How to keep your PC secure from attack?

[dave m]

Lizzie's plight got me somewhat concerned,

I thought we were protected by a hardware router/firewall ie a NAT firewall, but when we ran testmysecurity.com through it, it said we we were potentially at risk from trojan attack.

Does our router need some work or should we get a software firewall in as well?

Dave

[thop]

http://www.testmysecurity.com tells everyone they are ptentionally at risk so that they can sell their software firewall to them

better basic tests (that won't sell you anything) are here:

http://www.securitymetrics.com/portscan.adp

http://www.dslreports.com/scan

[ZokesPro]

Originally posted by thop
http://www.testmysecurity.com tells everyone they are ptentionally at risk so that they can sell their software firewall to them

for a basic test (that wont sell you anything) try: http://www.dslreports.com/scan

At dslreports with ZoneAlarm my system seems to be secure, plus I've not had any problems with it so far.

[Guru]

http://www.testmysecurity.com/index.php report fotr my comp (W2k AS no firewall!
) :

Information that has leaked
from your machine:
Machine Information:

ERROR: Connecting to host...

User List:

ERROR: Connecting to host...

[RichL]

Apart from the obvious use of a firewall ( I use Zonealarm myself) and keeping up to date with OS patches etc, its always a wise idea to run a background virus checker just in case.

One thing I used to do was run NetMedic all the time, which gave you a realtime display graph of network traffic going into and outof your connection.
The idea being, if you arent actively uploading something to the internet but Netmedic says your connection is running flat out upstream, its time to ask some questions.

[Oboy]

I was also wondering if a hardware router/firewall was the way to go? Was thinking of getting a SMC7004ABR Barricade Router Firewall.

Oboy

[MultimediaMan]

Trojan attacks come from inside your LAN: you execute a file with the trojan or virus within it and it reaches OUT; hence the term, Trojan, as in the Trojan Horse of Troy.

Quite a few software firewalls can be fooled or neutralized by Trojans, and an ounce of protection is far better than a metric ton of cure.

My solution? Scan everything you download before you open it, make sure you have an up-to-date virus scanner running in conjunction with your email client, and you'll be hard pressed to "catch" anything. Oh, you'll still keep getting them, they'll just keep getting zapped before they take your system into the toilet, if you do your part.

I work on other people's computers as a side job. Virii make me a good deal of money; and it nearly always is the same refrain: "Gee, you mean you have buy a new virus program every year, and then keep it up to date?"

"Yes, you do."

Then they get the bill.

I charge $38.00USD/Hour and it's a bargain.

Most computer shops around here charge $50-60USD/Hr for the same work. Most of the time I can do it faster due to my method, too...not always though...and I always work slower for "repeat" customers.

This is generally how I finance my Computer habit.

[ALBPM]

Conclusion: Healthy Setup! We could detect nothing interesting on any of the default ports on your IP address. Your computer appears to be a hard target. Well done!
ALL TCP FILTERED

No response (open or closed) to an open request was received.
ALL UDP FILTERED

No response (open or closed) to an open request was received.

Get a Linksys Mark...

Paul

[CHHAS]

With the newest Zonealarm I got the big thumbs up from all 3 testing sites mentioned above.

[ayoub_ibrahim]

Originally posted by CHHAS
With the newest Zonealarm I got the big thumbs up from all 3 testing sites mentioned above.

is that the free or pro version?

[CHHAS]

The free one.

[Nuno]

What about winXP buil-in firewall?

[efty]

I don't use a firewall or an antivirus
And I am online 24/7
Never got a virus never got hacked.

Actually I did get a virus more than 10 years ago but I was just a kid After that I got somewhat paranoid and don't open anything I don't know where it comes from.

[dave m]

OK, thanks for those other sites, I'll check them out.

Dave

[Claymonkey]

DSLreports gives my setup the all clear. Only using the firewall in my router as well. Considering most of us only need to worry about script kiddies, not bad.