On another note, is there a way that a end user can protect him/herself ?
I mean, how to know if and when an e-mail server is really secure ?
How to know what firewall really blocks any and all intrusions ?
How to know that the anti-virus software really takes care of anything, even those nasty memory resident viruses or trojans ?
Different people have a whole lot of different opinions and some like some products and others like other products but I find it VERY hard, at least for me, to figure out what really is THE BEST mail server, THE BEST firewall product, THE BEST anti-virus product and so forth.
At least, that's my dilemma.........
The absolute BEST protection is to unplug your computer from the net
From there, there is NO such thing as best
I've run AVG and zonealarm for over 8 years with no issues. And most reports I read claim Norton and Macafee are GARBAGE.
Running a hardware firewall is fine and dandy but if you aren't checking logs and keeping it updated, you are fooling yourself that it is doing something serious.
Changing passwords on a semi-regular basis is good as is making the password hard: aka numbers, letters, AND special chars in it, at least eight characters, and no words. Eight seems to be the magic number because some systems don't support passwords more than eight chars. Sure you can enter more than eight but everything but the first eight is discarded
Most UO hackers are just kiddies thinking they are cool and not "true" hackers. Anything that takes them any amount of work will not be done. So while you can never be 100% secure, if you are 80% secure, you are good against UO hackers.
Another thing I've read mentioned is the fact that most people run their Windows in Admin mode. There is NO reason for that. Admin account should be for installing programs only.
As mentioned above by me and others, I run separate email accounts for everything I do: websites, UO accounts, etc. Each thing gets a different email. I do this for two reasons: for security and to track where I'm getting spam from.
As I mentioned above, I get my mail through a local ISP that is separate from my internet service. I further told my ISP to make a HUGE note next to my account to only do things concerning the account in person. No phone calls of "I forgot my password" etc. It costs me extra a month and can be a hassle but it prevents that method of getting hacked.
Going to questionable sites is a big issue. Whether it is UO related, software pirating, or music stealing, you put yourself at risk going to any of those sites.
Accepting and running ANY files or going to websites given to you from someone in UO. Doesn't matter if it is a guildmate or not. VERY risky behavior.
Lending out your accounts is also a HUGE risk. Again guildmate or not, you shouldn't do it. I would only consider lending my accounts to a RL friend I can walk over to and punch in the face when something goes wrong
I would venture that people who are getting UO hacked have done one of the previous things in 99% of the cases.
It takes work to be secure. It takes inconvenience to be secure. Because of this, most people will never be secure and will leave themselves open to being hacked:loser:
