Re: Another Newbie asking "Which Anti-Virus Sofware is the Best?"

On 29 May 2006 19:51:43 -0700, jimrainfordson@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Thanks for the long reply, Art.

You posed a long set of questions :)

Can you elaborate a little more on what makes online gaming insecure or
is it enough to say that you just can't have a secure system if there
is online gaming going on?

There's no such thing as a secure system. There are just degrees of
security ... "more secure" and "less secure". I was pointing out that
online gaming is "less secure" than if you avoid it. Here's a paste of
something I found on the port forwarding you have to do with a
router in order to do online gaming:
************************************************
Port Forwarding

If you have a server or gaming system on the inside of your network
that needs to be accessible from the internet the router has to be
configured to support this connection. This generally includes
pointing incoming requests to a specific port and IP address of an
internal machine. However, be forewarned that any port forwarding you
configure essentially opens up a small door in your firewall. Assuming
the forwarding is properly configured, the risk is minimal; however,
an inexperienced user could inadvertently open their entire network up
to an attacker.
***********************************************
So it's a matter of assuming higher risk (less security).

As for OE, I don't have the preview pane on and I never open any
attachments. I don't know if it's text only, but I'll look into it.
Sometimes I get emails from friends with colors or different font
sizes. I'll look into it. I'm guessing this is about security holes

Yes.

I will get a external hardware firewall. Sounds like an all around
good idea. But I guess I should also keep using a software based
firewall too. I can't say I've tried many, but I've been happy with
Zone Alarm (free version).

Not sure why you would want to keep on using a sw fw. What would
be your purpose?

One purpose is logging outbound traffic. For that, I sometimes use
the free version of Sygate since it has a terrific traffic log. It's
one of the tools I use to check for undetected spyware and malware
that "calls out".

But it serves no preventative purpose, as such.

Does a hardware firewall require updating
the way a software based on does?

Neither should require updating. In fact, the last free version of
Sygate will never be updated. It may be possible to update the
firmware in some external applicances. I dunno. But it's
certainly not something that requires regular updating.

Another thing I need to shed is my ignorance regarding routers and
external firewalls. I guess they are essentially the same thing?

Inexpensive external router/fw products for the home user market
essentially combine NAT and firewall functions. Unsolicited inbound
attempts are blocked.

If you decide to use wireless, that opens up another pandora's
box of security considerations and complications. But other than
that, I can say that my LinkSys wreless router/fw has worked out
well for my purposes and situation.

If I download, update and run the top 3 or 4
anti-spyware/anti-trojain/anti-malware type apps and I come up clean,
is it pretty safe to assume that (at least for the time being) I'm free
of malware? Or is there just too much of it outthere that isn't
tracked?

Not even a expert can determine for sure whether or not your PC is
clean. Perfection in this sort of thing simply doesn't exist. You just
do the best you can.

<skip XP accounts questions>

I suggest that you post different questions in different posts.
Keeping on one topic at a time would be of far more benefit to
you and those reading the posts. I think you'd get more thorough
and better responses.

Art
http://home.epix.net/~artnpeg


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