Safety on Computers

[copycat]

Did you try configuring the two security zones with (free) ZoneAlarm: Internet Zone Security and Trusted Zone Security?  Define only your LAN IP range (i.e. 192.168.x.x) on the Trusted Zone and make sure no incoming/outgoing is being blocked.  I had a LAN last year and this worked fine for me.

I completely overlooked that Trusted Zone Security concept last time. Thanx for the info Yonkey!

EDIT: Ofcourse, ZoneAlarm doesn't do that fancy ad-blocking, so I'm still not completely sure. It's still undecided for the moment.

[Yonkey]

Hehe, no prob. ZoneAlarm is probably the best free firewall out there right now, IMHO because it's so easy to configure and to see which applications are illegally trying to get access.  

[Yonkey]

EDIT: Ofcourse, ZoneAlarm doesn't do that fancy ad-blocking, so I'm still not completely sure. It's still undecided for the moment.

Yeah, I think the ad-blocking is a part of ZoneAlarm Plus or Pro (both not free).  

[dew7]

   Well a corporation has to make a profit, that is capitalism 101.  I am glad ZoneAlarm offers such a good and free firewall.  For ad-blocking you could always use HOSTS and a utility such as the google toolbar.  I have not installed the google toolbar so I cannot comment on it.  I think Yonkey says he uses it so I will let him or someone else comment on it.

[copycat]

Hmmm, grc.com now says I have five closed ports, whereas with Outpost I only had four closed.

[dew7]

   You must have some bad configuration somewhere.  I have checked my PC and all of them are stealth but one.  The one that is not stealth is closed because if it is always in stealth mode you could have internet connection problems.  ZoneAlarm is smart enough to stealth this one port on an as needed basis.  

[Storm]

EDIT: Ofcourse, ZoneAlarm doesn't do that fancy ad-blocking, so I'm still not completely sure. It's still undecided for the moment.

Yeah, I think the ad-blocking is a part of ZoneAlarm Plus or Pro (both not free).  

Is there a free ZoneAlarm version? I was using a free trial version which expired after 30 days... it did have ad-blocking though.

[dew7]

   I use the free ZoneAlarm which is very effective.  It blocks just the same as the paid version but you cannot find out who is trying to hack your computer.  Also, the paid version has ad-blocking and other features to make it worth paying money for.  However, many of these services you can get for free elsewhere.  It is up to you whether you want many free programs protecting your computer with a few paid ones or having to pay for some programs to make your computer secure.

[dew7]

  So, did you find the weakness in your configuration settings, Copycat?  Storm, if you have broadband (cable or dsl) without a hardware and/or software firewall you are setting yourself up for trouble.  By the Way, PC World suggests that you use both hardware and software firewalls to protect your computer.

[Storm]

Storm, if you have broadband (cable or dsl) without a hardware and/or software firewall you are setting yourself up for trouble.

Right now I'm using dial-up, but I'll be sure to get the free version of ZoneAlarm once I get back to broadband. Seeing how much traffic the ZoneAlarm blocks is really scary

[copycat]

Right now I'm using dial-up, but I'll be sure to get the free version of ZoneAlarm once I get back to broadband. Seeing how much traffic the ZoneAlarm blocks is really scary

Those are probably just port scans, not someone trying to hack into your pc. I think the server-ZoneAlarm is not meant to display the 'hits', because no-one's using that pc  directly. We just turn it on, when we want to surf, and we turn it off when we stop surfing.

[Storm]

OK, you just lost me there  

[etgadsby]

What a mess, all this makes me glad Iā€™m primarily a Mac/UNIX based user.  Iā€™ve got the ports I need blocked and most web pages and spyware just ignore my browser. Thereā€™s something to be said for NOT using the most popular OS on the blockā€¦

Then again Iā€™m behind a hardware firewall as well but Iā€™ve never had a problem even in the ā€œopen internetā€.

[dew7]

   Windows XP users have the most trouble because Windows XP is the most common operating system available.  In using 98SE, I have avoided some of the viruses that just target XP.

[dew7]

   So Copycat, did you ever get your open and vulnerable ports closed to have a more secure PC?  You do not want any ports to be open because this could cause your pc to be port scanned which in turn encourages hackers to try to hack your PC.  FYI, before I had a hardware firewall, ZoneAlarm picked up so many port scans of my PC that it was unreal and caused my PC to slow down a bit.  The worst threat came from China with a score of 17500 and above 1000 is a threat.  I do not fully trust China because I think they are in for their own good and security.  I mean they are developing technologies just to be used in China and not the rest of the world.  Doesn't this raise red flags in your mind.  

[copycat]

So Copycat, did you ever get your open and vulnerable ports closed to have a more secure PC?  You do not want any ports to be open because this could cause your pc to be port scanned which in turn encourages hackers to try to hack your PC.  FYI, before I had a hardware firewall, ZoneAlarm picked up so many port scans of my PC that it was unreal and caused my PC to slow down a bit.

Since I'm using NAT, the displayed IP-address of my pc is actually the server's. So I highly doubt the occasional hacker can penetrate the NAT-software and hack into this pc. They might be able to hack into the server-pc, but that one doesn't have any open ports either. Even when I did have a direct connection to the internet (when I was still dial-upping), and had ZoneAlarm I never had so many port scans it slowed down my pc. Whether or not I have a port open or not does not concern port scanners, they just scan an entire range and see where there are ports open. If there's a port open, they would hack into my system, not port-scan it again. But, alas for them, there are no open ports, only a few closed ones (and all the other ones 'stealthed'.

[dew7]

   Well you can ignore my other posts then.  I thought you had written previously that you had 4 open ports.  Have a nice day.

[copycat]

Well you can ignore my other posts then. I thought you had written previously that you had 4 open ports. Have a nice day.

Never rely solely on your thoughts, unless you're absolutely certain. That's why I keep so many written things, becaused I can't rely on my memory or my thoughts deriving from that memory.

[dew7]

   You trust RealPlayer when it adds many registry entries and always wants to connect to the Internet?

[Jeysie]

Dew's got a point. I know I've heard of a program that can run RealMedia files without installing or spyware connections or anything... I'll have to dig up the link when I get home.

Peace & Luv, Liz