Use a router?
GRC rates me as "All ports are stealth".
...Jim Thompson
-- | James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens | | Analog Innovations, Inc. | et | | Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC's and Discrete Systems | manus | | Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | | | E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat | |
Zone Alarm ain't bad, but like all virus/spyware things, it has its own overhead and occasional problems.
Windows is a ghastly mess, and trying to patch it up always has consequences.
John
Zone alarm. Free for personal use, and it works. If it was any easier they would have to send someone to download and install it for you. I install it on every personal computer that I repair.
Install it and it will load and run when you boot the computer. ANything without permission to access the internet will open a small window in the bottom right hand corner, requesting permission. There is a box to check, so that program doesn't ask again. If you aren't sure, click the info button, or OK to let it run once. After a little while online you will rarely see the request window. Usually only after you update a program, and have to update the permission.
-- aioe.org is home to cowards and terrorists Add this line to your news proxy nfilter.dat file * drop Path:*aioe.org!not-for-mail to drop all aioe.org traffic. http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
Robert is on dial up.
-- aioe.org is home to cowards and terrorists Add this line to your news proxy nfilter.dat file * drop Path:*aioe.org!not-for-mail to drop all aioe.org traffic. http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
What does connection type have to do with having a router between your connection and your PC's?
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
America: Land of the Free, Because of the Brave
Is there a relatively inexpensive firewall that is *simple* to use and undeerstand? Suggestions?
Nada. For example the SMC Barricade has a WAN port plus a telephone jack for backup in case the broadband goes down. There is no reason why that backup phone jack couldn't be used all the time.
I agree that a router that is hardware-wise completely separate from the PC is the way to go. Else there always remains the risk that some virus or trojan messes with the OS and/or firewall software.
-- Regards, Joerg http://www.analogconsultants.com/
He said once that he only has one computer, likely with a built in modem.
-- aioe.org is home to cowards and terrorists Add this line to your news proxy nfilter.dat file * drop Path:*aioe.org!not-for-mail to drop all aioe.org traffic. http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
The first time a program tries to access a port, a software firewall will pop up a dialog asking
*Is there any need for this app to access the outside world?* If it sounds fishy, say NO, NEVER. You can always go back >I agree that a router that is hardware-wiseNOTE: Hardware firewalls do NOT filter OUTBOUND packets.
True...*and* the more popular the brand, the more likely it is to be on the hit list. OTOH, a hardware firewall can only do HALF of what a *good*[1] software firewall can.
Baer constantly omits the fact that he runs Win98. Most software firewall vendors have dropped support for W98. This is largely immaterial as FIREWALLS DON'T NEED TO BE UPDATED.
Over time, Zone Alarm has become more bloated. (In the linked page, note the growing sizes.) All they have added is eye candy; they haven't added any capability
--in fact they stripped out a nice feature: You used to be able to call up a real-time list of things hitting your ports; you could see (or show someone else) all the attacks ZA was squashing.
The oldest version you can get will do all you require and, as I said, the older version is nicer. (I started using ZA at v2.6.)
Try to find an older version of Kerio Personal Firewall.
Late at night, by candle light, Robert Baer penned this immortal opus:
Zone alarm, as others already have said. It does slow things down a bit if your box isn't too powerful.
- YD.
-- Remove HAT if replying by mail.
Robert, I think you said you were running W 98 SE? If so, email me your mailing address and I'll send you a CD-ROM of utilities you can use. They are older versions of current free software that still support
98 SE and ME.-- aioe.org is home to cowards and terrorists Add this line to your news proxy nfilter.dat file * drop Path:*aioe.org!not-for-mail to drop all aioe.org traffic. http://improve-usenet.org/index.html
...and won't run under Windows 98.
Get an old 486 and run the FREESCO router on it. It doesn't even have to have a hard drive. Manages the modem perfectly, and, like all hardware routers, give a level of protection no software firewall can possible attain.
Also, install Zone Alarm on any Windows PCs you have. The free version works perfectly, but you may want to get the paid version just because it comes configured for a bunch of common applications, saving you 20 seconds or so telling Zone Alarm which ones you want to allow to access the Internet.
Why both? Software firewalls don't get to the data until after it reaches the operating system, and thus cannot protect from attacks that exploit fundamental weaknesses in the OS. Hardware firewalls sit on the wire between the computer and the Internet and thus cannot take advantage of internal knowledge such as knowing that Internet Explorer *does* normally access the Internet while Notepad and your screensaver
*don't* access the Internet, and thus allows the former while blocking the latter.-- Guy Macon
Maybe try out Comodo Firewal Prol.. It's free.
D from BC British Columbia Canada
Windows 98? Maybe ATGuard? (an old copy, not the thing S*mant*c turned it into...) Best regards, Spehro Pefhany
-- "it\'s the network..." "The Journey is the reward" speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com
So was mine recently. _I_ caught it because I eyeball my accounts almost daily. But I don't think it was Internet related... probably an inside job at one of 4 companies that did direct charges.
...Jim Thompson
--
| James E.Thompson, P.E. | mens |
| Analog Innovations, Inc. | et |
| Analog/Mixed-Signal ASIC\'s and Discrete Systems | manus |
| Phoenix, Arizona Voice:(480)460-2350 | |
| E-mail Address at Website Fax:(480)460-2142 | Brass Rat |
| http://www.analog-innovations.com | 1962 |
America: Land of the Free, Because of the Brave
I understand that will help a lot - but seems to be impossible to use in a dial-up situation. And yeah, i am rated the same, BUT my credit card was hacked and fortunately the bank caught it. So i would like to add a firewall to help. Now, if you could tell me how to add a router to my RS-232 line that goes to the modem...
Sounds ZZimple Nufff! if it is no larger than (say) 8megs, then i can download it.
Sounds great! Hope it isn't over 8Megs.
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