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Thread ID: 11261	2001-09-09 06:31:00	how essential is a firewall	Guest (0)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
18462	2001-09-09 06:31:00	I just want to ask: how essential is a firewall if I'm using a dial up modem? The way I understand it, a program such as back orifice may get into your system. It will then post your IP adress in some hackers list somewhere. But does it do this every time you dial in? The majority of people dont have firewalls, and I dont hear of many people having major 'unexplained' problems. It only seems that PC world mag is so sensitive about these issues. maybe thats a good thing... So is it worth the hassle of putting one on if i'm spending less than 40 hours a month online? Thanks.	Guest (0)
18463	2001-09-09 07:15:00	as the private,modem connected url is of little interest to hackers there is clearly not a humungous proble.But if you are the one out of 10,000 who gets a trojan etc you will not think it a small matter at all.In brief 'it's vital' as zonealarm is free/does it's work without further attention/extremely efficient at at making your ports invisible to other puters, what have you got to loose. Cheers.Ali.	Guest (0)
18464	2001-09-09 07:26:00	Personally I don't have a firewall runnning all the time. Only when I want to check which apps are connecting. Because your on dial up its unlikley that a cracker will try an attack on your machine, their main target is permanent connections. But I would strongly reccomend using one if you do not know much about computers as there are many programs that will install themselves on your system. Most of these programs are spyware, which is more of a privacy problem than a security threat.	Guest (0)
18465	2001-09-09 11:00:00	the odds of being hacked while on dailup are remote. however the one thing most people tend to forget is that a good firewall will protect other people from you(stopping trojens etc from spreading). the amount of spyware, trojens, viruses that people unknownly download (net or from disks) is stagering. i've just done a quick clean out of a mates pc, 4 dailers 29spyware so far found. not bad for 14months net use. he was wondering why the net was going so slow;-) good basic protection is well worth the trouble. basic setup- antivirus,if your on a budget there are free ones such as avg. unbinding ports, netbeui and ipx/spx have no place on the net. a good firewall such as zonealarm, tinypersonal firewall, latest sygate. blackice is not a firewall hence is a waste of time for the adverage user. now if only microsoft could make secure programs;-)	Guest (0)
18466	2001-09-09 11:14:00	thanks, im running macafee virus scan: should that find spyware or do the firewalls inspect your system upon installation, or do you have to go looking, if so how? ;-) thanks again Neil	Guest (0)
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