think_too_mut Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 >I think this is a big mistake. IE and outlook express can also make your system vulnerable if you don't use the programs themselves. Now, if it is such a big mistake, why don't companies who provide us with laptops request that we use some firewall? They request that we run anti-virus software, but no firewalls. IBM did not request that, present employer does not. Both companies know that the laptops may be used from different locations and through different providers, not only through corporate dial/VPN and existing corporate firewalls. To put into perspective, they are so concerned about their laptops that installing any software not supplied by corporate IS is a sackable offence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 >> Besides, the software you use has nothing to do with firewalls. << I know, what a firewall does I think MS-products (esp. Outlook and IE) are more often targeted and have more security-holes than other products. I do not advocate not using a firewall, but as I said, for me it caused trouble to use one and I have never had a problem because I am not using one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 limbo said:Hi TTM, your former neighbour told me about Zone Alarm, but I just wanted to check what it exactly does, and your explanation helped very well Now since it seems that it won't hurt to install it, I just did that and it's running now. Unfortunately I used to open attachments on my old laptop that caused damage, so hopefully this will protect me a bit. Thanks again though for explaining Limbo, I am that neighbour, right ? Yes, I advised you to run ZoneAlarm, I would not go on the net withouit it..... but I also told you to run Norton as well, right ? And SpyBot too After running ZA for a few days, go and check it, and see how many hits you have received...... Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunsanuk Posted January 22, 2004 Report Share Posted January 22, 2004 Hi, "After running ZA for a few days, go and check it, and see how many hits you have received......" While the threat of probing is real (have noticed someone try 37 ports in a row at one time), the vast majority of those hits are of course utterly innocent. Sanuk! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 HI Soongmak, Thanks for clarifying that. I've got Norton Anti Virus running as well and I became a lot more carefull with opening attachments!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Mrs. BB, Yes, that's you Zone Alarm pro is up for 15 days on trials, than back to Zone Alarm. Norton Anti Virus is up and running. What was Spybot again and where to find it? I get about every 10 minutes a hit it seems. No, No. No. No. No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Limbo, So, its Mrs. to you now ????????? Spybot from their tutorial : Spybot - Search & Destroy can detect and remove spyware of different kinds from your computer. Spyware is a relatively new kind of threat that common anti-virus applications do not yet cover. If you see new toolbars in your Internet Explorer that you didn't intentionally install, if your browser crashes, or if you browser start page has changed without your knowing, you most probably have spyware. But even if you don't see anything, you may be infected, because more and more spyware is emerging that is silently tracking your surfing behaviour to create a marketing profile of you that will be sold to advertisement companies. Spybot-S&D is free, so there's no harm in trying to see if something snooped into your computer, too Spybot-S&D can also clean usage tracks, an interesting function if you share your computer with other users and don't want them to see what you worked on. And for professional users, it allows to fix some registry inconsistencies and extended reports. Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
limbo Posted January 23, 2004 Author Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 BB, Just checked my Zone Alarm stats after just a few hours; 63 intrusions blocked 22 intrusions considered a risk 2 cookies blocked 21 tracking URL's blocked That's a lot IMO. How risky are these risks really? Anybody an idea on that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BelgianBoy Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 Limbo, I dont know, and I fear I dont want to to know either....... then again, according to KS, most is pretty innocent, so I still sleep well at night What I did is unable ZA to check my mails, Norton does that for me far better. Cheers ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soongmak Posted January 23, 2004 Report Share Posted January 23, 2004 TTM, I am no techie, and I really don't know how big the security issue is when it comes to firewalls. I have however one time experienced that at the office there had been an attack on our server to wear out the fire wall and they got through. It turned out that they were trying to set up an ftp server on our server for illegal downloads, so I believe the threat is real. At least I am not taking any chances with my cable connection. To put into perspective, they are so concerned about their laptops that installing any software not supplied by corporate IS is a sackable offence. Wow! Either you guys have gold on your laptops or your employer is seriously anal when it comes to laptops. Cheers, soongmak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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