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If i'm running Windows 98 and all my ports are reported as "closed" instead of either being open or stealthed, do I need a firewall? I'm also usually connected for a total of 8hrs per day using a dial-up connection. Shouldn't I have a firewall or does it matter?
An examble:
Sometimes a program from your PC can connect to the net when you are online and you don't realize it.
A firewall will ask you if you want to allow it to do so.
This maybe a program you have or a trojan,spyware,dialer you don't know you have it in your system.
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yes close ports are goo but stelth port are better. when scanning a person should get connection closed. this would tell them there is a host there. but stelth makes you or your ports not there also depends on how you have your firewall set up.
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I tried for two months to be without firewall
and I emerged clean and well,but I think ,from the time you are online every day,a firewall is a must.
It has also to do with your security settings,the antivirus and Trojan scanner you use and the sites you visit.
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i recommend Sygate Personal firewall pro 5 or zonealarm pro 3 they won the best rewards for blocking viruses and personal information
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It's like the previous posters said,you absolutely need a firewall.Your risk level depends on where you go and what you do on the net.Anyone can be a possible victim though.There are two free firewalls that I have experience with recently.Zone Alarm basic and Sygate personal firewall 5.0.I haven't trialed the pro(subscription) versions of either firewall.Check out wilders.org or a similar site for reviews and downloads.wilders has been a safe download site for me.I prefer Sygate,but Zone Alarm seems to be more popular.The bottom line is:you can't go wrong with either one.
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Zonealarm reported I was under attack from another PC. I had picked up a bug (that was not found by my AV program) and was messing with my connection to the net.
Without Zone Alarm (the free version) from
www.zonelabs.com I would have not known why the internet surf experience was so crap.
This was one of my posts.....
http://www.computing.net/security/wwwboard/forum/942.html
I would not now dare go on the net without a firewall.
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Yes, yes, yes. No matter if he is on dial up or broadband. Some good firewalls are free and easy to install and use. Yes it may slow down ur connection since every packet must be inspected but it slows u down just tenths of nanosecond. U wont tell the difference.
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Hey,I have dial-up.And I wouldn't go on net without a firewall.Dial-up is less available than cable for hacking etc...but it still could easily happen to me if I have no protection.
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why would you want to gain control of an dial up connection, you would need 100's to genereate the problems 1 cable/high bandwith connection can cause.
But with your long connection time i would agree you need a fire wall
"If you stay connected for long periods, have a stacic ip number, use IRC or d/l "non offical" softwere a firewall is a must to catch trojans and protect your self from nasty crackers" - smeagol old post
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So if I'm regularly chatting with people on instant messengers and transfering/sharing files with these people, I would need a firewall more than if I wasn't chatting with anyone. Is this correct?
And a firewall may detect a virus or something that my antivirus software missed, right? Because just a few weeks ago I got a virus and I ALWAYS scan everything I download, all attachments, I keep the virus definitions up to date, and I scan my computer once a week. So maybe a virus snuck in from not having a firewall?Thanks for everyone's help
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a good firewall stops data from leaving or entering your computer. You set it up to allow only the stuff you know that is good to communcate across your network/internet.
A firewall will NOT pick up virus BUT will stop trojans sending your vital infomation back to the cracker who wrote it.
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.... i changed from a dialup to a broadband connection last October.... after a virus scare at Christmas i installed Norton Internet Security in the New Year. i downloaded it from the internet....it was simple...since then i have had 79 attacks from all over the world ...... including frequent 'hackers' from the same ISP as me! (This included 9 port scans over Easter before i realised what was happening.)
I frequently complain to my ISP by sending them my log although in the UK it is not illegal to 'hack' only to steal!With Norton and Java script you can also trace attacker and complain to their ISP if you can be bothered. i recommend to everyone now to get themselves a firewall. It has saved me a lot of problems ...... (fortunately no repercussions from the port scan)....... and has been a learning curve ......'it is more blessed to give than to receive'....
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sirkitmain not sure who told you about the UK and hacking. the laws in UK are different, would agree on that but depends one were the scans are coming from . most of the UK are just like us and after Sept 11. they are alot more strict on this no matter were you are from. but it is illegal to hack in the UK us thier is only two places in the eroupe that it is legal. UK is not one of them . it is illegal here
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If you dont have a firewall your computer is not hidden from hackers. It is also good to have a firewall because you can control which programs gain access to the internet and which do not.
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