75ZT Community

... on my FIREFOX web browser

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14370878

I think many just use what is pre loaded on their computer,
although I use a mixture of Safari, Chrome and IE.

I cudn't reed it wiv my intronet exploorer.

As John says - many will use what's already there (which is mostly IE). Those that want to go out and download another app for browsing the web generally (in my opinion) are more informed of the alternatives and are generally a bit more "into" computers. Read of that what you will but it's just a statistic and those that are making the complaints against the surveyors really should just let it go - there are more important things to do in life

Apparently it was a very elaborate hoax. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-14389430

As a slightly serious note, there are loads of 'hacking' tools available which are generally set up to target software which comes with windows as standard ( I.e. Internet explorer, outlook mail and messenger ). This is because the majority of people simply use what is there and never explore the different free software that is available. Personally, I use firefox on all of my machines and never use explorer. I mainly use macintosh and linux nowadays because I got fed up with all of the messing about with windows machines.

My other half used to use my stuff and was constantly causing me headaches by installing all sorts of rubbish. She didn't want to use Linux simply because it stopped her installing loads of rubbish programs and just worked. I have now set up her own laptop which she constantly whines about, but, still insists on installing dodgy flash based and java based apps which seize memory and slow everything down. I just leave her to it now.... But that's another story!

If you want to check your own security for free, I can recommend Gibson research, who are security specialists. They document loads of exploits that have been used over the years and also have a pretty good port scanner which will give you an idea of what your own security is like.

Http://www.grc.com

Follow the link and search for 'shields up'. It's interesting if nothing else. It's also worth having a look at their free downloads section to see if there is anything you fancy trying.

Also, a free anti virus checker which I use if you have nothing installed is 'house call' by trend antivirus. I think it's good because you download a small file direct from them ( so it's not been tampered with) and it has a fair detection rate.
You don't install it, just simply use it when you feel the need to. It's free and it's great for a quick check.

To find it, go to

http://housecall.trendmicro.com/uk/

Look for the link to house call and take it from there.

These are tools which I have used for years. They have always proved useful to me and are great if I'm out somewhere and someone says ' can you have a look at this pc for me'.

I hope someone finds this useful!

Cheers

Ian

I liked the link to Steve Gibsons site. Very interesting. Nice to find I'm 100% stealthy on 3 machines and am not visible to the net. Thanks BADLAD.