the one above is the low ampage one this one a 2 tranisitor model is the higher ampage version

this 'computer' security issue comes up alot, this isn't the first time i have posted this link and surely will not be the last...

firewalls, AV software, etc. are a waste of CPU cycles. if you want to make it simple and easy then stop 'enumerating the badness'... it puts you in an endless arms race against the hackers/virii writers, a race you most likely will not win...

10 GOSUB LOOK_FOR_HOLES
20 IF HOLE_FOUND = FALSE THEN GOTO 50
30 GOSUB FIX_HOLE
40 GOTO 10
50 GOSUB CONGRATULATE_SELF
60 GOSUB GET_HACKED_EVENTUALLY_ANYWAY
70 GOTO 10 

the six DUMBEST IDEAS in computer security:
1: default permit (allow all access)... this is stupid, if you can't see why, consider not having a computer.
2: enumerating the badness... also stupid, far more reasonable to enumerate the goodness.
3: penetrate and patch... also known as 'turd polishing'. if this worked, we would have run out of browser security bugs by now.
4: hacking is cool... another stupid idea. what's cool? good engineering is cool.
5: educating users... if this is your plan, plan to 'patch' your users every week or so.
6: action is better than inaction... more stupid. for it is often easier to not do something dumb than it is to do something smart.

the minor dumbs:
    * "we're not a target" - yes, you are. worms aren't smart enough to realize that your web site/home network isn't interesting.
    * "everyone would be secure if they all just ran <security-flavor-of-the-month>" - no, they wouldn't. operating systems have security problems because they are complex and system administration is not a solved problem in computing. until someone manages to solve system administration, switching to the flavor-of-the-month is going to be more damaging because you're making it harder for your system administrators to gain a level of expertise that only comes with time.
    * "we don't need a firewall, we have good host security" - no, you don't. If your network fabric is untrustworthy every single application that goes across the network is potentially a target. 3 words: domain naming system.
    * "we don't need host security, we have a good firewall" - no, you don't. If your firewall lets traffic through to hosts behind it, then you need to worry about the host security of those systems.
    * "let's go production with it now and we can secure it later" - no, you won't. a better question to ask yourself is "If we don't have time to do it correctly now, will we have time to do it over once it's broken?" sometimes, building a system that is in constant need of repair means you will spend years investing in turd polish because you were unwilling to spend days getting the job done right in the first place.
    * "we can't stop the occasional problem" - yes, you can. would you travel on commercial airliners if you thought that the aviation industry took this approach with your life? I didn't think so.


see this article: http://www.ranum.com/security/computer_security/editorials/dumb/
don't forget to read richard feynman's "personal observations on the reliability of the space shuttle"! follow the link to it via the ranum.com article...


as an aside, USB drives DO NOT function the same as a hard drive. USB drives don't have moving parts and cannot handle the amount of read/write cycles a hard disk drive can... this is why computers still have hard disk drives instead of flash memory, and why they will continue to have hard disk drives...

@Bill (Pirate88179)
With respect to your reply #13770:
I respect your experience as far as it goes.  I believe you have the truth by what you know.  However, as a former electronic/computer technician with professional experience in electronic R&D, my experience is simply different.

I did nothing different to the data that would cause it to disappear.  That's not all:  I had only one file that wasn't an aerospace reference .PDF   It concerned a statement of fact in .DOC to present to the V.A. in order to upgrade my non-service connected pension.  It was still on the disk.  Someone selectively deleted all my backed up aircraft specification files.  Only that one was left.

Please keep in mind:  Cap-Z-ro has a point that there's a conspiracy do keep certain information from the public.  I've become acquainted with the proof.  Cap-Z-ro is correct in his assertion when it comes to that.  But, that's all I'll say.

Print off a hardcopy of whatever drawings and electronic test results you think are important.  Your computer isn't software safe,  regardless!  of how good your antiviral software is.

--Lee

I have been using and building computers since the days of the old Intel 8086 chip.  I have never heard of any instance of anyone or any entity removing info from a hard drive to block energy device advances.  Not one.  Not ever.  With my intelligence experience, my engineering background and in my many years in the PI business this has never happened in one documented case that I have ever been made aware of.

Now, many folks like Mylow, etc, "claim" the MIB was suppressing his "working" device.  We all know how that one turned out.  I believe all of the other cases to be the same.

If, in your case, software was on your drive that selectively removed some data, that software would still be on there.  Granted, it make take some hard drive forensics software to locate it but, it would still be fairly easy to detect.  Did you try doing this?  The best anti-virus approach is hardware and not software.

Bill

i never said it was men in black i just said that all the stuff i had been looking at and logging had been deleted
yes i guess it could of been me moveing stuff to another drive insted of copying but it was also strange that my antivirus wasent working and nore my mouse

[A author=dasimpson link=topic=6123.msg248082#msg248082 date=1278506253]
well as of this post i will be working with ubuntu from now on heard so many ppl say it is more secure then mircrosoft well time to find out
[/quote]

There is a problem with ubuntu and that is that it does not allow to run any windows programs on it.
I mean if you have a program that you usually work with in windows, when you try to use it inside ubuntu it is even not recognized as a program anymore.

Jesus

[A author=Pirate88179 link=topic=6123.msg248042#msg248042 =1278469743]
... If, in your case, software was on your drive that selectively removed some data, that software would still be on there. ...





I've heard rumors of theoretical things happening:
Some conspiracy theorists maintain there are astoundingly devious, specially written viruses that can do a hell of a lot of undetectable damage to a computer and then erase itself without a trace.

"intel gurl", a present or former "Scholar" Member of  http://www.abovetopsecret.com  , who works for a large defense contractor, has told all to read on that site:  That site is regularly monitored for breaches in national security according to regulations or laws that have been around since 1951 with Eisenhower's patent search Executive Order.

I say this site is no different.  All sites can, and will, be monitored.  The wonderfully efficient MIB's have the law on their side to do what they want to who they want and nobody can legally say, "Cr@p".

  Granted, it make take some hard drive forensics software to locate it but, it would still be fairly easy to detect.  Did you try doing this?

I have to borrow a computer all the time and don't have the wherewithal to do that.  Those "covert?" viruses are the reason.

  The best anti-virus approach is hardware and not software.

I've been computer literate about as long as you (1980).  I know that hardware trumps software, especially in a DOS boot file in ROM.  To upgrade, you need a new chip, since it's immune to viruses.

I was confided to by a few people awhile ago who had old information, but it was possibly similar in quality to yours, depending on what you did?  They spoke only generally and hypothetically and then left it to my personal experience to try and come up with a more complete picture.

I do know something about electronic diagnostics and computer R&D.  I did it for a living once.  That's all I can say, and "intel gurl" would probably do the same.  She just has direct, recent experience in a field my Dad worked in for 30 years, so I know what she can say and not say.  I had a clearance (secret) in the Air Force, but one old man I spoke with had a really high clearance years ago.

I've said enough.

My personal opinion?
The letter 'A' in your quote at the top of this post shouldn't be there because I didn't put it there.  That doesn't mean it's impossible.  I.  Didn't.  Do.  It.

It's there for a reason.  Can Stefan stop it?  He can only try.  I don't have the type of personality that plays tricks on people for fun.  I have Asperger's syndrome and they don't play those games.  They resent being made fun of.

--Lee

Lee:

Yes I have seen those letter "A"s cropping up in quoted sections around the forums.  I am not sure this indicates some malicious virus attack probably more like some software glitch in SQL or something.  But, I agree, they should not be there.

Bill

spot on bill. it's a code issue. not the mib, nor any other conspiracy...