Why Did You Enter The World of Security?

Discussion in 'ten-forward' started by Jimbob1989, Dec 10, 2004.

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  1. Jimbob1989

    Jimbob1989 Registered Member

    Joined:
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    I am interested in why you entered the world of security, not necessarily just joining wilders.

    I will tell my reason then if you feel like it, you can post yours :)

    My Reason

    When I was younger, I realised I had the ability to cheat and I personally thought I could do it reasonably well, untill I had my downfall. A girl I cared for a lot disowned me for the cheat I had become :'( and from that moment on, I realised I had to make a few changes :)

    I had a reasonable amount of computer knowledge and came to the conclusion that through educating myself in computer security, I could use my ability to cheat to help people other than myself.

    I taught myself a little about hacking, servers and general security. My schools computer department often had problems with me pointing out huge security holes on their system :D

    I came to wilders around the time I started moderating and administrating, became interested in forum security as well and still enjoy tinkering with the IPB board I admin on or the php I moderate on.

    Jimbob
     
  2. Rita

    Rita Infrequent Poster

    Joined:
    Jun 28, 2004
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    6,863
    Location:
    wilds of wv
    A friend gave me a computer and I didnt even much as know how to turn one on (I'm serious)so I go to the library and get books and teach myself a little.then I got online and never even knew about spyware etc.I got all kinds of spyware and the computer slowed down so much it would hardly work so i started asking questions why this happened to it and found out about spyware and finally got it cleaned,then I found this site and learned about firewalls and other things Didnt even know what a firewall was till I came here believe it or not!I have so much more to learn and as little as I know now ,I have come such a long way!!Never had anyone to help me till I found Wilders.I spend alot of time here in ten forward I know but i read all the threads and learn from them and when I have a question someone always helps me resolve what ever problem I might have.I rarely have spyware or other security related problems anymore i'm glad to say!
     
  3. nadirah

    nadirah Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 14, 2003
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    I first got my old computer in 1998. Back then, I was just a real newbie to computers. In the past, I knew nothing about computer security at all, I just surfed the internet without caring or even thinking about what I was clicking on. It was until my browser got hijacked and my old computer was hit by tons of rubbish and malware because I never installed a firewall. I asked my cousin what was wrong with my computer, and he told me that it was the fault of spyware.
    Upon hearing about spyware, I then conducted a thorough investigation and I learned quite a lot about computer security, things which I never knew or heard of before along the way. When I found out about some programs that were capable of getting rid of spyware, I downloaded one of them. That was Ad-aware 6. Then I found spybot S&D and downloaded it too. With those two programs, I was able to get rid of almost all the spyware on my old computer. I was very happy and satisfied when I got rid of the spyware, I thought everything was over.
    Then, more terrible disaster struck my old computer. I saw my Internet Explorer browser not being able to open extra windows and my computer mouse was flying or moving on its own like as if somebody else was inside my old computer controlling it. I then started again to investigate what was wrong. I also went to some news websites and I made a new discovery and learned about P2P programs. Then, I also found out about trojans and backdoors.
    From the way my old computer behaved, I predicted that a backdoor was in action. And I was right. I found a P2P program on my old computer called Morpheus. And guess what, it was operating a backdoor and secretly installed more spyware on my old computer. I ran ad-aware and spybot S&D and again got rid of all the spyware. Then, I wondered if whether I could stop spyware from getting into my old computer in the first place.
    I looked for programs that had the capability to do this. I then found Javacool Software and downloaded spywareblaster and spywareguard. It worked perfectly. The spyware nightmare on my old computer ended in year 2001.
    Then, I found Wilders Security Forums and decided to register. Since then, I've learned much about computer security. When I got my new computer early this year, I immediately knew how to secure it. With all my experience and knowledge on computer security, I've managed to keep my new computer free of spyware and very clean.
     
  4. Don Pelotas

    Don Pelotas Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2004
    Posts:
    2,257
    Got infected an started to read about these things ( i generally like to know as much as possible about the things that interests me) and became more interested in it than initially thought i would be, it was really annoying to find out that an anti-virus wasn't enough! ;) :D
     
  5. the mul

    the mul Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 31, 2003
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    1,704
    Location:
    scotland
    The main reason I got involved with security was that my system got infected with 3 viruses, I did not know anything about anti-virus protection or firewalls and even asked my friends, but they did not know anything either, so I just went online and did not bother to get any protection and that is when the problems started and my system got infected.
    I had my system reformated and started from scratch and I learned many things from this great site on security and as u can see I am now well protected and have had no problrms since with viruses at all.


    Your friend

    THE MUL ;)
     
  6. ronjor

    ronjor Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Jul 21, 2003
    Posts:
    163,084
    Location:
    Texas
    I found cookies in my Netscape folder and didn't know what they were. So I learned about cookies and have been learning ever since.

    1.2 Where did the term cookies come from?

    According to an article written by Paul Bonner for Builder.Com on 11/18/1997:

    "Lou Montulli, currently the protocols manager in Netscape's client product division, wrote the cookies specification for Navigator 1.0, the first browser to use the technology. Montulli says there's nothing particularly amusing about the origin of the name: 'A cookie is a well-known computer science term that is used when describing an opaque piece of data held by an intermediary. The term fits the usage precisely; it's just not a well-known term outside of computer science circles.'"

    http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#1.2
     
  7. Infinity

    Infinity Registered Member

    Joined:
    May 31, 2004
    Posts:
    2,651
    I used a pre built pc with a AV installed. but I wasn't that pleased anymore cause it slowed my pc too much, I was looking for a better one, and then just like Don I realised a AV wasn't enough anymore so I learned what options does a good fw need, then the spyware crazyness begin and I tried and learned (and felt quite a while:D)
    and I am glad I did, it is on of the best things that happend to me yet...that is why Wilders rules. I learned a lot from wilders and if you count all the links on this board where I could learn more I have a long way to go...:D

    cheers
     
  8. wildman

    wildman Registered Member

    Joined:
    Feb 18, 2004
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    2,185
    Location:
    Home on the range.
    :) I have messed with computers on and off for over 30 years now. When I retired from the U.S.A.F. in 1988, I swore I would never touch another computer again, I was that burned out (I was the Personnel computer systems manager). In approx.1993 my mother-in-law bought a computer for the spouse (I think the number of times she has used it can be counted on one hand). I started playing with it, and found out just how much things had changed, of course it came with the virus protection program already installed. That program maker informed me by e-mail that an update to the program was necessary for my particular machine, so of course I down loaded it. You can guess how mad I was when my machine crashed and it was due to that patch. I deleted all of that companies stuff, and went looking for another method of protection. I knew nothing except the company I had just gotten rid of. I found a free protection program, installed it and hoped for the best. I checked their forum every now and again, and one day found that Paul had made, what was then considered to be some negative comments about the program I had just installed. I looked at Wilders, argued with Paul, and have been a member ever since. I have learned more from this forum than I would have ever thought of, and have added additional protection to my machine as a result. In fact believe it or not, today one of those programs identified that I had a worm, deleted it, and every thing appears to be working just fine.

    Thanks
    wildman
    ;) :p :eek:
     
  9. Peaches4U

    Peaches4U Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 22, 2002
    Posts:
    5,070
    Location:
    At my computer
    When my computer was badly infected with a virus I went to a techie to clean it - was charged $50.00/hr. only to find my computer was still infected. grr!! I had keyloggers, spyware and a whole mess of stuff draining computer memory and so forth. It was then I made up my mind that if u want something done, do it yourself. I did just that but first stumbled upon Wilders members who took the time to teach me. Viruses, spam, spyware, keyloggers - haven't had them for a couple of years now. Everything is running "tickey-poo". :cool: I do spend time on ten forward but I also read the forums of interest to me and add my two cents worth from time to time.

    http://img69.exs.cx/img69/4374/dogsled24iy.gifhttp://img72.exs.cx/img72/825/peachesname6wd.gif
     
  10. greyfox

    greyfox Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 8, 2003
    Posts:
    577
    Location:
    Washington State USA
    Almost two years ago I had Comet Curser and some other things on my computer and couldn't get rid of them. I asked for help from a cousin of mine, (now well known on the security boards as CalamityJane) for help. She had me download Adaware, Spybot, Spyware Blaster and for good measure Zone Alarm and I haven't had a problem since. CJ also pointed me to Wilders. From then on I got interested in lurking on the security boards and then about a year and a half ago, joining Wilders as a member. Now every day I have three favorite boards that I go to for the news and updates. Wilders I think is my favorite. Everyone is so helpful and it's so friendly and relaxed here .
     
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