New firewall for DSL?

[Steve]

I still don't understand the reason for having to get a router if
grc.com gives me a perfect score when I'm just running McAfee
firewall. What more would the router do to protect my PC?

George

George:

I software firewall can be knocked out by a virus. I once had a Cool Web
Search virus disable my ZoneAlarm firewall. An inexpensive hardware
firewall (router with NAT firewall) cannot be disabled by a virus. With
mail-in rebates, I got a D-Link DI-604 router with NAT firewall for about
$20. There are other routers firewalls that you can get for about $20 after
mail-in rebates.

Steve

 

[Shane]

You have to lower your defenses and activate javascript,
so they can tell you that you're vulnerable, no thanks, plenty of other
online scans that do a good job with what you would normally present to
the internet.

http://www.auditmypc.com/freescan/prefcan.asp
http://privacy.net/analyze/
http://www.pcflank.com/test.htm
and of course https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

The point is that when GRC says all ports are stealthed, Sygate disagrees.
Since I wasn't aware that the enabling of js affected the status of
ports.......

Shane

 

[Bart Bailey]

The point is that when GRC says all ports are stealthed, Sygate disagrees.
Since I wasn't aware that the enabling of js affected the status of
ports.......

Shane

The enabling of js allows scripting exploits that wouldn't,
or rather shouldn't, otherwise be presented to the internet.
As to a disparity between GRC versus Sygate, I suspect Sygate is
utilizing the js to enable some internal activity that wouldn't be
available without it. If you think some particular port is open, get a
friend to nscan you (with js disabled). http://www.nscan.org

 

[Shane]

The enabling of js allows scripting exploits that wouldn't,
or rather shouldn't, otherwise be presented to the internet.

Javascript is generally disabled on my main machine, but on this one it
tends to be enabled. While it was possible I'd only ever done the Sygate
scan with js enabled, it seemed unlikely. After all, I was testing security
settings, you know? But I have now disabled it on this one - I have a web
page with an onmouseover I added (that pops up the message "You need
javascript enabled to view this!"......It's very annoying but hopefully a

As to a disparity between GRC versus Sygate, I suspect Sygate is
utilizing the js to enable some internal activity that wouldn't be
available without it. If you think some particular port is open, get a
friend to nscan you (with js disabled). http://www.nscan.org

I'll mosey on over and check it out, but the point - the only point - is
that GRC's scan is insufficient. Regardless of whether my machine is
vulnerable where yours isn't, or vise versa. What happens is the Sygate
scan flags a few ports as Closed as opposed to Stealthed, where GRC
flags them all as Stealthed. Create a rule to then block all traffic via one
of those relevent ports and that port will now be detected as Stealthed by
Sygate too. Javascript or no.


Shane

 

[Bart Bailey]

I'll mosey on over and check it out, but the point - the only point - is
that GRC's scan is insufficient. Regardless of whether my machine is
vulnerable where yours isn't, or vise versa. What happens is the Sygate
scan flags a few ports as Closed as opposed to Stealthed, where GRC
flags them all as Stealthed. Create a rule to then block all traffic via one
of those relevent ports and that port will now be detected as Stealthed by
Sygate too. Javascript or no.

I can't get the site to scan me no matter what I do.
Ya know, I may have been premature in blaming the problem on js;
I disabled my firewall, bypassed the proxy (proxomitron), enabled
cookies, referrer logging, popups, etc., and still got the message:
"Your browser is not able to see this page. Please update your browser."
I just tried the scan with OB1 and got the same message.
Maybe it only responds to IE/OE folk, or requires activeX, or the
presence of some serious security flaw?
FWIW: I show stealth on all those other scans I listed, plus when I
probe myself from my dialup account (different IP), I can't even get as
much as a ping response either.

 

[Howard Harris]

I can't get the site to scan me no matter what I do.
Ya know, I may have been premature in blaming the problem on js;
I disabled my firewall, bypassed the proxy (proxomitron), enabled
cookies, referrer logging, popups, etc., and still got the message:
"Your browser is not able to see this page. Please update your browser."
I just tried the scan with OB1 and got the same message.
Maybe it only responds to IE/OE folk, or requires activeX, or the
presence of some serious security flaw?

FWIW, I have just successfully ran the stealth scan (all ports blocked, as
should be) at http://scan.sygate.com/ using Mozilla 1.7.3 with JavaScript
disabled.

 

[null]

I can't get the site to scan me no matter what I do.
Ya know, I may have been premature in blaming the problem on js;

JS isn't required.

I disabled my firewall, bypassed the proxy (proxomitron), enabled

I use Proxo there without a problem..

cookies, referrer logging, popups, etc., and still got the message:
"Your browser is not able to see this page. Please update your browser."
I just tried the scan with OB1 and got the same message.
Maybe it only responds to IE/OE folk, or requires activeX, or the
presence of some serious security flaw?
FWIW: I show stealth on all those other scans I listed, plus when I
probe myself from my dialup account (different IP), I can't even get as
much as a ping response either.

Are you sure it's able to get your IP # correctly? I've never had a
problem using the Sygate port scan site.


Art
http://www.epix.net/~artnpeg

 

[xmp]

Port scan results may be skewed by firewalling rulesets of one's ISP.
My ISP blocks a couple of ports, which will show as closed instead of
stealthed.

michael

 

[Bart Bailey]

Are you sure it's able to get your IP # correctly? I've never had a
problem using the Sygate port scan site.

When I click the "scan now" button a secondary page shows up indicating
my browser is unable to see it. I presume that page is the one that
presents my IP for confirmation as the pcflank site does, so maybe my
ISP is blocked or whatever.

 

[James Egan]

I can't get the site to scan me no matter what I do.

If you can't **** yourself, what chance has an outsider got? lol


Jim.

 

[Bart Bailey]

If you can't **** yourself, what chance has an outsider got? lol


Jim.

Kinda what I was thinking, just curious what poison pill those other
guys systems have that permits the scan. I don't have the [MSHTML.dll]
on here, as I suspect they do, maybe that's it?

 

[Shane]

Port scan results may be skewed by firewalling rulesets of one's ISP.
My ISP blocks a couple of ports, which will show as closed instead of
stealthed.

OK, but there's still the fact that after you make the appropriate rule the
port will then show as Stealthed, and which it does from GRC anyway (whether
this is the case with all Closed ports or just certain ones, is perhaps
unclear).

Shane