O_O

[deathboy]

<strong queens accent>Oh... MY... GAWWWWWWD!</strong queens accent>

I just stopped running Zone Alarm Pro and turned my auto-virus protection off as a last ditch attempt to see if they're causing my modem to drop now I've moved it to another computer...

I know that I'm drastically less secure now, and will be looking for an alternative if this turns out to be what was wrong (for alternative, actually read 'a box running linux'), but FUCK ME... for the first time since I got broadband, my computer actually feels like it's pulling shit down at the speed it SHOULD!

Fucking STUPID fucking windows-based approaches to security...

GAH.

Also, I'm having bad techno-juju - keep away from me unless you want the mech-lurgy, it would seem.

:/

Comments

[muftak.livejournal.com]

Pc-cillin antivirus has a built in "firewall" that seems to work quite well. I should just stick my windows box behind my fbsd box, but havnt got round to it.

[theantipode.livejournal.com]

Definately a good way of going about it. Once I get my goddamn comp up and running properly (it'll be a dualboot Linux/WinXP) I'll be cruisin', especially on any other computer going through it, since it's primarily going to be running Linux. FreeBSD is nice, but it's being phased out =/

[muftak.livejournal.com]

FreeBSD being phased out??? Since when, and being replaced by what?

[untermensch.livejournal.com]

Probably some sucker being taken in by the slashdot "FreeBSD is dying!" trolls. Either that or he's misread the news about MicroBSD being abandoned.

[dooferlad.livejournal.com]

Linux is fucking easy to install and maintain as long as you are not put off by the nice text mode installers (if you chose... Debian... I think the rest all have point and click ones). Also, you get to do cool stuff like traffic management, so you can download fuck loads of stuff while playing Quake and not care. Also with Debian all you have to do to update your system (security and whotnot) is apt-get update; apt-get install. Thats it, not questions you can't answer.

You can get hold of a 60Mb net install CD, it will download what it needs of the rest of the install. You should be up and running quite quickly!

The only tricky part is if you have a USB modem... though most of them are supported these days. Also you have true geek pride if you do the Linux / Free BSD thing ^_^

There wasn't anything you wanted on those hard disks was there? Oh and one thing Windows 2000 / XP does well is disk partitioning. Split it in three in Windows before you wipe it, though you can read up on disk partitioning *grin*

Go on! It will feel like a real computer again!

[adrasteah.livejournal.com]

Give this (http://www.harlots.org.uk/downloads/pf2.exe) a go

[azekeil.livejournal.com]

Here's a few little tips for you. I had been running a W2k box as an internet gateway serving internet connection to the LAN and FTP to LAN and the internet. I turned off all the services I wasn't using and never ran anything on there apart from what I needed and updating every now and again. No firewall. I had no problems.

Now, I have a linux gateway, for power and flexibility.

In neither case did anyone need to run a separate firewall on their machines behind the gateway; noone can address a machine on the private LAN behind the gateway. All a firewall does is silently drop packets on ports you don't have services running, to make it appear there's no machine there. This can mean that if you get port scanned they might assume your computer does not exist - that's about the only advantage.

As for anti-virus software - just keep your security updates in place (whichever operating system) and don't open/execute stuff you're unsure about.

That's worked for us for the last 2 and a bit years.

[mr-tom.livejournal.com]

I use a dedicated http://www.ipcop.org machine. It seems to do the business, and is a totally noddly install. Hoorah!

You just need a spare machine with a couple of NICs in...

[echo-echo.livejournal.com]

"I'm having bad techno-juju - keep away from me unless you want the mech-lurgy"

If Cubase even thinks about misbehaving today Im culling you off my friends list. :)

[themadcatlady.livejournal.com]

It seems that most antivirus software/firewalls causes some sort of problems on people's computers. You will have to play around (a lot!) with the settings (on your computer AND the Zone Alarm/Norton whatever settings) and see what works well enough for you to have an acceptable level of security.

And how is it that every fucker seems to get broadband right now where poor *me* is on dial up (thanks to NTHell's Moron Customer (What Customer?) Service)....? Grrrrrr

[dangermonkey.livejournal.com]

personal firewall 2, rather nifty, and technically free

http://anti-goth.com/warez/pf2.exe

(:

Re:

[deathboy.livejournal.com]

I think that's what insouciance suggested, too - danke :)

[pda.livejournal.com]

Also, I'm having bad techno-juju - keep away from me unless you want the mech-lurgy, it would seem..

EWWWWWWW JUJU?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

*produces champagne bottle* y'mean _this_ kinda juju? *g*