nuther computer question

[LSC SS]

on a cable connection is it possible for someone to get into my computer and either watch what i am doing or typing or even get personal info out of my computer??
What about on a dial up connection, is that more secure??

[Steve Moran]

Cable has a static or non changing address
I can send you a very good firewall from zone labs called Zone Alarm that works well.

[LSC SS]

one of my comuters is on dialup and i have mcafee antivirus & firewall on it, i tested it through antihacker website and it came back ok but the other computer is on cable and does not have any antivirus set up yet except for whatever crap you get with earthlink service. Would that firewall work on both computers??

[Steve Moran]

Yes, it will.
Have you thought about networking both computers?

[LSC SS]

the dialup computer is at my house the other is somewhere else

[LSC SS]

quote:Originally posted by LSC SS:
the dialup computer is at my house the other is somewhere else

if you could send that firewall it would be much appreciated !!

[Steve Moran]

It is slow going but it is in the process of being sent

[ May 30, 2005: Message edited by: Steve Moran ]

[Steve Moran]

It won't let me send an exacutable file. let me try something else.

[Steve Moran]

Ok sent it to you. it is easy to follow and it is free.

[AceFrehley03]

To answer your question more specifically a cable/DSL connection would be slightly easier to hack into over a Modem for stated reasons - the IP Address doesn't change. On a modem, it's more.. random.

You can firewall them both just to be safe.

[franco]

After installation of whichever firewall you choose there should be an icon for it in your system tray(next to the clock).
Rt click it and you'll see an option to Block ALL, use this when you're not online especially on the pc w/cable since it's connected 24/7 in it's natural state.

Here's some good free security software online:

Last 2 are for ridding your system of spyware, adware, etc.

Sygate Personal Firewall: http://smb.sygate.com/download_buy.htm

OR

Outpost Firewall: http://www.agnitum.com/download/outpost1.html


Grisoft AVG Anti-Virus: http://free.grisoft.com/doc/Get+AVG+FREE/lng/us/tpl/v5


AdAware SE: http://download.com/3000-2144-10045910.html?part=69274&subj=dlpage&tag=button

SpyBot 1.3 http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/index.html

[Silver Cobra]

Yep. I concur to all of the above. Anti-Virus software, spyware and firewall is what every computer should have. The only thing left to protect yourself is awareness of your email inbox. Can't really do much else.

After you're done installing it, click on the "Alerts and Logs" tabs and you'll be surprised how many actions were blocked by the firewall :eek:

[JoshMcMadMac]

Careful, guys. Not all cable internet providers utilize a static IP. Mine has a dynamic IP, and a lot of the providers will get you a dynamic IP if you request it.

Karl, check with the Cable internet provider and ask if it is possible to have a dynamic IP address.

[skarhed]

And these things were supposed to make life simpler...
Yeah, I have zonealarm, its ok. adaware is pretty good, and TrendMicro can do a pretty good free virus scan. Don't open e-mails from unknowns.
What a pain in the butt! :mad:

[LSC SS]

Josh I will assume that a dynamic ip is more secure?? I'm gonna use zone alarm firewall on that computer, supposedly my ex wife's ex-boyfriend is some kind of wanna be hacker, thats who i'm sure sent me the virus in the email. Hopefully zone alarm on the computer with the cable modem will keep him out.

[JoshMcMadMac]

quote:Originally posted by LSC SS:
Josh I will assume that a dynamic ip is more secure?? I'm gonna use zone alarm firewall on that computer, supposedly my ex wife's ex-boyfriend is some kind of wanna be hacker, thats who i'm sure sent me the virus in the email. Hopefully zone alarm on the computer with the cable modem will keep him out.

Dynamic is more secure. It's kind of like changing your phone number every week or so. It makes things more difficult, but doesn't make as big of a difference as Anti-Virus and Firewall protection. I am not sure what version of ZoneAlarm you have recieved...but I have the top-of-the-line version at my disposal. It just depends on your adversion to any "personally acquired" licensing. ;) Email me if you are interested in the best protection Zone Alarm has to offer. :cool:

Also, adding a router or switch with built-in firewall can also add one more line of defense. And I am sure that if you get some info on this would-be hacker, there are a few guys around here that can teach him how to tango. tongue.gif

[LSC SS]

josh u have mail

[JoshMcMadMac]

quote:Originally posted by LSC SS:
josh u have mail

Back at ya! ;)

[LSC SS]

Josh, the first link in the email you sent did not work, said page not found. I was able to down load the application, just need the key !!

[Steve Moran]

You have mail

[Imkruzen]

On the topic of ZA, make sure you use the latest version 5.*, not sure what the latest is. The older versions cause problems when uninstalling. You might find the compter might not boot because *.dll files have been renamed or removed from your system during the uninstal. It also slows your system down quite a bit. Some have had problems with routers and P2P networks using ZA. I personally don't like ZA.
Bit Defender v8 has it all in one and I haven't encoutered any problems with the software. Norton products are heavy on resources and intertwine with everything in windows.
Spyware, I find Webroot's spyware is good, with updates as well.
Also to keep your system running fast and clean use a registry cleaner. Even after you uninstal programs, registry entries are leftand your registry keeps growing with useless keys.
Check your ports security here: http://www.dslreports.com/tests
Hope that helps.

[82Continental]

AVG antivirus is also very good, and free, with free updates. It's one of the least resource demanding antivirus programs around, meaning your computer won't feel as bogged down by it. Here's the link. AVG Free (http://free.grisoft.com/softw/70free/setup/avg70free_323a539.exe)

Microsoft Antispyware (Beta) is great for protection against trojans (lets people see what you're doing, and access / delete your files). It's in beta testing stage so it's free, but works great non the less. Here's the link for that. MS Antispyware Beta (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/info.aspx?na=90&p=&SrcDisplayLang=en&SrcCategoryId=&SrcFamilyId=321cd7a2-6a57-4c57-a8bd-dbf62eda9671&genscs=&u=http%3a%2f%2fdownload.microsoft.com%2fdownload%2 f8%2f1%2f5%2f815d2d60-49b5-44dc-ae35-fca2f2c6f0cc%2fMicrosoftAntiSpywareInstall.exe)

With a router (which has NAT, hides your computer's ID within its own network), a software firewall, and the above programs, your computer with cable internet access should be relatively safe.

Disabling file sharing and NetBIOS over TCP is good if you want to go the extra step. You can still share files and printers with IPX. But, the default Windows settings are the easiest and usually not a concern if you have a hardware router and a firewall.

Hope this helps.

[Imkruzen]

Just for fun you can get NeoTrace, it's a diagnostic and investigative tool. It traces the network path across the Internet from the host system to a target system anywhere on the Internet. Automatic retrieval of data includes registration details for the owner of each computer on the route (address, phone, email address) and the network each node IP is registered to. The data includes a world map showing the locations of nodes along the route, a graph showing the relative response time of each node along the path, and a configurable list of node data. Then you can find out where/who you're getting pinged from.

[ June 04, 2005: Message edited by: Imkruzen ]

[waldbaro]

My IT dept. recommends hardware firewalls. Buy a Linksys wired or wireless router. They have excellent firewalls. Much simpler than software firewalls.

[Bluegrass]

I have to admit I did get loaded up with all kinds of shit over the last 6 mos. as the first reason I lost my machine.
I use Netscape almost exclusivly but that does not mean it is protection by it'self but a lot less happens thru this browser than IE.
I got loaded when other users here used IE.
I had to reboot from scratch to clean everything out, then reload all the drivers I use and other programs.
Now the machine is super fast again even on dialup except when the internet itself is slow responding.
If I detect a definate change from suspected input I can restore to a known previous good date beside cleaning up registers and files.
Already had to do this once.
I has become work just like a car, to keep up with.

[Capt. Zilog]

Hmm, I can't add much except to have a buddy of your test your ports for outgoing information. You may be able to have your ISP do that, but probably not. You need to test every port (not just the first 1024 like the dslreports tests do). If some asspirate installed a keylogger, the outbound port may be above 1024 and up to 65535. I would be able to do this type of scan if you can get me your current IP and it doesn't change before I get to it.

[Steve Moran]

quote:Originally posted by waldbaro:
My IT dept. recommends hardware firewalls. Buy a Linksys wired or wireless router. They have excellent firewalls. Much simpler than software firewalls.


I agree with this with an additional statement.
Use a software firewall also. In all my IT training and any white papers I get now I still am informed that a hardware firewall is best, Linksys is of the most talked about for safty and ease of use. then as a precaution any type of a software firewall should be used.

[luxuryrules]

Check out Mozilla Firefox, it's one of the more popular alternative browsers and it works pretty well keeping junk off your computer from the Web.

Other than that, the people here have already outlined how to make your machine quite safe.

On a sidenote, whatsmyip.org is an excellent site for getting physical locations from IP addresses.