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Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Sat Oct 30, 04 8:32 pm Post subject: Firewalls
Well we all should have them but if you have how good is it? I've found a link in PC Plus magazine to the following: https://scan.sygate.com/probe.html This site can perform various tests for free to see how secure your PC is. My setup has managed to sucessfully block all the tests' attempts to access it. They take a while to run but it's useful to know if your firewall is actually working.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 7:37 pm Post subject:
Always good for peace of mind. I prefer sitting behind a router though jema

Jon

Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 183

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 8:04 pm Post subject:

I have NTL broadband and use Norton Internet Security Professional.

should I be safe, has firewall etc but just took the test and showed my IP address and also

Trying to gather information from your web browser...

Operating System = Windows XP
Browser = Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0

Trying to find out your computer name...

Unable to determine your computer name!

Trying to find out what services you are running...

Web Server Found = Server: Microsoft-IIS/5.1
FTP Server Open = 220 Microsoft FTP Service
SMTP Mail Server Found = (deleted details )

should it be able to read the SMTP Mail Server info ? it was so should I be worried?

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 8:07 pm Post subject:
£30 for a broadband router. Kills hacking dead. jema

Jon

Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 183

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 8:18 pm Post subject:
Thanks Jema, Can you advise a particular router and where to get it from Cheers Jon

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 8:45 pm Post subject:

I should have said, the OS and Explorer came up when I did it, but that's it. I have a router and software firewall. I would not necessarily recommend my router as it was expensive and is a tad old (it's a SpeedTouch 510) but it's the one my ISP uses so I knew I would get free help from them.

It works fine, it has 4 Ethernet connections I can connect other PCs too.

I don't think it should be able to see anything else, but I'll let someone else reassure you or give you the bad news.

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Mon Nov 01, 04 9:26 pm Post subject:

Jon wrote:

Thanks Jema,
Can you advise a particular router and where to get it from
Cheers
Jon

mrutty would probably disagree, but I think unless you really do need fancy features like VPN, then routers are now a "commodity" item and you may as well get the cheapest.

jema

Lindsay

Joined: 03 Nov 2004
Posts: 61
Location: Stuck in the suburbs

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 04 10:05 am Post subject:
We use a D-Link DSL-504 routerwhich we got off Ebay - wouldn't be without it, especially as the kids like to play online games, as does my DH.

joanne

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 7100
Location: Morecambe, Lancashire

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 04 2:50 pm Post subject:

As I'm a sad techy I use a Draytek Vigor 2600G 54Mbps ADSL Wireless Router for my broadband connection - It means I have everything I need all in one box - modem, firewall, router, print server and it has the added advantage that I can set up a secure wireless network (no CAT5 trailing everywhere), it also comes with 4 standard ethernet ports if I should want them

Its not the cheapest router on the market but then again I bought it off eBay as well as the wireless LAN cards to go in the PC's/Laptops it needs as well

Having said all that I currently don't even have a PC set up in my new house at the moment mainly because I can't find them in amongst all the other stuff that still needs a new home.

Joanne

mrutty

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 1578

Posted: Wed Nov 03, 04 4:43 pm Post subject:

For those looking here are some names to look out for

SonicWall - Dogs round bits, but a bit pricey, but then it's possibly the best one

DrayTek Vigor - Very good box, but high end of the price bracket. Will VPN to most things and Syslogs which is a bonus if you need that sort of data.

Netgear - Cheaper, but still nice

Solwise - Never used it but have heard it's good

Cisco - 'The name that makes the Internet work' very expensive, but comes with all the goodies including IDS. Most home users would waste most of the features, I'd use it if I was still monitoring network traffic across the 'Net' and comparing traffic patterns.

You could go for the cheapest you can find and also run ZoneAlarm. If ZoneAlarm or the test above alerted then you address each problem as a seperate.

And no I won't say what I use, but it is a Techie one and was expensive, but then I work in security and it would impact my earning potential if I was hacked.

Jon

Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 183

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 10:55 am Post subject:
Ok really thick and stupid mode here. As I mentioned previously I have NTL Broadband, and have a little silver NTL box that the cable comes into, and a USB comes out of into my pc. ( has Power indicator, also USB, ENET, U/S, D/S, SYNC, RDY indicators too) where does the router connect, and is it difficult to set up, as I am totally useless with computers. Thanks Jon

jema
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 28111
Location: escaped from Swindon

Posted: Thu Nov 04, 04 10:59 am Post subject:
What you do is scrap the USB connection and plug your PC into the router via a network cable and the cable modem into the router. Then switch on, and chances are it will work, just like that. With this solution you do not need any of the USB driver software from NTL. If your PC does not have a network connector, you will need a £10 network card. jema

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