Hi- Is the Windows98 operating system safe to use while surfing on the internet? Thanks, Mark

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No Windows Operating System is safe on the Internet. Only some Common sense and Safe web surfing habits will Help.

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Hi Steve- What I meant was is Win98 a safe operating system to use for web surfing (with IE, FF or similar) because it's no longer being supported by MS, that is, security updates like XP. Thanks, Mark

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Some of the Most Malware Infected Computers I run into have all the Microsoft Updates. So they really just give a User a false sense of security.

I don't have any Microsoft Updates on my computers, and manage to avoid all the crap by practicing Safe Web surfing, and safe email handling.

Google recently published a report that One out of Ten Web sites are Booby Trapped with Malware, and about One out of Four Windows Computers is already infected.

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Good point. These are donated computers that are going into a classroom and I had reservations about doing so.

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|[...]These are donated computers that are going into a classroom[...]
| Mark

IMO you would have to be a fool to deploy an OS into a shared environment
where just anybody CAN GAIN ROOT ACCESS.
Win9x is totally unsuitable for the mission IMO.
(The *Internet* is just fine; it's the USERS you have to worry about.)

The SMART thing to do is to deploy Linux.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Edubuntu
You can put it on every machine you have for zero cost.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Edubuntu+ShipIt

If you won't follow my BEST advice (now, how do I know that?)
and you insist on sticking with Win9x, learn how to use POLEDIT. 
cache of http://www.zisman.ca/poledit 
cache of http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/win98/reskit/part2/wrkc08.mspx


Your alternatives to the SMART option and the kinda-smart option are:

1) If the machines are absolutely identical (hah!),
make an image of one of the drives after everything is installed
and **before** ever putting it into service,
then secure that backup drive/CD under lock and key.
You will be using it to UN-CRAP *every* machine weekly.
http://www.google.com/search?q=teacher+40-years+Windows+pop-up

2) Since even machines that are delivered to companies as "identical"
are NOT IDENTICAL, make an image of **each** machine .
Again: Store under lock & key.
Again: You will be using it weekly.

3) Blow yet more money on something like Deep Freeze.
http://www.google.com/search?q=Faronics+Deep.Freeze

...Oh, and if you deploy payware (Microsoft, Computer Associates, Symantec...),
be prepared to be slapped with fines for EACH piece of payware deployed
on EACH machine for which you don't have a valid licence. 
cache of http://www.getopenoffice.org/ernieball.html
++$65,000++$35,000
(Linux, Firefox, OpenOffice, Inkscape, etc. start to look really good, really fast.)

If you don't seriously weigh your options and learn some new tricks,
you will very soon look like a monkey.

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Hi Mark.

The only two thing you need on your computer while you are surfing is 

1) a good virus checker (which you don't need running all the time becasue 
they consume a lot of resources). Just check the file once you've downloaded it.

2) Uninstall Manager v4.3

That way you can check what extra files and been downloaded and installed without 
you knowing it. I've been using it for 5 years its great.

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Hi gewg- Thanks for all the info. There's only two computers and they're going into an elementary classroom so hopefully things won't get outta line too quickly.

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|The only two thing you need on your computer while you are surfing is
|a good virus checker
|Uninstall Manager v4.3
| Keith Stanier

Nonsense.

Some things you missed:
1) It won't be HIS computer; will he be available to do periodic de-crapping?
2) He's talking about *multiple* boxes (each requiring its own licenses).
3) They will be IN CLASSROOMS.
4) You haven't clicked the link I included about the substitute schoolmarm
   who was convicted of 4 counts of "risk of injury to a minor"
   when porn popped up on the Windoze box in her classroom.
   She could have gotten 40 years in the slammer.

A default install of W98 (or any OS not set up with strict user privileges)
is WRONG for a classroom.

...and a Unix-like OS doesn't need to be covered in band-aids
(which only gives Windoze pasted-on fake "security" anyway).

Cleaning off infections AFTER the fact is the WRONG approach.

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My Win2K partition has gotten infections but not my Win98 one. Maybe malware is not aimed at it anymore. Maybe the viruses are trying to find the Administrator user so they can upgrade the permissions on a Guest user and they are totally confused when they can't find either in Win98.

Seriously, I've had very little get in since I started depending on Firefox. There are other apps that can call out and on rare occasions I use IE so I can't say that anything got past it.

My firewall is Outpost 1.0. It's good enough. It has a local DNS lookup feature that must be turned off and deleted. That, combined with IE, got me hijacked and infected.

I use AVG antivirus. It's been OK so far but one root kit got past it. A trial version of Spyware Doctor found that.

Gewg has suggested, wait 24 hours after downloading before you open an executable. That will give the antivirus manufacturers to catch up with the latest malware. Then scan it again before opening.

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Let the Kids at them. Good to start them young. The Computers have no real monetary value, so what can they hurt. Our Garbage collectors won't even take them anymore. I just use old Computers for target practice these Days.

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On Friday, February 1, 2008 at 6:54 pm, gewg_ wrote:
|Some things you missed:
|1) It won't be HIS computer; will he be available to do periodic de-crapping?

For de-crapping use CCleaner

|3) They will be IN CLASSROOMS.

I wasn't aware these were needs for classrooms, this was posted afterwards.
 

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Windows 98 is safer than Windows XP with No Service Pack (believe it or not), because most spyware and malware don't really support that operating system anymore. Firefox is safe to use on any operating system and Windows 98 can run Mozilla Firefox.


On Friday, February 1, 2008 at 1:03 pm, Mark wrote:
>Hi-
>
>Is the Windows98 operating system safe to use while surfing on the internet?
>
>Thanks,
>Mark

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|Windows 98 is safer than Windows XP with No Service Pack[...]
|because most spyware and malware
| Jude Nihal Fernando
|
You left out the word "new" after "most".

There are plenty of OLD infections that affect W98.
If one of the kids disables the anti-virus (simple on a machine with no user levels),
that machine will certainly get infected through the kids using it
and will stay that way until someone makes the effort to de-crap the box.

It seems irresponsible to deploy an OS install which will allow that.

|don't really support that operating system [any more].
|
Interesting use of the word "support".

|Firefox is safe to use on any operating system
|and Windows 98 can run Mozilla Firefox.
|
ISTM the OP came here seeking validation and isn't hearing anything else.
My sense of it so far is that he will merely do a default install
leaving Internet Exploder as the browser. 
cache of http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/129/
++Browser.Helper.Object++ActiveX-can still-destroy-your-system

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I ran a Virtual PC running Windows 98 and found that most of the spyware did not get into the system, like it did on a Windows XP Home Edition SP0 Virtual Box, Why? Because The Most Viruses nowadays support the newer NT Kernel which people want to hack more at and the only way around it is to secure the box by updating it to the latest service patch and the Windows Updates and Patches. Yeah, maybe the Windows 98 Operating system can get affected by viruses, like what happened in the "I Love You" message, but I haven't encountered any yet, but when I said that most viruses aren't supported in 98, i mean't that the viruses are not written entirely for that operating system, it may affect the system though. Yes the old bugs that were written for Windows 98 can get into the system, but they aren't as many as the bugs which can get into Windows XP (unpatched). By the way, give me links to web sites that will effect a Windows 98 based system. I never seen my 98 Virtual PC getting effected by bugs, like I seen my XP Home VPC. I was not trying to be rude, I was just expressing my experience with all of this.


On Saturday, February 2, 2008 at 7:22 pm, gewg_ wrote:
>|Windows 98 is safer than Windows XP with No Service Pack[...]
>|because most spyware and malware
>| Jude Nihal Fernando
>|
>You left out the word "new" after "most".
>
>There are plenty of OLD infections that affect W98.
>If one of the kids disables the anti-virus (simple on a machine with no user levels),
>that machine will certainly get infected through the kids using it
>and will stay that way until someone makes the effort to de-crap the box.
>
>It seems irresponsible to deploy an OS install which will allow that.
>
>|don't really support that operating system [any more].
>|
>Interesting use of the word "support".
>
>|Firefox is safe to use on any operating system
>|and Windows 98 can run Mozilla Firefox.
>|
>ISTM the OP came here seeking validation and isn't hearing anything else.
>My sense of it so far is that he will merely do a default install
>leaving Internet Exploder as the browser.
>cache of http://www.thejemreport.com/mambo/content/view/129/
>++Browser.Helper.Object++ActiveX-can still-destroy-your-system

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I would actually set up Windows 98 or whatever with Full Access and make a hard drive partition where whenever you restart the machines, the changes to the hard drive will be erased.


On Friday, February 1, 2008 at 6:27 pm, Mark wrote:
>Hi gewg-
>
>Thanks for all the info. There's only two computers and they're going into an elementary
>classroom so hopefully things won't get outta line too quickly.

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