jasonstoolbox browser s.

hello im new here,i wonted to find out,if (my) i.e. passes ALL Jason's browser tests does that mean i dont need opera,firefox etc. thank you.if posted in wrong place sorry.

 

Just because you passed one persons IE test's doesn't necessarily mean that IE is secure. IE has an inherant problem in that is is imbedded in windows. It is part of the core of windows which means that it has the possibility to let infections or malware right in to the heart of windows. It is possible to make IE reasonably secure but it will never be as secure as firefox or opera 7.5. If you have not done so yet you might want to install IEspyad here that will help secure IE quite a bit. You can also get some good info on securing IE here

 

I guess that means your IE is set fairly securely. But that doesn't necessarily mean the browser is completely secure. I don't think it's so much a matter of "needing" Firefox or Opera, although those browsers generally don't have quite the same vulnerability value as IE since IE is part of the OS whereas the others are stand alone browsers. Because it's part of the OS arguably an IE vulnerability might have more impact on the system than would one in Opera, for example. Regardless of what browser is used IE should be kept up to date with whatever patches are available from Microsoft.

And there will be those who will point out that not all known potential IE vulnerabilites have been patched by MS. There was a site that used to maintain a list of unpathced potential vulnerabilities, but the folks who maintained it took that page down. (An article here on that here: http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/12/17/1071336996894.html?from=storyrhs ) So it's not always the case that MS has patched all known potential vulnerabilities or does so in what some people may consider a timely fashion. For those with XP, the XP Service Pack 2 coming out sometime this summer should be an improvement. (Although so far it doesn't seem that MS will issue similar IE service pack updates for IE 6 for those who are not using XP.)

I'm not an IE basher and I do like it, but I won't argue that it's the most secure browser even if it's fully patched and up to date and one's settings are fairly tight. It's a matter of individual choice as long as one is sufficiently aware of the potential risks and has done what one can to minimize them. (I still use IE on occasion although I tend to use MyIE2 on my work PC. Right now I happen to be using Opera on my home PC, although I also use Firefox and IE. Sometimes it depends on what sites I will be using or just my mood. )

Edited: By the way, I should add that I also use Proxomitron as a local proxy web filter to block ads, popups, provide special handling of cookies, and has some other items/features that can perhaps provide some additional bit of browser security. I use JD 5000's filter set. I should mention this since I don't use any browser without it really. So I'm not running any browser au naturel, so to speak.

 

thanks for your reply,i have iespyad,and bookmarked the second link.i do have firefox.i think what i was tring to say was,when i use firefox i have javascript enabled ,as i dont think it has a trusted zone,and i dont know enough to know which one is more secure in their present states.is using ff with js a concern?thanks

 

i have aprogram called bigfix that sometimes adds fixs i haven't,from microsoftetc. it lets you check first.is it still ok to use proximotron?should i take the time to understand it?sorry,sig,i ment say thanks,and i have xp with servce pack (1 in system properties)1a on cd cover? in internet properties advanced it says sun java used does that make sense?do you know of bigfix?

 

Javascript can provide some useful functionalities but it also can be a source of potential exploit if one happens to run into the wrong (malicious) script on a website. In such cases it may be somewhat better to be using FF for reasons Big C and I stated: it's not a part of the OS as is IE.

But it's difficult (for me anyway) to do completely without js all the time since are some sites where one either needs it or wants to use it. So there also is the "trusted site zone" in IE. (In Proxomitron some filters can be used and added that block some sorts of js scripting if one leaves js enabled so I feel I might have a bit of an additional edge for security or privacy purposes whenever I do have javascript enabled in whatever browser I use.) All one can do is minimize the risk if one has the functionality enabled to any extent.

 

Sig hit the nail right onthe head. If you enable JS all you can do is make your browser as secure as possible and just use common sense and a little caution.

 

thanks,sig,did you catch my edit above.im being abit slow with my typing,brain take your pick

 

god,you two are so quick off the mark,every time i post one off you beats me to it,can i have someelse on my side?i'll start my next post straight away!

 

is proximotron obsolete?is it still ok to use?

 

BigFix is an app that just notifies you of various kinds of updates. It shouldn't conflict with anything.

I originally got Proxo to block ads, popups, web bugs, that sort of thing. But since can do much more than that, especially with additional filters other people develop and share, I found that I really liked what else it can do. It's free and doesn't in my opinion really have that much of a learning curve. One can use the basic filters or experiment with different levels of filter sets that come with the program. And it can be used with just about any browser (although I think there still be some problems using it with AOL's browser).

As I said I use JD's configuation filters set. Some newcomers to Proxo insist that using JD's filters set made it very easy for them to use since it has different levels of filter sets from basic to advanced and there is some explanation for things. You could give it a try for yourself and see if it's at all something you'd want to use.

Here's a link to JD's site. It has his filter set and links for download and info on Proxomitron. Such as this Proxo info site: http://www.proxomitron.info/ and various user support forums for Proxo.

I'm not pushing Proxo...but it's certainly free to try. Some people find it superfluous to an ad site blocking host file and disabling all scripting in their browsers, etc. So I wouldn't consider an app everyone should use or want. But a number of people do like it and use it.

 

LOL, let me see if I've caught up here.

Proxo's not obsolete. Although the author is no longer developing it, it still works and the "magic" that adds to the program itself is the various filters that come with the program and continue to be developed by various users like JD5000, another fellow who's nick at Broadbandreports.com's forums is hpguru, and many others. So the program is still very much functional and good to use.

As to why you have Sun Java...that's a long story. The short version is that for a long time MS had it's Java Virtual Machine (JVM) that provided Java functionality for IE. (Note: Java is not the same as "javascript." I know that's confusing but it's true. LOL. Java is used like for running "Java applets" that you might find used in some online games for example, the speed tests at broadbandreports.com and other things.) Anyway, Sun (the company that makes Sun Java...with a cute coffee cup shortcut icon) sued Microsoft over it's JVM and Microsoft not too long ago decided to dump JVM in its new product releases. So any Java functionality would have to be supplied by Sun's Java program. Which I'm guessing is why you have Sun Java rather JVM. I got XP shortly after SP1 was released so I still have JVM. But anyway, that Java is not the same as javascript although it's an easy thing to get confused about. Perhaps Big C can further explain (if he hasn't already by the time I post.)

 

Microsoft actually quit developing it's own java machine a few years back and just kept useing their old version.It finally got to the point where MS's JM wasn't keeping pace with the developement of java applets and the like. So they stopped all support for their own java and just let the users take advantage of sun java which works better with the newer java programs that might need to be accessed or run. This is a simplified explanation but it should give you an idea why you need to use sun java. The old MS java is still available on some web sites but it doesn't work quite as well and it is not as secure since it has not been supported for quite a while.

MS java download page here


bigc

 

i have been trying to post,but they weren't appearing,if 3 posts appear at once sorry.what i was trying to say was i'll get prox. and do you know of any other good prox. sites besides tom coyote's ,thats the only one i'm aware of if not thanks for your help i'll reread when i get up later.thank you

 

You might try direct download here or info and download here

 

thank you both for your help,i've reread now.when i started talking about bigfix i ment to say,and my memery is a bit vague on this,i've unpluged ,plug and play,done the net bios thing,got all the fixes from WILDERS,gibsons research and xp-anti spy,wmp scriped fix,and what i wanted to ask about was i have script defender with these expressions .SYS,.DLL,.CHM,.CMD,.CPL,.MSC,.MSI,.EML,.JS,.JSE,.PIF,.MSG,.MSG,.SCR,.INF,.INS,.ISP,.CRT, .LNK,.REG,.SCT, .WSC,.BAT,.HTM,.HTML,.VBS,.VBE,.HTA,.WSF,.WSH,.SHS,.SHB i found these on an old wilder's post ; ) but i couldn't get these two to stay in .OCX,.COM, i also have a question regarding jv16 can i ask here or should i start a new thread?

 

Wow, you seem to be loaded up and prepared for venturing out on the net.

I haven't used Script Defender so don't know about the problem you may be having.

It may be best to start a new thread about jv16 (Power Tools, I assume although he does have a stand alone registry cleaner). Put the app you have questions about in the title so it will attract those interested in the subject who may be able to assist or provide more info. Also it may help lurkers who also may be interested in the discussion and might not look at this thread. JMO.

One thing I will say in general is that regisry cleaners and such other clean up utilities should be used with some caution since problems could result from deletions of things that may seem unnecessary but actually are necessary for proper functioning of a program or system. The PT author has reminders to that effect in the documentation and as I recall has tried to make the reg cleaner safe for the average user. Still best IMO to take a conservative approach when using such utilities unless one is an advanced user and/or well equipped to deal with whatever potential problems may result. I don't mean to dissuade people from using such apps. Just an obligatory advisory.

 

Wait a minute... Wouldn't entering .dll into Script Defender cause a lot of annoyances?

 

thanks,sig,i had a look round the forum and decided against jv16,i can't resist picking which duplicate to delete.i downloaded prox. worked fine with ie but crashed ff i had adblock running for about 20 secs before i turned it off,i didnt reload ff,and i had both ie and ff configured at the same tine ,but not loaded at same time.just one browser up at a time.my taskbar disappeared,and the eggtimer came on. i tried different key combos,but they were mainly freestyle,could you give me some more,key combos, incase it happens again?should i now turn on script in ie?and if you could help me pick which filter to use i'd be eternally greatful.at the moment i have the basic filter, prox.turned from green to light biege.should i uninstall adblock?does this mean their configured correctly,localhost 8080,if i can surf?thank you, kaytee

 

the only time i see S.D is when i defrag got them from here hd https://www.wilderssecurity.com/archive/index.php/t-24595

 

I don't have adblock on FF so it may have been a conflict between how that is set up and Proxo. But I don't know for sure since I'm not using that extension. Proxo on its own shouldn't crash FF. But it's possible that the extension and Proxo don't get along. I've had some issues with some add-ons to FF so I now keep them at a minimum myself. (The browser seems a bit zippier on start up that way.) I do use Session Saver though since I like tabbed browsing and having the browser open up and load the pages that were open when I closed it. (I think I had problems with the tabbed browser extension so I'm not using it this time around after an uninstall/reinstall of FF. The FF developers don't advise using it since it apparently overwrites some files. But some people love it and have no problems with it.) BTW, you can have IE and FF open at the same time, that shouldn't make any difference. If you want to try Proxo with FF you should probably at least disable adblock in FF.

It sounds like you installed JD's config for Proxo since Proxo's color has changed rather than the green wacky look. Sorry I was sleepy last night and I think I actually forgot to post a direct link to JD's site.

I've been running an older JD config and have to load up the more recent JD set which is from October last year it seems. I'll have to look through it. The older version worked fine and I was lazy about changing.

As you can see, JD's divided the filters (open up Web Page section under "Edit Filters" on the Proxo face) in sections by topic. So there's a section just on Javascript as with other things. And he's got tips at the top of the page, with ranks legend etc. Each filter has a footnote sort of notation which corresponds to his ranks legend. But it's a kind of a pain to read that within Proxo itself. Two ways to look at all the help documents and FAQ's: (1.) locally just on your PC: look at the documents in the JD Help folder in your Proxo directory (open up Explorer [not IE] and look in Programs-->Proxo directory-->JD Help folder with various documentation files, readmes text files, FAQ's, etc; or (2.) the help stuff is also here online: http://www.jd5000.net/proxo/Help/

Each of JD's filter sets comes with a different default set of enabled filters. Normally I use JD's "advanced" set. Basic has basic filtering functions and shouldn't interfere much with sites' functionalities...it's minimal filtering; Extra has more filters enabled so it's a medium level of filtering; with Advanced there are still more filters enabled by default. And even with Advanced there may be other filters you may want to enable, disable or change (once you figure out what they are and do...that's the rub. ) But JD's help files should help figure that out. The web page section has various javascript filters (including for javascript cookies). The headers section has various cookie settings and other things. The FAQ describes the different levels from basic to advanced: http://www.jd5000.net/proxo/faq.php

It may seem overwhelming at first to see what all is available and what it does but just actually using Proxo should be easy. I'll have to play with the newer version to see what's different.

Just a mention, certainly disabling all scripting in the browser is safer or when using IE only allow it for sites you've designated as trusted for sure where scripting is required. But if scripting is enabled anywhere, some of the Proxo filters might help a bit. I don't want to say people will be absolutely guaranteed safe with it, because only fully disabling those functionalities in the browser will remove the risks.

 

No conflicts with Adblock+firefox+proxo here!