Do I need Port Explorer?

Do I still need Port Explorer if Outpost Pro monitors open ports? Will PE give me more security somehow? I've been thinking about it and all I can really think of is since I'm able to monitor and kill open ports, then I shouldn't need it.

 

Hello there TylerGred,
Have you looked at the many other options and utilities, analyses, un-hidding connections etc?
Install a trial and play around with it for some time. I use it all time on my system for lots of functions.

 

Port Explorer is much more. You can spy on the network traffic of individual applications and even individual sockets - capabilities rarely seen in any other programs featuring packet-sniffing/capturing. It also has hidden server detection so immediately you can see if there are any applications running invisibly that are using the network (almost all remote access trojans can be detected using this method, and all it takes from you is a look at the screen to see the red-highlighted sockets). It also shows you socket send/receive speeds, the country that the remote IP address is from, and much more information you won't see from any Netstat-based programs. But despite all the power "under the hood", Port Explorer was designed from the start to be easy to use, and it is also highly configurable so you can adjust it to your desired settings. Then there's all the utilities it comes with, such as enhanced Traceroute, Ping, Country code/domain lookups (and reverse lookups), IP address lookups (and reverse lookups), the Socket Spy, and more. I could go on, but please just take some time to read through the help file as it will arm you with all the information you need to get the most out of Port Explorer.

 

TylerGred,
Without detracting from the earlier comments, simply purchasing PE will *not* give you extra security if you do not choose to run the program and spend time to see what is going on.

As was pointed out, if you are in the situation where you wish to investigate what is going on then it can be quite useful (assuming you are not using McAfee firewall)

You could always defer your purchase until you find a specific need for the tool. PE has an evaluation period and you would probably get more out of your evaluation if you had something specific to use the tool for at the time you install it

My 2c

 

So is Port Explorer to be used as a software firewall, or in addition to a software firewall?

Please advise.

Regards,

Jag

 

Jaguar,
Port Explorer is no firewall, but it has nice additions in your possibilities to run beside your firewall, controll the traffic, spy on what it is doing, etc.

 

Hi Jaguar, Port Explorer is not a firewal but does allow you to kill individual sockets and their processes, also to throttle the bandwidth on those sockets and show you hidden sockets.

Please read the DCS info' here: http://www.diamondcs.com.au/portexplorer/

HTH Pilli

 

Thanks to you both for the info and link.

Looks like a really neat product!

Jag