Forum Home
Press F1
 
Thread ID: 12974 2001-11-17 08:52:00 Installing Firewall Guest (0) Press F1
Post ID Timestamp Content User
24754 2001-11-17 08:52:00 I am thinking of installing a Firewall on my computer - well actually, I was told off for not having one! However, I have got a couple of questions....A:Do they run silently in the background, or do you have to disable them when you do a download? B:Do I REALLY need one C:What is a good reliable one to install..... Thanx, RINGO Guest (0)
24755 2001-11-17 09:17:00 Yes. you do really need a firewall, even if just on dial-up. There are so many hackers around, and infected computers trying to get access. You cant go far wrong if you install the free version of Zonealarm, it is rated pretty highly on Steve Gibson's web site.
It is on the June PC World CD, or you can get it from:
http://www.zonelabs.com/

It runs all the while in the background, and once set up you can almost forget it. The first time you use a program that connects through the internet like ICQ it will ask you for permission to allow connection and/or server rights. It is very easy to use.
Guest (0)
24756 2001-11-17 09:19:00 ZoneAlarm and Tiny Personal Firewall are both free and do a good job, ZoneAlarmPro is the paid version but covers more options I understand, Atguard is another good one though older now and rather intrusive when it detects a scan, Nortons makes a firewall as well. Blackice is another but it stops only inbounds where as the others can stop both in and out. Zone Alarm and Tiny both pop up a small warning when a something is detected calling in or out, you can permit or deny this once or always. Both Tiny and ZA run quiety in the task bar and will only pop up when something is detected. Once you have set up your Always permits for such things as your mail, IE, and other programs that you want to allow to access the net, basically anything there after will be either someone scanning in or spyware calling out. Outbounds can be blocked always so they won't bother you again. Hope that helps a little Guest (0)
24757 2001-11-17 09:22:00 What I forgot to say, every time a new worm/trojan/virus is reported there seems to be a very big upsurge in attempted intrusions originating from Asia/Pacific region, places like Taiwan, HongKong and China. It cant be just a coincidence. Guest (0)
24758 2001-11-17 10:01:00 just to add to the others, zone alarm is a good choice for newbies very easy to use. tiny is also good but you will need to learn a lot about protocols etc and the risks that certain things have. sygate and norton are also quite good but still not as easy to use as zonealarm.

a couple of tips for zonealarm, turn off the pop up alerts, the splash screen can be turned off and don't annoy the crap out of your isp about every alert.
Guest (0)
24759 2001-11-21 04:31:00 How do you turn off Zonealarm splash screens? Guest (0)
1