questions

Discussion in 'privacy problems' started by DragonFan20, Oct 26, 2007.

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  1. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    hello and how do i protect my computer from hackers because i am afraid i might lose my stuff on my computer.what are the steps to protect my pc and what do i need to do to keep my computer safe.
     
  2. ccsito

    ccsito Registered Member

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  3. the Tester

    the Tester Registered Member

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    Assuming that your operating system is Windows XP:
    Definitely install a firewall.
    There are free programs available that work well.Online Armor free and Comodo are two.
    After installing a firewall you can test it at grc.com's Shields Up.

    https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

    I would get an antivirus next.
    Avast Home edition is free.There are many antivirus programs that you can license for a year etc...Many quality programs available.

    I would seriously consider an alternative web browser. Opera or Firefox are two that I like.You can install either/both with no ill-effects to Internet Explorer.
     
  4. clambermatic

    clambermatic Registered Member

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    Welcome... 'dragonF20'. You can't go wrong with the suggestions by ccsitO & testeR down below.

    My further 2cents' worth... Try clamAV (a software Libre AV scanner with FREE datfiles update) for Windows (Vista non-capable yet, but in Linux too)... it's a damn good free AV scanner, with a respectable deployment footprint.
    Here is the link (for Windows users, use their package with MSi installer) ~ http://www.clamav.org/download/packages/

    Might as well includes a free 3rd-party FireWall (i don't trust XP's SP2-build-ins anyway) and any free single 'standby' on-demand malware-cleaner (u need to download latest package version, as its integrated datfiles can't be net-updated) for added precaution! ;)

    -----------------------------
    EDIT: missed lines
     
  5. caspian

    caspian Registered Member

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    I installed Sunbelt Personal Firewall and went to Sheilds Up and it showed almost all ports as open. Then I read that he refers to some firewalls as "evil port monitors" because they intentionally make them appear as open. But anyway, I downloaded Zone Alarm and most of the ports showed as closed. This was while connected to xerobank VPN. But when I tried it without the VPN or firewall, it showed 100% Stealthed! I just don't understand this. I would think that the results would nbe just the opposite.

    I paid for the Sunbelt and Counterspy. When I run them both together my computer freezes up. And it did not pass the tests at that site. I am wondering why xerobank makes ports show as open? It seems like ports 80 and 139 were open a lot.

    Also, he has a section of unbinding network stuff......(I vaguely understand).....and then he has instructions on how to unbind these connections or configurations. But when I started to try and follow his instructions, I could not find anything on my computer like he was showing (a Network configuration dialog box etc...)....nothing even similar on my XP. So I had to just throw my hands up in the air. I guess I will have to go back and read some more and hope for the best.
     
  6. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    i do have a firewall on my pc but would comodo do better than the windows firewall on windows XP.i am using firefox and i am trying to keep my pc safe.
     
  7. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    can you be more clearer please in simple terms i am not that fast as you are no offense.i do update my virus definitions and spyware definitions everyday.
     
  8. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    i do use a good anti virus that keeps updated daily and keeps my computer safe.i haven't had any major problems and what security software do you
    recommend for me to use.
     
  9. FadeAway

    FadeAway Registered Member

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    If you are unfamiliar with firewalls, may I suggest you read the
    sticky post under Other firewalls, here at Wilders:

    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=24415

    "Firewall questions for beginners"

    Over the many years that I was directly connected to the Internet
    without a router, I ran about 10 different software firewalls.
    I never found one that I could not, sooner or later, get to show all
    ports stealthed or closed. But you have to invest the time to learn
    how the Internet works in order to accomplish that, & you can't do
    it in a few evenings. If you run the XP firewall ( and read the
    directions on how to use it which are in the Windows Help and Support
    section on your machine), you have much of the battle won. If you
    feel the need for a bi-directional firewall, and many people swear
    by them, (but not me), then by all means try them out. I'll let others
    recommend particular ones, because I could give at least a half dozen,
    each of which has both pros and cons, but all of which take work to
    run optimally for you. In my experience, finding the best for a
    particular individual is largely a time consuming trial & error task.
     
  10. ccsito

    ccsito Registered Member

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    That is good that you keep your AV updated. As for recommending a specific set of security programs, that is not something that I do because each computer has its own unique profile and set of programs and one particular program may not work with another one present on the system. I use the programs noted on my signature entry, but that does not mean that everyone else should use them. If you are really concerned about identity theft and hackers, the first thing I would suggest is to avoid the internet entirely (but that does not mean that you cannot get bilked by someone through the phone or mail system). The next thing that I would consider is to employ the use of a backup system (to a hard drive or offline storage) of your system and to use virtualization software to reset the system in case you get hacked. Most firewall programs (even the XP firewall) and antivirus programs can provide adequate protection for most users, but again that depends on what kind of user you are and where you go online. Spyware is becoming more frequent now so using some kind of spyware scanning program is becoming more prevalent. This is the one thing that I go by when using a computer: I do NOT store any information on my PC that I cannot afford to lose. People tend to get lazy and keep a lot of personal information on the computer because it is so convenient to have it all in one location. I treat my PC like any other electronic device (TV, microwave, refrigerator, stereo, DVD player,etc.). If it suffers a meltdown, I just get a replacement and start all over again setting up all of the programs that I use.
     
  11. farmerlee

    farmerlee Registered Member

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    Having a good backup strategy will help prevent you losing your stuff. If you have a seagate or maxtor hard drive i suggest you check out seagate discwizard or maxtor maxxblast which are both free.
     
  12. the Tester

    the Tester Registered Member

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    The difference between the Windows firewall(the one in XP) and Comodo is that the Windows firewall only monitors incoming connections where Comodo will monitor incoming and outgoing connections.
    The importance of bi-directional monitoring is that in the event that you do get infected with say, a trojan,you may get an alert from your firewall notifying you that an unusual program has tried to access the internet.
     
  13. Fly

    Fly Registered Member

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    In addition to other people's suggestions: get one or two very good antispyware programs that have excellent active protection. Oversimplified: viruses cause damage, spyware/adware can compromise your privacy and steal information like credit card numbers and other valuable information from your computer. Having more than one antispyware program with active protection (meaning: protection that prevents installation of spyware/adware, vs. scanning your computer for present spyware) can cause problems, but I think you should have at least one. I personally like the Spy Sweeper (recommendation: don't install the ask.com toolbar that's offered) in combination with Counterspy (which has a setting for novice users). In my opinion, just using free antispyware programs is not enough, unless privacy or possible theft of confidential information is not an issue. And beware of rogue antispyware programs (programs that pretend to be antispyware programs (and sometimes ARE antispyware programs), but also function as spyware or adware programs.
    And, with some exceptions, nothing good comes for free.

    Also, keep your computer updated and make sure that your security settings are not too low (a bit complicated issue).
     
  14. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    oh i didn't know that at all i do have spywareblaster and spybot on my pc and
    i did update both of them this week to keep my pc secure.i mostly keep my personal info off of the computer to protect myself
     
  15. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    good point and i probably should use comodo to keep my pc safe and my friend from the US has said to use comodo.
     
  16. the Tester

    the Tester Registered Member

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    Spybot could be replaced with a better free scanner such as SUPERAntiSpyware,A-Squared, or AVG-Antispyware.
     
  17. DragonFan20

    DragonFan20 Registered Member

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    i do have super Anti spyware now on my pc and it did better than spybot
     
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