Security - Best firewall

Hello,

I posted a question in hardware about the most secure router, and it was suggested I post a question here too.

I have a problem with an individual compromising my system, someone who understands these things called them, "very professional." They seem to be someone who is pissed about my website, and I expect them to return. There last visit they left a bunch of virus/trojan crap, corrupted some files, and downloaded some files. Needless to say, this infuriates me and is a major waste of my time time sorting out there B.S.

I have made some changes, and I am working on getting a more professional machine/OS.

Does anyone have any software recomendations?

One suggestion I received was a Linux box as a firewall, which sounds good to me. Any thoughts?

I am prepared to go to extremes to keep these/this dingleberries out.

Thanks in advance.

D

 

Sygate Personal Firewall or Kerio. Both are free and I did some research a while ago and the consensus is that these two are the easiest to configure, use, are both reputable and free too!

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks,

It is somewhere to start.

D

 

Forgot to mention I use Sygate. I've tested the integrity of it and am very pleased with its performance.

 

Thanks,

In response to your questions xflat:

1. Personal PC? Yes, but it is used mostly for business. Dell 4300, XP home, NAV, AdAware pro.

2. No it is not a webserver.

3. Router then Cable Modem

4. Between average user and expert, closer to average. I have a friend who comes over to help, too much lately, who is closer to expert.

Also, I am willing to spend some dough, because the lost time is getting very expensive. Secondly, I am would like to hire someone in NYC, but don't know where to look.

I will work on any solutions right now myself, because the attacks seem bound to continue.

D

 

Looks like you say you have a home router between you and the cable modem. Are these hackers still able to get to you? What kind of attack is it? Is is a simply denial-of-service, or are they trying to access your machine?

IMO, if you have someone attacking you capable of getting through a home router to access your machine, then you need to hire somebody to track them down. I don't know how to go about it, but this kind of thing qualifies as a "terrorist attack" according to the hopefully-soon-to-be-unconstitutional Patriot Act of 2001/2002. Not that the FBI will give you the time of day.

If, OTOH, it is a denial-of-service attack (they're just trying to overload your machine and keep you effectively offline) then it's a bit less of a problem. Contact your ISP about it, and ask them to change your IP or somesuch.

 

Again, thanks for the input.

Da_chicken, the router is new since their last visit, but I suspect it is a band aid solution, per Adrylyne's post yesterday. If I mentioned the apparent country of origin of the attacks, "terrorist attack" would be highly appropriate.

Hunting them down would be nice, but like my name implies I am an idiot, and not up to the task. I don't know much about these things either. If this was the wild west, I'd be rounding up a posse and offering a nice bounty.

Xflat, I appreciate the detailed instructions, I will work on it report back.

I know I keep repeating this, but I really appreciate the help.

D

 

If you do track them, would make little difference, authorities don't care, ISPs' just want their money, and most likely it's just a trojaned backdoor man-in-the-middle.

 

Is there a significant difference between "norton internet securtiy" and Zone Alarm/Sygate/Kerio? The NIS came with the router and it is installed. If its worth it I will switch. Reading up on Zone Alarm/Sygate/Kerio it looks like they will not work together or in tandem.
Thanks,

D

 

switching
Its worth it, very worth it.

SOme folks here will tell you that Norton is not what it used to be. I would definately get another firewall.

Right now I use zone alarm but I also hear great things about kerio and sygate.

The thing I like about zone alarm is that it will let you know every program that is trying to access the internet from you computer. that is something that Norton needs to improve on. Norton when I used it was tedious and bothersome to configure and it rarely warned me about the programs trying to access the internet.

Norton is the most readily available and somehow it has made deals with computer companies to put that stuff in the systems of new computers. that is how norton get the popularity it has. it is doing the same thing bill gates does with its software. So if you purchase a new computer more than likely you will have Norton in it.

Trying to remove norton is the biggest pain too. It refuses to go and its another reason why personally I do not like that program

It is not recommended to use two software firewall at the same time. they will more than likely conflict with each other and crash your system. You could use a combination of hardware and software firewall that would be ok