hey everyone, im curious to know which firewall can i use to disable all of my incoming ports so i can't get any sort of incoming traffice like files, cookies, viruses' on my comp, cuz i read in a linux mag that the safest way is to never browse the net or to just block all incoming traffic? anyone??? plz help Thx in advance!!!

Those "glib statements" are about the same as saying air travel would be safer if the planes were nailed to the runway. Perfectly true (if you never want to go anywhere). It's certainly sensible to get a firewall if you haven't got one. You also need a virus checker and some malware finders/fixers such as Ad-Aware. SpywareBlaster is good too because it stops things "getting in", rather than finding/fixing them afterwards. There are good free firewalls and virus checkers available. As for blocking "all incoming traffic" well the Internet would no longer work. Some bothway communincation is essential - your firewall will block intruders. Cookies are the very least of your worries, relatively unimportant. As for files then it's a case of being very careful what you download. Mostly it is action on your part that causes this, ie "you have said you want it". You do have to take care, that I fully accept. You need to get street wise, not opening email attachments at the drop of the hat and so forth. It is indeed a learning game if you want to stay safe. Derek.W

....btw, with a good firewall, when the internet is being scanned by potential intruders you won't even be seen (known as stealth mode). A bit like trying to shoot at a moving target in a pitch black room. Derek.W

Derek...you're funny. I like your analogies. Darin, I'd do what Derek recommends. I prefer Zone Alarm Pro. They have a free edition as well. However, there are many others to choose from: Sygate, Tiny, Norton, Kerio, Outpost, Black Ice, eTrust, McAfee, F-Secure, and the list goes on. Everyone has a different opinion on which one they like the best. As a matter of fact, there's one built into XP. I don't know much about it though. Regarding antivirus software (necessity), AVG has a free one. Then, of course, there are many, many to choose from there too. For spyware, I like AdAware, Spyware Blaster and Pest Patrol the best. Of course, you may want to change your browser security settings in IE to block malicious Active X controls and scripts. You can also set it to block third party cookies if you're concerned. Firefox is a good browser to try...less ads and spyware. Very user-friendly interface too. Good luck in your pursuit!

Get a router, they have become quite inexpensive nowadays. Do not type anything in this space.

I'm using this host file too for some spyware...seems to speed my browsing quite a bit. http://www.mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm Sabertooth, I installed a D-Link router last night after installing ZA Pro. It was easier to set up than I had anticipated. I went to grc.com to test the ports after the install without ZA running. All were stealth except port 113 IDENT (closed). When I tried to go back in and configure it to block that port, it didn't recognize my password, and I had to reset it, and start all over. LOL. The bad thing is I held the reset button longer than 10 seconds and turned it to a switch. Tech support had me "crash it" and start all over. They have pretty good tech support by the way. After finally reconfiguring it, and figuring out what sequence to turn my DSL modem off/on and the router off/on, I was able to get back online. So far, it appears to be running like a charm. No more ZA alerts. I should've bought one of these a long time ago. Best 49 bucks I ever spent. :O)

I believe you should have as many layers of protection in place as possible. First you want your Windows ME system to have all of the Microsoft Windows ME Security updates as possible, even going so far as to install some of the hard to find optional ones. Make sure Internet Explorer is updated to IE 6.0 sp1, even if you don't think you are using it. Next, remove the unnecessary parts of Windows ME, like TaskManager and PCHealth, the unused "Universal Plug and Play" feature, and all of the System Setup - Communications features except DialUp Networking. You can live without all of them unless this is a business system, and then it should be setup for you by IT professionals. Next step is to remove all traces of Outlook and/or Outlook Express from your system. There are better and more secure e-mail handling programs around that are not attacked so often. And many virus make use of parts of Outlook to infect your system, even if you are not using it. Just remove it Add/Remove Programs along with the other communcations related items. The next level of protection, is to go to GRC.com and learn a little about system security on the Internet and go through his advice on closing your ports by disabling some of the Windows "bindings". Once you have Windows ME secured and locked down, start adding layers of protection around it. Start with a good Anti-Virus program and a Firewall program. Plenty of advice and all levels of quality, but if you have locked Windows ME itself down first and add other exterior layers of protection, all you will need is one of the free AV programs and a free Firewall like ZoneAlarm. Next lay in some protections for IE (again even if you do not use it much) like SpywareBlaster and SpywareGuard. And then hostile web site protection like IE-SPYAD. Then get and keep updated, AD-Aware_SE and Spybot_S&D, and run them to keep your system clean. Now that you have several layers of protection IN your machine, you need several layers outside your machine. If you are using a Dial-up then there is not much you can add in physical boundary protection. But if you have broadband, make sure it is Ethernet connected to your system, and not USB. This way you can add a low cost SHSO router with a built in fire wall. This way you can connect more than one system behind a reasonably secure wall. Plus you now have three layers or "port" protection should one or more fail. One of the first things virus and Trojans try to do is disable your AV and Firewall, alter your port settings and open up ports, so you really need this exterior level of hardware protection. The next level of protection moves out to your ISP. Try to use an ISP that provides a good level or Internet blocking and management of hostile traffic. Few do, and they cost more. As a home users you really don't need all the extras that can be done on the Internet like hosting web sites. You also want an ISP who has e-mail scanning that will stop most known infected e-mail from getting to you in the first place. And last and most important is the level of security you place between your keyboard and your fingers. That takes a lot of reading and understanding of what security threats are. And the realization that very little on the Internet is free. You pay a price for those "eye candy" icons, images and programs. You really don't have to have them. And you can stay away from most sites that do a lot of advertising. Even with all of this, you are still not safe. Hackers are finding new ways to crack Internet security. So you have to keep up to date on what the latest threats are and adjust your security protections and habits to match.