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Firewalls


Newt

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There has been a good deal of discussion on many of the internet chat boards about firewalls. Now that broadband is getting common, you do need some protection beyond AntiVirus programs and a "firewall" is the usual solution.

 

Zone Alarm Pro is a free firewall and a very good one. Norton has a good one as part of their internet security suite. Black Ice Defender is another that has been around for quite a while.

 

Many of the discussions turn into raves for ZAP and knocks on Black Ice. Not only does it cost money but "there are essential things it just doesn't do" I've heard. Let me post some info here that may help you decide you need something and to maybe help with the ZAP/Black Ice question. The info is as non-technical as I can make it.

 

Zone Alarm (a classical firewall) and Black Ice Defender (an Intrusion Detection System) have a very similar purpose in life - to prevent attackers from getting in to your computer and to prevent unauthorized (by you) information from leaving.

 

ZA does this by blocking traffic for all of the roughly 65K ports that TCP/IP can use. It will open ports only if you say to. The normal ports for HTTP (your browser) and POP3 (your email) are usually left open else you couldn't use either product. You can further specify the name of the program that is allowed to use a specific port. Opening any ports is up to you. ZA will not let ANY traffic in or out via the other ports unless you say it should (maybe for Messenger, ICQ, internet games, etc.).

 

Good enough then. You have control. However, a firewall does not care what traffic comes and goes thru a port you have authorized for use. It can be set to only allow certain programs to use the ports but does not check to see if the traffic is really from that program. So, Mack The Hack could make his own program and call it explorer.exe (a legit file on your system), put it in some hidden location and set it to use one of the ports most folks have open. He is then free to visit your PC and to send any information from there to himself.

 

Intrusion Detection Systems like Black Ice Defender also require you to authorize which ports and programs but also check traffic in and out to see if it appears legit or not.

 

If a firewall is like a fence you put gates into, Black Ice is the same with guards at the gates to check credentials of all who try to enter or leave.

 

The main rap I've heard against Black Ice is "It doesn't stop outgoing traffic". This is false as it does check the traffic. It just does not send you a message when it blocks something.

 

Black Ice will have a little more "overhead" since it looks at each packet that tries to enter or leave. With dial-up you might notice some slowdown. With a slow or memory-limited system you might notice some slowdown. With broadband and a reasonably powerful PC, you won't notice any at all.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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This question might be connected to this issue.....

 

Newt, tonight I signed a petition from the coarse angling forum (cormorants), but when I clicked onto the "Name" window and pressed "J", my name came up as an option but so did another person's that I've never heard of before.... Any ideas?

John S

Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra

 

Species caught in 2017 Common Ash, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, White Willow.

Species caught in 2016: Alder, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Crab Apple, Left Earlobe, Pedunculate Oak, Rock Whitebeam, Scots Pine, Smooth-leaved Elm, Swan, Wayfaring tree.

Species caught in 2015: Ash, Bird Cherry, Black-Headed Gull, Common Hazel, Common Whitebeam, Elder, Field Maple, Gorse, Puma, Sessile Oak, White Willow.

Species caught in 2014: Big Angry Man's Ear, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Common Whitebeam, Downy Birch, European Beech, European Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, Wych Elm.
Species caught in 2013: Beech, Elder, Hawthorn, Oak, Right Earlobe, Scots Pine.

Species caught in 2012: Ash, Aspen, Beech, Big Nasty Stinging Nettle, Birch, Copper Beech, Grey Willow, Holly, Hazel, Oak, Wasp Nest (that was a really bad day), White Poplar.
Species caught in 2011: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Fir, Hawthorn, Horse Chestnut, Oak, Passing Dog, Rowan, Sycamore, Willow.
Species caught in 2010: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elder, Elm, Gorse, Mullberry, Oak, Poplar, Rowan, Sloe, Willow, Yew.

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Umber - thank you for the clarification.

 

John - when you say the name "popped up" do you mean a drop-down window (which would be information on your PC if you have one of the features turned on that causes this) or something else?

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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Newt:

John - when you say the name "popped up" do you mean a drop-down window (which would be information on your PC if you have one of the features turned on that causes this) or something else?

Yep, that sounds like the one. I click on the "name" window and type in the first letter of my name, then the drop down opens and I have my full name shown - except this time a strange name came up as well.

 

I won't say what the name was, but I don't know him, and I am the only one using this computer....

John S

Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra

 

Species caught in 2017 Common Ash, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, White Willow.

Species caught in 2016: Alder, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Crab Apple, Left Earlobe, Pedunculate Oak, Rock Whitebeam, Scots Pine, Smooth-leaved Elm, Swan, Wayfaring tree.

Species caught in 2015: Ash, Bird Cherry, Black-Headed Gull, Common Hazel, Common Whitebeam, Elder, Field Maple, Gorse, Puma, Sessile Oak, White Willow.

Species caught in 2014: Big Angry Man's Ear, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Common Whitebeam, Downy Birch, European Beech, European Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, Wych Elm.
Species caught in 2013: Beech, Elder, Hawthorn, Oak, Right Earlobe, Scots Pine.

Species caught in 2012: Ash, Aspen, Beech, Big Nasty Stinging Nettle, Birch, Copper Beech, Grey Willow, Holly, Hazel, Oak, Wasp Nest (that was a really bad day), White Poplar.
Species caught in 2011: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Fir, Hawthorn, Horse Chestnut, Oak, Passing Dog, Rowan, Sycamore, Willow.
Species caught in 2010: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elder, Elm, Gorse, Mullberry, Oak, Poplar, Rowan, Sloe, Willow, Yew.

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John - pretty well had to be a name someone tried.

 

Anyway, if you will say what OS you are running I will tell you how to clear the cache of that name or of all names if you prefer so you can start fresh.

 

It will repopulate when ever you next put information in somewhere.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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I'm now wondering if it's the name of someone I had to do a search for on this site when I had to delete something of his, maybe there's a few more names in the cache....

 

If you can tell me how to delete it (or them) from Win98, that'd be great :)

 

Cheers Newt :)

John S

Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra

 

Species caught in 2017 Common Ash, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, White Willow.

Species caught in 2016: Alder, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Crab Apple, Left Earlobe, Pedunculate Oak, Rock Whitebeam, Scots Pine, Smooth-leaved Elm, Swan, Wayfaring tree.

Species caught in 2015: Ash, Bird Cherry, Black-Headed Gull, Common Hazel, Common Whitebeam, Elder, Field Maple, Gorse, Puma, Sessile Oak, White Willow.

Species caught in 2014: Big Angry Man's Ear, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Common Whitebeam, Downy Birch, European Beech, European Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, Wych Elm.
Species caught in 2013: Beech, Elder, Hawthorn, Oak, Right Earlobe, Scots Pine.

Species caught in 2012: Ash, Aspen, Beech, Big Nasty Stinging Nettle, Birch, Copper Beech, Grey Willow, Holly, Hazel, Oak, Wasp Nest (that was a really bad day), White Poplar.
Species caught in 2011: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Fir, Hawthorn, Horse Chestnut, Oak, Passing Dog, Rowan, Sycamore, Willow.
Species caught in 2010: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elder, Elm, Gorse, Mullberry, Oak, Poplar, Rowan, Sloe, Willow, Yew.

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Read what is Here and download their free program. It should let you examine your cache and clear any or all entries from all areas of it.

 

The stuff is actually saved by your browser and while you can turn off the "autocomplete" feature to keep from seeing what is there, you can't easily clear it out without a tool.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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Many thanks mate, I will now download and eliminate :D

John S

Quanti Canicula Ille In Fenestra

 

Species caught in 2017 Common Ash, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, White Willow.

Species caught in 2016: Alder, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Crab Apple, Left Earlobe, Pedunculate Oak, Rock Whitebeam, Scots Pine, Smooth-leaved Elm, Swan, Wayfaring tree.

Species caught in 2015: Ash, Bird Cherry, Black-Headed Gull, Common Hazel, Common Whitebeam, Elder, Field Maple, Gorse, Puma, Sessile Oak, White Willow.

Species caught in 2014: Big Angry Man's Ear, Blackthorn, Common Ash, Common Whitebeam, Downy Birch, European Beech, European Holly, Hawthorn, Hazel, Scots Pine, Wych Elm.
Species caught in 2013: Beech, Elder, Hawthorn, Oak, Right Earlobe, Scots Pine.

Species caught in 2012: Ash, Aspen, Beech, Big Nasty Stinging Nettle, Birch, Copper Beech, Grey Willow, Holly, Hazel, Oak, Wasp Nest (that was a really bad day), White Poplar.
Species caught in 2011: Blackthorn, Crab Apple, Elder, Fir, Hawthorn, Horse Chestnut, Oak, Passing Dog, Rowan, Sycamore, Willow.
Species caught in 2010: Ash, Beech, Birch, Elder, Elm, Gorse, Mullberry, Oak, Poplar, Rowan, Sloe, Willow, Yew.

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