A user should have both a hardware firewall and a software firewall. These days even a dial-up connection should have a firewall. Which firewalls are best and why? Thanks in advance for any comments.
Zone Alarm!
that's the one I use at least, and I've kept this one for like... erm... 2 years by now, it's worked great for me and having Zone Alarm with Norton installed is wonderfully <3, really, I had before another but I can hardly remember which one it was :-X fact is that we switched to ZA :P and we stayed with it
I also like ZoneAlarm and use ZoneAlarm Pro 4.5 with a hardware firewall built into my router which provides me with fast cable internet. :>
I have a hardware firewall in my ADSL router, and I use Norton Internet Security.
:)
It sounds like your computer is pretty well protected. :>
I don't have to worry about viruses. My computer is in too bad of shape now, a virus couldn't make it much worse. I also have everything I want to keep, backed-up.
LN. are you going to format and start over by reinstalling what you need especially since you have your information backed up?
I'll probably reformat my hardrive this weekend. That also means that I probably won't be on the forums this weekend. :(
LN, let this forum know if you have any questions and hopefully we can solve them here for you before your computer is formatted. If you get stuck after your computer is formatted then connect with another computer to the Internet and check this forum for help in getting your computer going again. I hope the procedure is smooth and relatively painless. (IMO, computer cleaning is never fully painless) LOL ;D
There is no other solution. Thanks for the offer, but I think I can handle this myself.
The only firewall I use is the windows one in network connections. Full blown ones they tend to totally screw up anything fun on the internet
For XP home and pro, the included Microsoft firewall is fine. I suggest a built in firewall if you have a router. This is what I have and I also use ZoneAlarm Pro. but it is more for advanced users because you have to decide which programs to allow for internet access and which programs to block and so you must know about all the programs that you need. This includes lines like run32.dll -- you must know if this is good or bad and research it --- this is a shortcoming of ZoneAlarm but in my opinion it is fine for techies. BTW, the Symantec Norton Suite suffered severe critical problems recently according to eeye.com and fortunately they are now fixed but I still do not trust it as much as ZoneAlarm for security needs.
I would fear for my computers safety if all it had was the inbuilt XP firewall!
It's only a low level firewall without any advanced options... also for example, it wont block any of the latest viruses including Sasser.... etc...
Just be careful hey, because in the end, Norton and ZA are much more secure options than the standard XP firewall. ( and with norton, no webpages screw around, and there's no loss of experience on the web. Also, a lot of setting up in ZA can acheive the same results... ))
Lol I don't often fear for my 'puters safety, it just comes down to common sense in the end, you dont download attachments you dont know and dont download any dodgy stuff before scanning!
Unfortunately, it's not that simple.
There are many odd people out there, aswell as some viruses, that scan ISP's, IP's and various networks for open ports, and possible backdoors into systems.
If you installed a REAL firewall program and watched the LOG of blocked connection attempts, you will quickly learn that you are getting atleast 100-200 attempts per day. ( Especially when using broadband.)
And like I said, this includes viruses that users don't know are on their systems. These programs automatically scan for vunerable systems and this is where the majority of blocked connection attempts come from.
With norton, you can scan the IP address of the 'attacker' and get an image of where the attack came from. ( A world map image, then zooms to location when it's found... )
And I've had attempts from all around the world, Korea, China, Germany, South America... etc...
There's millions of computers out there that are infected and scanning the internet for vunerable systems...
It's not just 'attachments' , which are actually taken care of by 'Virus Scanners' not Firewalls.
;)
Yeah I used to be really bothered about security and virus' but it just seems like too much trouble to me. I'm not saying it IS too much trouble, just my lazyness really. At the end of the day anything thats remotely important to me is backed up and if someone wants to look at the files on my PC then go straight ahead lol. Just seems sad for people to actually WANT to see whats on my PC, I pity them.
It's more than just reading files, although that's what gets the most "news time". Hackers can also use your computer for things like Denial of Service attacks against servers, etc.
Peace & Luv, Liz
Exactly, Jeysie and those DDOS attacks cause small websites like the one for CWShredder and Spybot -- Search and Destroy to be shut down. The hackers probably are working with the spyware people to have lots of spyware on people's computers. A perfect example would be a keylogger that could be used to steal someone's credit card number and expiration date and then the attacker may be able to make a false card with the data. Some people want money and power and identity theft which is the number one crime in the US is growing fast. The U.S. needs to adopt the European's Unions tougher stance on protecting individual's identity. Just my two cents.
I dont have any Firewalls and i doubt i will get any :-\
My DSL comes with a firewall but i usally have it disabled so i can host games.
I go websurfing without a condom. XD I do use the passive protect features of Spybot S+D and do checkups regularly, though. ;)
I thought this might give you some ideas so I am reviving this thread
I was wondering - Does ZoneAlarm block everyone's MSN voicechat, or just mine? ???
Have you truned Program Control "Off" ???
Probably not.
Well if you turn that off then voicechat will work ;D
Maybe... but I'd rather have a solution that doesn't involve turning off the firewall ;)
It doesnt turn off the firewall, it allows programs to access the internet ;)
Quote from: racx on September 24, 2004, 12:01:06 PM
It doesnt turn off the firewall, it allows programs to access the internet ;)
...Without any firewall control. Not exactly what I had in mind :-\
But you still haven't answered my question - do you have the same problem? ???
Quote from: Storm on September 24, 2004, 07:14:03 AM
I was wondering - Does ZoneAlarm block everyone's MSN voicechat, or just mine? ???
I haven't had MSN's voicechat work since version 5 - firewall or not. :-\
Quote from: Storm on September 24, 2004, 03:35:44 PM
Quote from: racx on September 24, 2004, 12:01:06 PM
It doesnt turn off the firewall, it allows programs to access the internet ;)
...Without any firewall control. Not exactly what I had in mind :-\
But you still haven't answered my question - do you have the same problem? ???
Yes i had the same problem until i turned Program Control Off ;D, my friend told me that it was the only way to get voicechat working :-\
It's not the only way... Whenever I want to use the voicechat, I just go to the log viewer and add the last blocked alert to the Internet Zone. Sure, it's annoying, but at least I don't have to turn off the firewall :-\
Quote from: Yonkey on September 24, 2004, 06:16:01 PMI haven't had MSN's voicechat work since version 5 - firewall or not. :-\
Why? ???
It just never worked properly. It would say connection established, but there would be absolutely no volume. :(
Quote from: Storm on September 26, 2004, 10:02:29 AM
It's not the only way... Whenever I want to use the voicechat, I just go to the log viewer and add the last blocked alert to the Internet Zone. Sure, it's annoying, but at least I don't have to turn off the firewall :-\
Turning off program control, doesnt turn off the firewall :)
Yes it does, for outgoing conncetions :-\
True but the only things that would send out would be your programs unless...... :o, spyware got onto your computer :P ;)
...Or viruses, worms and other programs I'd rather not give internet access to ::)
or adware :P, or other stuff you dont want having access to the net :D
Yep ;D
Well we just made a wonderful list :D :P
Yeah, and a very purposful one too :P
Sorry to bring this thread back, but this is important. There are other choices than Zonealarm....... :o.......
http://free-firewall.org/.
I trialed Kerio, but it kept crashing on other profiles, so now im back to old-fashioned ZA. :-\
Kerio Red Alert
Check out warning
http://eeye.com/html/research/upcoming/index.html
Thanx for that tip Dew, even though i dont know what that all means :-\ cept that its bad. Another reason I uninstalled Kerio is because it lagged my computer so badly, and kept freezing up random applications, even the microsoft calculator :-X
:bomb:
Has any1 tried Sygate or Outpost. Im on DSL so a firewall is very important.
Attacks by sasser so far: 2
I got Pc-cillin Internet Security 2004 the other day, but it wont install since zonealarm is already on there. I want to use the virus-scanner of Pc-Cillin with the firewall and program control of Zonealarm....
Any solutions to get this to work? I had AVG running with ZA but AVG isnt very powerful.
My advice: Use NOD32 (http://www.nod32.com/home/home.htm). ;)
Peace & Luv, Liz
I never use firewalls and attacks are rare if any, I think I only had one foiled hijack attempt within one year...
But then, it helps that I use Opera instead of the evil IE. ;)
Quote from: Oldbushie on November 17, 2004, 03:11:36 PM
I never use firewalls and attacks are rare if any
You mean, attacks you know about... if you don't have a firewall you probably can't even see them. Don't take my word for it - just install ZA and see how much traffic it blocks. I got about 20 in the last hour alone - sure, most of them are harmless, but I don't want anyone pinging my computer what has no business pinging it >:(
Firewalls speed up your internet too :P
Everyone with BROADBAND should have a firewall, but it's not overly needed with Dial-up.
And DONT install more than 1 firewall, and if you use XP, turn off the XP firewall when you have another firewall program running.
Multiple firewalls cause more problems than they solve.
As for my experience.... I've been a pc techie for a major ISP here for the last 4 months... trust me, I know my firewalls... ;)
Quote from: Grundy on November 18, 2004, 09:46:11 PM
I've been a pc techie for a major ISP here for the last 4 months.
What ISP would that be? Better not be Bigpond :furious:
Im with Internode........Best ISP 2004 ;D :D ;) :) 8)
Quote from: GravityMX on November 18, 2004, 10:01:32 PM
Quote from: Grundy on November 18, 2004, 09:46:11 PM
I've been a pc techie for a major ISP here for the last 4 months.
What ISP would that be? Better not be Bigpond :furious:
LOL! The company I work for is called Teletech... HUGE international company. Though we are contracted by several ISP's to do tech support, and yes, one of those is Bigpond! ::) hehehe
But that's the fun part, bigpond customers have to be the dumbest pieces of shite living on earth... lmao...
I have more fun teasing the bigpond customers, than helping them...
For example>
BP Cust> "My internet's not WORKING!"
Me> (Mute on) f*** this guy's a dumb s***! hahaha ( mute off ) Ok, click start - run. Now type regedit... ok?
BP Cust> Der....?
Me> ( 10 mins later ) Ok, for the tenth time, that's R for romeo, E for Echo, G for GOLF! DO YOU UNDERSTAND?! ( Mute on ) hahaha, f*** this guy!
Me> Ok, so you now have the Regedit screen in front of you? Good! Now, go through and delete everything in this screen, then reboot. That will fix the internet.
BP Cust> Oh wow! Thanks mate!
ME> And if for some reason it doesn't work, here's Microsofts number... Thanks for calling. ( Hang up )
Me> Why are Bigpond customers so freakin dumb? oh well... ( Beep ) My Names Jon, can I start with your username please?
Me> Oh you're a Bigpond cust? Excellent! ( taps fingers together like evil Mr. Burns... )
Funniest thing is, I get paid a shiteload to do it... hahahaha ;D
lol, is Bigpond like the equivalent to AOL or something? :P
Yeah, sort of...
Bigpond is a sub-company of Telstra, and main Telecommunications company here.
No one likes them! ;D
They think their so powerful that they own the lines, but can't put up a doesnt service :evil:
They brought out this deal a while back.....
Adsl- 256k with 200mb downloads @ $30 month 24 month contract >:(
I find it hard to find a worse deal than that. Their as evil as Microsoft. :devil:
Quote from: GravityMX on November 19, 2004, 01:10:34 AMThey brought out this deal a while back.....
Adsl- 256k with 200mb downloads @ $30 month 24 month contract >:(
What poor sap would take a deal like that? ???
I can't believe you have a download limit... that's literally unheard of around here :S
I pay $29/month for 512k/128/k unlimited. 8)
That just shows how dodgy Bigpond is! I get twice the speed and unlimited DL's for $1 less.... and the service is better with my ISP.
But the reason people DO go for that plan, is because they think
"oh, Bigpond, that's telstra, I guess they are reliable enough... lets go with them."
And because most of Bigponds customers are dumb as and don't understand what a download limit is. ( Bigpond has over a million dial-up customers with no idea what DLing is. )
Anyway, that's a ADSL plan aswell, I'm on CABLE and it's much more reliable and stable.
And trust me, I KNOW when bigpond's service fails/goes down, cause I start getting the calls! LOL!
Which is like once a week, where as MY ISP hasn't failed once in the last 4 months. ;)
Quote from: Storm on November 19, 2004, 09:25:49 AM
I can't believe you have a download limit... that's literally unheard of around here :S
Another thing, once you go over that download limit, its 15c/mb uncapped :o
Quote from: Grundy on November 19, 2004, 02:23:33 PM
I pay $29/month for 512k/128/k unlimited.
Just interested to know what ISP that would be, not that it matters since I can't get Cable in my area :'(
I'm considering installing Sygate in the next few days because im getting lots of lag in online games and I'm certain its Zonealarm's fault. Anyone here tried Sygate?
The following is courtesy of Yahoo News:
"Test results underscored the value of keeping up to date with security patches and using a firewall. Computer security experts say firewalls, which restrict online access to the guts of the PC operating system, represent a crucial first line of defense against cyberintruders. Yet, an estimated 67% of consumers do not use a firewall, according to the National Cyber Security Alliance."
Kinda of shocking that so many consumers do not use firewalls!
Like Grundy said, firewalls arent important for dial-up users :-\. Personally I can't stand not having a firewall ;). :P
Best to use a combination of hardware firewall in router along with a software firewall.
I currently use ZA Pro. but may end up using E-Trust which has an anti-virus program as well as a firewall program. ZA is great but I would like to leave my options open and I have heard good things from Gary Terhune, Microsoft MVP about E-trust and their firewall and antivirus program.
Microsoft suggests you use a firewall.
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/viruses/fwbenefits.mspx
I personally see eveything that goes into and runs on my computer. :B
*shakes his fist at firewalls*
I don't want my favorite sites being blocked because they are deemed "unsafe". ;)
Quote from: Oldbushie on June 29, 2005, 06:53:01 PM*shakes his fist at firewalls*
I don't want my favorite sites being blocked because they are deemed "unsafe". ;)
That's not what firewalls do. :scholar:
Here is a good example of what my firewall blocked today.
In my 98SE operating system that has Zone Alarm Pro., I just received an incoming block from China. It just makes me wonder how many computers out there in the world are constantly scanning computers for weaknesses. The details are below and according to Zone Alarm Pro. analysis above a 1000 score is considered a threat.
Incident ID: 183678918
Source IP: 202.101.42.26
Source ISP: chinanet.cn.net
Incident Score: 23100
Status: Your event report, in conjunction with other submitted events of this type, has been escalated to the party responsible for the IP address involved.
Response: No response has been received from the party responsible for the IP address.
I used to get loads of those... I probably still do, but it got so disturbing I stopped reading them :P
Well, I think things will continue to get worse before they get better. BTW, what does everyone think of having all your medical information on a computer. I know people want to do this to lessen medical mistakes but it makes me wonder if then hackers will easily be able to find out your medical history and if employers will start tapping into that information.
I really don't care if hackers get my medical information. But either way I'm sure the right precautions would be taken to protect data from hackers.
I like to think that my computer is so disturbing that it scares hackers away. :suffer:
I wouldn't really care either, but there are probably people out there who do. I think it'll happen (if it hasn't started already), since databases & information systems are used for almost everything anyway these days. They'd just have to be as equally secure as systems that carry other personal information i.e. credit card numbers, bank account numbers, SIN/social security numbers, etc.
A hacker breaking in would be no different than someone sneaking into the room containing your medical record.
Quote from: racx_00 on April 23, 2006, 10:25:59 PM
I really don't care if hackers get my medical information. But either way I'm sure the right precautions would be taken to protect data from hackers.
There was an institute hacked not long ago. Took people's social security numbers, credit card info, names, etc. If it is connected to the internet, it can be hacked... it's just a matter of people wanting to break into it enough. Not that having your info offline is any safer.
Well, when I have enough money and room, I'll have two computers... ;) One for storing all my regular stuff and one used purely for internet. Granted, online updates might be a hassle, but I can always connect the regular computer purely for Windows XP updates. :P
Quote from: Yonkey on April 24, 2006, 08:06:45 AM
I wouldn't really care either, but there are probably people out there who do. I think it'll happen (if it hasn't started already), since databases & information systems are used for almost everything anyway these days. They'd just have to be as equally secure as systems that carry other personal information i.e. credit card numbers, bank account numbers, SIN/social security numbers, etc.
A hacker breaking in would be no different than someone sneaking into the room containing your medical record.
I agree with you Yonkey. I sure hope they make the records as secure as banking information.
Has anyone tested their firewall at grc recently
www.grc.com
has a firewall tester that tests the first 1056 ports to see if they are open, closed or stealth Fortunately, on my computer Zone Alarm Professional passed. I hope your computer is secure as well.
Incident ID: 193930893
Source IP: 61.135.170.159
Source ISP: cnc-noc.net
Incident Score: -67910
Status: Your event report, in conjunction with other submitted events of this type, has been escalated to the party responsible for the IP address involved.
Response: No response has been received from the party responsible for the IP address.
Dang! ZA Pro. blocked a hit from China onto my computer and above 1000 is dangerous. This is a great reason to have a good firewall everyone.
CNCGROUP Beijing province network
descr: China Network Communications Group Corporation
descr: No.156,Fu-Xing-Men-Nei Street,
descr: Beijing 100031
person: sun ying
Try reporting the hacker/spammer to their ISP, cnc-noc.net. :)
Thanks, Neil. I have reported it to the United States Justice Department, my ISP and their ISP. I think it should be resolved now. ;)
Hahah wow! I'm not sure if the United States has jurisdiction over Chinese residents, but at least you contacted their ISP. :P
Well, if the Chinese government and/or businesses are actively trying to hack Western nations then it would be in the best interest of our government(s) to know. I let the folks at Zone Alarm know when I submitted the data. I even let Microsoft know the specifics and they said they will use the data to improve their Windows firewall although in this case it was Zone Alarm Professional that blocked it. Here is the response:
Thank you for contacting Microsoft and taking the time to provide us your feedback. It will be instrumental in helping us to improve our Products and services.
Microsoft is committed to listening to its customers and improving its products and services based upon your wishes. I have forwarded your suggestions to Microsoft Product Development Team for review and they will consider the issues for enhancing security for the Windows firewall.
Isn't that what Microsoft always says? :P
:yes: that is what is usually said. You get a bonus when they forward it to Microsoft's Product and Development team. ;)
Well, clearly my work is starting to annoy people who do not want the Internet to be more safe. This is good. 8) I just received a hit from Spain and now from Moscow, Russia.
LOL, I welcome the challenge!
What ports are they trying to access you on?
A wide range of ports. The most popular port hits are port 80 and port 21.
Oh, web and FTP. The FTP one is a direct hack, but the web one might just be some adware. Do you use any programs that have adware, or visit any sites that use an overbearing amount of banner ads? ???
I just ran a full check of my computer and I am fine. I had one little bit of adware a few days ago that I got rid of. I talked to experts on the Microsoft newsgroup and submitted My Hijack This log for expert analysis altough I was almost sure it was fine. I run AVG (free), Zone Alarm Professional, Adaware SE, Spybot Search and Destroy, CWShredder, etc. I am almost positive my computer is safe. I was actually shocked that a small piece of adware did slip through despite my efforts and downloaded the McAfee SiteAdisor to help determine safe sites. For some reason they have not rated this site yet.
Our site shouldn't have any malicious ads (since we design them ourselves :P). But, I can't guarantee people using external avatars. I have now allowed people to upload directly to our site, so those who were hotlinking no longer need to do so.
Basically, those sites use a scanning port to determine the IP address of the person viewing their image. It's invasive and I don't know why they use that particular technique when all they need to do is examine server logs, but oh well. ZoneAlarm blocks it so it doesn't bother me too much. :P
Can you have people use a less malicious method?
I already did my part by allowing people to upload. 8) Now you'll need to do yours by reporting Lycos UK and Tripod to the FBI. :)
;P
:gossip: :idea: :P
Now blocks from Japan but Zone Alarm claims that they were not hostile.
;D
Also, JavaScripting is considered more dangerous now because of new Java Scripts that are malicious and can go around firewalls.
http://www.spidynamics.com/news/pr/pr72706.html
Well, I got tired of the constant port scanning so now I have a hardware firewall in my router as well as Zone Alarm Pro. There was a big discussion about firewalls and if the Windows Firewall was good enough and the general consensus was a multi-layered approach to security is best. It is great if you are protected by a hardware firewall in your router as well as a software firewall and if you can disable uneeded services to make yourself less vulnerable to attack. Just my two cents as well as others from the Microsoft newsgroup(s).
8)