Ask away, BUGZ. Nobody is forced to answer. I'll bet there are plenty of us non techies that can learn much from these discussions. I certainly have. :)

I was kinda wondering if *I* was the only one who didn't know this stuff. I've been a little hesitent to ask since I know that the regulars pretty much know their shit (computerwise anyway;) ). I really appreciate everybody's help and info so as long as they are nice enough to answer I'll keep asking. BTY, Bruce those links tw posted look like they will be really helpful, you might want to check um out too.:)

Sorry about making things so confusing. Im not the most eloquent speaker (or poster for that matter).

Dial-up internet means you sign in with a user name, dial into some telephone number, computer makes a bunch of funny noises, and your on the internet. Broadband comes as DSL line or a cable modem. This means no dialing in; you just click the Internet Explorer icon and your on the Web.

You mentioned something about images being blurry when you use your internet service. This is probably your ISP (Juno) compressing (making smaller in file size) the images so they download to your computer faster. This is common with dial-up service as pages with a lot of images can take a long time to load.

As for configuring your firewall: Im not too familiar with Macafee firewall but the link below might help.

http://ts.mcafeehelp.com/

Also, if your firewall came with a user manual, it might have a walkthrough on how to configure it.

[quote]Originally posted by Razorfish
Sorry about making things so confusing. Im not the most eloquent speaker (or poster for that matter).

No worries. You haven't confused me I just don't know much so I keep asking questions as terms or whatever come up when I don't know what they are or mean. I appreciate your help.

You mentioned something about images being blurry when you use your internet service. This is probably your ISP (Juno) compressing (making smaller in file size) the images so they download to your computer faster. This is common with dial-up service as pages with a lot of images can take a long time to load.

Yes, I think that is what the "Juno Speedband" does. The images aren't really blurry, it just looks like their resolution has been compromised in order to speed up the download. Like I said I can change this, but it leads me to wonder what the purpose of even having speedband would be. I originally upgraded my service to get it because I thought everything would download faster and it does, it's just that I have to click that "show original image" then wait for it to redownload, so I'm wondering what the advantage is now? Doesn't seem to be one :(.

As for configuring your firewall: Im not too familiar with Macafee firewall but the link below might help.

http://ts.mcafeehelp.com/

Also, if your firewall came with a user manual, it might have a walkthrough on how to configure it.

Yes, I'm sure that link will help, thanks. Unfortunately no manual, that's what I get for "borrowing" the program from a friend.;)

PS...you missed one, what's a router?:)

It allows multiple computers to talk to each other and allows them to share the same internet connection. It doesn't work with dial-up, though.

For example, there are three computers in my house. Two for me, and one for my wife. They are all plugged into my router, and my router is plugged in to my DSL modem. And so, all three computers can be on the internet at the same time.

Thanks, Juju.:) Since I only have one computer and have to use dial up that's one less thing to worry about. Did you read my other post to you in here, well anybody can answer, but it refered to stuff you posted that I had questions about.

Ya know, I used to think this too. "Little fish in a big pond, no one is interested in me". Then, my router died. To access my DSL , I had to hook the computer up directly to the modem. I had it like that for about 4 hours (one Sunday evening, until I could get a replacment on Monday).

Shortly after I replaced the router and powered up the system, I noticed the network activity light was getting HAMMERED on the DSL modem, and I wasn't doing anything.. I disconnected the network cable from the desktop and the activity went away.

Too make a long story short(er), my investigation showed that in the 4 hours my system was on the web without any protection, I'd been hit with 6 different types of attacks, which resulted in 6 trojan or back-door programs being installed.

It took me about 3 days to recover that machine.

Just a bit of news here - do you know HOW they "go after the big fish?". They either get a zillion "drones" (otherwise known as unsuspecting desktops) to participate in one of the many types of concerted attack known as "Distributed Denial of Service" OR they can use your little fish system as one of a series of machines they use to acces and attack OTHER machines - hoping to direct attention to YOU in case someone gets on to them.

Interesting, so LITTLE fish need BIG guns after all.:rattat:

Man, that sucks. It must have been someone trolling for unguarded IPs (using Nmap or one of the other various hacker tools) to test viruses. Or it could have been other infected machines getting into yours.

Yes im familiar with denial of service attacks and bug exploits (i.e. the SQL slammer) used by hackers. Your right about being totally relaxed about security, it can pay bad. I know the odds my machine will be attaked are low but if it was, my router would be worth every penny i spent on it.

If a router just connects multiple computers to the internet, how would it fend off outside "attacks"?

I don't know all that much about this; I just pretend to.

For firewalls, I think that the idea is to block ports that software you run doesn't use.

I suppose that I had considered a router to be a hardware-firewall, with the computers connecting to the hub/switch which connected to the modem which connected to the router. I haven't tinkered with them though, so I don't really know.

I've traditionally had the 'little fish, big pond' variant of: "I'm a little fish on a 56k modem and I usually don't receive email attachments."

Lovebugz; I imagine that there are probably a lot of us here that don't know much of this.

Routers
 

A router is a small box that sits outside your computer. It serves a dual purpose: to allow multiple computers in your house to use the same internet connection (as oppose to paying extra money for each computer to have its own internet service) and it contains special software (known as firmware) that scans incoming and outgoing internet traffic for potentially malicious activity (i.e. someone attepting to hack your computer). You would connect your computer(s) to the router and connect the router to your modem (most likely a cable or DSL modem if your using a router). I find that my router works better than any internal software (such as Macafee). The router doesn't slow my system down (because it runs as its own separate device) and it automatically recognizes good traffic from bad traffic (I had some configuring to do but not much). The router also allows me to add computers to my internet connection, should I choose to do so. Personal routers generally cost between $50 and $150 depending on your needs (IMPORTANT: these prices are more if you want to use a wireless router, meaning a router where you woulnd't need to run cable through your house, which can be a huge pain)

In your case LUVBUGZ, I would stick with the Macafee software. Protection is always a good thing. You might also want to ask the person you borrowed the software from on how to configure it properly. This way the firewall is working at its best efficiency while not getting in the way of your internet activity.

This post was edited to include the price thing.

Thanks for router info Razorfish.:)
I'd ask the dork I "borrowed" it from, but he "borrowed" it from his friend and has no clue either. I think the McAfee help site is where I'll figure it out, thanks again for that link.:biggrin:

No reason to deny either board the amusement of your questions.

Windows programs came/come with some ports open that really should not have been. Two easy ways to get malware into your system is via NETBIOS and port 135. Both should be closed.

What ports are open? Shields Up at www.grc.com is a excellent report. But so often used that best to access it at weird times. Also in his freeware are some programs to close those 'should not be open' ports. Noshare.exe, Shotthemessenger and DCOMbob are three programs that would make the computer more malware resistant by closing those ports for you.

tw, I'm glad to provide the amusement and grateful for the advice I'm getting here. Haven't been able to access my computer lately, trying not to get burnt alive here in San Diego, no power for about 5 days and won't be back up for another 5 or so. On a generator for now. Thought hard about taking the computer when I evacuated, but considering all my problems with it I decided if it burned up I would be ahead of the game. Anyhoo, just wanted to thank you again for the latest info. you have provided.

LB:)