SiDHEaD

We use a watchguard firewall. One of our users is not able to log into internet banking whilst this feature is switched on. I know it also stops a few users viewing images which have hotlink protection. I have my own group which doesn't have this turned on, and have never had a problem.

What implications would turning this off have?


Andy

ChrisB

My stab would be that it stops IE, Nutscrape, Mozilla (or whatever) sending out browser version etc to the web site. I guess the sites are looking for that?

SiDHEaD

Yep i know that, but why would one want it blocked?? Would it be bad practice for me to switch the blocking off??

ChrisB

Oops

Privacy more than security? I suppose an iffy web site might want to use the browser details to try known exploits on it?

SiDHEaD

Ah ok i'll turn it off then. I did think it would just be because some people (i.e. firewall makers) are overly protective over such details.

I'll switch it off then, if someone goes to a dodgy site and breaks their pc they will have to get to the back of the queue for repairs

Chris L

Chris is right - browser expolits are getting increasingly common. It is reckoned to be the next big thing in IT security breaches. It all comes down to the 'security by stealth' rule - the less information you give out, the less chance there is of someone having a go at you.

Chris (IT security chap, when I'm not moderating Scoobynet )