[HPFGU-OTChatter] NetNanny and Firewall

["Przemysław \"Pshemekan\" Płaskowicki"]

Cindy C. wrote :

>Hi, all,
>
>I'm in the market for some smut-blocking software and a firewall for 
>my cable connection.  Does anyone have any recommendations, 
>preferably something I can download from the Internet?  I have 
>McAfee virus and I use a PC.
>  
>
Well, here is my standard sysadmin's lecture ;-)

1. Smut-blocking software just isn't working.  It is blocking not all 
porn, and wrongly blocks many legit sites -- usually related to breast 
cancer, Sussex (SusSex)... Forget it. If you want to protect children 
from bad material only REAL solution is to observe what they do -- by 
putting PC into day-room.
2. Windows -- http://www.windowsupdate.com is your best friend: set it 
to automatically install critical patches. Run it manually at least 
weekly and install non-critical patches.
3. Don't use Internet Explorer. Use Mozilla: http://www.mozilla.org or 
Opera http://www.opera.com (both are free). Both supports tabbed 
browsing, and popup blocking -- and don't have IE flaws. Opera is easier 
to install and use while Mozilla is more advanced-user oriented.
4. Firewalls -- they actually don't do anything useful if you keep your 
system updated.  But if you really want good firewall use Kerio: 
http://www.kerio.com/us/kpf_home.html (free for personal use, and much 
better than ZoneAlarm or others -- it informs you about something bad, 
when it is really bad -- almost none false alarms).
5. Update virus definition as often as you can.
6. Use AdAware to check for spyware: 
http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/ (Free)
7. Never, never, never install something from Internet if you are not 
sure what it does -- typical bad programs are: magic cursors, download 
accelerators, download managers, peer2peer: kazaa, bearshare and the 
like. If don't know, ask. If nobody knows, don't install. Preferably use 
Open Source programs -- these tend to not have malware.
8. Open Source is your friend. Almost all useful programs are free: pics 
and movie viewers, editors etc.  These are often better than it's 
commercial counterparts.

Regards,
Pshemekan