I'm writing this tutorial because most people don't secure their PC from outside threats.
This tutorial has also been featured on some forums. (JavaHive Forums)
Here some hints and steps on securing your PC :
The beginning....
First off all check out your current situation...
For a quick and online scan of your system, Symantec set up a free security scanner. You can find it @ http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/ If you fail on 1 or more of these 4 tests, you should be more carefull.
Firewall
A firewall is a virtual wall who only allows good traffic in and keeps all the bad traffic out. It will allow you to serve your ftp, browse the internet and chat on IRC while protecting you against hackers etc. Not every firewall is a good firewall. That is why your selection of it is very important! I personally test 10 firewalls and found ISS Black Ice Protector the best firewall out there. You can find it @ http://blackice.iss.net/index.php You can download it here http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2092-1...tml?tag=lst-0-2
Setting it up
The application allows you to use several modes:
* Block all traffic
* Block most traffic
* Block some traffic
* Allow all traffic
Only a fool would choose the last option. I myself have mine on block some. It works the best and doesn't blocks your gaming/messaging etc. The program also allows you to use a thing called "Application Control" ... With this enabled it will set its firewall rules based upon every application. I don't like this feature because it always asks wether an app should access the net. I disable this function.
What about my web/ftp server...
To allow you to run your own server, you must right click the icon located in your system tray and choose for advanced firewall settings. Here you can add some basic rules. Such as "allow all traffic on TCP port 21" or "block all traffic on UDP port 1337". Remember to set expire to never else you'll lose your rule after a while
Rerun the symantec scan and block all open ports found (note all ports that are being scanned by symantec are TCP).
Internet browser security
You should set your internet security level to a level that allows you to surf but blocks most spam/virusses/trojans. In IE "Medium" is a good level for this. You can always costumize the settings if you prefer.
Popups are driving me NNNUUUTTTSS!!! and that spyware **** sucks
Totally agree... a free and good popup killer is the Google Toolsbar (http://toolbar.google.com) Install it and set it to block most popups. That should block most of them suckers. Pressing the control button while browsing will temp. allow popups. On to spyware ... a still good anti-spyware program is Ad-Aware. Google for the download link.
Virusscanner ?? doesn't that slow down my pc
Erhmmm yes if you have the most crappiest pc/scanner on the planet. Reviews and tests show that the Trend Microscanner takes about 46% (!) performance. Compared to that, the Symantec AV scanner only takes a mere 5%. You can disable it @ anytime for example gaming. Symantec updates itself every few days and is proven to be the best out there. Be a man and install the scanner... will save you a lot of backup-restoring work later
Done ???
Erhmmm... almost! Rerun the symantec scan again... if passed on all 4, you're about good as it gets. There are some other online scanners availible on the net, try googling on "online security scan". This should about protect you against the biggest threats online. I also recomend updating your windows/software regulary. Also don't install suspicius small apps. If you don't trust a program after virusscanning it, i won't reccomend installing it.
Well now after giving my keyboard a hard time, i'm signing off. If you have any questions about firewalls/scanners/routers/... ask them here or PM me
Thanks a lot for spending some time surfing my tuts. Hope it was useful for you. This is just my personal expericence tht i have formed as a small tutorial. :hap3:
This tutorial has also been featured on some forums. (JavaHive Forums)
Here some hints and steps on securing your PC :
The beginning....
First off all check out your current situation...
For a quick and online scan of your system, Symantec set up a free security scanner. You can find it @ http://www.symantec.com/securitycheck/ If you fail on 1 or more of these 4 tests, you should be more carefull.
Firewall
A firewall is a virtual wall who only allows good traffic in and keeps all the bad traffic out. It will allow you to serve your ftp, browse the internet and chat on IRC while protecting you against hackers etc. Not every firewall is a good firewall. That is why your selection of it is very important! I personally test 10 firewalls and found ISS Black Ice Protector the best firewall out there. You can find it @ http://blackice.iss.net/index.php You can download it here http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2092-1...tml?tag=lst-0-2
Setting it up
The application allows you to use several modes:
* Block all traffic
* Block most traffic
* Block some traffic
* Allow all traffic
Only a fool would choose the last option. I myself have mine on block some. It works the best and doesn't blocks your gaming/messaging etc. The program also allows you to use a thing called "Application Control" ... With this enabled it will set its firewall rules based upon every application. I don't like this feature because it always asks wether an app should access the net. I disable this function.
What about my web/ftp server...
To allow you to run your own server, you must right click the icon located in your system tray and choose for advanced firewall settings. Here you can add some basic rules. Such as "allow all traffic on TCP port 21" or "block all traffic on UDP port 1337". Remember to set expire to never else you'll lose your rule after a while
Rerun the symantec scan and block all open ports found (note all ports that are being scanned by symantec are TCP).
Internet browser security
You should set your internet security level to a level that allows you to surf but blocks most spam/virusses/trojans. In IE "Medium" is a good level for this. You can always costumize the settings if you prefer.
Popups are driving me NNNUUUTTTSS!!! and that spyware **** sucks
Totally agree... a free and good popup killer is the Google Toolsbar (http://toolbar.google.com) Install it and set it to block most popups. That should block most of them suckers. Pressing the control button while browsing will temp. allow popups. On to spyware ... a still good anti-spyware program is Ad-Aware. Google for the download link.
Virusscanner ?? doesn't that slow down my pc
Erhmmm yes if you have the most crappiest pc/scanner on the planet. Reviews and tests show that the Trend Microscanner takes about 46% (!) performance. Compared to that, the Symantec AV scanner only takes a mere 5%. You can disable it @ anytime for example gaming. Symantec updates itself every few days and is proven to be the best out there. Be a man and install the scanner... will save you a lot of backup-restoring work later
Done ???
Erhmmm... almost! Rerun the symantec scan again... if passed on all 4, you're about good as it gets. There are some other online scanners availible on the net, try googling on "online security scan". This should about protect you against the biggest threats online. I also recomend updating your windows/software regulary. Also don't install suspicius small apps. If you don't trust a program after virusscanning it, i won't reccomend installing it.
Well now after giving my keyboard a hard time, i'm signing off. If you have any questions about firewalls/scanners/routers/... ask them here or PM me
Thanks a lot for spending some time surfing my tuts. Hope it was useful for you. This is just my personal expericence tht i have formed as a small tutorial. :hap3:
