  Percussive maintenance:
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XP Firewall
One of the first things Mrs. Wizard explored (once the initial upgrade settled down) was the built in firewall feature that was an integral part of the XP operating system. In simple terms, a firewall is nothing more than a way to protect your computer from unwelcome intruders. This can be accomplished a couple of different ways. One way is with special hardware (with firewall software built in), like a router that would be connected to a network. Some are quite elaborate, and capable of protecting everything from a small office network to a large corporate system. These take very special skills to set up and maintain, and wouldn't be feasible for most home or home office users. The XP firewall is an unobtrusive, "don't need to think (or worry) about it" solution that can protect the average Internet user on their home computer... except for one teensie weensie little detail. It only works one way. You are protected from incoming intruders only, and since it works "silently" in the background, there doesn't seem to be any way to actually verify what you are being protected from, not to mention given any choice to "allow" some things on the fly or give temporary permission when you need to. And you won't believe the number of applications that like to "phone home" on your nickel. If you have ever used ZoneAlarm, you know that incoming intrusions are not the only thing to be concerned about. There are all kinds of programs that silently send information to God only knows where on the Internet whenever you are connected. These could be anything from a graphic program that accesses the program website for more graphics to your Internet Explorer, which (of course) needs to access the Internet in order to work. It could be some little spyware program busily sending signals to an advertising website (or worse), letting some stranger know what your Internet browsing habits are. In most instances, you wouldn't have any way of knowing when this is happening. Bottom line? The firewall built into Windows XP is only marginally better than nothing. It is like purchasing virus protection software and never updating it. You might be protected from a few things, but you are still wide open. This is not acceptable. ZoneAlarm is a FREE firewall that can be downloaded and installed in just a few minutes. It is very intuitive and easy to use, and will open your eyes in a way you won't believe. Even if you use a modem to connect to the Internet with an online service like AOL or MSN, you need to be protected. If you have the latest version of Windows XP with all your updates current, you don't really need to worry when you install ZoneAlarm. The XP firewall will bow down to the superior software and check out. Two firewalls running simultaneously are not good. To double check and make sure the Windows firewall is turned off, click the Start button, then Control Panel, and Security Center, then Windows Firewall at the bottom. In the main window, you will see your firewall (ZoneAlarm) is turned on, but when you click Windows Firewall, you will see it is off.
ZoneAlarm will check everything that goes out and comes into your computer to and from the Internet. It is up to YOU to decide if you want to grant permission in each instance. Some things (like your Internet Explorer) you might want to give permanent permission by checking the box labeled (don’t ask again). Others are best given permission on an “as needed” basis. Either way, it is up to you. Enjoy your new freedom and security!
Got questions?
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Mrs. Wizard thought XP turned out to be the best Windows ever. It sure cured her little laptop (Dixie) of her Windows ME woes! The few software applications XP didn't work with at first were not any of her favorites and there wasn't a hardware issue at all.
Every time you connect to the Internet, you are vulnerable. It only takes a few seconds to send your personal information out from some sneaky program on your computer. You may be a little safer from outside intrusions if you are not connected for long periods of time, but with hacking software and "sniffing" programs getting more sophisticated every day, it is still possible for some cyberspace clown to find your computer and take advantage of your vulnerability, just for the heck of it.
XP is going to look and act differently on every computer. It seems to guess your habits and mold itself to suit your needs. You may not see the same things on your desktop that someone else with the same version of XP on their computer will. If you have been using a computer and an older version of Windows for a while, you might find yourself wondering where everything is. It’s all there, just tucked away in different places. It is a neat feature, having a nice tidy desktop but threw old Mrs. Wizard for a loop a few times when she was helping folks make friends with their new XP computer. Get used to poking around and it will all make sense to you eventually. You might even like it!