networking in safe mode

I recently tried to defrag my w98 machine in safe mode but ScanDisk
wouldn't complete because of incessant writing to the hd. To cut a
long story short I couldn't for the life of me understand what was
causing the activity until I noticed I had forgotten to disconnect the
internet cable and ( I assume) the kernel was busy handling all the
background traffic from the net without the benefit of a firewall. My
question is how "promiscuous" would a pc in safe mode be connected to
the net and how "insecure" ?

AFAIK, all non-essential drivers are off in Safe Mode.
Your machine would be safe from hackers. If you want
absolute security, disconnect the network cable.


"unglued" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed) m...
> I recently tried to defrag my w98 machine in safe mode but ScanDisk
> wouldn't complete because of incessant writing to the hd. To cut a
> long story short I couldn't for the life of me understand what was
> causing the activity until I noticed I had forgotten to disconnect the
> internet cable and ( I assume) the kernel was busy handling all the
> background traffic from the net without the benefit of a firewall. My
> question is how "promiscuous" would a pc in safe mode be connected to
> the net and how "insecure" ?