How secure is it really?

[Hephaistos]

When i was young i never gave a single thought to security on a computer besides passwords and virus-scan.
But a friend in a programming class has learned a few new tricks and made me question how secure a computer truly is. For example, my friend used SMTP to send a message from my name to me. With him it was harmless showing off... but i have other friends that if they learned that, they would be so pety as to use it for their own good or amusement. Does anyone know a site dedicated to security? ways of securing your PC? anything?
I don't like trusting things when there are unknowns for harm, and i want to know how much harm.
Thanks

 

[RSMemphis]

Firewalls are your friends.
TinyFirewall seems to work well for me.

 

[MedicBob]

Here are some sites I watch and read.
Gibson Research

Sam Spade

Symantec

DOS Help

There are several more out there. Read several and then decide what and how secure you need to be. Firewalls are great and a must for anyone spending any amount of time on the internet.

Zone Alarm

Tiny Firewall

Sysgate

Those 3 seem to be the favorite of many here, plus they are free and work very well.

Good luck.

 

[MisterMe]

<< I don't like trusting things when there are unknowns for harm, and i want to know how much harm. Thanks >>



I guess it would be smart to be "concerned" about security but don't subscribe to the hysteria often accompanies talk of firewalls, hacking and vulnerabilty. Remember that you have the statiscal advantage on your side - the shear number of people on the internet disovles you into the crowd and when it comes to actually being "attacked", I would worry more about having my front door locked than losing sleep over somebody getting into your PC. Keep your mind and don't worry about it so much as to take the normal precautions when it comes to securing yourself against "threats". After all, if "they" do get in (harder than you think) then what are they really going to find? Your list of pirated MP3s? Your quicken file? Your notes to your mistress? If I were a hacker and I could get into any PC at will I would soon just bore of "getting into" the PC of Joe America...Relax...

 

[bignick]

The trick your friend used is an old SMTP trick. just telnet to a SMTP server on port 25. the only way to protect against that is to use some sort of way to verify that all e-mail from you is actually sent from you. pgp is your best bet for that.

 

[Innoka]

"Is it safe? .... [washes hands]
Is it safe?"
a free firewall to whoever gets the reference...

 

[GrumpyMan]

<< Here are some sites I watch and read. Gibson Research Sam Spade Symantec DOS Help There are several more out there. Read several and then decide what and how secure you need to be. Firewalls are great and a must for anyone spending any amount of time on the internet. Zone Alarm Tiny Firewall Sysgate Those 3 seem to be the favorite of many here, plus they are free and work very well. Good luck. >>




Thanks man, I noticed that my tcp port 5000 was open on a security scan the other day and was looking for a good way to close it. Did the trick with that Unplug&play program.

 

[Hephaistos]

Thanks all for the info. I guess i need that little booster shot of confidence in my computer
anyway, about this PGP what exactly is that bignick? protocol? setting in e-mail? software?
And i'm hearing that the difference between firewall and router is one is outside the computer and one usually costs. Is that the truth? is one more secure (hence you get what you pay for)?

 

[Derango]

A firewall is a program that prevents unauthorized access to your network. A router acts as the interface to your network from a larger network. Not all routers have firewalls. Not all firewalls are routers.

PGP is a piece of software that encrypts and signs your e-mail, so the recipiant knows that you sent it.