Home > Technobuddy > Archives > 2006 > August > 10 > Entry
DEL.ICIO.USHackers turn pro
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hackers have grown up and gotten jobs.
The trouble is that many of those jobs involve breaking into your computer, stealing information from businesses and creating viruses that turn your home machine into a zombie ready to take commands remotely. These days there are fewer teenaged vandals and more sophisticated computer criminals.
If you don’t have a good firewall program you need to get one.
Take a look at this article from PC World. And if you’ve been depending on the built-in firewall in Windows to protect your computer, then pay special attention to the blue box at the very bottom of the story.
This is a good day to download the free firewall from Zone Alarm.
Permalink | Comments (5) | Post your comment | Categories: Viruses, spam, adware, etc.
Comments
By Prootwadl
August 10, 2006 12:28 PM | Link to this
I just posted a lengthy comment 30 minutes or so ago containing several links, and it didn’t show up. Nice blog software, folks…
By Prootwadl
August 10, 2006 12:31 PM | Link to this
As I tried to say before, I carry three Linux mini-LiveCDs with me so I don’t have to depend on the software smoeone else has installed at a hotel, etc. Those are a copy of DSL, a copy of Puppy Linux, and a copy of SLAX Popcorn Edition.
That way, I can surf the net, check my e-mail, and do various other things w/o having to worry about viruses, various bits of spyware, etc.
A LiveCD is also a nice way for a newbie to try out Linux. The idea is that you download and burn a CD, then boot from that CD without having to install anything. That lets you check Linux out and play with the software without taking a chance on messing up your hard drive. It’s really a slick idea.
By Bill Husted
August 10, 2006 01:13 PM | Link to this
Prootwadl, I’ve had that problem too on occasion, although not as much lately. I’m sorry for the trouble but I do appreciate the report and will pass it along.
By Russell Smith
August 13, 2006 10:30 AM | Link to this
Over time Bill has mentioned Zone Alarm as a great firewall but each time I tried it my computer got screwed up very badly. No more for me.
By Bucky
August 15, 2006 11:42 AM | Link to this
When looking for a free yet potent firewall, I tried several. Zone Alarm seemed like a good one but I soon found it didn’t play well with some other programming. I ended up using Tiny Personal Firewall and have been most delighted! It’s all I ever dreamed a firewall could be. No security testing site I’ve found can break it. And it installed on everything from Win98 to XP with no glitches at all. If interested in a free copy:
http://www.webmasterfree.com/tpfw.html