internet security

[Diablo]

Alright, I'm on an @home cable modem, so internet security is an issue. I've tried Norton Internet Security 2001 Family, Zone Alarm Pro, as well as BlackIce.

After getting numerous serious attacks, i've tried using two of these progs. at once. I've come to notice that one alerts me/blocks attacks that others may not. Is it paranoid to use 2 at once? I know it can be heavy on the memory, but I'm online a lot, so I want to be protected.

I have all set to the mamimum protection, which will give me more alerts that may not be true attacks, but I want to make sure that my computer is secure.

Can anyone help me out to decide which I should use? I've heard good things about all three, and I dont think I'm going to bother with mcafee.

Is there one definate program thats the best? Is it not worth it to run two at once?

thanx for any help :D

[Leon]

You can run two at once if you want. I was using (and still am) BlackICE. It gave me tons of warnings, but that doesn't mean that you were hacked or are targetted. BlackICE is just REALLY sensitive.

Anyhoo, I am behind the SMC router now and running BlackICE, and BlackICE never gives me a warning anymore. I guess the SMC blocks everything.

[sbp]

Zone Alarm is the best.

[Jeffbx]

If you want the technical lowdown of personal firewalls, ask around at comp.security.firewalls - tons of good info in there. The general consensus seems to be that among the more popular personal firewalls, BlackIce seems to be the favorite (that's what I use). If you REALLY want to get your hands dirty, try Conseal - http://www.consealfirewall.com I think. This will let you set things down to minute detail. You may not want to bother with this, though.

However, an even safer way to surf is to do what Leon is doing - there's a reason that he's not getting any alerts anymore. His SMC router is probably NATting his IP address so no one on the Internet can actually see his PC - they can only see the router. NAT (network address translation) works by taking the valid IP address you get from your ISP for the router, and then assigning your PC(s) dummy IP addresses in an invalid range (10.x or 192.168.x). The invalid ranges cannot be used on the public Internet, so no one can actually see your PC. All requests are sent through your router, and valid requests are forwarded to your PC. Of course to do this, you would need to buy a cable router (SMC, Linksys, Netgear, whatever) which typically run $100 - 150.

[Diablo]

I can't really affort a cable router right now, I'll look into that in the future though.

I know it may seem a bit obsessive-compulsive to be running 2 at once, but my main concern is not the pepole doing their usual scans over the network giving me 1-10 attack notices. My problem is the people on my local network hammering me w/ numerous attacks, as in hundreds within a few hours. I've had this problem a few times, and I go offline for awhile, but when I come back on, the attacks start right back up. I'm not exactly sure if they're targeting me directly, or if these hacker wannabes are doing this to several people.

I've thought about reporting these people, but @home doesnt really have a good way to report these things. I'd have to wait on the phone for god-knows-how-long, & just hope that the stupid people answering the phone can forward my call to someone that knows what they're doing :\

I've done a few security checks from websites, and it usually turns out that I get good ratings. On the norton website, if i dont have Norton Internet Security on, holes in security will show up. Not sure if it's cause they're trying to make you use their software ;) or if its actually better.

I know everyone says ZoneAlarm & BlackIce, but is Norton Internet Security good? or is it just the fact that no one bothers buying it?

thanx :) (sorry for being so wordy ;) )

[giambona]

If you're really concerned about security, use Windows 2000 or Windows NT. Of course, you could add a firewall onto that for even more security (btw, Win2k has a basic firewall built-in)