Firewall disabling

Maybe the risk of being hacked for an individual personal computer is minimal. I don't know. I just installed the upgraded free version of zone alarm, and in the first 20 minutes I had 4 alerts. Two were probably harmless traffic. Two were probably the SQL Slammer worm looking for an opening. I get hits from these things all day long. What would have happened if I did not have a firewall? I don't know. But my understanding is that these things often use your computer to do damage to others without your knowledge. Grant for the sake of argument your hypothetical low probablility. Now multiply that times the number of people on the Internet. As Johanna said, the main threat is not damage to the hacked computer, it is Denial of Service attacks or other damage that is done to the entire web using hacked computers. Zone Alarm provides a free firewall for private individuals. It has been awhile since I studied elementary arithmetic, but I think that is less than $200. It is also hard to defend your assertion that ZoneAlarm is scaring people into buying their firewall. They provide a free firewall because they are security experts and an unprotected computer is a threat to the whole internet, not merely to itself. As I said, multiply your low probablity times the total number on people on the internet.
It is free. Do your civic duty. Install it and use it.

 

Oh, I have the free Zone Alarm prog installed. I'm waiting for the hook as I don't believe there any free lunches!

You may want to upgrade your elementary arthimetic and do a statistical analysis by sampling the user population for the probability and apply that probalility to the general population and the degree of significance will be close to nil.

Right, they provide something free so they can work themselves out of a job. It is more plausible that they are providing something free up front to gain a monetary advantage later.

 

KK wrote:
You may want to upgrade your elementary arthimetic and do a statistical analysis by sampling the user population for the probability and apply that probalility to the general population and the degree of significance will be close to nil.

HUH???

Use a firewall, anti virus protection, and Internet Security. If you are not, then you are part of the problem, not the solution. There are valid reasons for using the IS software, the free or the paid -for kind, and if you don't use it, keep it up to date and follow common sense, your system may be used for operations you didn't authorize, your system may be damaged, your privacy may be compromised, and you might be embarrassed when your computer infects other people's computers. If you're not very tech savvy, a relatively minor expense like Norton can save you lotsa moolah later on.

Just out of curiosity I checked my Norton event log. There were 43 port probes and 8 blocked sub seven trojans in the last 24 hours. I use a relatively small ISP for my cable access. I can only imagine what someone on Adelphia or Cox or the like get in one day. JMO

Johanna

 

Johanna,

I guess what I was trying to demonstrate is that the number of problems (hacking) relative to the total number of users is insignificant, although the number of problems taken out of context would appear large and would be misleading.

In a very unscientific model, this BBS has a large sampling and is represented by a geographic cross section of internet users and may present a fair estimation of the probability. I haven't heard any hacking complaints (except this BBS, Mike's and your experience). Not one poster has claimed a problem of being hacked!

In my opinion there is a better chance of being hit by lightning and a good surge protector may prevent damage, and it may not. This is a one time expenditure, but with this firewall business it is very fluid, and there is no assurance of protection for that very reason.

The cost of my "free" firewall is the annoyance of popup ads that state I am vulnerable, ports are open, a number of attempts, etc. and I should buy into their protection immediately. If everyone is so vulnerable (even with the freebe), why isn't there a barrage of complaints on this BBS?

 

Probaly most people who know how to find the BBS got hip long ago to the need for a firewall. Anyone who even casually reads the computer magazines cannot help but know about it.
All I can say is the people who do this for a living have a better idea than any of us what the actual numbers are, and they disagree with Ken Keith. In the beginning, no one cared much about security. The emphasis on firewalls developed gradually in response to events that actually occurred. The incidence of hacking activity is increasing dramatically. And as I said, sometimes you do not even know that you have been hacked. The damage is done to the internet in general, generating large amounts of junk traffic to bog things down.
I have never read a computer columnist who did not preach the firewall gospel. They have no personal axe to grind. In addition to interviews with experts, they speak from personal experience. Friends come to them for help with computer problems.
I live in a rural mountain county of 20,000 people, no significant cities or businesses. In this community is a retired computer programmer who used to work in Atlanta. He occasionally writes a column for our small weekly newspaper. Even in the little bit of puttering around that he does now, he often relates the story of some poor smuck who got his computer hacked, and urges us to be religious about using firewalls.
BlackIce says there are scumbags called "scriptkiddies" who go to some sleazeball website to learn how to write a few lines of code to troll the internet for unprotected computers. For clowns with their level of skills, the XP firewall is an impregnable fortress. If a skilled hacker is after you personally, he can get past any firewall that is available for private consumers. But there is your null probability for the average private user. Who would go to that trouble to hack a private computer? It is just stupid to be so careless that you get hacked by a scriptkiddie out for a joyride.
You can set Zone alarm not to notify you of anything. The next time the alert box appears, just click "Do not show this message again." You can turn the alerts back on from the ZoneAlarm control center.

 

I have never used Zone Alarm, but I have heard a lot of people say they are satisfied with it. I bought Norton IS 2003 a few months ago- paid $60 for it and there was a $30 rebate. So for about $2.50 a month, or .08 a day, I have IS, AV, and ad blocking-ALL with regular updates. I have the tattletale globe set to tell me everything, and I don't find it distracting. I have even solved some problems using the info it gave me. Norton isn't perfect, but it's one of the best on the market, and it's cheap insurance. If my comp goes down, I am not only inconvenienced, it's going to cost me money. Time fooling with my system takes time away from paying jobs!

If you don't like the ads and pop-ups from the free programs, consider buying one. I have NEVER seen an ad on the BBS (but I sent Arie the $20 anyway because it was the right thing to do!) Just like TV, ads pay for what content you receive. I bought AdSubtract Pro a year or so ago for $15, and with my 8 cent a day Norton, I see very very few ads, no pop ups and pages load faster and are easier to read. I consider this a bargain. This is not a plug for Norton- there are other options available just as good or better-it's just what I'm used to. I like knowing everytime some app tries to phone home, and I like knowing that my email and so forth has been scanned by a reputable check. As I said before, if Norton isn't on (my system or someone else's) the modem is unplugged and turned off. In the long run, it has probably saved me countless headaches- but who knows? Like the toothache analogy, when you don't have problems, you don't think of it. A good IS program, a little common sense and an open mind can save a ton of hassle, a little money, protect the servers on the 'net, and save the whales....well, maybe not the last one!

Here's another analogy. Pedestrians pass my house. No one has ever been unfriendly, or meant me disrespect or harm, but I don't invite them into my house, either. Friends (read: authorized apps) are welcome to come and go as they please, but I don't worry about them stealing the silverware!

Goodnight...I'm stepping down from my soapbox now. May God bless and keep the brave men and women in our military who certainly have more important security issues than we PC users. And, may God bless America.

 

Here is a link to an article in the BBC about a program spammers use to hack home computers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/3064125.stm

They ususally look for a home computer with a broadband connection. When someone replies to a spam message, the reply is routed through the hacked computer. Then responses to the reply go back through the same route.
Here is a quote from Richard Smith, the computer security expert who discovered this particular hack :

"The trojan runs in the background, so except for increased activity on the net or hard drive activity, you wouldn't even notice this going on "