Keep Your PC Safe From Intruders

Ah, the wonders of broadband. Speedy Web browsing, fast downloads, the convenience of a persistent connection--but don't forget the hackers riding that fat pipe right into your PC and accessing your personal information. Unfortunately, an always-on cable modem or digital subscriber line can leave your PC vulnerable to the forces of Web evil. Products combining hardware and software can be too pricey for home or home office use, and until recently, relatively few personal software firewalls existed for protecting home PCs. However, as broadband gets set to go mainstream, a growing number of inexpensive--even free--security packages are making an appearance. We took a look at two recently released products: Symantec's $60 Norton Internet Security 2000 and Zone Labs' free ZoneAlarm.

We tested both programs using a 266-MHz Intel Pentium II system with 64MB of memory, Windows 98, and a DSL connection. Before we installed either package, our PC exhibited some gaping security holes, as evidenced by a visit to the Gibson Research site, which offers a set of free tests that probe your PC for security issues. Our unprotected PC allowed Gibson's Shields Up server to connect to our system via the 139 Internet port; the fact that Shields Up could do so indicated that anyone could connect to our system without our knowledge. Likewise, Shields Up was able to communicate with our system via the NetBIOS networking protocol, which again indicated that our system was vulnerable to attack. Shields Up also detected the existence of other closed but vulnerable ports on our system that are used during Internet connections.

Norton, Again

Considering Symantec's existing library of utilities, it was only a matter of time until the company would offer a personal firewall package. In addition to a good, rules-based firewall, Norton Internet Security 2000 includes privacy settings, parental controls, and advertisement-blocking capabilities. Plus, you get a full-fledged version of Norton AntiVirus 2000--which sells for $30 on its own.

Installation of the suite went smoothly, thanks to a wizard that helps with setup and configuration. (Note that, to maximize your use of the program and install all the components, you'll need 60MB of hard disk space.)

In no time, Internet Security 2000's firewall was protecting our system. To test it, we left everything on the default "medium" setting and visited Shields Up. With the Norton firewall in place, not only did our PC refuse to let the server connect through the 139 NetBIOS port, it also effectively hid from outside sources all of our other previously vulnerable ports.

You can select the "low" or "high" security setting as well; choosing either will alter the firewall rules in effect. For example, when the settings are on "high," you'll be prompted each time you access a site that has potentially harmful elements, such as an ActiveX control or Java applet. While Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.x also offers levels of Internet security, it takes an all-or-nothing approach, while Internet Security 2000 offers greater customization on a site-by-site basis. The program logs every detail about your Web connection, noting the amount of data flowing to your browser, the sites you visit, actions the firewall takes, and more.

Internet Security 2000 also lets you create custom settings, though you'll need to do some poking around to learn more about the relatively complicated topic of firewall rules. The software does provide a good help file, though, for those who want to delve deeper.

Support for multiple users makes it easy to have specific settings for different members of the family. The parental controls allow you to vary levels of Web access. For each user you can choose the Child, Teenager, or Adult level, and select from predetermined groups what kinds of sites to block (such as news, entertainment, chat, or sex). The groups can be further customized to exclude or include specific sites. Symantec maintains a list of the sites that fall within the categories, but the program does not block sites based on keyword.

One feature we liked in particular was ad blocking. Once the feature is enabled, Internet Security 2000 prevents annoying, blinking banner ads from appearing while you surf the Web. Though not foolproof, in our tests the blocking worked more consistently than we'd expected.

The privacy feature allows you to determine how confidential information, such as credit card data, is protected on a site-by-site basis. Internet Security 2000 improves on the cookies functionality provided by Internet Explorer 5.x (which offers some degree of customization, but is by no means a complete solution) and simplifies the process of blocking cookies through the use of the program's cookie rule assistant.