security software

[beeti]

Hey all,

I just want some information on security software with adsl.I have zonealarm,norton anti-virus and peerguardian at the moment. Is that sufficient or are there other programs that are useful to have?Such as IPCop which I read about in another post,is that also a security program?

Thanks

 

[ScrnScrm]

you may want to secure your adsl modem as well. disable telnet access on external interface, use a complex password etc etc. it also depends whether your adsl modem is running in bridged mode or not. my recommendation would be NOT to enable it in bridge mode - fire the PPPoE connection from the adsl router with the firewall enabled on the router, in addition to the security that you have on your pc. You may also want to upgrade to xp sp2 and enable the windows firewall as an extra measure.
cheers -

 

[beeti]

thanks for the reply,got xp2 already and am not running in bridged mode so that helps.where do i disable telnet access on external interface?

 

[DFantom]

norton anti-virus

Nasty....i would throw it away...mostly because it's crap

peerguardian

?

Is that sufficient

Keep your box patched up to date. Give it a good adware clean on a regular basis (personal choise is adaware from www.lavasoft.de). Do not use Outlook, Outlook Express or Internet explorer. Set passwords on your machine.
Do not run as administrator or a user with administrator rights (power users group is good). Run MBSA to see where your config security wholes are and fix them. and keep your box patched up to date

 

[ScrnScrm]

thanks for the reply,got xp2 already and am not running in bridged mode so that helps.where do i disable telnet access on external interface?

what adsl router do you have?

 

[beeti]

its the scrap marconi router from telkom! want to get another one but I just need to get the cash first,heard billion and netgear are good to go for.
By MBSA do you mean Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer?
Whats a better prog. than Norton Anti-Virus?

 

[ScrnScrm]

yes about mbsa.
marconi are not the easiest to set up, but it can be done.
add the linsys wag54g to your list of routers to investigate.
NAV is ok - remember to blend your protection - dont ever rely on one product vendor.
Nav in conjuntion with a firewall, XP SP2 with Firewall enabled, keeping your patches 100% up to date, and using complex passwords should be fine for you.

 

[beeti]

Thnaks for the reply,but just one more thing,I am running as administrator on my pc.Is this a problem as DFantom suggested?should I change it to power user like he said?

 

[ScrnScrm]

hmm. tough one. i would generally say yes - rather use a power user than adminsitrator, and use "run as" context when you require administrator rights. but i am guessing that you dont know how to do this - so it might be better for you to just continue running as administrator and make sure that your security is 100% (or as close to it as possible).

 

[beeti]

u guessed right,dont hav a clue so I will just leave it as administrator.
sweet
thanks a lot

 

[beeti]

Sup again!
Once firefox and thunderbird hav been installed and set as default browser and e-mail respectively,should I uninstall internet explorer and outlook express if possible?

 

[ScrnScrm]

no - you dont have to. just dont use them

 

[beeti]

shot man!

 

[DFantom]

its the scrap marconi router from telkom!

i never had a problem with a marconi...maybe i'm just lucky

By MBSA do you mean Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer?

Exactly

Whats a better prog. than Norton Anti-Virus?

Anything...personally I use nod32. There is an anti-virus thread somewhere (think in offtopic) that goes into details on what is better

add the linsys wag54g to your list of routers to investigate.

do you mean the wrt45g?

Is this a problem as DFantom suggested?should I change it to power user like he said?

It's not a big problem, and even I do not do it on my home machine (work machine I do it). But it does make you slightly safer

I uninstall internet explorer and outlook express if possible?

No

 

[arf9999]

Sup again!
....should I uninstall internet explorer and outlook express if possible?

It isn't possible unless you uninstall Windows AFAIK

Seriously tho', the much maligned IE is sometimes required, cos there are sites that just don't work in Firefox...they seem to be getting fewer, but they are still there.

Try this one for instance: http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/

...and you NEED it!

 

[arf9999]

do you mean the wrt45g?

The wag54g includes DSL functionality. WRT is Wireless Router without DSL.

 

[ScrnScrm]

do you mean the wrt45g?

the wrt45g will suffice. the benefit of the wag54g though is that it has 802.11g wireless built in, with WPA.
Ciao