Firewalls - advice needed please! - Page 2

Keryvian · 04-18-2002, 12:47 PM

I did a lot of research on firewalls before I got my DSL connection. There were two free software firewalls available that were generally highly recommended.

The first one is Tiny Personal FW. It can be downloaded from download.com.

The second one is ZoneAlarm. The website for that one is www.zonealarm.com.

I haven't used the first one. My impression (from my reading) is that is better suited for the technically-minded person who likes to play with all the settings. I have used ZoneAlarm, and I find it easy to use. Of course, I make my living working with computers, so I'm not exactly a naive user.

When you decide that you want something more than the free solution, I echo the recommendation for a hardware firewall. They are more reliable than the software ones.

Most of the security-oriented sites that I looked at were not impressed with Black Ice Defender.

If you are technically inclined and want to do some reading about internet security (or lack thereof) that is sure to make you paranoid, you can go to Gibson Research Corporation.

Thoran · 04-18-2002, 01:50 PM

The typical home user can eliminate 90% of the dangers of attack without spending a cent.

1) shut your pc off when you're not using it
2) don't share resources
3) don't run servers, www, ftp, etc...
4) uninstall the NETBIOS network protocol
5) NEVER open attachments in emails
6) If you're running in XP or 2000, don't run as administrator, set up a normal user account and do your network browsing from that account.

Then for a relatively small amount of money you can get to 95%+

1) get a good antivirus program and keep it up to date (they'll catch trojan and backdoor programs)

It's a simple fact that you can't 100% protect yourself... the very act of connecting to the internet with a piece of software makes your existance known to people out there... not all of them are nice. You might be using a program you think is totally secure, but if there's a tiny hole in it... eventaully someone will find and exploit it. I'm sure there's other tips people can come up with that I've missed... but these things will at least make you a less accessible target.

[ 04-18-2002, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

04-18-2002, 12:47 PM	#11
Keryvian The Magister Join Date: May 9, 2001 Location: mile high city, US Posts: 131	I did a lot of research on firewalls before I got my DSL connection. There were two free software firewalls available that were generally highly recommended. The first one is Tiny Personal FW. It can be downloaded from download.com. The second one is ZoneAlarm. The website for that one is www.zonealarm.com. I haven't used the first one. My impression (from my reading) is that is better suited for the technically-minded person who likes to play with all the settings. I have used ZoneAlarm, and I find it easy to use. Of course, I make my living working with computers, so I'm not exactly a naive user. When you decide that you want something more than the free solution, I echo the recommendation for a hardware firewall. They are more reliable than the software ones. Most of the security-oriented sites that I looked at were not impressed with Black Ice Defender. If you are technically inclined and want to do some reading about internet security (or lack thereof) that is sure to make you paranoid, you can go to Gibson Research Corporation. __________________ Nid yw\'r hoff o lyfr yn fyr o gyfaill.

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04-18-2002, 01:50 PM	#12
Thoran Galvatron Join Date: January 10, 2002 Location: Upstate NY Age: 56 Posts: 2,109	The typical home user can eliminate 90% of the dangers of attack without spending a cent. 1) shut your pc off when you're not using it 2) don't share resources 3) don't run servers, www, ftp, etc... 4) uninstall the NETBIOS network protocol 5) NEVER open attachments in emails 6) If you're running in XP or 2000, don't run as administrator, set up a normal user account and do your network browsing from that account. Then for a relatively small amount of money you can get to 95%+ 1) get a good antivirus program and keep it up to date (they'll catch trojan and backdoor programs) It's a simple fact that you can't 100% protect yourself... the very act of connecting to the internet with a piece of software makes your existance known to people out there... not all of them are nice. You might be using a program you think is totally secure, but if there's a tiny hole in it... eventaully someone will find and exploit it. I'm sure there's other tips people can come up with that I've missed... but these things will at least make you a less accessible target. [ 04-18-2002, 01:50 PM: Message edited by: Thoran ]

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