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Intrusion Protection

The Internet can be a fun and interesting place to visit, but be alert as it can also be a hangout for identity theft and other crimes. The thieves can get pretty creative at what they are launching. In 2005, more than 256,000 (!) people were the victim of identity theft. Your protection is totally based on your own diligence, and that is why firewalls are so important because they do protect your computer. Here are some rather frightening examples of what might be coming your way:

  • Remote login - Allows someone to connect to your computer and control it, look at files and run programs
  • Backdoors - Some programs you may have downloaded could have hidden features that allow for remote access. Many others contain bugs that allow outside control of your PC
  • Mail hijacking - Taking over your contact list and using your computer to send out spam. Is your firewall doing its job?

Preventative Solutions:

Firewalls protect you from many Internet hazards.

  • What is a Firewall?

  • Two-way firewall keeps hackers out and private info secure!
  • Turns your PC invisible online!

In layperson's terms, a computer firewall can be defined as follows: a barrier to keep destructive forces away from your computer. In fact, that's why it's called a firewall. Its job is similar to a physical firewall in a building that keeps a fire from spreading from one area to another.

A firewall is simply a program or hardware device that filters the information coming through the Internet into your network or computer system. They filter the information coming through the Internet into your network or computer system. If incoming information is flagged by the filters, it is not allowed through.

Hardware firewalls are separate devices installed between your computer (or network) and your Internet connection.

Software firewalls must be installed on your computer. Once they are installed they run in the background and prevent intruders from entering your computer.

Now you just might think, Windows XP has a firewall, why don't I just use that? The firewall built into Windows XP could be called 'firewall lite'. It's pretty bare bones. For instance, it does not block outgoing traffic! In other words, it allows your confidential information straight out to the Internet. Utilizing a full personal firewall gives you a lot more control and defensive fire power.

For maximum protection we recommend that both a hardware and a software firewall be used.

Here are our recommendations for software firewalls:

The staff at WinHaven Consulting also has experience with many products not listed below. This lack of listing may be due to the more complicated nature of the products or because WinHaven LLC does not recommend the product. (BEWARE! There are many malicious programs that pass themselves off as solutions to your problems!)

For more information on any product listed or otherwise, you may contact WinHaven directly.

  Sunbelt Personal Firewall
 

 

  
Sunbelt Personal Firewall
 

Sunbelt Personal Firewall

Protect yourself from hackers. Secure your PC with a 100% free firewall download. Get the full version free for 30 days. Sunbelt Personal Firewall (SPF) was called "our favorite" by PC Magazine.

The Windows Firewall (both XP and Vista) is worse than useless, it gives you a false sense of security. Why? It only filters incoming traffic. That means if malware has compromised your PC, it is able to send out all your personal info. That's right; the Windows "firewall" does not stop that! But SPF...

 

  • Supports Windows XP and Vista
  • Filters both ingoing and outgoing traffic!
  • Keeps hackers out and your private info inside.
  • Works great with VIPRE Antivirus + Antispyware
  • Easy to use and does not slow down your PC!

     

    What is Sunbelt Personal Firewall?

    One of the best firewalls around and it DOES NOT slow down your PC.

    Sunbelt Personal Firewall used to be called the Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF). Kerio was going to discontinue it, but Sunbelt acquired it from Kerio to save the product from "going under". We needed a new name, and changed 'KPF' into the new 'SPF' (so much for software geeks being creative...)

    Despite its boring name, SPF is a very good piece of code, and received many awards. Tucows gave it their 5-Cow Rating. Computer Shopper in the U.K. gave it their Budget Buy Award with: "A seriously good firewall for the money.". Firewall expert Scot Finnie said: " ZoneAlarm Free and Sunbelt Personal Firewall - the two firewalls I've pointed to in the past as having the best user interfaces in this field".

    What's New In The Latest Version?
    The biggest addition is support for Vista 32 bit (with 64 bit support on the roadmap). However, there's been a lot of under-the-hood improvements in many areas. These include:
    • Significant improvement in network performance
    • Significant improvement in packet filtering
    • Enhanced Process Injection prevents code injection attempts into Windows
    • Numerous stability issues corrected in the firewall service
    • Significant improvement in overall product stability
    • Updated Intrusion Detection rules
    • Updated translation files for multiple languages
    Rely on the free Windows firewall?
    Unfortunately, this gives you a false sense of security. It only protects incoming traffic. But outgoing traffic, with your credit card info, social security number, bank accounts, passwords and other confidential information is not protected. The Windows firewall will let it all go out. (both in XP and Vista) But... SPF will block that data if you buy the FULL version! You absolutely need a better, weapons-grade firewall.

    30-day money-back guarantee
    Compatible with: Windows 2000, Windows XP (All) and now Windows Vista. This offer includes one year of upgrades, updates, new definitions and tech support by phone, from real people based in the U.S. Below is the comparison of the "free" vs. the "full" mode. Believe us, with the crime rates on the Internet skyrocketing, you really want to get the full version of SPF.

    SPF Free vs. Full Versions

     
    Product: SPF 4 - free SPF 4 - full
    NETWORK SECURITY
    Packet filter YES YES
    File integrity control YES YES
    Application communication control YES YES
    Application launch control YES YES
    Network Intrusion Prevention System YES YES
    Host-based Intrusion Prevention System NO YES
    CONTENT FILTERING
    Identity Theft Protection NO YES
    Script blocking (JavaScript, VB script) NO YES
    Referrer and Cookies blocking NO YES
    Ad blocking NO YES
    Pop-up windows blocking NO YES
    STATISTICS, LOGGING
    Statistics of attacks and blocked ads YES YES
    Automatic update checker YES YES
    Extended logging YES YES
    Syslog NO YES
    Runs as Internet Gateway NO YES
    ADMINISTRATION
    Remote administration NO YES
    Password protected configuration NO YES

    BUY IT TODAY !!
    Buy the full version of Sunbelt Personal Firewall, and you get a world-class firewall, with all the important features turned ON. Better yet, you also get USA-based, free phone support as well. Click on the blue 'Add To Cart" button on the top right side of this page and we will fill your cart with SPF. and while you are at it, put VIPRE in the cart too, this is an unbeatable combination for very little money.

    PLEASE NOTE: 1) Before installing Sunbelt Personal Firewall please uninstall any other firewall you may have installed. It is impossible to run more than one firewall on a computer. 2) Sunbelt Personal Firewall will automatically disable the Windows Firewall that is included in Windows.

     

 

 

 

    

 

  

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P.O. Box 130 - Winneconne, WI 54986
(920) 582-7574

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Last Modified: 07/28/2010