Stand By

[grag123]

1. IPC , 550 PIII , 10GB HD, Win 98se , IE6/OE6, 128 Ram,nVIDIO GeForce 2MX/MX400 3D Acel, 3COM 56K Modem, SMC E2 Card 1211TX 10/100 Fast Ethernet Adapter (PCI), Linksys 5 Port Hub, Terra Pro Cable modem, 640U , Canon BJC1000 Printer,Zone Alarm, Avast ,Disk Cleaner .

Is my computer as safe from attack while on Stand By as it is when it is shut down ?
I normally use my computer 2hrs/day but leave it on stand by with the monitor shut off for about 4 hrs/day , in case I need it again . After that , I shut it down . I do this in the interest of economy but mostly to minimize the probability of attack from spammers and worse .

[zipulrich]

"minimize the probability of attack from spammers and worse."

First off, spam will come via email, so on/off status has no effect there. ZoneAlarm, if you've got it configured OK, does a nice job of protection. Not sure if that Linksys has any firewall protection or not.

Obviously, an unplugged PC is a safe one (unless it falls on your foot or something). But it looks like you've got the general idea of how to protect yourself as much as is available, so I wouldn't worry much whether you unplug or simply set to 'standby'. Run an online virus scanner once in awhile, as well as a trojan scanner, and you should be fine.

[renegade600]

As long as you have a firewall that is setup properly on the computer, there should be no problems. I leave my computer on 24/7 and never had a problem.

If you want to test the security of your pc, go to pcflank and run their online tests.

[grag123]

Thanks for the quick replys .I may not be any the wiser but I feel better !!