network vulnerability/netbios

[TidaLphasE23]

hello all,,,,,, i am wondering how 2 create a stealth port or a closed port on my p.c.......... i am using norton a/v 2002 and recently ran a symantic security check and this indicated that i had an open port and also that my netbios information ia available 2 other machines on the net....... what is the best way 2 fix this problem. can i indeed surf safely with my limited knowledge............. all help appreciated.......

[SirDice]

Download and install a personal firewall. I've heard good stories about Sygate's pfw.

[TidaLphasE23]

thanks SirDice will give it a go.......... also reading similar threads to get a bit more info......

[TidaLphasE23]

thanks 4 the tip SirDice.downloaded sygate/pfw seems 2 work well....many thanks.......

[The3ntropy]

Another possibility is to get a router that has a built in NAT firewall. These are becoming very common and popular these days, and a 4-port ethernet router can be purchased for under 50$. Hardware firewalls are much more superior to software files in many ways, they don't 'freeze up', the firm ware is usually more secure, it doesn't require system cpu cycles or system memory, and it is usually faster as well. A NAT firewall will deny any incoming requests that were not preceded by an outgoing request. What this basically means is, if your computer did not ask for the information in the first place, NAT will deny it, and your computer will never even be bothered by the packet. NAT will block port scans, attempts to connect to 'most' torjans, any services that may be running on your box from being accessed by people not on your LAN (which would include NetBIOS), and other things like that.