Is this normal?

[kryptonic]

I just downloaded Outpost firewall and I was looking at the log files. I noticed that there are alot of Scans and connection requests. Is this normal. I took a screenshot of the scans and requests.

[pooh sun tzu]

Yes Those who have ever ran a packet filter or firewall can tell you that the net is almost always active. From millions of script kiddies running port scans across huge IP ranges, to normal network ACK traffic, it's a busy busy place.

[kryptonic]

Yea i figured it was normal.....but what about all those connection reguests? and will it tell me if they did connect or not?

[pooh sun tzu]

I'm not a user of Outpost, so I can't tell you anything about it's logging system. I don't suspect it would though. However, if you make sure you only have the ports open that you need, then it's safe to assume they are dropped. Why not have someone run a scan on you to test?

Or, do it yourself:

1. http://www.google.com
2. Search for: online security scan
3. Use the Sysgate online Security system to scan your firewall for holes Run -all- the tests.

[hypronix]

There's also ShieldsUP! from www.grc.com that would tell you how ports are handled i.e. which ones are open, closed or stealthed. Symantec also has a security scan and.. you're bound to find more on the net, as pooh suggested.

This being a firewall and not just a system for alerts [like BlackICE has the notoriety of being] it should also handle these requests rather then simply log them. Last time I checked about BlackICE [although I did use it for a while] it wasn't a firewall per se. It did not handle connections or drop attempts but only inform the user of their existence... I'm not sure what version I was using nor how subsequent versions took care of that problem.