firefox evil

[whereismk]

has anyone had a problem with mozzila firefox, i had it but it was used by other people to route there crap through my computer causing it to crash after 1000 messeges went through, it also cant be deleted so i had to use system recovery

 

[amp88]

Are you sure you mean Firefox and not Thunderbird? I don't understand what you're trying to say, can you elaborate...?

 

[whereismk]

yes it was firefox, it was used by other people to route a bunch of crap with loads of viruses through my computer when 1000 of these things went through it, it crashed so i had to use system revovery to delete that crap

 

[daan]

That was basically the same thing you said the first time round and we still don't know what you're on about.

What other people?

What "bunch of crap"?

What viruses?

1000 of what things?

How did it crash?

Delete what crap?

 

[dougiemeats]

Also, you might have the terms "virus" and "spyware" mixed up. I can't imagine a system with 1000 viruses

To add to daan's questions:

Firefox version?
Operating System?
Do you have up to date Service Packs?
Do you have antispyware?
If so, what kind?
Do you have antivirus?
If so, what kind?

 

[Famine]

How did "other people" gain access to your computer to do any of this?

 

[GilesGuthrie]

Chance of it being Firefox that enabled this? Hmm. About 0.1%, I would think. Sounds more like some dodgy e-mail message or web site that you visited. Or some warning you clicked OK to before reading properly.

 

[whereismk]

i didn't do anything a bunch of stupid hackers exploted the firefox program it was 1000 messeges with copywrited files attached (thats their crap), there was only 100 viruses total this sucked up the cpu so the computer crashed i do have antivirus and antispyware protection but it would not matter because there was no way to load it up and get rid of the viruses

 

[dougiemeats]

Periods between complete sentences would be nice, since it would be easier to read.

Anyways, what messages? Email? What copyrighted files? (Music, movies, etc.) This isn't making much sense.

 

[whereismk]

i don't know i wasn't over when it happend my dad just had a stern talk with me about it

 

[dougiemeats]

I think some information was lost/mistranslated from Computer > Dad > You > GTP

 

[whereismk]

no all of that happend like i said it

 

[Eric.]

no all of that happend like i said it

It must have made a mess.

 

[amp88]

Maybe you should get your dad to put a reply in here if you're looking for any help or advice...?

 

[whereismk]

im not looking for help its just a warning to anyone who has it

 

[Eric.]

And what would you suggest we begin using?
Internet Explorer? :roflmao:

 

[amp88]

im not looking for help its just a warning to anyone who has it

Oh...right. Well, now I know not to let any hackers onto my machine. Thanks for the heads up 👍

 

[dougiemeats]

amp88

Ask your dad if there was a "Numbered Links 0.9" extension installed on Firefox. It's a trojan that masks itself as an extension. That's also a heads up for everyone else using FF. 👍

 

[whereismk]

nope no extention whatsoever

 

[dougiemeats]

Since this wasn't Firefox's fault, maybe a change from "firefox evil" to "Hackers Evil" would be appropriate.

Although our friend HACKr may not approve of this move.

 

[whereismk]

its because of freiken firefox my computer crashed and here is a good question why would someone just offer a free web browser!!!

 

[amp88]

here is a good question why would someone just offer a free web browser!!!

Why not? Firefox is one of the best browsers available, the fact that it's free has nothing to do with its performance, security, features etc. It is a massively more secure browser than Internet Explorer.

 

[whereismk]

oh thats why its easily exploited and internet explorer isn't

 

[dougiemeats]

Internet Explorer is also free, correct? Perhaps "open-source" is the term you wanted. And I must laugh at your comment about exploitation and Internet Explorer.

 

[whereismk]

internet explorer comes with the computer

 

[Famine]

a bunch of stupid hackers exploted the firefox program

No, they didn't.

Something else is to blame.

i do have antivirus and antispyware protection but it would not matter because there was no way to load it up and get rid of the viruses

It should be running all the time, to stop the viruses getting onto your computer in the first place. Antivirus is prophylactic (preventative) rather than curative - it stops your computer becoming infected in the first place, rather than sweeping up afterwards.

oh thats why its easily exploited and internet explorer isn't

I'm afraid you have this completely the wrong way round.


Look, it's this simple. In order to gain control of your computer, someone must put a virus/worm/Trojan there. I can't just "hack" your computer from here unless your computer is open for me to do that, which requires a virus/worm/Trojan in the first place. That means your computer was already infected.

Keep your antivirus up-to-date. Keep your antispyware up-to-date. Keep both running all the time your computer is on. Filter your e-mails better - don't open any attachments or any e-mails from anyone not in your address book or who you haven't contacted yourself. Don't use Outlook - use a free mail site like Yahoo! and use POP3 to check the e-mails you'd normally use Outlook for. And absolutely use Firefox - 90% of viruses/worms/Trojans are written for Windows XP (Service Pack 2) machines running Internet Explorer and Outlook, because that's what 90% of people use.

 

[Eric.]

Maybe this is all a joke? First hackers are putting 1000s of things on his computer because he had Firefox (and supposedly antispyware and virus protections..what about a firewall?) and now he is trying to say IE is a secure browser.

Are you from Microsoft?

 

[amp88]

oh thats why its easily exploited and internet explorer isn't

The source code (the code that the program is made of) is freely available for Firefox (and other Open Source projects). This means that anyone can look at what makes up Firefox and see exactly how it works. Inevitable this opens up the doors to people who would like to exploit the software but the fact that there have been so few exploits for Firefox goes to show how secure it is in comparison to other pieces of software as relatively complex as a browser.

 

[dougiemeats]

The fact that Internet Explorer comes with your computer and is integrated deeply into the operating system (go ahead, try to delete it, you can't) is one of the many reasons it is much easier to exploit than other browsers.

If you don't like Firefox or think it's evil, then try Opera. Going back to Internet Explorer 6 won't help protect you from internet exploits.

 

[whereismk]

well i have "sweeping programs" not preventave programs i have not seen one yet thats preventave, and when i got firefox a few days later it said my computer is in danger and i scanned for spyware, i found 3 or 4 diffrent trojans that were not there before you can't even delete firefox