Computer Related > Internet security - should I switch off? Miscellaneous
Thread Author: FocalPoint Replies: 14
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 15:05 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - FocalPoint
I have read that it's a good idea to switch off your computer when it's not in use, since all the time it's on it's vulnerable to attack.

Is this true? And, as someone who sometimes goes out leaving my browser open, am I making matters worse by so doing?
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 15:08 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - Stuartli
Use Hibernate if you are leaving the system for a while (not Standby or Sleep); it Saves all the current open browser windows, settings etc and returns to this point when the system is switched on again.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 16:53 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - rtj70
If you put a computer in suspend or standby the computer is only preserving the current state in memory so nothing is actually running. I put my Mac into standby but it also saves the state to disk - so if power is lost it will restore from disk.

To answer the original question:

1. If you have the computer behind a firewall router then leaving it on is not really a risk unless you have deliberately allowed some ports through. And if you don't understand that then you're not likely to have done it.

2. Leaving the web browser open won't change the risk. If there was a threat hidden on a website, it would have done any harm already. Leaving it open should be fine. I might close all web pages on my Mac but I rarely close down Safari because that way it opens up pages faster when I want it.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 17:35 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - Stuartli
>> If you put a computer in suspend or standby the computer is only preserving the current state in memory so nothing is actually running. I put my Mac into standby but it also saves the state to disk - so if power is lost it will restore from disk.

That is the equivalent of Hibernate in Windows, but you have to Enable the use of Hibernate.

I've mentioned before that I use (Enabled) the computer case's power button to go into Hibernate and the Shutdown button from the Start menu to do a full Shut Down at the end of the day.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 17:52 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - rtj70
Not quite Stuarli, it does both. It sleeps and preserves RAM and writes the content to disk. If it does not lose power it's on instantly. If it loses power when sleepingit comes back from hibernate without losing work etc.

Actually the default for a desktop Mac is to sleep and the hybrid method is the default for Apple laptops. But I changed my iMac to work the same.
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New Fri 15 Oct 10 00:15 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - Stuartli
>> Not quite Stuarli, it does both. It sleeps and preserves RAM and writes the content to disk. If it does not lose power it's on instantly. If it loses power when sleeping it comes back from hibernate without losing work etc.>>

Seems exactly the same as Windows nevertheless....:-)
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New Fri 15 Oct 10 00:44 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - rtj70
Stuartli, if you hibernate your Windows machine it will turn on within a second and be usable? My Mac is. But turn it off after it's written to the disk the state info (does it as it goes to sleep) and later remove power and it will resume from hibernate instead.

If Windows Vista/7 does this hybrid sleep/hibernate then I'll turn it on.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Fri 15 Oct 10 at 00:44
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 17:58 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - ....
When you say computer, ChrisPeugeot, is it a base unit or a laptop ?

Hibernate is designed primarily for laptops see tinyurl.com/yeaszpf link to Microsoft.

Only reservation I have about doing it to a laptop is you then forget it's not fully switched off and I wonder if the HD has been properly parked for moving around.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 19:09 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - Falkirk Bairn
Daily Mail has an article on wireless security issues

www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1320368/Wi-fi-networks-easily-targets-hacked-5-seconds.html?ITO=1490
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 19:21 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - FocalPoint
Not a laptop - a PC.

I'm running Vista Home Basic and it doesn't have Hibernate. However, it does have Sleep.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 20:17 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - smokie
Hibernate isn't there by default, but you can usually turn it on.

Click Start, enter cmd in the Run box and press enter - this will bring up a DOS prompt screen
Type powercfg -h on

Close teh DOS prompt

You should then have the Hibernate option
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 20:48 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - FocalPoint
Thanks, Smokie, but I have tried this. I get the message "You do not have permission to enable or disable the Hibernate feature."
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 21:23 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - ....
Powercfg /a

Will tell you what is and is not available on your system.
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New Thu 14 Oct 10 22:20 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - John H
>> Thanks, Smokie, but I have tried this. I get the message "You do not have
>> permission to enable or disable the Hibernate feature."
>>

Try smokie's method but this time

start > search box > cmd >
then right-click on cmd to run as administrator

if that is not clear, see illustration here
www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/run-a-command-as-administrator-from-the-windows-vista-run-box/

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New Thu 14 Oct 10 22:44 
 Internet security - should I switch off? - FocalPoint
Thank you very much, John H. Your instructions worked fine and I now have Hibernate.
Last edited by: ChrisPeugeot on Thu 14 Oct 10 at 22:44
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