I have a question. It goes like this. My dad looks at porn. I think he’s trying to keep it secret but given how he keeps it in a folder titled “videos” I dunno who he’s trying to fool. Personally, I think he can whack off to whatever he likes as long as it doesn’t get him arrested but there’s this one thing that worries me. Our computers are sort of networked - we share an internet connection through a hub but can’t access files on one computer from another. Given his computer skills, I think it’s only a matter of time before he accidentally picks up Chernobyl with his porn. So my question is: can viruses on his machine make their way over to mine, and if there is can I stop this in any way? Eh.
Some viruses and trojans will try to copy themselves around a network, yes. You can protect your PC by using a firewall; either the one that comes with Windows XP (if that is the operating system you’re using), or a third-party one such as Sygate Personal Firewall or ZoneAlarm (both of which are free for noncommercial use).
I have ZoneAlarm. Can I set it to block a computer on my own network, and won’t that screw up our internet connection?
It needn’t; the whole point of a firewall is that it permits the traffic you want and blocks everything else.
I think I’m missing something. What do you mean?
The short answer is ‘Yes’; the longer answer starts with ‘It depends…’ Go get yourself a firewall like ZoneAlarm or Sygate. You should also lock down the permissions on any shares your machine is offering.
C#M: Spelling it out a bit more explcitly …
- Yes, you can set up a software firewall running on your PC to prevent all communications between your and your dad’s PC but still permit your PC to talk to your hub/router to get to the internet.
- Depending on the model of hub/router you have, it might also be possible to set it to prevent communications between the 2 PCs while still allowing both to talk to the internet. That woulld not requires use of a software firewall on yuor PC.
Technically a “hub” would lack that ability while a consumer “router” or “firewall” box may have that ability. I’m not sure if you used the term “hub” in your OP in the precise technical sense or just in the generic sense as “a mysterious box I plug wires from 2 PCs into to share my internet connection.”
3) The configuration you desire is not typical and it’ll take reading the documentation and help files for whichever specific hardware/programs you have to figure out exactly how to set it up. It will not be one of the point-and-click easy wizard options.
If you can’t figure it out on your own, the best bet is a computer-knowledable friend who can sit there and tinker with it. We may be able to help if you can tell us exactly which firewall software and/or hardware router/hub you’ve got. But that’s the hard way; in-person is much easier.
Clear?
Yes, thank you. I have no friends with the required expertise so I guess I’ll just keep my virus definitions updated and scan regularly. That should work.
No, it won’t be sufficient: you need a firewall. If you’re using Windows XP, the MS firewall should be sufficient to start with.
I told you, I have ZoneAlarm. And apparently it’s not going to do anything.
Because I am a geek, and like weird solutions here is one for you. The other solutions(configuring Zone Alarm) are much better tho. I just like showing off my geekiness. First you need the following information.
- The IP address of your PC - go to a command prompt and run IPCONFIG
- A non used address on the same network - see below
- Hi Opal!
The non used address you will need to bring up a command prompt and type PING address if you get time outs then the address should work. The address to use will use the same first 3 numbers of the IP but change the last one. So if your address was 192.168.1.1 then try 192.168.1.42. (For the other geeks - I know this dosen’t necisarilly put it on the same subnet, but it is close enough for goverment work)
On his system open C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT with a text editor. Notepad works well.
Add the following line to the end of the file.
ROUTE ADD [Your IP Address] MASK 255.255.255.255 [unused IP Address]
If AUTOEXEC.BAT does not exist in C:\ then create it with that one line. Make sure you save as AUTOEXEC.BAT, and not as AUTOEXEC.BAT.TXT (seen that too many times)
Reboot the system and then try to ping your system by going to a command prompt and typing PING your address. It should come back with a time out. If not then find another unused address, and change the entry in AUTOEXEC.BAT
What is happening is you are telling your dad’s system to send any information for your computer to the other address, and the other address will deliver it. Because that other address dosen’t exist then the data gets droped. Using this you will not be able to talk to your dad’s system either. Adding the line to AUTOEXEC.BAT causes it to run the command every time the computer is started.
-Otanx
Wow, thanks. But here’s the thing. It seems I can ping my dad’s computer from mine, but I can’t ping my computer from my dad’s. Note that this is before I did any of the stuff you told me to. Does that mean the situation is taking care of itself?