Network Q: Strict Protection or Allow Sharing?

Hi,

I'm still in the trial period of Smart Security but I think that I will purchase a 2-User Pack soon. Yesterday a "New network detected" window appeared and told me to choose the protection mode of my computer in the network Subnet: 192.168.100.0 / 255.255.255.0. I was unable to access IE 7 until I ticked "Allow Sharing (not recommended)."

Today, when I open Smart Security and select Setup > Change the protection mode of my computer in the network I see a window which informs me that "this computer is a member of several subnets. Select the subnet for which you want to change the protection mode:"
Subnet: 169.254.0.0 / 255.255.0.0
Subnet: 98.203.208.0 / 255.255.255.0

Edit: I have found that if I tick Strict Protection for either Subnet my internet access is not impeded.

 

hi!

the 169.254... adress is "self assigned", it showed up when your computer couldnt get a ip adress from your dhcp server, so it just made one up.

the difference between "allow sharing" and "strict" is how permissive the firewall is. if our are connected straight to the internet, there is no reason to allow people to access your shared folders/files/printers, hence "strict" is prefered.

if you are on a small network with some kind of perimiter security (like a home router for example) you can use "allow sharing" to open the stuff needed to share files and printers with your other computers at home