Re: win98 firewall

From: Gerald Vogt (vogt_at_spamcop.net)
Date: 03/13/05 

Date: Sun, 13 Mar 2005 10:18:57 +0900

Connected wrote:
>>Most people who install firewall software on a Windows 98 PC do so for the
>>wrong reasons and end up getting into a complete mess because they don't
>>know enough rocket science to answer the stupid popups produced by the
>>worthless firewall software.
>
> Firewalls stop unauthorized computers from connecting to your
> computer. Is Win98 somehow impervious to that threat? No!

Oh, yes, it actually is. Windows 98 does not have a huge collection of
network services running by default. If you turn off file-sharing on
Windows 98, in general you find that Windows 98 is not listening to any
network ports. If no one is listening on any port there is obviously
nothing to connect to. "netstat -a" should reveal much although the
implementation on Windows 98 of netstat is buggy and not necessarily
does give you correct information. I am not sure whether other programs
like TCPView give a more accurate look. A internet security scanner
certainly should give you better information.

Even with an Windows XP it is possible under certain constraints to lock
down the system so much that all network services are either shut down
or only listening to the local loopback interface which is only
accessible from the computer itself. That way the computer can run
connected to the internet for months without being at danger.

Gerald

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