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Firewall
Protection against Intruders
A
firewall is necessary to protect your computer from attack. The
attacker may be a weirdo whose hobby is breaking into computers
just to have a look into your affairs or it may be a professional
outfit with more sinister intentions.
It
protects the numerous 'ports' (over 1000 would you believe?) that
allow access into your computer. It acts as a sentry that controls
information to and from your computer. Without a firewall there
is no track on computer traffic. Most of it will be innocent and
maybe you've been lucky so far, but it really costs very little
to protect your computer. Can you afford not to?
Firewalls come in several flavours and a multitude of types. There
are hardware , firmware,and software firewalls; there are more
than you can shake a stick at and the choice,as always, depends
on your needs, the depth of your pocket and personal preferences.
I
can't claim to have tried them all; after all I've only felt the
need for one for the last 3 years after an unfortunate experience.
My
choice of a firewall is one that's been around a long, long time
and is being used on 17 million computers - 'nuff said. It's popular
because it's effective yet reasonable in price. I hope you'll
have a look at Zone Alarm to see if you think it's for you. But
as in all things the water's been muddied, the cat's been put
among the pigeons and the proverbials hit the fan!
Why
is this? Well the authors of Zone Alarm have been busy and can
now offer the product bundled with all manner of other goodies;
anti-virus, pop-up stoppers, anti-spy software and a lot more.
If your computer is attacked they'll even tell you who's trying
it on; it's usually Wongy-Foo from Ho Chi Minn City - or his MUM.
I'm prepared to believe it even makes a nice cup of tea (or coffee).
I
can only recommend the plain, unvarnished Zone Alarm Pro, that
is still available on it's own. Take a look at their website,
prepare to be amazed and ....Stay
Ahead of Hackers
Although
I only use Zone Alarm Pro I believe Zone Labs to be a first class
company producing top quality software at an affordable price.
If
you're still not convinced there's a site I've found that will
give you loads
of information on firewalls in an easy-to-understand manner.
After that, maybe you'd like to check how safe your computer is
by going to this webpage,
scrolling down to Hot Spots and clicking on 'Shields Up'
When
I first started surfing the Internet, firewalls were something
that other folks had. They weren't necessary for the ordinary
guy. But since then the computing scene has gotten much more sophisticated,
and your computer is more likely to be attacked. If you didn't
take a look at the How Stuff Works page on firewalls please take
a look now. You owe it to yourself to find out and assess the
risks
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