Danger! Without a Firewall, Your Computer is Open to the World!
The links provided on this page connect you to third party URLs. Their contents, for which the Webmaster is not responsible, can change or disappear at any time.
Links for Keeping Your Data out of a Hacker's View
- only for Windows based computers -
Think your data is not up for grabs? If you don't have a good firewall running when you are connected to the World Wide Web, some hackers have probably already examined data in your computer! And if they wish to do so, they can corrupt your data. A recent example of this was the May 2004 Sasser worm which scanned the Internet for computers it could infect, got inside and then replicated itself to produce yet another scanner before causing the host PC to persistently shut down and reboot. Computers with properly set up firewalls suffered no problems from the Sasser worm, and thus the computer owners had none of their time wasted, nor data lost.
There are two things you can do to gain absolute control over who in the world can look at the data in your computer.
First, learn how easy it is to gain access to data on a Windows based computer without a firewall. Perform the 2 tests offered by Steve Gibson, President of Gibson Research Corporation. They are free. Run both tests offered under the presentation from the Shields Up! site.
Second, if the Shields Up tests show you need it, download and install the latest version of the free (to a non-business user), superb firewall named ZoneAlarm.
A Link for Easier, Faster Web Viewing
- only for Windows based computers -
To strip the advertisements from a commercial site, download and install the free program
called WebWasher. Your screen changes (from URL to URL) will be faster and your screens won't be cluttered with distractions.
