So, you think your PC is secure
Written: Nov 16 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Costs NOTHING, lots of information
Cons: you find out how exposed your computer is
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| michaelw's Full Review: Shields Up |
You could be in for a nasty surprise. I am on a DSL hookup, which means others on the DSL "network" have the opportunity to look at my machine if I'm not careful. I thought I was a wise consumer, I had one product in place that dutifully told me when someone had tried to access my machine, I was fat (I'm trying to take the weight off), dumb and happy. Then I read an article (on the internet) that pointed me to the Shields Up website with the promise that I would truly know how well protected my machine was. I was in for a nasty surprise. There were four commonly used ports which were wide open and waiting for the world to wander on in. Actually it would have taken more than a chance happening to get in, but it was still far more exposed that I thought it was. I purchased another "firewall" product and ran the two together. I had managed to shutdown all but two of the open ports. I got rid of the new product and found a third "firewall", I ran this together with my first product and am now secure.
Shields up is FREE - do you understand that word? Its used so seldom anymore. Doesn't cost you a penny to run. He basically "probes" your ports and finds out which ones are "open" - which means which ones a hacker could conceivably get into your machine through. You think you got it covered with Norton - think again. You think Black Ice Defender is enough, good product but there are still some holes. I actually ran through 5 different firewall products before I found the combination that I'm presently running that registers all my ports as closed to those from the outside. Yet, I'm still able to run my internal network and get on the internet with no problems (very, very, very little configuring on my part).
This review ISN'T to pump up the "firewall" products that I use, I've already done that in other reviews. This review is to encourage you to visit Shields Up and find out just how secure your computer really is. You could be in for a nasty surprise.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
michaelw
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Member: Michael Wagoner
Location: Aloha, Oregon
Reviews written: 31
Trusted by: 0 members
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