worms, bugs, viruses, hackers, etc.......

It doesn't matter what it is, I seem to attract everything from everywhere. I had a firewall, but it wouldn't stop everything, so I got another one. Since things slipped by both of them, I got the quard_IE and that didn't stop it, so I downloaded the Ad-aware. Then I got swat it. Those do good for one thing, but not another, so I got a spyblocker. I already have a virus scanner too. I don't have unlimited ram to run much more, if you know what I mean, and going by the logs, I stay away from sites I've learned (the hard way) and already had trouble with. It's leaving me with about 3 safe websites, no messengers (which by the way, I read about and downloaded trillian, when all of a sudden, my firewall was blinking red. :eek: Trillian had attempted to make a major attack on my computer. So trillian came off reeeeeeeeeeeeal quick like). I've talked with a couple of other people who seem to be having the same trouble I'm having, and then there are a few more people that have the same programs, go to the same websites, and never have any problems what so ever. I'm so tired of restoring or having to remove and reinstall, until ......... Maybe when they got on here before, they left something and keep trying to come back and get it, reckon? ;) Somebody tell me something, pleeeeeeeeeeeeese!

Have you tried another operating system?

Have you got an operating system?

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So trillian came off reeeeeeeeeeeeal quick like

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which by the way, I read about and downloaded trillian, when all of a sudden, my firewall was blinking red

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this got to be a joke !

Dr_Evil

hmm its either ur right or ur gettin wayyy to paranoid

I'm not paranoid, just disgusted. But thanks for the wonderful advice. You were such a BIG help. What is this place for anway, insults?

Uhm...actually....i asked you if you ever tried another OS as an alternative? Whats wrong with that?

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(which by the way, I read about and downloaded trillian, when all of a sudden, my firewall was blinking red. Trillian had attempted to make a major attack on my computer. So trillian came off reeeeeeeeeeeeal quick like).

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If you were connecting to IRC with Trillian, it is very common practice for servers to do a routine check for open proxies and the like, and will probe your box for them. That does not necessarily mean it's doing a major attack on your computer.

It is also not unusual for your firewall or IDS to detect port scans, probes and such in kiddies attempts to find a trojan server or other sploits. This is (usually) done over a wide range of IP's in a hope to find victims. Chances are, you are not one of them.

As long as you shut down unnecessary services, block known trojan ports, have a good virus scanner, and maybe even The Cleaner www.moosoft.com you should be just fine ;)

Good luck

That's true, you might want to try running a Windows NT platform if you're not, because that is a lot more secure than something like Windows 98 or ME.

Don't be defensive. I know from personal experience that things can be blown out of proportion with the Internet. Sometimes things like ZoneAlarms and what not will say there is more going on then what is really, because just how it is designed. If you feel you have a big issue with security, maybe you got a virus or something before all of this happened and all your programs aren't helping because the "virus" is working around them? Maybe all you need is a good format/reload, do all your updates for your OS and your virus scanner, and problem might be solved. That's what I do when I get weird stuff like what you are talking about. It always fixes it, then I retrace my steps later and found out I missed an update to my virus scanner and got hit witha virus, or missed an OS security update and became part of a DDoS.

Things to think about alright?

Well, I do wonder exactly what operating system you are using. It seems most likely to me that you are using some version of Windows from your post. Paranoia aside, a person with a dial-up connection is probably not attractive enough to need more than a well patched system, an up-to-date antivirus system, and one of the free software firewalls, such as ZoneAlarm. These will provide reasonable protection against e-mail stuff and malicious popups. The firewall will also provide warning of any outbound traffic that you don't want to authorize.

If you have an always on, high speed connection, you may be attractive to Warez folks, etc. One of the basic precautions in this case is to shut down services you don't use, such as the ISS. Be especially careful of allowing anonomous users write priviledges if FTP is up. If you do run ISS, be sure to get the lockdown tool from Microsoft (free).

You may also want to do some enhanced surveillance of your system (how much is up to you and depends on the time you have to spend -- it can be an interesting activity in terms of learning about your computer.) In Windows 2000 or XP Pro, you can audit system, security, and application events. The settings to use and the meaning of the logs can take a little time to understand, but you will be able to see interesting events. If you do use ZoneAlarm, you may want to download ZoneLog from Dshield.org. It is helpful for interpreting ZoneAlarm logs and also can provide a report of activity to Dshield, who track such things.

There is a lot one could do, but an up-to-date system, an anti-virus program, and a firewall will address many issues. Ad-aware, etc. are also helpful, but you have to decide how safe you want to be.