full-disclosure - Re: Dumb question: Is Windows box behind a router safe ?

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Message-ID: <15902.1253646513@turing-police.cc.vt.edu>
Date: Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:08:33 -0400
From: Valdis.Kletnieks@...edu
To: Steven Anders <anderstev@...il.com>
Cc: full-disclosure@...ts.grok.org.uk
Subject: Re: Dumb question: Is Windows box behind a router
	safe ?

On Tue, 22 Sep 2009 11:29:20 PDT, Steven Anders said:

> I have always thought that having a computer behind the router (since router
> has firewall) is generally safe, but I would love to hear insights or
> thoughts.

In general, that's true.  Most of the current popular infection vectors are
connected with web browsers or e-mail.  It's pretty hard to whack a Windows
box that's just sitting there behind a firewall.  But all bets are off once
you start surfing websites...

And remember - although Firefox has a somewhat better security history
than IE, *NO SOFTWARE IS BUG FREE*.

> 2. If a Windows box is behind a router, could a botnet be installed to it ?
> Assuming, the end user does not install/download any applications from the
> Internet and always use Firefox.

Yes, if the user uses Firefox to hit a site that has malware that will use a
Firefox bug (see above), you can get a botnet on it.  Most firewalls/routers
are configured to automatically pass all outbound traffic, so the botnet
software can easily phone home to get further instructions/updates.

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