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Safety on Computers

Started by dew7, March 29, 2004, 01:10:55 AM

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copycat

#20
Quote from: Yonkey on April 02, 2004, 08:13:01 AMDid 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.
:o I completely overlooked that Trusted Zone Security concept last time. Thanx for the info Yonkey! ;-D

EDIT: Ofcourse, ZoneAlarm doesn't do that fancy ad-blocking, so I'm still not completely sure. It's still undecided for the moment. :-\
Fannatic of the cat team.
Official Manager of the TSL Asylum ©
Defender of all things against Connor. :stabs:
Grammar Police superintendant.
The Silver Lining rises from its ashes!

Official member of the Kelsey Fanclub :thumbsup:
Official TSL: Shadows Beta Tester (ret.) :yes:
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Yonkey

Hehe, no prob. ;D 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.  :P
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

Yonkey

Quote from: copycat on April 02, 2004, 12:48:33 PM
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).  :'(
"A wish changes nothing. A decision changes everything."

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.
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

copycat

#24
Hmmm, grc.com now says I have five closed ports, whereas with Outpost I only had four closed. :-\
Fannatic of the cat team.
Official Manager of the TSL Asylum ©
Defender of all things against Connor. :stabs:
Grammar Police superintendant.
The Silver Lining rises from its ashes!

Official member of the Kelsey Fanclub :thumbsup:
Official TSL: Shadows Beta Tester (ret.) :yes:
Official Cognition: An Erica Reed Mystery Episode 1 QA.

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.   ;-D
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

Storm

Quote from: Yonkey on April 02, 2004, 12:55:12 PM
Quote from: copycat on April 02, 2004, 12:48:33 PM
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.
"Never argue with idiots. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

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.
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

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.
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

Storm

Quote from: dew7 on April 03, 2004, 08:29:56 AMStorm, 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 :P
"Never argue with idiots. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

copycat

Quote from: Storm on April 03, 2004, 06:19:05 PMRight 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 :P
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. ;)
Fannatic of the cat team.
Official Manager of the TSL Asylum ©
Defender of all things against Connor. :stabs:
Grammar Police superintendant.
The Silver Lining rises from its ashes!

Official member of the Kelsey Fanclub :thumbsup:
Official TSL: Shadows Beta Tester (ret.) :yes:
Official Cognition: An Erica Reed Mystery Episode 1 QA.

Storm

OK, you just lost me there  :S
"Never argue with idiots. They'll drag you down to their level and beat you with experience."

etgadsby

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

Then again I’m behind a hardware firewall as well but I’ve never had a problem even in the “open internet”.
Peace, Love, & Understanding,

E.ric T.homas Gadsby
        etgadsby@plutonianshore.com

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.
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

dew7

#34
   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.   ???
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

copycat

Quote from: dew7 on April 05, 2004, 10:38:05 AMSo 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'. 8)
Fannatic of the cat team.
Official Manager of the TSL Asylum ©
Defender of all things against Connor. :stabs:
Grammar Police superintendant.
The Silver Lining rises from its ashes!

Official member of the Kelsey Fanclub :thumbsup:
Official TSL: Shadows Beta Tester (ret.) :yes:
Official Cognition: An Erica Reed Mystery Episode 1 QA.

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.
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

copycat

Quote from: dew7 on April 08, 2004, 06:42:22 PMWell 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.
Fannatic of the cat team.
Official Manager of the TSL Asylum ©
Defender of all things against Connor. :stabs:
Grammar Police superintendant.
The Silver Lining rises from its ashes!

Official member of the Kelsey Fanclub :thumbsup:
Official TSL: Shadows Beta Tester (ret.) :yes:
Official Cognition: An Erica Reed Mystery Episode 1 QA.

dew7

   You trust RealPlayer when it adds many registry entries and always wants to connect to the Internet?
Carpe Diem  Trying to help all of us including myself understand the merry-go-round of life.

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