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Broadband: Newbie to broadband internet...
Newbie to broadband internet...
by bee - 3/15/04 4:52 PMWell i havent got it just yet, but have ordered it today. Just wanted to know what extra safety precautions i need to take once i have it, if any. At the moment, i have AVG Anti-virus and Zone Alarm, thats about it.
Is there anything else i should have to keep my computer safe, or that i need to know?
Thanks for any help 
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by DrPepper9 - 3/26/04 3:05 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeHello......I've had cable since '99 and just love it. I also have ZoneAlarm and McAfee but just recently discovered a free program called "Spybot". As cautious as I am, unwanted programs still get downloaded on to my pc........but not any more. You can download this "Spybot" program here from CNET. It is really easy to use.
I do have one suggestion. Get a web based email address for subscriptions to newsletters, websites. etc. Save your IP email address for friends and family only and in fact, if allowed, get more than 1 email address from your IP. I have one for my kids, one for relatives, and one for my friends plus the email addresses I have at Yahoo and Excite. The reason I do this in case you start getting "spammed" or one of your email addresses starts getting suspicious email, you can stop using it and use one of the other email addresses. I know it sounds silly but I have found it quite helpful. It helps me know whether the spam is coming from family or friend or website.
Another suggestion, if you have cable, you might want to have a dialup ISP as backup for those rare occasions when the cable goes down.......even a free dialup like "dotnow.com". Dialup can't compete with cable but it's better than nothing when the cable is down!
Get a HOSTS file.
by R. Proffitt
- 3/26/04 3:17 PM
In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by bee
There's a post about this in the Security Forum, but http://webpages.charter.net/hpguru/hosts/hosts.html will do nicely.
Bob
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by chuck60 - 3/28/04 8:00 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeKeep your virus defintions up to date. If you can afford it buy a broadband router that acts as a hardware firewall. If your on Win XP keep critical patches from Win update site installed. Routers are reasonably priced & you can hookup a second machine as a benifit.Have FUN! After your setup run a security check (free) from Symantec or GRC Shields Up sites. Again, Have Fun!
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by danfilipi - 3/30/04 1:49 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeI tried the free AVG Anti virus to compare with Norton and Mcaffee. I did the comparison for virus detection using a special script which exibits virus characteristics. Both AVG and Mcaffee missed detection, Norton caught it. During the same few weeks I left all three installed and running, Norton was the only one to catch a real email virus!
I know it sounds like I own stock in Norton, but I dont, I just know that it will definately catch virus before doing damage. I'd love to give the smaller companies a chance (especially the free AV )but Norton works so why take a chance with others.
Re:Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by dbain2k - 4/18/04 9:04 PM In reply to: Re:Newbie to broadband internet... by danfilipiI hate to put a spanner in your works there buddy but I've just discovered that Norton AV 2003 let 7 Trojans go completely undetected on my system for SIX MONTHS! Not once did NAV detect any one of them. And how did I find them? When I decided to try Dell's AV Software of choice for their PowerEdge line of servers... Eset NOD32 (http://www.nod32.com). Weird name yes, but not only does this program have a very small footprint, it's interface is quite easy and it's scanner is VERY easy on your CPU. I was surprised when I was able to continue using the system normally while the scan was running. Which, by the way, only took 13 minutes to scan 156GB of stuff. And yes, it picked up everything.
And along with that I use ZoneLabs' excellent ZoneAlarm, although some people would say that there are better software firewalls. I've been using this one for quite some time and it's great. I also have an ADSL Router so I'm pretty well protected.
Re:Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by Chuckaway - 4/18/04 11:22 PM In reply to: Re:Newbie to broadband internet... by danfilipiI used to have Zonealarm and AVG but I found that AVG does not stop/filter viruses at all. Now I am on Avast anti virus and it's really good. It's also free!
Re:Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by zanxxx - 4/19/04 10:41 AM In reply to: Re:Newbie to broadband internet... by danfilipiYou are not the only one to give Norton and AVG a "real world" test. In my test Norton was installed and updated and found one virus. After installing AVG and updating minutes later it found an additional 3 viruses. So much for Norton's superiority!
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by Savoir Faire - 4/13/04 4:03 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeGet a router/switch, might as well be WRT54G wireless Linksys, for a hardware firewall built-in. Get rid of whatever that AV you have and get Trend Micro PC-cillan $50 (Their website allows you to scan your system for free). Trend is on top of it. Norton is garbage. Norton misses more than they detect. Trend issues bulletins that the industry picks up before they know what is released out there. Turn off your email preview screen. Nice feature with a huge exploitation hole. (No one recommends this but it is (and will be reported later this year) the way viruses, spyware and attacks can happen.
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by WiBrid - 4/14/04 10:29 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeI disagree w/Faire about AVG. IMO it's better than all the rest 'cause it doesn't suck up resources like the rest of them. Faire is right about the router/firewall. Wireless is okay as long as you're not going to broadcast anything you want to keep secret.
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by CindySue48 - 4/18/04 8:16 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeI use an antivirus program that automatically checks for updates (and I check weekly). I have this running in the background...and also run a full scan at least weekly.
I also have a router (which has a firewall), and weekly (at least) run 2 spyware detection programs. Spybot and Adaware.
I never open emails, let alone attachments unless I know who it's from. And I virus scan all attachments before I open them.
I'll admit, I'm a bit paranoid...but I had to pay to have my computer reformatted once because of a trojan horse virus.
Hope this helps....Cindy
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by Marlene Foure - 4/18/04 8:24 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beefirst you need a good fire wall such as kerio, black ice or sygate that will keep all your ports in stealth mode from hackers. stealth makes you machine invisible to hackers pings. you simply dont exist on the internet in stealth mode. http://scan.sygate.com/ is a sight to test how secure your ports really are. http://www.pestpatrol.com/, I find pest patrol a must for detecting any type of bugs. set it to search for everything. adaware6 is another good program and avast virus detecter. I dont put much trust in mcaffee or norton anymore after I found the bios port wide open and the fact they missed a trojan. TD3 is another excellent trojan finder. if money is a problem, cnet and zdnet both have an assortment of decent free programs to download.
Re:Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by pooch - 4/18/04 8:53 PM In reply to: Re:Newbie to broadband internet... by Marlene FoureI have found that using with AVG viruscan,adaware, and
the free version of Zonealarm that I have had no big
problems. Also use spybot Search & Destroy. Also use
Housecalls,trendmicros online virus scan once a month.
Between the above apps they pickup all of the nasties
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by aussie_8 - 4/18/04 9:07 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeHi Newbie...
I've been running broadband for some time now with very little problems using XP Professional. I'm very concious of the need for personal/computer security because of the fact that the computer is connected to the net full-time, so I personally installed a decent firewall (Sygate Personal Firewall .... a freebie), a very good anti-virus program (NOD32 Anti-virus), a good program that notifies me if anything tries to install on my machine without my knowledge (WinPatrol v 7.0.0.0 ..... another freebie) and a spyware/pop-up/trojan/worm/advert blocker (Spyblocker). Whilst a lot of people pay lip-service to computer security I've always found that the integrity of your security is governed by the regularity in which you keep it updated, and I might add this includes the Microsoft Security and Critical Updates. Hope this helps.....
Aussie_8
Re:Newbie to broadband internet...
by medicineman - 4/18/04 10:38 PM In reply to: Newbie to broadband internet... by beeI use McAfee for my anti-virus and have used Zone Alarm and other various "soft" firewalls in the past. As I'm sure others have said (without reading every single response...) any good spyware or adware scanner is a must any more.
BY FAR... the safest and most secure way to keep you rig free from unwanted intruders, is to simply cut the power to the power to your broadband modem or d/c the connection when you're gone for the day. Simply put, if there is NO connection to begin with, you don't have to worry about any of the other stuff to begin with.
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