Hello everyone:
Let me start by saying I am not much of a computer nerd. But recently my computer got all bogged down, running slowly and often freezing up. I was using a non-genuine Windows XP Professional (with SP2) that I had upgraded to from the genuine XP Home edition that originally came with my computer when I purchased it two years ago. (Mark that down under really dumb things to do.) Anyway I suspected my problems were related to this, as well as to the fact that I had multiple popup blockers running, both hardware and software firewalls, and multiple spyware programs running. (another one to mark under dumb things). I took the bold move to wipe it all out and start fresh with the original and XP Home edition. (Microsoft won’t let you downgrade from XP Pro to XP Home).
This got me started into trying to get a handle on all this security stuff (popup blockers, firewalls, anti-virus, anti-spyware). I have brought it down to just a hardware firewall (my Belkin router), one stand alone virus program (Alvira AntiVir free version), and one stand alone spyware program (Windows Defender, also a freebie). My browser is Internet Explorer 7 (IE7) which seems very rich in security software with lots of flexibility (perhaps too much for people like me.) Anyway with IE7, I use the "medium" settings for both security and privacy. I was using IE7′s popup blocker, but have recently (as in just today) switched over to the free Google Toolbar popup blocker after disabling IE7′s popup blocker.
Anyway all these changes led me to the AuditMyPC site where I started testing all this. My questions are this:
1. Is anything gained by adding a software firewall to my hardware firewall (the router has network address translation? Or would I just be creating some redundancy and potential conflicts that could slowdown or jam up the system?
2. If I started using Proxomitron routinely what should I do with all the security stuff I already have in place? Specifically Windows defender and IE7 security and privacy settings. I have tried it out and I sure like that it hides my internal IP info. But when I have it enabled it seems to slow the system down and prevent me from visiting some sites. I configured it at Level 3 for the web filters. Is this too agressive?
3. Also I am able to launch video’s on all the news sites except Foxnews. It happens with or without using Proxomitron. Does anybody have any experience with this? I suspect it has something to do with the popup blockers since I have plenty of the latest media software loaded. And no jokes about being a conservative, I balance it with routine visits to the New York Times news site. The contrast in reporting spin is truely amazing!
Hope I am not abusing the forum with so many questions. Thanks for your consideration of these questions. Captain Cookie over and out.
Eye, Eye, Captain!
A pirate came to his home port and visited his regular tavern. When the bartender saw him enter, he said, "Hey, great to see you! But what happened?
When you left you had all your body parts, and now you’ve got a peg leg, a hook, and an eye patch."
The pirate waived-off the bartender’s concern and replied, "Oh, I’m doing fine."
But the bartender persisted, and asked, "What happened to your leg?"
The pirate said, "Well, we were attacking a ship, and they fired a cannon at us, and it shattered my leg. So I got this peg leg."
Then the bartender said, "What about that hook? When you left here you had both hands."
The pirate said, "Well, we were attacking a ship, and while boarding it got into a sword fight, and my hand got chopped-off. So I got this hook installed."
The bartender then said, "I see. What happened to your eye?"
The pirate said, "I was on the deck one day looking up at the sky, and a sea gull dropped one right in my eye!"
"Bummer!" said the bartender, "but how can you lose an eye from a bird dropping?"
The pirate replied, "It was the day after I got my hook.
OK – I know – I know….
It sounds like you have done the right thing and have the basics covered. I run pretty much the same setup as you, but also use Windows built in firewall.
I wouldn’t install a software firewall with your current setup.
Proxo is not really a security tool, it’s more a surfing tool. It gives you the ability to change the type of information you give out and is great for finding sites that cloak, testing referrer text and more.
I don’t use proxy until I need to do testing or have to investigate a website. I used both IE and Firefox with Google Popup blocker only because I need to test site results in both browsers.
The news site video not working is strange and should work fine with your new setup – give me a link to something not working and I’ll give it a go on my end. I’ll also have to check out that contrast in reporting, sounds like there might be a lesson or two there
You are not abusing the forum – this is exactly what it is here for
Best regards,
Jim.
Good joke!
Yeah, I think I realize now that Proxo is not something I really need. But it seems everyone likes its ability to hide their internal IP. Maybe someone could trim down the program to accomplish only that. Is that possible or is there some other program that does just that?
I sent an email off to FoxNews Online to see if they could come up with a solution. I will forward it to you. It includes a printscreen that will show the site links. Check out the printscreen at the bottom of the email- it has the problem with the main FoxNews site.
Interesting that by accident I linked to a full story window in the Fox News site and it had a link to MyFox New York from where the story originated. I went there and was able to run all their videos. The New York site has the exact same look as the main FoxNews site. I have included that printscreen in the email (Sending it to you at your email [location]auditmypc.net. Don’t know how to attach it to this posting.)
Thanks for your help.
Not sure if FoxOnline will ever respond to it. We’ll see.