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I am going to buy a copy of this by end of the week, just caught blaster worm last Friday on my newly appointed 'web connected' system.... yeah, I know.... I have been told off by lots and lots of people for this.

 

But anyhow, now I compulsively am using the automatic updates feature of w2k sp4. Having removed the worm now again and installed a trial version of Norton AV.

 

So, because only one system here is 'connected' to the web, and is isolated from the network altogether.... i really only need to buy one license of an AV for the time being... I am just using Free AVG on the other systems, to do regular scans of the drives...

 

Anyhow, this product:

 

Norton SystemWorks PRO 2004 CD RET € 115.31

 

http://www.symantecstore.com/dr/sat1/Ec_Main.entry24?SP=10023&PN=1&V1=584420&xid=27674&search_id=502339062&doc_id=1&DSP=&CUR=840&PGRP=0&CACHE_ID=0

 

costs a bit less here than buying Ghost, Norton AV etc separately.... I will probably have to shell out though for a copy of Norton Firewall.... or perhaps you might like to suggest some alternative software firewall? Zonealarm or something..... Otherwise, I will probably buy Norton Internet Security suite... with the spam blocker and all of that... and shell out for a standalone copy of Ghost.

 

I am just wondering which is the best software firewall out there presently... if there is such a thing... I am not thinking in terms of hardaware firewalls quite yet.... as I want to learn how to do the best I can with software firewalls for the time beginning... we have a couple of new WinXP laptop systems here too you see, (they were bought with full Norton protection... but I will still have to perform regular maintenance on 'em) which would be connecting outside the office too.... and I am going to manage security/updates/av/firewall on those laptop systems... so I will 'learn' from doing it on my small form factor w2k pc initially... and just apply that 'know how' later to the Win XP laptop systems..

 

I am not on DSL at the moment... as I can get my DSL connectivity off site completely, in a fully managed and protected computing environment at the local college Library. And the 'real fun' with blocking worms/viruses is certainly going to start once we do go 'DSL'... :)

 

All I really want for the time being is the dedicated little small form factor PC I have set up, as the web browser/email client... and I intend to keep that 'well protected' update with security service packs and so forth.... really just so as to 'slash down' my maintenance effort/time and not have to go around patching everything all the time... spent most of Easter weekend rectifying even one little small form factor pc! : ) But at least the problem was contained there...

 

How would you rate firewalls in importance Greg? I mean, from the point of view of fighting off this like Lovsan.A? Or newer variants always coming up... I mean, from the point of view of a laptop system say, which is used the odd time to send/download mail or just browse...

 

You see the web part of my business is a very small one at the moment... but I would still like to learn how to 'do it all right', right from the beginning as it were... then I would know what should done myself, to ensure a system is as secure as I can reasonably make it... and I could get a very good idea in terms of minutes/hours spent making this so on a single system.

 

I am presently studying through all the e-security tutorials and stuff at microsoft's site and symantec's one too... so I am gradually getting myself familiar with the territory... but in fairness, gone are the days, when I could just ignore all of this.. the blaster worm incident over the weekend just highlighted to me, just how relaxed I had been to date.

 

I remember you complaining about this during the Blaster Worm times in summer 2003... I must search down through the forums here though... this is probably dealt with before.

 

Thanx.

 

gareth.

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Just read this over at MicroSoft for people who have business/home laptops which are trully portable between home and office.... required to have a hardware firewall at home...

 

Hardware Firewalls

For maximum security, the most reliable way for home users to protect a network is to purchase a router with firewall capabilities. These routers do more than act as a firewall—they network multiple computers, allow them to share a single Internet connection, and may even support wireless networking. If you have more than one computer and an always-on broadband connection, a router/firewall gives you the benefits of a home network and connects every computer to the Internet. If you bring a laptop home from work, it may even be a requirement of your company’s security policy.

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Just found these old posts about software firewalls and viruses in general here at CG Architect hardware discussion forum:

 

Software firewalls are security blankets.

 

If someone pulls out a flamethrower, your still F#$&(*ed.

 

I'd plan for some sort of hardware firewall to protect any array of machines. This will save resources on each machine in the cluster, as well as preventing the constant "firewall disabling" that many higher end programs recommend.

 

A couple of good points got raised over here:

 

http://www.aceshardware.com/forum?read=115072743

 

 

A simple router provides sufficent protection.

 

You can put on a software firewall, but its more of an annoyance then a benefit.

 

They don't stop hackers, they just point out a bunch of annoying things you'd rather not have known in the first place.

 

Remember that any program running in the task bar is sucking away resources.

 

Best case scenario, you shouldn't even need an antivirus program on the workstation (since you won't be checking mail and downloading stuff on it), so your task bar should be completely empty...sans perhaps a volume control nob.

 

Realistically, the best defense against hackers, viruses, and generally internet bs...

 

Is to not have your workstation online period.

 

I completely agree! Except it is not a workstation I will be attaching to the internet... I have set up a dedicated Shuttle type system... which will be patched to the last and have all the 'protection' trimmings hopefully....

 

Blaz,

 

Make sure to do all the critical updates on the machines.

 

Ya thats the worm, stinger got it .

 

After you update, I'd run stinger again...depending on where the infection is coming from, it can take as little as 15 seconds to be reinfected.

 

Yeah, read this post here:

 

http://www.aceshardware.com/forum?read=115072910

 

I had to laugh at this:

 

http://www.aceshardware.com/forum?read=65027789

 

Now this particular story is frightening:

 

http://www.aceshardware.com/forum?read=65012302

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