firewall - dial-up

[Mark]

It doesn't matter how you are connected to the Internet; you need a firewall!

[windshieldbug]

What he said. It may get there slower, but it can still get there!

[Chuck(G)]

Ditto. There are exploits that don't care if you're on a dynamic IP.

[Rick Denney]

Out in the boondocks, I'm (at least temporarily) downgrading to dial-up.

Welcome to rural America. I've been suffering with dial-up since we moved out here. Even my non-tech parents are doing high-speed now. Sheesh.

We have a service providing point-to-point 802.11A, but I can't see their hilltop antenna sites through our trees. I might be building a WiFi network with one of my neighbors, however. We just need to do it.

Get Zone Alarm and run it on each computer that talks to the Internet. That has been sufficient protection for my dial-up, and I leave the dial-up connected most of the time. That protection is a bit better than the firewall service provided by Microsoft in Windows. An external hardware firewall isn't possible with dial-up.

Rick "who uses it mostly to control what programs on my computer say to the Internet, not vice versa" Denney

[SplatterTone]

If using windows (if not, disregard the rest), the main thing is don't do stupid stuff like open e-mail attachments or click on web site buttons or pop-up windows unless you are absolutely positive It's OK. A firewall is not intended to protect from operator stupidity.

Don't install add-ons that aren't absolutely essential. For example: I can't watch youtube stuff; I got no Quicktime installed; no realaudio installed. If it isn't playable by Windows Media Player, then it doesn't get played on my box.

XP has a built-in firewall. If you regularly run Windows Update and don't install unnecessary add-ons, I would not expect your box to be hacked.

Get the IE-SPYAD (google it). It loads the Restricted Sites area of Internet Explorer with a ton of sites that are blocked from whatever annoying activities you want blocked.

Ad-Aware from lavasoft.com has a free version that will scan for spyware deposited by sites. You can than manually add those sites to your Restricted Sites so they don't crap on your box again. The free version doesn't block spyware; it just removes the crap when you run it manually.

[iiipopes]

There are way too many hacks, viruses, (or is that virii, the Latin plural), trojan horses, moles, worms, bad cookies, spyware, adware, etc., to not use one. For example, Spybot, one common defense that coordinates with a firewall, updates weekly, and it checks out over 46,883 (at last update) critters by itself alone! This is in addition to all the other critters that the common virus software programs look for and (hopefully) weed out.

Firewall. Period. Full stop. End of discussion.

[SplatterTone]

It might be worth noting that those big, newsworthy attacks happened at companies with firewalls and security teams.

No high-powered hacker is going to try to hack some nobody's home computer. Why would they? The bad stuff that gets loose on li'l ol' you's box will be the result of something you did or something you installed.

I certainly would not discourage somebody from firewalling the bejeezus out of their setup if that makes them feel better. But they should understand that firewalls will not protect against things you do or things you install. A lot of big companies have found that out the hard way.

Your best protection is sitting on your shoulders.

[WoodSheddin]

Out in the boondocks, I'm (at least temporarily) downgrading to dial-up.

Is a firewall (with dial-up) essential, optional, or totally unnecessary?

bloke "Touch tone is not even available out here ...Cable hook-up has been quoted @ $3K...' don't care for satellite internet prices either - nor problems associated w/satellite...and I don't watch much TV, btw"

Windows XP has a firewall app built right in which would help and you already paid for it if you run XP.

Many people with high speed have a router somewhere close to the internet side of their network. With that you have a relativelly secure connection due to how proxies function. No other firewall is generally needed. Antivirus software though is always a must.

Dial-up is different though because your PC IP address is many times directly routable. So if you have printer sharing turned on or file sharing without a password on the shared stuff than anyone can fairly easily put the pieces together enough to cause mischief. So using the Windows XP firewall app might help to prevent that.

Personally though I have found ALL software based firewalls extremely clunky and causing more pain than dealing with an attack which is unlikely in the firest place even if possible.

BTW, if you have a laptop which shares files and the like at home on an open and trusted network, then you very likely have no passwords in place to make the sharing easier. If you happen to hop on a network away from home then here is a good command to type at a Command Prompt to stop people from browing your machine.

Start -> Run -> Type CMD and press enter
Type NET STOP SERVER and press enter

and answer yes when it prompts you about also shutting down any other service related to SERVER

[SplatterTone]

Make sure you put on service pack 2 and all the XP updates. If you are on dial-up and don't have the stuff on CD locally, it will take F-O-R-E-V-E-R to download. I think the latest versions of XP come with SP2. But there are still a mess of security updates to apply after SP2.

[Chuck(G)]

Another freebie is Microsoft (I know, I know) Windows Defender:

http://www.microsoft.com/athome/securit ... fault.mspx

The good things are that (a) Microsoft didn't write it and (b) it's free.

FWIW, I don't have a firewall on this machine--but I have two firewalls ahead of it via my DSL modem and the server it's connected to.

If you want a quick check of the vulnerability of your system, go here:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

If you don't raise any alarms, that doesn't mean you're not vulnerable, but just that some obvious avenues have been closed off.

[Matt Good]

Out in the boondocks, I'm (at least temporarily) downgrading to dial-up.

I could see this coming!

-Matt

[iiipopes]

Regarding the non-availability of touch tone, I really sympathize. A few weeks ago I was trying to find a file in cold storage when I came across an old Bell desk telephone (stamp dated internally 1956), and realized my son, who is almost 9, had never heard a real telephone bell. So I borrowed it, brought it home and plugged it in (the last repairman to work on it had changed its cord to modular plug). Now here's the funny part: I took my cell phone and dialed the land line. Boy, did his eyes light up when he heard the ring. After I explained what it was, I taught him a couple of facts of telephone history, how to dial the phone, and how even on today's phones, as long as they are real land lines, you can click the requisite number of clicks with a pause between each number to dial, get an operator, dial 911, etc.

As much as the national phone service grid may have been damaged by the dissolution of Ma Bell, or in spite of all the advances of making telephone rates more affordable and accessible, I am glad the old standard was not discarded with upgrades in service.

Hey, bloke: next time you're having trouble logging on, uncover the telephone plug/jack, take your volt/amp meter and make sure the voice lead is getting at least 27 milliamps of current to the telephone: the more amperage, the less effect noise will have on the line and the better the baud rate for your modem. If you're getting less than 35 milliamps, call and complain how you're on the end of the line and something's setting up as an unintentional inductor bleeding off current and inducing noise into the line. At the office we just went through this about a year ago, and after repeated complaints we finally got rerouted off the original 50 year old cable through the new area trunk. No more problems!

[Chuck(G)]

Hey, bloke: next time you're having trouble logging on, uncover the telephone plug/jack, take your volt/amp meter and make sure the voice lead is getting at least 27 milliamps of current to the telephone: the more amperage, the less effect noise will have on the line and the better the baud rate for your modem. If you're getting less than 35 milliamps, call and complain how you're on the end of the line and something's setting up as an unintentional inductor bleeding off current and inducing noise into the line. At the office we just went through this about a year ago, and after repeated complaints we finally got rerouted off the original 50 year old cable through the new area trunk. No more problems!

Many telcos have a QOS criterion of "hear and be heard" for their voice lines. So they figure if you're calling to complain and they can understand you, there's nothing wrong. If you ask them to tweak the EQ, there's usually a very hefty fee with no guarantees. As long as you can run a 2500 desk set, most telcos don't give a damn about the DC level.

What's going to affect your datarate the most is wire miles to the nearest switch (usually the CO in rural areas). I pitched and moaned to the local telco about lousy service. About 4 years ago, a guy showed up on my doorstep asking if I would be willing to sell a bit of land near the utility right-of-way. The telco set up a concrete slab and a bunch of big boxes. The connection to the CO is fiber and the "last mile" for me is about 400 feet. Apparently the telco was expanding their service and needed somewhere they could terminate a few thousand pairs.

I get great DSL now.

[iiipopes]

Oh, Chuck(G), that we could all be so lucky. In addition to the above, don't do a "line split" to get two numbers into your house. I was working at a project a few years ago that required a second line, so instead of running all new cable from the junction box to the house, which is in my back yard, the tech "split" the cable for the second line. It set up so much inductance that my usable baud rate cut in half. Finally, the local cable company piggybacked internet to their cable signal. Now at least I can get reliable 128k.

[Chuck(G)]

You know, if Joe's on an REA co-op, he might agitate for his utility to look into BOPL. Screw the telco--just get your broadband out of a wall receptacle.

[Dan Schultz]

I've held out and have been on a dial-up since Al Gore invented the Internet I am a firm beleiver in keeping my Norton AV up to date but have never relied on a firewall. Never had a problem... and don't think a firewall is necessary for dial-up connections because most dial-up providers do not allow one to 'camp' on the connection.

Now... when I return home from vacation on Monday, October 16th... the cable guy will be there to install a new optical mega-fast Internet, TV, and phone system. I WILL have a firewall installed before I turn the computer on.

[Ricko]

Hey Bloke:

Don't forget that Tennessee mandated that the entire state be able to get ISDN in order for Bellsouth to operate in the state. It isn't broadband but it's a whole lot better that dialup.

I had a buddy out in the sticks put it in - on the installation day Bellsouth had to dispatch 12 trucks to set the line up. His install fee was still only $50.

The techs said they had never installed ISDN in such a rural area.

[MaryAnn]

I have a Mac. To date, no problems with dial-up, no firewall, no anti-virus although I've heard I should check it now and then. I don't keep my SS# on my computer, either. That would be dumb. If they want the pictures of my cats, they are free to steal them.

MA

[Chuck(G)]

I had a buddy out in the sticks put it in - on the installation day Bellsouth had to dispatch 12 trucks to set the line up. His install fee was still only $50.

Telcos don't like ISDN--it requires special equipment along a long run, so they tend to charge an outrageous fee for what amounts to 56K service. There is also something called "dual ISDN" that can get you to almost 128K.

[Tubaryan12]

bloke "DUMP NORTON NOW"

Ditto!

another free antivirus is AVG :

http://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5