What Kind of Firewall Do I Need?

Ok, I just signed up for Earthlink DSL. I'm running Windows ME. I have
McAfee anti-virus.

So, after I get things hooked up in a few weeks (hopefully) what do I
need to do next? I really haven't done any research into firewalls because
I have been on dial-up and I have always heard the hackers like to go after
the broadband users, not dial-up users.

What firewalls do you recommend? Since I use McAfee anti-virus should I
give their firewall a look?

Also, is it hard to configure DSL, computer, and a firewall? I really
know nothing about ports or anything. Will I be able to down load things
and play poker and other games like before without any trouble?

Thanks!

On Tue, 10 May 2005 03:51:57 GMT, "Von Fourche"
wrote:



Ok, I just signed up for Earthlink DSL. I'm running Windows ME. I have
McAfee anti-virus.

So, after I get things hooked up in a few weeks (hopefully) what do I
need to do next? I really haven't done any research into firewalls because
I have been on dial-up and I have always heard the hackers like to go after
the broadband users, not dial-up users.

What firewalls do you recommend? Since I use McAfee anti-virus should I
give their firewall a look?

Also, is it hard to configure DSL, computer, and a firewall? I really
know nothing about ports or anything. Will I be able to down load things
and play poker and other games like before without any trouble?

I use ZoneAlarm, the free version, whenever I connect using
Windows (I haven't got Linux to talk to thiss Broadcom WiFi
tranceiver yet, so I still run Windows on my laptop). Go to
www.zonelabs.com and download a copy.

I connect through Cox Cable, so my modem isn't exactly like your
DSL modem, but I just plugged the modem, my Linksys router and
my main computer together, powered up in the recommended modem,
router, computer sequence, and everything Just Worked. Some
people aren't so fortunate. I ignored the setup CDs (which
assume that you use Windows or a Mac) and typed the router's IP
address into Opera and followed the menus and the quick-start
folder to name my wireless access point and set a few options.

ZoneAlarm will ask you if you want to allow a program to access
the Internet. For things like your browser, you can check a
"Remember this" box and never see that alert again. For a
program that you don't recognize, you can click "Deny" and see
what happens.

I also use Ad-Aware and Spybot Search & Destroy. ZoneAlarm will
stop a spybot from phoning home if you're not too quick to click
"Permit" when something asks for permission, but it's best to
clean those weevils out of your system. If you spend enough
time following interesting links, yuo will get spyware. Even
some relatively respectable companies think it's all right to
spy on their customers.

Note that spyware and worms / viruses are different threats. I
use Norton Anti-Virus because I can afford to maintain a
subscription, but there are free AV suites like AVG that are
better than nothing. I have no particular reason for preferring
Norton to McAfee except that my laptop came with a free year of
Norton updates. My main system never runs Windows while
connected to the Internet, so I don't worry about keeping its
Windows AV software up to date.