Two Issues: 1. Security: MD5 Encryption for OSPF: Can sequence numbers be guessed? MD5 keys are encoded using IP chaining for EIGRP (Exterior-interior gateway protocol); thus you can have more than one key and can rotate them protecting intruders from guessing your algorithm -- since you change it. Is the same true for OSPF? If not one option at least is to vary the sequence number system; for example routers might be using 1, 3, 5; or they might be using 1,2,3,6,10 (the "triangular" sums); or they might be using 1,2,3,4,5,6; or they might be using sequences like 6,28, 2. Avoiding routing loops: can this method work?: accept routes of = metric so long as less than metric to the routers sending the routes -- does this rule work on internet hmmm I think you could of course just use split horizon or something too but another option: accept routes of metric less than metric to router sending them of course; but also accept routes of = metric if you do not advertise any route; finally accept routes of different metric if they come from a single router and if you do not advertise any route. * * * Other Notes (Unrelated to Routers) 3. Is it not the search engine's responsibility to remove links whose popups write folders to your temp folder w/out your clicking anywhere even on the "no I don't want your scan" button (which of course if you click that they will start going through your computer creating temp folders for their malware)? I use mostly google, thinking security is their business, but not so when it comes to the search results apparently (a large number of their search results not the majority but plenty). I can't say so much about other search engines. Google, hope you all see this (and other search giants too) and consider what to do about these. 4. Of course, since the search engines don't screen results carefully enough, you'll need to know what to do: when you get a "Message from Web Page" inviting you to use its scan, never click on the page at all, on any close button, or anything else. Instead, use + + to bring up the task manager, and under the applications menu use the button to close the browser. Disconnect from the internet. Then shut down and restart the computer. Alternately you can just shut down and restart the computer, but whatever you do when you restart you should not reopen the same browsing session again (nor is it a good idea to just unplug the computer; that's not so good for the hard drive). If you do this right away, you'll probably be fine but many of the scanners are already going through at least your temp folder (which the web page does have access to) without your consent. Why allow such crooks to earn money at all, from cookies, anything? The next step is, when you restart the computer, to not connect to the internet right away. Instead, go to your temp folder (insidde of your WINDOWS folder, which you can find by clicking on my computer) and look for new files, files created (not modified; you may not be able to just delete those but created) at the date and time you opened the page. Delete those files/folders. You can also look in Downloaded Program Files and Downloaded Installations but actually if you did not click anything and shut right down you are probably o.k. there. The best thing to do is to run a search from My Computer and make sure to search hidden files and folders and all the C drive for files created on that date (you'll need to use the advanced search options here to select the date you are looking for and to include hidden files and folders). (You won't be able to delete flash cookies; for that you'll have to go to Adobe's web site, and as for deleting other cookies, you can go through your cookies folder but it's a pain; otherwise you can just delete but not without some of the sites you go to regularly -- unless saved in favorites -- forgetting you.) As for files that have been modified, I don't know what to do but as for registries, I am wondering if running chkdsk as soon as the malware is deleted will repair them if I've done it all right away, within minutes of opening the bad page. (I don't use online registry cleaners, however many people swear by them; registry cleaners, even some of those provided by Microsoft, can mess up your registries; unless you know how to fix your registries yourself, how to get rid of bad entries and go back to an older version that was right for the programs you have, I don't have a clue.)