trojans and Ubuntu

[Bart Silverstrim]

Mario Vukelic wrote:
> On Fri, 2008-01-18 at 15:16 -0600, Tim M wrote:
>> The friend? Yes, she is still using windows XP. I am concerned about
>> her because her computer is her lifeline but I don't want to
>> needlessly alarm her and send her into a panic.
> 
> If her computer is her lifeline and she suffers from panic attacks
> induced by computer mishaps, I seriously recommend doing regular and
> verified backups.
> 
> Without known more about the link, and if your boss has a clue, I
> certainly wouldn't rule out a possible infection.

If it's a lifeline system, I wouldn't even run Windows.  Seriously. 
Backups can mean you're backing up the trojan/worm along with your data.

If the OS must absolutely be Windows try virtualizing it with VMWare. 
VMs make it simple to back up the entire state of a machine.

At a minimum run a sandboxing application to envelope the web browser. 
Definitely don't run IE.

Another option is to run something like Deep Freeze with a partition 
dedicated to saving data files.

Other options would be to consider moving to OS X or Linux as the 
primary OS.

I know this is beyond most technophobes to try doing, but if it's a 
"lifeline" system, it pays off to do this.  Otherwise it's just 
overdramatic and exaggerated to have a true "lifeline" necessary system 
without proper safety measures in place and backup contingency plans and 
I don't really have too much sympathy for someone that claims XYZ is 
absolutely positively necessary to have working yet they do absolutely 
nothing to know how to properly use it or have a reasonable backup plan 
in place for when the primary system goes kaput.