Follow-on on question of best firewall for file sharing

I once used the bit-torrent to download some hypnotic audio samples (you are feeling sleeepy. zzz!) using Tiny's firewall, v6. I think I allowed UDP In/Out and TCP In/Out and their were tons of servers trying to connect to me and me to them.

Next thing I knew, I had some trojan in the java cache, caught by KAV when I was doing a weekly scan.

Can anyone advise me (or point out articles) on the rules on safe p2p (besides not using it). I think one is not to allow UDP/ TCP In right?

TIA

 

Always use Peer Guardian with anti P2P and Trojan as well as Spyware filters, you will be safe, have been using Torrent and Gnutella for months without any negative results.

 

A good site with trusted fellow members always helps.

 

I'm looking for the same thing, JayTee. Can somebody explain the specific vulnerabilities of using P2P?

With a firewall/router, the objective is to block unsolicited inbound connections. Does P2P circumvent this? If so, is it to a controlled/permissable degree, or is it only in certain situations?

Does this depend on the P2P network being used? And are there other vulnerabilities?

Arup, thanks for the recommendation of PeerGuardian 2. Still, I think ideally there would be some precautions other than blocking a list of IP's. This method would only prevent connections to known threats (be it privacy or malware), right?

 

Internet is like driving on road, you can expect the expected, but the unexpected has to be dealt with then and there.

Same with P2P, the IP block lists are quite comprehensive and updated daily so the risk should be minimal, but in case you are worried, you can run an anti hook app or something like PrevxR for outbound, I don't run any as I would rather have system response and till today, no nasties have attacked my PC.

 

besides using PG and a well configured firewall, also have a good antivirus and be careful/use common sense with what you download as the files can contain malware. kazaa is the biggest and primary source for such including fakes, but its still possible on other networks.

 

PeerGuardian sounds like a good approach. I just like to also know exactly where my other vulnerabilities are so I understand the unexpected when it happens. What would Anti Hook be for?

Downloaded content related:
Do music and video files also pose a threat, or just obvious things like executables and system files?

Non-content related:
What is considered "well-configured" for a firewall used with P2P? Is that all it takes to prevent intrusion via P2P? Does a router suffice?

 

i dont configure my firewall differently whether i p2p or not. i have LnS with phantom's rule and i enable SPI and dll detection. a router would suffice as long as ports are properly fowarded. just as with normal surfing, it all depends on how much security u feel comfortable with.