Security

Do I Need a Firewall?

The very short, simple answer is: yes! With all that's going on on the internet these days, it's too risky to sit with your computer exposed to the internet. This applies to everyone, even if you are on dialup.

I once told a friend that he should install a firewall but he didn't think it was necessary because he was on dialup and didn't stay connected too long. I wasn't surprised when I received an SOS call 4 help when his Win2K computer was infected on day. He had only been on internet for a few minutes when much to his surprise AGV (anti-virus) told him he was infected with a virus. This is just one of the many things that could happen to you without a firewall.

You need to understand a firewall is to protect you from the bad guys on Internet. IN this day and age, would you go out and leave the doors to you home wide open? That's what you do with out having a firewall. Just like there are people who would walk into you home and help themselves and/or wreck the place, there are malicious people on the internet looking for the chance to get into your computer. You may not have anything on you computer for them to steal but is that really what they really are looking for? Actually other that causing you problems, they often want to make use of your computer without you knowing what is going on. right now your computer could be helping to spread a virus, hosting illegal files for download or launching denial of service attach against other computer systems.

A fire wall that is set up correctly will not block your access out to the internet. You will be able to browse the web, download your mail and do everything you would normally do. A firewall stops connections to your computer that you have not requested. some firewalls (software) also stop programs on your computer from accessing Internet without your permission. You could be surprised at the out connections that are maid witout you knowing.

there are two kinds of firewalls, hardware or software. In most cases, if you are on dialup, software is the way to go as hardware firewalls are not readily available. For ASDL and Cable (high speed) connections, you should really consider a hardware router. this is especially true if you plan to setup a home network as most current routers also include at least a 4 port switch for connecting up your other computers.

There is no excuse for not having one! There are several excellent free software firewalls available for download on the Internet. For Windows XP users, at minimum, you should turn on the the basic one the is included. You can find in the "Local Area Network" properties, under the "Advanced" Tab.

Are you protected? There are several websites where you can run a free test to see if your computer is open to the Internet. Run a before and after test to see how your fire wall protects you. One of the better test sites is Gibson Research and run "Shields Up" for an analysis of how well you are protected.

You can find a free software firewall by using a search engine such as Google: http://www.google.com - search for free firewall. Don't assume the most popular one is the best. A lot depends on your personal preferences. In most cases, what is best is the one that you can most easily get help with when needed. You can also take a look at our "Free Software Page" for the programs that we recommend, based on our personal experience.

Web Proxy issues:
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/trancache.html#trancache
* Transparent web proxy caches: what they do Updated 2004 Jan 8
* Which is my web proxy cache? - identifying the address of the web proxy
* Stale pages in a proxy web cache: how to refresh
* Sidestepping the transparent web proxy caches: how to set explicit proxies
o Setting an explicit web proxy in Internet Explorer for Windows
o Setting an explicit web proxy in Internet Explorer for Macintosh
o Setting an explicit web proxy in Netscape or Mozilla
* NTL web proxy caches: list by centre Updated 2004 Feb 8
* Blueyonder web proxy caches: list
* Web authoring tips for being cache-aware

Forwarding Emails

EML are the extension given to some email files.. The only reason you get these is either the user or the mail program they are using does not know how to properly forward messages (Netscape).. I can open them OK on my computers, but we do not use Outlook Express, we use Tunderbird - http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/

It is a real pain in the ass when people send things this way.. I hate having to open several EML files and maybe several jpg or gif files etc.... Aside from this it could be a way of hiding a virus in the message.. a bit scarry opening all these files! :-( If I forward something, I always make sure it is in the "body" of the new message, so you never have this problem.. I have come to a time in my life where I am tired of trying to educate everyone.. Life is just too short and I have a lot of other better things to do with my time, especially considering how few appreciate the help.. :-)

That being said, you are not the only one having problems with this.. A simple search on Google (http://www.google.ca) gave me a lot of results. Check these out and hopefully you will find a solution to your problem.

Email Attachments - http://help.stargate.net/mailnews/attachments.shtml

Annoyances.org - EML files - http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winme/n1059502884

What are .EML files? - http://www.computing.net/windows95/wwwboard/forum/131762.html

Also this:

Question: I get attachments in my e-mail but I can't seem to open them.

Answer: This is because it's an email, wrapped in an email, wrapped in an email. This is usually caused by people who use Netscape. You need to configure your system to open .EML files.

To do this:
- Double Click on My Computer.
- Click on Tools, then Folder Options.
- Click on the File Types tab. It may take a few seconds for your computer to respond
since it's looking at all the file types in your registry.

- Click on the New button. Type in .EML and click the OK button. If it warns you that
   the file is already associated with it and you should unregister it, go ahead and click OK.
- Next scroll down the alphabetic list of the file types and you should see EML there.
- Click on the EML entry and below it, under the section marked Opens With: Click on
   the CHANGE button.
- You should then get an error message that the association does not exist. Now click on
   the button for select a program from the list, and click the OK button.

The list should contain programs and may show outlook express in that list. If it does, simply choose it by clicking on it and then click the OK button.

If the list does not contain Outlook Express, click on the Browse button and then search
to C:\Program Files\Outlook Express and click on the file called MSIMN and click the OK button. Some versions of Windows, the OK button says OPEN.

KtecK Network
Kteck Webs
K Computer Zone
Kteck Tech Blog
StreamDesk
Amateur-Radio ca
MM Hamsoft
KC's Canadian Amateur Radio

Inside KComputer Zone
Home
Related Links
Computer History
Computer Help
Computer Games
Downloads
Videos
Links
Contact

KtecK -> Help
Home Tip Jar Related Links Kteck Sites Kteck Webs Amateur-Radio ca MM Hamsoft KC's Canadian Amateur Radio K Computer Zone Hosted Sites VK6RO on the Web Pollution Labs Personal Links Blog Flickr FriendFeed Introduction Articles Links Games and Emulation Computer Basics Windows Dos Mac General Security Testing Resources Speed Tests Malware Tests Contact
Security Do I Need a Firewall? The very short, simple answer is: yes! With all that's going on on the internet these days, it's too risky to sit with your computer exposed to the internet. This applies to everyone, even if you are on dialup. I once told a friend that he should install a firewall but he didn't think it was necessary because he was on dialup and didn't stay connected too long. I wasn't surprised when I received an SOS call 4 help when his Win2K computer was infected on day. He had only been on internet for a few minutes when much to his surprise AGV (anti-virus) told him he was infected with a virus. This is just one of the many things that could happen to you without a firewall. You need to understand a firewall is to protect you from the bad guys on Internet. IN this day and age, would you go out and leave the doors to you home wide open? That's what you do with out having a firewall. Just like there are people who would walk into you home and help themselves and/or wreck the place, there are malicious people on the internet looking for the chance to get into your computer. You may not have anything on you computer for them to steal but is that really what they really are looking for? Actually other that causing you problems, they often want to make use of your computer without you knowing what is going on. right now your computer could be helping to spread a virus, hosting illegal files for download or launching denial of service attach against other computer systems. A fire wall that is set up correctly will not block your access out to the internet. You will be able to browse the web, download your mail and do everything you would normally do. A firewall stops connections to your computer that you have not requested. some firewalls (software) also stop programs on your computer from accessing Internet without your permission. You could be surprised at the out connections that are maid witout you knowing. there are two kinds of firewalls, hardware or software. In most cases, if you are on dialup, software is the way to go as hardware firewalls are not readily available. For ASDL and Cable (high speed) connections, you should really consider a hardware router. this is especially true if you plan to setup a home network as most current routers also include at least a 4 port switch for connecting up your other computers. There is no excuse for not having one! There are several excellent free software firewalls available for download on the Internet. For Windows XP users, at minimum, you should turn on the the basic one the is included. You can find in the "Local Area Network" properties, under the "Advanced" Tab. Are you protected? There are several websites where you can run a free test to see if your computer is open to the Internet. Run a before and after test to see how your fire wall protects you. One of the better test sites is Gibson Research and run "Shields Up" for an analysis of how well you are protected. You can find a free software firewall by using a search engine such as Google: http://www.google.com - search for free firewall. Don't assume the most popular one is the best. A lot depends on your personal preferences. In most cases, what is best is the one that you can most easily get help with when needed. You can also take a look at our "Free Software Page" for the programs that we recommend, based on our personal experience. Web Proxy issues: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/robin.d.h.walker/cmtips/trancache.html#trancache * Transparent web proxy caches: what they do Updated 2004 Jan 8 * Which is my web proxy cache? - identifying the address of the web proxy * Stale pages in a proxy web cache: how to refresh * Sidestepping the transparent web proxy caches: how to set explicit proxies o Setting an explicit web proxy in Internet Explorer for Windows o Setting an explicit web proxy in Internet Explorer for Macintosh o Setting an explicit web proxy in Netscape or Mozilla * NTL web proxy caches: list by centre Updated 2004 Feb 8 * Blueyonder web proxy caches: list * Web authoring tips for being cache-aware Forwarding Emails EML are the extension given to some email files.. The only reason you get these is either the user or the mail program they are using does not know how to properly forward messages (Netscape).. I can open them OK on my computers, but we do not use Outlook Express, we use Tunderbird - http://www.mozilla.org/products/thunderbird/ It is a real pain in the ass when people send things this way.. I hate having to open several EML files and maybe several jpg or gif files etc.... Aside from this it could be a way of hiding a virus in the message.. a bit scarry opening all these files! :-( If I forward something, I always make sure it is in the "body" of the new message, so you never have this problem.. I have come to a time in my life where I am tired of trying to educate everyone.. Life is just too short and I have a lot of other better things to do with my time, especially considering how few appreciate the help.. :-) That being said, you are not the only one having problems with this.. A simple search on Google (http://www.google.ca) gave me a lot of results. Check these out and hopefully you will find a solution to your problem. Email Attachments - http://help.stargate.net/mailnews/attachments.shtml Annoyances.org - EML files - http://www.annoyances.org/exec/forum/winme/n1059502884 What are .EML files? - http://www.computing.net/windows95/wwwboard/forum/131762.html Also this: Question: I get attachments in my e-mail but I can't seem to open them. Answer: This is because it's an email, wrapped in an email, wrapped in an email. This is usually caused by people who use Netscape. You need to configure your system to open .EML files. To do this: - Double Click on My Computer. - Click on Tools, then Folder Options. - Click on the File Types tab. It may take a few seconds for your computer to respond since it's looking at all the file types in your registry. - Click on the New button. Type in .EML and click the OK button. If it warns you that the file is already associated with it and you should unregister it, go ahead and click OK. - Next scroll down the alphabetic list of the file types and you should see EML there. - Click on the EML entry and below it, under the section marked Opens With: Click on the CHANGE button. - You should then get an error message that the association does not exist. Now click on the button for select a program from the list, and click the OK button. The list should contain programs and may show outlook express in that list. If it does, simply choose it by clicking on it and then click the OK button. If the list does not contain Outlook Express, click on the Browse button and then search to C:\Program Files\Outlook Express and click on the file called MSIMN and click the OK button. Some versions of Windows, the OK button says OPEN.

	KtecK -> Help Copyright © 2010 All rights reserved. Privacy Statment Back to top	KtecK Network Kteck Webs K Computer Zone Kteck Tech Blog StreamDesk Amateur-Radio ca MM Hamsoft KC's Canadian Amateur Radio	Inside KComputer Zone Home Related Links Computer History Computer Help Computer Games Downloads Videos Links Contact