[Kelzy]

ALright somewhere in this post i got lost ....... If i download the 'Full' IE6SP1 ( the 80mb download) is that all the updates and fixes in one ? because usually you have to sign on to the net and do a windows update get IE6SP! , reboot then go back and get the updates (not quite sure how many there is ) ........ does this already have them all ? i am tring to follow the installation for the unoffical service pack and so on

bascially i just wanna do it right .......




P.S. i use firefox 99.9% of the time but i still wanna be up to date .... is the 80mb IE6SP1 enough ?


bascially i dont wanna have to install IE6SP1 thru the internet i just want to burn the file to disk and install it from there and i wanna know that i have the updates

[Shamgar]

Kelzy, on Mar 29 2005, 04:38 PM, said:

ALright somewhere in this post i got lost ....... If i download the 'Full' IE6SP1 ( the 80mb download)  is that all the updates and fixes in one ? because usually you have to sign on to the net and do a windows update get IE6SP! , reboot then go back and get the updates (not quite sure how many there is ) ........ does this already have them all ? i am tring to follow the installation for the unoffical service pack  and so on

bascially i just wanna do it right .......

P.S. i use firefox 99.9% of the time but i still wanna be up to date .... is the 80mb IE6SP1 enough ?

bascially i dont wanna have to install IE6SP1 thru the internet i just want to burn the file to disk and install it from there and i wanna know that i have the updates
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sounds familiar. There is the IE SP 1 and then there are separate updates for the IE SP 1. It sounds like there is another update next month. I asked if the IE SP1 was necessary for the Unofficial Win 98SE Service Pack if I wasn't even on the internet and it appears (from what I understand) it does. I would say that every time the UWSP gets updaed you will have to update the IESP. . . . don't quote me but that appears to be my conclusion. I would say as soon as MS stops supporting WIN98SE you won't have to update anymore.

[Kelzy]

Thanks Shamgar i kinda got that impression also but wasnt sure of the OVERALL concensus was ...... i guess that the 80mb IE6 SP1 that i found here in one of the posts is EVERY UPDATE as of now then

i dont think it matters about later updates because as i said i use Firefox

[Tihiy]

I think it's all stupid. To install latest IE you need cumulative update (3MB) and... nothing more! With some hacking that's enough even with IE5 installed.

[prathapml]

erpdude8, on Mar 29 2005, 02:31 AM, said:

um, sorry prathapml.  Disagree with the part that Opera has almost no security problems. 

AND it is always imperative to use the latest version of Opera, Mozilla or whatever non-IE browser being used. <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I still standby my earlier statement that Opera has almost no security problems. It has very few of them (a micro percentage of the proportions IE/moz get), and even then you suffer nothing at all. It has none of the really threatening flaws/problems found in other browsers, and where it does have a problem, you are still fine even if you don't update it because the problem is not going to negatively affect anything.


Opera has an auto-check for updates facility, and this is only for the sake of giving you more features with new updates. NEVER do you find opera compromise your security, and never does it leave your OS exposed. But still it is so beautiful that you don't suffer lack of features just because of giving priority to security. At the most, some sites (hardly 1%) are incompatible with opera because they were designed specifically for IE - I always avoid such sites that don't have respect for standards.

[MDGx]

Kelzy, on Mar 29 2005, 04:38 PM, said:

ALright somewhere in this post i got lost ....... If i download the 'Full' IE6SP1 ( the 80mb download)  is that all the updates and fixes in one ? because usually you have to sign on to the net and do a windows update get IE6SP! , reboot then go back and get the updates (not quite sure how many there is ) ........ does this already have them all ? i am tring to follow the installation for the unoffical service pack  and so on

bascially i just wanna do it right .......

P.S. i use firefox 99.9% of the time but i still wanna be up to date .... is the 80mb IE6SP1 enough ?

bascially i dont wanna have to install IE6SP1 thru the internet i just want to burn the file to disk and install it from there and i wanna know that i have the updates

This has been discussed here before:

1. Full IE 6.0 SP1 does install the full browser + all "accesories" [like language packs, WMP, Flash etc] on all Win32 OSes [except XP + 2003 which install newer builds] but think about it for a moment:
MS released it way back in August 1992, it does NOT contain ANY patches/fixes/updates, and to my knowledge, since 2002 they have never released ANY service packs, update rollups or whatever u want to call them.
So in order to install all current MS IE 6.0 SP1 patches you need to install them either from a web site like mine, by hand, file by file:
http://www.mdgx.com/ietoy.htm
or you can go to windowsupdate.com [and make sure your MS Windows OS has Windows Update + ActiveX enabled] to install all the ones MS has posted there, but they don't have or don't support all the ones I have listed @ URL above, so after allowing windowsupdate.com reboot your computer [so the newly installed patches can take effect] you still need to search the internet for sites like mine to install by hand the ones you don't have.
But the catch is if u installed only the ones @ windowsupdate.com it is difficult [especially for somebody who never did this and/or is just learning about his/her computer] and time consuming to hunt down all patches that remain to be installed by hand.
So in the long run it is less frustrating to install manually all patches from a web site like mine which posts all links to all current files. As I said before, there are roughly ~ 10 files you need to d/l + install. The catch here is your connection speed. 56K users may have to wait longer [actually a lot longer], but the files windowsupdate.com installs are identical with the ones from web sites like mine [because I link to MS servers], so it does not cut down on d/l time.

2. No matter which web browser u use [I prefer Firefox, but this applies also to Opera, Mozilla, Netscape, Maxthon etc] u MUST have ALL current MS security patches because MS IE is integrated into the Win32 OS, therefore your OS uses a bunch of IE files to access the internet one way or another, even if u never use IE to browse the net.
IMHO: the only reason to use IE is to access windowsupdate.com and eventually d/l files from MS web site that require "Genuine MS Windows" [but u must run XP or 2003 for most], because u must have ActiveX enabled for this to work. And don't get me started on how insecure ActiveX is.
BTW: Maxthon is only a MS IE 6.xx [6.xx covers all MS IE 6 builds = 6.0 and 6.0 SP1] "skin", and therefore u must have MS IE 6 or newer already installed in order to use Maxthon and the likes: Avant, SlimBrowser, Crazy Browser, NeoPlanet etc. More like this:
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#NET
And to save a little time: same as installing from windowsupdate.com u don't need to reboot after installing each patch, just install them all and select No/Cancel when it prompts you to reboot/restart Windows at the end of most patch installs when installing by hand.
But make sure u d/l only the most recent ones from a web site like mine, because some other sites may have not updated their web pages to delete older/duplicate patches.
And even if u have "stripped down" your OS by removing most IE files by the use of IEradicate or 98lite or Windows 98 on CD or Minimal Windows or Nano98 [all linked here: http://www.mdgx.com/newtip98.htm#98L and here: http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#FIX ], there still are [very few] IE files without which your OS canNOT function. And those few files need to have their respective patches installed to make sure your computer is as safe as possible.
The only case u don't need IE nor its many patches is if u never access the internet, but who can resist the "temptation"? Or switch to MAC OS X or Linux.
But [there's always a "but"], as someone here said [I believe it was erpdude8], ALL browsers have or will soon have security flaws and will need patching, no matter the OS.

Conclusion:
Basically if u use a Win32 OS like 98, 98SE, ME, 2000, XP or 2003, u need to become familiar with MS patching process, to keep up with all the fixes they keep posting roughly once a month.

Hope this helps.

[erpdude8]

MDGx, on Mar 30 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

But [there's always a "but"], as someone here said [I believe it was erpdude8], ALL browsers have or will soon have security flaws and will need patching, no matter the OS.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly MDGx. Eventually hackers will find out how Opera works and find ways to exploit its security flaws, prathapml. Using ANY web browser (whether it's Opera, Mozilla or Firefox) that is several years old is NEVER a good idea as web standards are changing almost constantly and it's best to use the latest releases of web browsers possible.

I don't mind if I have to update the Opera web browser once every year. Anyway the browser download is relatively small; I download the Opera browser w/out Java.

heck, I can have Opera, Mozilla and Firefox ALL installed on my machines and they can all co-exist just fine.

Shamgar, the following sites to get full install of IE6 SP1 DO NOT WORK:
(outdated or bad links that I have recently tested):
http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/how-to/support/win...XPL/ie60sp1.exe
http://ftp.gentoo.skynet.be/pub/ftp.micros...sp1/ie60sp1.exe
http://smokeping.planetmirror.com/pub/www/...sp1/ie60sp1.exe
http://download.au.kde.org/pub/www/browser...sp1/ie60sp1.exe
AVOID using any of these sites as you will get a 404 Not Found error message.

The rest of the links you mentioned work as expected.

[MDGx]

Shamgar, on Mar 29 2005, 12:35 PM, said:

Second, thanks for clearing up this matter with the highlighted areas.  Maybe you could post this as a sticky and continue to add  blue to the updates as they come in since you have gone to this trouble in coming up with this table.

Third, mabye you should consider posting tucows for your full installer. I have found out to be true from previous advice is that European servers are more reliable and up to date.  http://tucows.iinet.com.au.  Actually these guys have a variety of good windows files very handy.

Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (Full Installation)
http://helpdesk.uvic.ca/how-to/support/win...XPL/ie60sp1.exe http://ftp.gentoo.skynet.be/pub/ftp.micros...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://debian.goldweb.com.au/microsoft/int...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://public.planetmirror.com/pub/microso...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://ftp.up.ac.za/pub/windows/microsoft/...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://smokeping.planetmirror.com/pub/www/...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://download.au.kde.org/pub/www/browser...sp1/ie60sp1.exe http://tucows.iinet.com.au/pub/microsoft/i...sp1/ie60sp1.exe

Many thanks for your appreciation, and glad I could help.

2. I've only come up with the blue URL thingy here at this forum for you to understand better how this works; view it if u wish as a customized step-by-step tutorial. Now that you've learned what all this means, I hope u will be able to "decipher" the links @ my web site [and others'] easier. All u need to do is look for the links that pertain to the particular OS you're interested in [example: 98 or 98 SE = see my post above for complete details on how to read Win32 OS versions/builds/releases].
Also, if you recall from my IE patches page [ http://www.mdgx.com/ietoy.htm ] and most of my other web pages, all URLs are in blue, because I try to not change the default unclicked link color which is built into most browsers, to make it easier for all readers.
About Tucows [main server is located in the US: http://www.tucows.com/ ]:
this is a trademarked web site, and if u read their copyright/license/usage pages, u would notice they don't allow "deep" [direct] linking to their files. As webmaster I must take this in account when I post links to files and respect everybody's copyrights, same as I expect everybody else to respect mine.

3. I've also noticed [thank u erpdude8] that some of the links u point to are "404" [invalid]. Part of my job as webmaster [my site has currently > 130 pages] is to test all links before posting them, to avoid spending more time afterwards with corrections/updates.
But I found that 1 of the links u discovered is the fastest and most reliable from my location [SW USA], so I've changed all ie60sp1.exe links to point to it [thank u for your time + effort]:
http://downloads.planetmirror.com/pub/micr...sp1/ie60sp1.exe

About European servers being more up to date:
that's true only for the particular servers u are referring to, I would not generalize.
All depends on how often the webmaster(s) update their links/info/etc. I know commercial [for profit] web sites tend to be more up to date, because they depend on their customers to make money.
BTW: my site is non-profit, adverts free.
I know lots of US servers that are more up to date than most: a good example is MajorGeeks [to my knowledge also non profit, all their adverts barely make up for their maintenance costs + fees]:
http://www.majorgeeks.com/

Hint: Australian [.au] servers tend to be slow at times [depending on internet traffic] for US users. So do Taiwanese [.tw] servers.
To check the reliability of a particular server:
http://www.internettrafficreport.com/

Hope this helps, and thanks for your help.

[erpdude8]

erpdude8, on Mar 30 2005, 10:30 AM, said:

heck, I can have Opera, Mozilla and Firefox ALL installed on my machines and they can all co-exist just fine.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have those 3 non-IE browsers installed as long as they are up to date.
I checked the Opera 'changelogs' page:
http://www.opera.com...latform=windows
on the changes made to Opera web browsers. newer releases not only fix security bugs but also fix other oddities like memory leaks, javascript problems, UI [user interface] enhancements & other non-security related bugs and adds more stability.

Anyone using less than Opera 7.0 is considered to be doing a VERY POOR job updating their Opera browser. Best to use Opera 7.54 with U2 (update 2) installed:
http://www.opera.com...754u2/?session=

Someone mentioned earlier about getting the IE6 SP1 full browser download at the Green Apple site. Avoid getting it from the greenapple.com site. It's not the same size as the ones posted at the Planetmirror.com and other sites. And when downloading the full IE web browser download use third party download managers to start, pause AND resume downloads.

[Shamgar]

Quote

Someone mentioned earlier about getting the IE6 SP1 full browser download at the Green Apple site.  Avoid getting it from the greenapple.com site.  It's not the same size as the ones posted at the Planetmirror.com and other sites.  And when downloading the full IE web browser download use third party download managers to start, pause AND resume downloads.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yeah, I mentioned it. If you read the download information you will see that only Win98/Me/2000/XP are in the file. That would explain why it is smaller.


http://www.greenappl...tware/browsers/
application: Internet Explorer v6.0sp1 July 2003 Update
platform: Win98/Me/2000/XP
file: ie60sp1july.exe
size: 47.1MB (48235520)
date: 07/06/03

[prathapml]

erpdude8, on Mar 30 2005, 10:00 PM, said:

MDGx, on Mar 30 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

But [there's always a "but"], as someone here said [I believe it was erpdude8], ALL browsers have or will soon have security flaws and will need patching, no matter the OS.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly MDGx. Eventually hackers will find out how Opera works and find ways to exploit its security flaws, prathapml. Using ANY web browser (whether it's Opera, Mozilla or Firefox) that is several years old is NEVER a good idea as web standards are changing almost constantly and it's best to use the latest releases of web browsers possible.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, what you're saying is right about other browsers. But this one is different.
I'm having an old system with Win9x and 32 MB memory, and its been running Opera 5.12 since 4 years. No upgrades, no changes, nothing - its having all the features needed, is quite compatible, and is very quick. I visit all sorts of sites with it, and no security problems yet. Is this enough proof yet?

On the other hand, if it was IE, running it for 4 years with ZERO maintenance/updates would be unthinkable!

[MDGx]

prathapml, on Mar 31 2005, 02:44 AM, said:

erpdude8, on Mar 30 2005, 10:00 PM, said:

MDGx, on Mar 30 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

But [there's always a "but"], as someone here said [I believe it was erpdude8], ALL browsers have or will soon have security flaws and will need patching, no matter the OS.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Exactly MDGx. Eventually hackers will find out how Opera works and find ways to exploit its security flaws, prathapml. Using ANY web browser (whether it's Opera, Mozilla or Firefox) that is several years old is NEVER a good idea as web standards are changing almost constantly and it's best to use the latest releases of web browsers possible.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Well, what you're saying is right about other browsers. But this one is different.
I'm having an old system with Win9x and 32 MB memory, and its been running Opera 5.12 since 4 years. No upgrades, no changes, nothing - its having all the features needed, is quite compatible, and is very quick. I visit all sorts of sites with it, and no security problems yet. Is this enough proof yet?

On the other hand, if it was IE, running it for 4 years with ZERO maintenance/updates would be unthinkable!

Depends exclusively on which sites you visit, and/or which files u download.
In case u don't know:
not so popular [YET] browsers like Opera, Firefox, Mozilla, Netscape, basically all except MS IE [which (still) holds ~ 90% of the market share] do not [YET] have major security issues because they are not [YET] targeted. But this will soon change, because as we all know, Firefox [best example at the moment] popularity is soaring. Same goes for Mac OS X browsers: Camino, Safari and for Linux/UNIX browsers: Firefox, Mozilla, Konqueror, especially now that free Linux is gaining such broad attention.
Statistics:
http://www.w3schools...wsers_stats.asp
More info:
http://www.zopp.nl/hosted/browsers/
http://www.peterre.com/browsers.html

[randiroo76073]

MDGx, you're right, it boils down to user & what their security setup is, mine is tight, use Firefox exclusively, don't visit sites known for harboring malware/spyware, & yet pickup the occasional driveby, so it doesn't matter what you run for a browser. If somebody really wants to[& knows how] they can get to you.

[Shamgar]

randiroo76073, on Mar 31 2005, 10:57 AM, said:

MDGx, you're right, it boils down to user & what their security setup is, mine is tight, use Firefox exclusively, don't visit sites known for harboring malware/spyware, & yet pickup the occasional driveby, so it doesn't matter what you run for a browser. If somebody really wants to[& knows how] they can get to you.
<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Since you brought up the subject which sites (freeware) are the ones to avoid and which ones are malware/spyware safe?

[randiroo76073]

Shamgar, I'll try and have a list of safe sites for you tomorrow or Sunday, these will be ones that I know are safe, others may have more.

[MDGx]

Shamgar, on Apr 1 2005, 11:50 AM, said:

Since you brought up the subject which sites (freeware) are the ones to avoid and which ones are malware/spyware safe?

I can't give u such a list, I don't have one, because unfortunately there are too many.
But this is what u can do to protect your computer [security basics 101]:

1. Install a good anti-virus tool [some are freeware, but sometimes automatic/annual/liveupdate/whatever subscription is not free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/vir.htm
Make sure you either have virus definitions updates turned on or download by hand the current ones on a regular basis.

2. If using a broadband [xDSL/cable/satellite/LAN/WiFi/etc] modem/NIC install a good hardware firewall [most ethernet routers have 1 built-in = most popular ones cost $40-60 USD or even cheaper]:
http://www.mdgx.com/xp2.htm#XFG
This article is mainly about XP firewall, but you can find useful info that applies to all Win32 OSes.

3. Install a good software firewall [some are free(ware)]:
http://www.mdgx.com/fw.htm

4. Install a good email + anti-spam filter if your provider/ISP/host has not installed 1 already.
*NEVER* download email attachments/pics/docs from people you don't know.

5. Make sure to disable NetBios [if appropriate]:
http://www.mdgx.com/newtip19.htm#INS
which runs a primitive personal web server on all 9x OSes whenever enabled [and it is enabled by *default*], but the disadvantage is that it exposes open ports 137, 138 + 139 to hacks.

6. Use a dedicated HOSTS file to filter out adware/spyware/scumware web servers [free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/hosts.htm

7. Scan + remove potential spyware/trojans/scumware/etc on a regular basis using dedicated tools like Ad-Aware SE PE + SpyBot Search & Destroy [freeware]:
http://www.mdgx.com/fw.htm#AW

8. Acquaint yourself with other computer security protection methods + guides:
http://www.mdgx.com/modem.htm#TS

9. Always keep up to date with your Win32 OS + web/ftp browser(s)/media player(s) patches/updates/fixes/etc [free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/web.htm
http://www.mdgx.com/ietoy.htm
http://www.mdgx.com/wmp.htm
http://www.mdgx.com/bug.htm
http://www.mdgx.com/brow.htm

10. If using M$ Internet Explorer as your default web browser, you may want to turn off ActiveX and make sure you install Google Toolbar for its built-in popup blocker [freeware]:
http://toolbar.google.com/T3/download

11. If you visit sites that use Macromedia Flash and/or Shockwave, make sure you d/l their current security patches [freeware]:
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#SHFL

12. If using Firefox, download security extensions like AdBlock, FlashBlock, Web Developer etc [free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#MOZ
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#DUN

13. Try to avoid making monetary transactions, avoid even checking your bank(s)/credit card(s) account(s)/balance(s) on the internet.
Instead try to use the good ol' telephone for such things, most respectable companies have toll free 800 phone numbers for this purpose [at least in the USA].
"Phishing" is now a favorite "occupation" for scumbags, because too many internet users are not knowledgeable about how to properly secure + protect their computers.

14. Subscribe to email newsletters to stay updated with latest findings in computer security + protection [free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/bug.htm#ENL

15. Avoid using Windows Media Player (WMP) to stream media files off the internet [or even play music/movies/audio/cds/mp3s/etc offline], instead use Media Player Classic (MPC), which is bloat, spyware + DRM free [free GPL]:
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#MED
Avoid using Apple QuickTime + RealPlayer/RealOne, same as WMP they are full of bloat, spyware [+ DRM]. Instead use QuickTime Alternative + Real Alternative [free]:
http://www.mdgx.com/toy.htm#MED

Sounds like a lot, but nowadays these are the *only* ways to "survive" on the internet.

HTH [Hope This Helps]

[randiroo76073]

MDGx, you stole part of my thunder, I was gonna list your site

[randiroo76073]

Shamgar, here's a htm of some of what I have found safe, the links should be clickable, if not let me know. There may be some dups, I'm not always on top of it like some people

Attached File(s)

•  s_links_a.htm (49.24K)
  Number of downloads: 16

[Shamgar]

Thanks for the links. I have saved both and have them tucked in a separate folder.

[ssmokee]

Shamgar, on Mar 25 2005, 05:45 AM, said:

I have been able to partition my Linux for years since I had it explain in a logical sequence (plus Linux is just plain easier and less picky).

Since youve been using linux for years, youre probably become reliant on stuff like command line completion via the bash prompt. I found a doskey replacement that gives you bash like command completion and history here. Just copy the doskey.com file to the C:\windows\command\ directory (backup, or just delete the old one), then go into autoexec.bat and add the line doskey.com -i and youre set.


EDIT:

Cant believe I forgot to mention some obvious ones. If you going to be doing some remote linux admin, which by the sound of it there is a good chance, you should definately check out putty and winscp. Putty is a secure telnet client, and winscp is a secure FTP client. Both are free and open source. Ive been using both on a daily basis for quite some time now.