[shabazz42]

Is there a program to protect against hackers so u can't get hacked or is your firewall what protects against that type of stuff?

[Imax]

Your FireWall is what protects against Hacker's :)

[shabazz42]

Your FireWall is what protects against Hacker's :)

Can u tell me quick how to make sure my firewall is on

[Imax]

Did you buy your firewall as software or are u using the windows xp firewall

[shabazz42]

did you buy your firewall as software or are u using the windows xp firewall

Windows xp

[Imax]

Well try going to controls and see if there is a firewall link there or go to controls and open the network connections page and right click on the icon and click properties and there should be a tab for firewall and it will have a box that shows if it is enabled or disabled . Hope this helps.

[thebriggsdude]

Go to your firewall options etc and make sure its on. Plus as a good firewall use zonealarm

[LTheobald]

If you have SP2 installed you can also try Start >> Accessories >> System Tools >> Security Center or Start >> Control Panel >> Security Center.

That will be worth a look at if you are concerned about how XP protects itself from hackers.

[psi42]

If you want to test it, go to https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2 and do a scan. Please only do this if you are in charge of your own gateway (meaning you are not within someone else's network). If your firewall is working properly, the scan will report all packets were dropped.

[fredg]

Hi,
You can also go to Start/Run , then type in MSCONFIG
Click on the StartUp tab at top of that window.
Look to the left, to see all the programs that are starting up (start running in the background) when you boot up the computer.
Scroll down the left hand side, and you can see the names associated with all your startup programs.

Also, if you wish to try a very good, free, firewall, that can be set to either accept signals to your computer, or not, it is Sygate Personal Firewall, available at http://www.cnet.com/downloads.

Firewalls stop anything from coming into or going out of your computer. It only allows it if you tell it that it's OK.
Best wishes,
fredg

[ScottGem]

A firewall will protect your machine against people trying to gain access to your PC through open software ports. Software ports are used by various programs to send and receive information. The firewall blocks attempts to use these ports by unknown entities.

A firewall is a necessity if you have an always on broadband connection. Its not as necessary with a Dial up, since you IP changes each time you log in. Hackers look for broadband connections that they can use to launch other attacks.

Windows XP does come with a firewall and upgrading to SP2 causes it to be on by default. Its not a very good firewall, but its better than nothing. There are a few good ones that are offered for free. My preference is Zone Alarm.

A firewall, is not the only protection you need. Protecitng your system requires a 3 prong defense. The firewall the protect you from probes. An anti-virus to protect from malicious software and an anti-spyware utility to protect from adware and spyware. The later, may not be "hacking", but will do more to adversely affect performance.

[cremedies]

Also note that if you installed SP2 on Windows XP, the firewall is ON by default unless someone deliberately turned it off manually.