Firewalls and Password Protection

Any firewall is better than none.Ý However, there may be a fairly steep learning curve in getting all the settings right.Ý The firewall that comes with Windows XP SP2 has proven to be pretty good and is fairly inobtrusive.Ý It blocks a whole lot of the nasty stuff that works constantly to try to find information about you and your habits.Ý I use another productÝthat shows me whenever certain events happen and which provides me with more information about the attacker so I can block those sites from further attempts to connect to my computer.Ý No matter which firewall you use you'll want to be sure to keep it up-to-date through online updates.Ý Microsoft issues updates with its Windows update process, so you'll want to be sure to use that regularly.Ý Other vendors have other means of obtaining updates for definitions and for the software itself.Ý As Brian Eckman said in the program, it's very important that you patch Windows regularly since there are a lot of vulnerabilities fixed in that process.Ý That comes along with the Windows update service.Ý You can learn more about this at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/.

The things I mention here, except for the items specifically related to Microsoft Windows, apply equally well to any operating system platform.Ý While MS Windows is under the most attack these days, the opportunities for shifty types to obtain informationÝ are thereÝfor any computer user and care should be taken at all times.

Sincerely,

Tech Talk Staff