Archived from groups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.security_admin (
More info?)
DanB wrote:
> By firewall, do you mean the firewall that came with Service
> Pack 2? I don't have a firewall of my own installed. Do
> you think that the firewall that came with Service Pack 2
> and Norman Antivirus is sufficient enough for me to go and
> do some research? I just really don't want to go through
> these headaches again. I know that there's always going to
> be a potential threat, but I want to be prepared. Please
> let me know what you think. Thanks!
Because it only monitors inbound traffic, the built-in Windows
firewall is barely adequate. Still, it's better than nothing.
There are a number of free software firewalls available that
monitor outbound traffic as well:
Zone Alarm
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp
Sygate Personal Firewall
http://smb.sygate.com/products/spf_standard.htm
Kerio Personal Firewall
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html
I've used Zone Alarm in the past and found it effective and
easy to configure. If you have faith in the company whose AV
software you're using you might want to consider their firewall
program.
As you point out, the simple act of connecting to the internet
puts any system at risk. That said, I've never had a problem
using Windows update on a new system. I was confident that the
installed AV and firewall apps would protect the machine. I'm
also a believer in putting all computers, even a single
machine, behind a router that's runing NAT.
Maybe if I'd experienced the problems you outlined I'd be more
cautious. The bottom line is that you've got to decide what
level of protection is enough for you.
Good luck
Nepatsfan
> "Nepatsfan" wrote:
>
>> DanB wrote:
>>> I recently had to reinstall Windows XP Home Edition on my
>>> machine because I was complacent and did not keep up on my
>>> updates. As a result, my machine was riddled with worms,
>>> trojans, etc. So, I used a Win 98 boot disk and deleted
>>> the partition and installed a fresh XP. I ordered Service
>>> Pack 2 and installed that along with Norman Antivirus.
>>> However, I still need to get up to speed from SVC Pack2.
>>> Any suggestions on where I can find these updates so I can
>>> download them? I won't be using my machine as I don't want
>>> to risk it. In other words, that page where you go and
>>> your machine is scanned for applicable updates won't work
>>> because I'll be using someone else's machine. I was hoping
>>> someone would be able to tell me exactly where to go and
>>> I'll download them onto my jumpdrive. Any help would be
>>> greatly appreciated!!
>>>
>>> DanB
>>
>> Dan,
>>
>> The problem with this approach is that you won't know which
>> updates to download. As long as you've got your AV program
>> and firewall up and running you should at least make one
>> trip to the Windows Update site to create a list of updates
>> that need to be installed on your computer. There are
>> currently 60 critical and 23 recommended post SP2 updates
>> available for XP. Not all of them will apply to your
>> computer.
>>
>> If you are determined to follow your approach, go to this
>> web site:
>>
>>
http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com/catalog/en/default.asp
>>
>> Click on "Find updates for Microsoft Windows operating
>> systems" Scroll through the list to the next to last item,
>> Windows XP SP2.
>> Hit the search button.
>> Click on "Critical Updates and Service Packs".
>> Go through the list and click the Add button for each item
>> you want to download.
>> Do the same for "Recommended Updates".
>> Once you're finished the selection process, click on "Go to
>> Download Basket".
>> Hit the Browse button and select the location where you
>> want to save the files.
>>
>> If you want more info on this process, here's a MS article
>> on the subject:
>>
>>
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;323166
>>
>> Good luck
>>
>> Nepatsfan
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