Watch the alerts for a few days so that you can be amazed at how many times your machine is getting hammered without you otherwise knowing, then turn off the damned alert popups. Look at your logs now and then to be sure they're there, then roundfile them.
As for being asked for permission to let this program or that get onto the Internet, if you don't know what you should do, try doing a quick file search for the program name on your computer. Once you see where the file resides, you'll probably have a pretty good idea of what you should do. In my experience, almost all the odd little files that I'm not familiar with turn out to be up daters for programs or components of my virus protection or something similar.
Look at it this way -- before you installed the firewall, the apps were doing the net connections anyway. With the firewall, at least you have some control over the process. If you're too worried to give permission, then don't. If something breaks, go back and let it loose.
They're just computers, folks, not deities. No need to be afraid to flip some switches.
Burgess
At 07:06 PM 12/11/02, you wrote:
For what it's worth, I too installed the free Zone Alarm program and every time I was using the computer Z.A. would ask me if it was ok to let so and so in. Half the time I didn't know whether to let it in or not. (pain in the butt) so I got rid of it. Three weeks later my puter started acting up, and about three days later it crashed. I can't say it had anything to do with deleting Z.A. but the timing is sure suspicious.
Lucky for me the hard drive was only about 5 months old so I got a replacement free, but I lost some of my stuff.
Just my 2 cents worth.
Regards
Bob Action Golf
I only golf on days that end with the letter (y).
