"Jim Hampton" wrote in message
...
Chris,

You are the one who is displaying ignorance. There are constant holes and
security problems with not only many browsers, but operating systems as
well. Apple is probably the only one with little or no viruses being
written to attack it as it has a small presence. Unix (Linux) has holes.
As far as browsers, Netscape, Opera, you name it, have security flaws.
The
reason O.E. is mentioned so much as it has a large following and is,
therefore, an ideal target for worm/virus writers.

*Everyone* needs good antivirus software (updated *daily*) on their system
as well as a good firewall (also updated). Everyone also needs a good
anti-spyware running on their system - and it is also a good idea to have
one that runs in background and blocks incoming spyware off the internet
as
you browse. I'm seeing quite a bit of blocking from Yahoo Groups
(attempted
incoming spyware).

Last, but most to the point of your post, everyone should be checking
daily
(whether automatically or manually) for updates to their operating system
and browser. These are constantly brought out and if you bother to check
(why don't I think you are well informed?), you will find patches coming
out
almost constantly for many different browsers and operating systems.

If you don't do this, you will eventually get bit regardless of what
operating system you use.




Three cheers for Mr. Hampton. Spear a few elitists. I know for a fact
that *nix systems are every bit as vulnerable as Windoze systems, since my
spouse does computer repairs for the US military, and almost everything they
use is a *nix based system. They have problems with hackers on a regular
basis, even through their substantial firewalls.

Point being, the only way you can begin to be sure you are protected is to
have a good firewall and A/V, and keep them running and up to date. The only
times I have EVER had problems with unauthorized ingress to my system have
been when both my firewall and A/V have been down (after a hardware failure
usually)...