In computer news this week, 02/16/2000

In computer news this week, 02/23/2000

When you connect to the Internet, did you know that then hackers can connect to you?

With the recent hacker attacks on the Internet last week, disabling some of the major Ecommerce sites, people are again worrying about the security - or lack of - on the Internet.

But there's an even bigger threat on the internet that you need to be aware of and protect yourself against, and that 's the threat of hackers breaking into your computer while you're connected to the internet, snooping around in your files, and downloading or deleting anything they want to.

Last week on Raw bytes I talked about a program that will let you test your computer's vulnerability from hacker attack while attached to the internet. This program is called Ipagent - a good free shield testing program you can find at www.grc.com - Gibson Research Corporation. At GRC.com you can download IP Agent, which is very small - less than 20K, and which will download in seconds. Then you can run this program when you connect to the internet to see if your computer is vulnerable, and what information hackers might be able to get from it.

You will probably find that your computer is wide open to hacker attack.

The rest of the GRC.com site contains detailed instructions to guide you through the process of securing your system.

The next piece of software you will want to download from GRC.com is an actual firewall program called Zonealarm. This program actually will protect your computer from internet hackers. You can download and install this free program in about 15 minutes, and then you might want to run the Ipagent program again, to see the difference.

This time you will find that your computer is completely protected against internet hackers, and it is operating in stealth mode, so they can't even see it.

Zonealarm is configurable and will automatically run whenever you connect to the internet. You can configure the security to levels you feel comfortable with, and have the peace of mind that you are now a much safer and happier Internet surfer.

Zonealarm can be configured to start manually or automatically. It monitors internet traffic, allows you to lock all or certain internet access and activity, lets you set local and internet security levels, and shows you which of your programs are accessing the internet.

Gibson Research is working on their own version of a firewall program which they hope to release soon.

With these 2 free programs, Ipagent from Gibson research, and Zonealarm from Zone labs, you can greatly increase your peace of mind and Internet enjoyment.

For Raw Bytes, this is Frank Delaney

3414 E. 30th

Spokane, WA 99223

(509) 245-3736

fdspokane@aol.com