Computer Gurus: Internet-Only Profile?

[MostlyLurks]

To any computer gurus:

I'm using Win XP Media Center. I have been using a combination of security measures (spyware, virus and firewall) for a while. At first, I was OK with all the pop-up firewall allow/disallow stuff, but Mrs. Mostly was not.

Now I'm pretty fed up with it too. We have a braodband connection, so just to start the computer, before I even initialize a browser, I have to "OK" half a dozen different services (ALWAYS, even though I have repeatedly told the firewall to remember the settings). Every time I start the computer, the firewall's internet zone security helper detects a "new" network connection (because of dynamic IP assignments) and tells me about it.

It's gotten to a point where I'm considering buying a cheap internet-only box and taking my "real" computer totally off-line. That is not the route I would prefer to take though. Do any computer gurus out there have suggestions about how to mitigate the flood of firewall messages? Is there any "hassle free" firewall out there? The firewall "sky is falling" message have gotten as burdensome and onerous as that which they seek to protect me from.

Mostly

[Greyhound]

1. Which software are you using?

Firewall, anti-virus, blockers, etc. are all different, so we need details to offer suggestions.

[MostlyLurks]

3. Alrighty...

For spyware, I have Spybot 1.4, Microsoft Anti-Spyware Beta and etrust Pest Patrol.

For viruses, I have eTrust ezAntiVirus. FYI, the company I work for uses NAV and I have been largely unimpressed with it (we've had virus infections SINCE we've started using it, even though we update the virus defs religiously).

Firewall is eTrust ezFirewall.

I have the eTrust stuff only because it came free with my broadband subscription. Under a prior internet provider, I used a different firewall (Sybase? I think). To this point, they both seem to work about the same way in that each pops up messages about allowing/disallowing access, etc.

Thanks!

Mostly

[Greyhound]

5. Wow 3 for 3.

The only software you and I share is Spybot S & D. I'm a big fan of open-source as in most cases it works well and the support is more helpful.
Firewalls are notorious for being needlessly complicated and often ineffective. The hardware alternative is usually better (see post below). As for anti-virus I agree NAV just sucks, same for McAfee. A couple of no-cost/low-cost alternatives are AVG and Bitdefender
http://www.grisoft.com/doc/10/lng/us/tpl/tpl01
http://www.bitdefender.com/site/Main/view/Download-Free-Products.html

On my system I use AVG and ZoneAlarm

http://www.zonelabs.com edit: (the direct link is too long so you'll have to find the free download yourself)

A good security check for your system is here;
https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

This will run a port scan and give you al the information that your computer is broadcasting to the world (thanks Bill, you worthless POS) and help you close the holes. Steve Gibson and Gibson research is, in my opinion, the best guru for the common user (check out DCOMbobulator for increased performance and security).
Check out the sites and keep us updated. :freak:

[MostlyLurks]

6. GRC Results...

I went to the GRC site you noted and ran the port scan tests, etc. On the upside, it appears that my current firewall is working well, as GRC's tests indicated full stealth in all cases, on all ports. So that's good. But, as would be expected, I had to click through several notification boxes, etc. during the process. Bleagh!

I think I'll go price hardware walls this afternoon.

Thanks for the help.

Mostly

[CatholicEdHead]

2. Consider a router between your computer and cable modem

[MostlyLurks]

4. I had heard that hardware firewalls...

I read some reviews/commentaries in PC mags that a hardware firewall was good for incoming attacks, but not so much for outgoing i.e. trojans attempting to communicate outwards and such.

I would MUCH rather use a hardware solution that just sits beside my cable modem and protects me, but my reading suggested there was no such thing.

Is this not the case?

Mostly

[Kellanved]

7. There is no absolute protection

All existing software firewalls can be bypassed; the whole concept of a desktop firewall acting as a replacement for proper configuartion is faulty. Many personal firewalls were in fact found to be a security risk in their own right(ZoneAlarm's PIN protector was a classic).

Using a desktop firewall in addition to a router with basic firewall features can be a good idea. Relying on a router to keep all things nasty in and/or out on its own certainly is not an especially great idea either.