dgg9879 Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 I use mozilla as my browser, have Zone Alarm (the free version) as a firewall and have BitDefender anti-virus software and SpySweeper anti-spyware software (both paid with subscription). I read on the net that you should also have a router with built-in firewall to be secure. Am I secure enough without that? I often download while I'm at work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belatucadrus Posted April 30, 2006 Report Share Posted April 30, 2006 Is a properly configured router more secure than a software firewall ? Yes.Do you need one to protect you from the swarms of wild eyed hackers who are queuing up to ransack your computer ? No. A bit of common sense and one of the free software firewall is plenty good enough. Nobody is going to invest time deliberately hacking a home PC, what they're looking for is the unprotected machine so that they can hijack its resources for a DOS attack on something they're really interested in.I often download while I'm at work.Not a lot I can say here, I'd never in a month of Sundays download on a work PC. Possible copyright infringements, potential prosecution by FAST or FACT, along with Computer Terms of Use documentation where applicable make this a potential minefield I keep well clear of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgg9879 Posted May 2, 2006 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 Sorry,What I meant is that I leave my home PC downloading while I'm at work. So I'm online while my PC is unattended. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 Downloading while you are at work suggests you have some extremely large files to download which, in turn suggests you are using P2P. If that is so, then no amount of protection and security measures will be of very much use for long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belatucadrus Posted May 2, 2006 Report Share Posted May 2, 2006 I see, sorry about the misunderstanding.Should still be OK, ZoneAlarm is one of the best firewalls available in full or free versions. Genuine hackers can't be bothered to put the time and effort into cracking it. Script kiddies would generally rely on your installing a trojan for them. Bitdefender should stop you ever downloading one and Zone alarm would stop it working as long as you don't tell it to give the trojan permission to connect.Be very wary of stuff that comes via P2P though, poor quality control means that there's a lot of bug laden trash out there despite the promises of the BearShares of this world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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