Hello,

I would just ask, how often passwords should be changed (and is it enough to change only main, more important ones)?

Thank You!

And one more thing, should I enable this option below:

Filter Internet NAT Redirection

?

Thank You!

No you can leave that unchecked.

Thank you) I manage to install Tomato firmwere successfuly and now I can`t change deafult username? I can`t find option to do that in Tomato GUI? Possibility of password modifying is there but not username?
And while I`m already asking you things again:P I would just ask if any Tomato "optimal settings list" exist for my Linksys WRT54GL router, and if, where could I find it? Or at least what are "must to do" settings to make router functional (especially in view of security)?

Thank you for such a great post. I have a few questions that I hope you could help with.

I just got a new laptop, cloned the original HD and installed A bigger faster one.
I have only went to Youtube,2+2, poker,TN,HEM,ebay and known,confirmed emails, ugh and some music from other computer. What are the chances of being infected/compromised?

I just watched all your videos and want to set up a secured everything. (wish I would have found sooner) Should I start from scratch reinstall original HD and format the bigger faster one? Would this erase all/any infection? Then install the formatted HD. Then install your recommendations. Then reset to all new passwords. (this wll be a temporary poker computer light browsing till I get my just poker, gaming comp.)(then it will be a web cruiser)

Is there a non sketchy place to find out about setting up a VM, and ubuntu?

Also I have an old laptop(def. infected) for downloading music, movies. If I then put music library on an external HD could I usb connect it to another computer? Or would this compromise the other computer? Or should I just get a cheap computer with a good sound card just for music?

For untangle what stats would I need for a dedicated computer. Is there somwhere non sketchy to learn about setting untangle up?

Sorry one more question I just got a linksys u3000 router can I put tomato on that or should I sell it and buy a 54( the one u recommend)

Thanks in advance

If that's all you've done the chances of being infected are very small.

Not exactly sure what you're asking here. I'm not going to tell you to start from scratch if you don't think you're infected. If starting from scratch will give you better peace of mind then do it.

www.virtualbox.org
www.ubuntu.com

It could infect the other computers. Might I suggest properly purchasing copyrighted music and movies?

The requirements are very modest. You could run it on an old pentium III. Untangle might be a bit advanced for you given your previous questions.

www.untangle.com

I see no mention of a u3000 on the Linksys site. It almost certainly won't run Tomato.

I recommend the WRT54GL and Tomato because I have had the most success with it. There are other good routers/firmwares out there. I wouldn't sell your current router unless you're having problems with it.

I'd recommend Astaro over Untangle all day any day.

Thanks for such a quick response. The router is an e3000 not u3000 my bad.

My question is. If my comps infected can I format the new cloned HDD, then re clone it with the original(old), never on the web, HDD. Will doing that erase any/all infections from the new HDD? Hope that makes sense?

I will agree that untangle is probably/definitely outside of my knowledge base but that is how I learn.

As far as downloading music, well I like trying out lots of different music most of which I wouldnt keep so why pay? For music I really like I buy the cd source.
And I thought most bought downloads are only mp3 and not Flac? NOt that I really looked...

I spent some time on the firefox add on page. Never knew there were so many add ons. I also found out about super cookies.....And I used to like cookies growing up(sugar,CChip) now I can't stand them!!!!

So whats your thoughts on these add ons
Key scrambler personal
Click and clean
ad Blocker +
Tor proxy.net or a good proxy device?
Ghostery
Better privacy
Trashmail.net
FF adkiller

And the recommendation of Astaro?

Thank you so much

Best security addons for Firefox:

NoScript
WOT
CS Lite
BetterPrivacy
KeyScramble (although if you use keepass, probably don't need it)

Hey thanks corsakh,

I was thinking no script does the same as ad blocker? I just keep having paranoid delusions of being chased by SUPER COOKIES HELP!!.......the SUPER COOKIES are after me............

So I m fixin on trying out many of these things that were recommended.

SUPER COOKIES, keyloggers, hackers, malware, adware, whateverware be damned!!!!!

On a kinda of side note, can anyone tell me how to get xpadder and TN to work together without turning UAC off with win7? Or a way to turn it off without leaving my system vulnerable?

and the question earlier. If I format myHDD does that get rid of any/all infections?

Thanks again for such a wonderful thread

Ad block does nothing in regards to security.

Formatting would get rid of 99.9% of infections. Some viruses can be found in BIOS, etc.

funkyworms, thank you for creating such an awesome guide.

I have a couple of trivial questions for you. In my router settings there is an option to turn on/off upnp, there is also an option for this within Skype. I have them both turned off. Under what circumstances would someone need upnp for Skype? Is it more secure to have them both turned off, assuming I don't need to use upnp (as far as I'm aware I don't).

When I download apple and go to save the file, it saves as true crypt. I'm guessing that truecrypt contains apple or is the download just bad?

I was under the impression that they were 2 different programs.

Awesome guide-thanks funkyworms

Thanks corsakh,

Is there a way to format BIOS? Or is there a way to un infect BIOS?

Is there way to turn off UAC without leaving myself vulnerable? Not that I really know what UAC is?

And on a side note my AV wouldnt let me download Full Tilt. It said the file was corrupted?

Thanks again funky, corsakh, and the 2+2community

upnp can be used as a form of port forwarding. It would probably be advantageous (though possibly at the expense of security) to use upnp if you had a complex network configuration or if you had many skype clients on the same subnet.

For a simple home network with only a few skype clients or less, I see no reason to use upnp.

Honestly I have no idea what "apple" you're referring to in this post. Apple is not a program that I'm familiar with.

Apple is a computer hardware and software company that makes a number of products. Apple makes many popular software products including the OS X operating system and the iTunes audio player.

Please clarify your original post and I should be able to give you a better response.

I disagree. It is not meant as a security program but since many malware purveyors use ads as a means of distribution then it can provide some extra security.

Yes you can flash you BIOS. You just need to find the BIOS image on your computer or motherboard manufacturer's site. Please note that BIOS malware is extremely rare and an incorrect BIOS flash can render your computer useless.

You can turn off UAC if you wish but by doing so you are almost by definition making yourself at least marginally more vulnerable.

Try downloading again.

lol-I mean tomato. When I go to the download it downloads as truecrypt. In the tutorial, they are listed as 2 programs. Is tomato part of trucrypt?

Also, is tomato or untangle really necessary? I have one of the newer linkysis routers. When I look at the connection, it has 3 levels of security, whereas all the other wireless networks in my area have the basic 2. thanks in advance

Tomato and Truecrypt are completely unrelated.

Neither Tomato nor Untangle is necessary.

Tomato is for people who want an extremely stable router. Frequently dropped wireless signals can cost poker players a lot of money. The downside to Tomato is that there are a limited number of routers that support it.

Untangle is for people who want very granular control over what enters and exits their network. The downside is that it requires some legwork and spare hardware to configure it.

Hello again,

I can put ubuntu on a flash drive(or another HDD) and boot from that. Would this keep me safe? Using ubuntu to cruise the web, email,DLding and win7 for poker stuff.

If I did click a shady site would it corrupt both HDDs? Or does ubuntu stop corruption? Ive read different things about ubuntu. Some say you cant get viruses, others say you can, and yet others say its just more difficult to get corrupted. Which one is it?

Would this be better then just putting a ubuntu partition on my win7 HDD. Or the same?

Is there a way to completely disable java from all websites except utube? No script blocks most I think?

Also I just came across ant.com add on for DLding from utube. Is this safe?

Side note I still cant DL full tilt? AV keeps saying the file is corrupted? Any suggestions?

Funkyworms your avatar cracks me up. I ve seen narcoleptic goats before. If you scare them they freeze and fall over. But never a doggy. Is that your dog?

Thanks again for putting up with all my noob questions.

If you don't mind frequent reboots, generally speaking yes, it will keep you safe. But you don't need ubuntu for that, you can easily install Win 7 on unsafe partition as long as you restrict its access to the safe partition and don't mix the data. Or you can install Ubuntu under VirtualBox, this way you avoid reboots.

Obv you can get in trouble with Ubuntu, but its hellava harder to do so under it than under Windows.

Does not matter much.

Just install Ubuntu in a virtual machine using Virtualbox. That's the best way to test it out. It's the most convenient and allows you to create snapshots that you can restore back to in seconds.

NoScript. Allow youtube. Keep everything else on the blacklist.

I don't know. If you're asking this question here just assume it is unsafe.
You should contact Full Tilt regarding this.

No, it's not my dog. His name is Rusty. Poor Rusty is a narcoleptic dachshund.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY5PMT-_rLg

Hey funkyworms, awesome presentation.

I prefer using Opera. As I have JavaScipt disabled by default and master password set for my web passwords, am I missing out on some security features compared to FF?

If your not frequenting dodgy sites then not really. There are a couple of differences between the two but Opera with javascript disabled is very secure as is.