Hello, here's the situation. I did one of those stealth tests on my pc and in one test it say's my UDP is visible and in another test on my browser it say's it is giving out personal information to websites. In both instances it recommended that I install a firewall, well i'm running windows xp pro with service pack 2 and it has a firewall. What should I do, not worry about it or worry? Any advice greatly appreciated.

The XP firewall works just fine, but has some convenience limitations. Most people like using a firewall like Sygate, Kerio, Zone Alarm or Outpost to easily monitor and control outgoing traffic. If you choose to use one of these free programs, be sure to turn the XP firewall off. The personal information issue can be addressed by setting your Tools>Internet Options>Privacy to Medium High. Keep in mind that in order to use the internet some personal information is always required.

Yes - you should "worry"!! You should get a firewall that does more than the WinXP firewall does BUT you also need to know how to use it since it will ask you a number of questions every time you connect to the internet and/or run programs. In addition you should also have more back up in the way of anti-virus and anti-spyware defence. 1. Do you have any anti-virus program running on your system? 2. Do you have any anti-spyware prgrams running? If the answer is "No" then we can recommend some excellent FREE programs from the internet! Post back or email me (click on my name at the head or this post).

I do run adaware on a regular basis. I also use AVG anti-virus.

XP firwall checks incoming only. Often the "give away" info is not terribly important and is difficult to remedy without spoiling your browsing. If you like tests throw the Exploits test at it on this website: PCFLANK It will soon tell you if your updates are in order. Be patient and if you get problems try them one at a time until you find which one is the problem. I'm a W98 user and on that system there is a file qfecheck.exe which gives the info on your update state. It may well exist on XP too for all I know. Derek.W

Worrying won't help. Zone Alarm will. You can test your protection here: ShieldsUp! M2 If at first you don't succeed, you're about average.

" I'm a W98 user and on that system there is a file qfecheck.exe which gives the info on your update state. It may well exist on XP too for all I know. " No - it doesn't exist on XP - but you can get it from here... http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=155c7c58-102e-47b0-a12a-bfab8cfccc03&DisplayLang=en Lesley