the biggest cause of fragged computers I've run into (not mine, I'm only half-stupid and it's not that half). There's no real reason to bother with disabling services in Windows, because of the way that they're instantiated and marshaled. You gain almost nothing, and there's always a chance that you run over something important.

[The-Moon]

#1 Never use windows vista or 7 . Never use anything other then XP Pro.

I don't understand this. Even my rather cynical friends seem to like Windows 7 enough to use it, even though they tend to dislike Vista.

Microsoft has yet to make a good operating system since nt / windows 2000.

#4 when installing windows make sure that you only have the hard drive you are installing it too connected.

I honestly don't know why this should matter if you're not booting from the other hard drive or even accessing files from it.

You dont want to accidentally install windows on the wrong hard drive, i did that twice before i learned not to leave other hard drives connected.

And make sure your internet is completely disconnected

I would do this during installation, but afterwards turn on the Windows Firewall (disallowing all exceptions) and any other security measures possible before updating Windows, which I would do immediately after installing the OS and before pretty much anything else at all. Hell, I'd probably pick the service pack redistributables on a disk and update to those before connecting to the internet.

Yes durning installing, once you disable and set it up correctly then you can turn it back on.

#6 never use Internet explorer, Windows Media Player, Windows Time...

Seriously? Huh? I don't use IE8 and don't particularly like it, but it's not actually that bad and probably not terribly risky unless you're going to time-warp back to 2001, screw up your settings, and get some kind of ActiveX-related infestation going.

I don't know if WMP has any security vulnerabilities, but it's kind of crappy to begin with. I doubt this is a serious issue.

But... Windows Time? Really? Why?

Since i advise against updating windows... Since windows update has been broken since day one and i havent yet been ever able to update windows and not having to end up reinstalling the OS in a few weeks.

Windows time because you dont need it. It also use to have a security vulnerability which would allow someone to take full control of your computer. So i just say turn it off just in case

#7 never under any circumstance update windows.

Never installing updates for a Windows installation is one of the stupidest things you can possibly do. Follow this advice if you want your computer to become a security nightmare and die a horrible death at the bottom of a snake pit

Hehe, i haven't updated in about 8 years now and i have yet to get a virus or have a single problem. Most security problems have to do with alot of the crappy windows services that normaly run. Turning those off and you wont need to worry about security problems.

Also recommend turning off system restore and remote access.

#8 if you do not plan to use your computer for playing games, Use linux instead. http://www.ubuntu.com/

That's a pretty major switch just because someone doesn't play games often, although keeping your mind open to other operating systems isn't a bad thing. I've heard a few bad things about Ubuntu in particular, but I don't use Linux so I'm not sure what a good distribution is.

Last time i used ubuntu was last year and it was the best operating system i ever used in my whole life. It was so easy to setup and use and you never ever have driver problems.

#9 Never ever use Outlook express for mail. Always make sure you use a mail that you can run in firefox.

Again, why, aside from convenience?

reduces your chances of getting a virus

#10 Doing anything other then these top listed things 

So he can't type in Notepad, or play Minesweeper, or install WinAmp? I mean, those weren't on your list, so I guess he can't do them.

[/quote]

Oh well no i ment, not doing other things on the computer. I ment doing the opposite of what i said above

[Blacken]

You're not actually taking him seriously, right?

[G-Flex]

Microsoft has yet to make a good operating system since nt / windows 2000.

You weren't comparing them to NT/2000, you were comparing them to Windows XP. Also, you're not really substantiating much of anything.

Since i advise against updating windows... Since windows update has been broken since day one and i havent yet been ever able to update windows and not having to end up reinstalling the OS in a few weeks.

This is your fault. Seriously. There is virtually no way that Windows Update can be so broken that it's unusable without you reinstalling, and by not updating anything, you're setting up a huge security liability.

You're probably screwing something up with your services or some other "tweaks" you're making.

So, pray tell, why would you need to reinstall Windows after updating it?

Also, even if Windows Update is so broken for you, why in God's name do you say that other people shouldn't use it? I've only ever had a problem with Windows Update after a failed service pack installation, and it was recoverable.

Windows time because you dont need it. It also use to have a security vulnerability which would allow someone to take full control of your computer. So i just say turn it off just in case

Yes, you're going to have a lot of really awful security vulnerabilities if you never update your operating system for years on end.

Also, you say "used to" because it's been fixed. Hope you enjoy your clock never synchronizing with the correct time, though.

Hehe, i haven't updated in about 8 years now and i have yet to get a virus or have a single problem. Most security problems have to do with alot of the crappy windows services that normaly run. Turning those off and you wont need to worry about security problems.

This is complete BS. There's pretty much no way that you've disabled every single service with a security vulnerability in it for the past eight years, considering the amount of them that have been exposed and fixed in that time period. Of course, you seem to disable even services that are useful, and seem to be very good at breaking Windows regularly, so beats me.

Oh, and if you have SP2 or SP3 (and why the hell wouldn't you?), then yes, you have updated in the last eight years.

Also recommend turning off system restore and remote access.

System Restore hasn't always worked for me, but it saved my ass all of two days ago.

Last time i used ubuntu was last year and it was the best operating system i ever used in my whole life. It was so easy to setup and use and you never ever have driver problems.

Considering how much trouble you have setting up and running Windows, I'm amazed you're running any sort of Linux at all.

reduces your chances of getting a virus

This is an assertion without substance. Again, why?

Oh well no i ment, not doing other things on the computer. I ment doing the opposite of what i said above

Most of your advice was misguided, just plain bad, only applies to you, or some combination of the above.

[dragnar]

Last time i used ubuntu was last year and it was the best operating system i ever used in my whole life. It was so easy to setup and use and you never ever have driver problems.

Considering how much trouble you have setting up and running Windows, I'm amazed you're running any sort of Linux at all.

Especially given how setting up windows amounts to *next* *next* *next* *agree-without-reading-EULA* *next* *finish*

I'm having trouble figuring out how to set up my wireless in ubuntu(though once I've got that the rest should be a snap) so it's not at all simpler to set up than windows, just quite a bit better for most things once you're done.

[G-Flex]

The thing is, for him it's:

*next* *next* *agree-without-reading-EULA* *next* *finish* *completely screw over installation by doing all kinds of crap I read about on a website without actually understanding any of it*

[Tarran]

...
#5 Never ever use the wireless internet, even if its your own. A wireless internet is never safe and can easly be hacked into.
...

Just going to respond to this, because it is very, very wrong.

A wireless is less safe than a wired connection, yes, but that's if you don't have a good password, a password like 'Dwarf fortress' is very poor, a password like 'fwarfd ortress' is better, but can still be guessed, a password like 'fw@rfd 0rtre$$' is really hard to guess, and you should be using a WPA or better anyway.

So, in short, you are being too paranoid about wireless.

[qwertyuiopas]

I once tried to set up a networked printer on Ubuntu, without any sort of install disk from the printer.
It worked, and about the hardest thing I had to do was confirm the model and give it a name for the system to use.
Unfortunately, it doesn't run my games, so I rarely use it. And it does feel a bit unnessecarily shiny.

Additionally, if you think they never update IE6...
They just did. And even 5.1.

[Blacken]

Additionally, if you think they never update IE6...
They just did. And even 5.1.

They backport as few security updates as they can because of stupid people and idiotic IT companies who refuse to get into the last decade, let alone this one. You can crow about how l33t you think you are, but using IE6 even for testing is moronic.

I like how I left your earlier claims huddled and crying in a corner and you're trying your best to ignore it, though. Cognitive dissonance is awesome.

[Tarran]

Be nice, this thread is getting more hostile by the post, and it might be locked if Toady sees it getting worse than it is now.

[G-Flex]

They backport as few security updates as they can because of stupid people and idiotic IT companies who refuse to get into the last decade, let alone this one.

Not just IT companies. A lot of cheap companies will run their computer hardware/software into the ground before they even think of upgrading. In my last job, they were using Windows 2000 and their database system was some sort of Visual Fox Pro monstrosity.

[Volatar]

Enough Trolling each other in my thread.

Remember the subject please: Computer security for the "computer illiterate". These kind of people are NOT the kind of people that can, or even care to learn to setup or tweak Windows themselves. These are the kind of people that you won't be able to persuade to learn either. Do you really think your grandma is going to learn that  These people are also not going to switch to Linux any time soon, and trying to do so is a route to total frustration.

Windows Update - at least the security patches - are very important. No antivirus can save you from a rootkit.

Wireless is rather unsecure, but I think a 128-bit WPA encryption AND MAC address restricted wireless is enough. Never shop online/input personal data (credit card/SSN#) on wireless though, no matter how secure.

He is right about Outlook though. In fact, go further, and uninstall Outlook entirely, as it has some rather bad security holes.

But again: Stop the trolling and flaming responses.

[G-Flex]

Wireless is rather unsecure, but I think a 128-bit WPA encryption AND MAC address restricted wireless is enough. Never shop online/input personal data (credit card/SSN#) on wireless though, no matter how secure.

This sounds rather paranoid to me. I seriously would not expect someone to be sitting literally right outside my house in a van or something trying to break through that much security.

[Volatar]

Wireless is rather unsecure, but I think a 128-bit WPA encryption AND MAC address restricted wireless is enough. Never shop online/input personal data (credit card/SSN#) on wireless though, no matter how secure.

This sounds rather paranoid to me. I seriously would not expect someone to be sitting literally right outside my house in a van or something trying to break through that much security.

Its pretty easy to set your home network up that way though. Only when you get a new computer do you need to input a new MAC address into the permitted MAC addresses list. Since the wireless key is saved after the first time you connect, I only need to transfer it over via a .txt on my flash drive and copy paste that one first time.

You can do even more than that. I could disable DHCP and have to set up every system with a static IP only, but that would be overboard in my opinion 

Anyways, I said that was enough, as in, thats the MAXIMUM you need if you are paranoid. You can totally go by with less. I recommend that everyone go with WPA and not WEP though, as WPA is significantly better. (Only problem I have had using WPA over WEP is that my freaking Nintendo DS only can use WEP, not WPA. Stupid handheld.)

Even with maximum security, you still should not shop online (well, BUY online, shopping is fine I guess) wirelessly. Plug in.