Anti-spyware software

[doeroftheword]

Does anyone know of a good software for detecting and preventing others from gaining access to my computer?  I'm told that they - hackers - can even access your computer and make it so you cannot shut them down using task manager processess.  Is this making sense?  I want something that will tell me if ports are being accessed or however they do it. 

Thanks.

[Kyle]

Go to the website http://www.snapfiles.com

They have everything from network scanners, port scanners, remote computer monitoring to more.  I really can't do much research on my comp cause I am work but you seem to be a little to paranoid about getting hacked.  So here are some of my suggestions:

1) Make your password a strong password.  This includes numbers, letters both uppercase and lowercase, and have symbols like @#_)( like that in your password.  Also make it a reasonable length.  Mine for example at home is 13 characters, way above the recommended 8 characters.

2) Disable your administrator account.  Most people don't think about this but generally if a computer is rebooted into safe mode the Administrator account shows up.  If you disable it, it will not show up.  This keeps you from being compromised that way.

3) If you have a router, set up to log all incoming and outgoing ip addresses.  Make sure the router firewall is turned on and set to not accept anonymous requests.  In the router security, turn off ports 23 and 21, as these are the Telnet and FTP ports, and are two of the most commonly hacked ports.

4) Install a remote monitoring program to keep tabs on your computer.  Set up so the computer keeps screen shots and logs everything.  These logs can be sent to your email and the program can be installed to operate in the background so it is not noticed by a user.

5) Get a good firewall.  Armor2Net is a good free firewall and is real easy to manage.  It shows the ports being used and will ask for permission for ports are opened for programs.

6) Turn your NetBIOS, which are generally ports 135-139, off.  To do this you:

  To disable NetBIOS Over TCP/IP on Windows XP

   1. Open the Network Connections folder.
   2. Right click the local area network connection and click Properties.
   3. Double click Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
   4. Click Advanced.
   5. Click WINS.
   6. Select Disable NetBIOS over TCP/IP
   7. Click OK

There your NetBIOS is off and and cannot be controlled by external influences.

8 ) A final thing on the top of my head you can do is pick up a Network Scanner.  SoftPerfect makes a network scanner which is free, easy to use, and extremely powerful in what it can do.  Just go to Google and type in SoftPerfect Network Scanner and it will take you to the download site.  Once downloaded and installed, all you do is input the IP range of your computer.  All you do is click the button that says IP on it and select the network range and hit scan and it will scan the range, showing up any computer that is trying to connect on your network.


Those are just a few tips DoerOfTheWord.  I do think your being a bit paranoid.  And don't believe the lie that if a hacker gets control of your computer you can't shut it down.  You can hold the power button for 10 seconds to force a hard shutdown, or simply unplug the computer and it will remove them.

[doeroftheword]

Yeah, it's a long story I won't go into.  Thanks for your help.  My brother reccommended Zone Alert or ZA which is free.  Thanks again.

[Cody P]

Zone alarm is a good one. I use spy sweeper its very good.