Highkite

Like you, I felt that I had to do something to protect myself (my PC, my identity and my financial info) from being hacked. So, before I started to use LW I got myself an external HD and then configured LW to use that as my shared drive. I also have a firewall and anti-virus software (NIS 2005), you would be surprised when you read the logs and see how many times your PC has been attacked, and that is just through normal internet browsing.

Also, like Foolofthehill, I also use PeerGuardian 2, which stops government agencies (from around the world), computer companies and a vast assortment of other organisations rummaging around inside your PC when you are using LW. I also use Prevx, which I will be upgrading to Prevx1 this weekend, this stops anything or anyone secretly installing stuff on your PC from the internet.

However, please note that whenever you surf the internet or use LW you leave your IP address behind and this can be traced back to you via your ISP, and there is nothing you can do about this.

Finally, if some hacker has targeted your PC and is determined to hack it then there is really not much you can do other than switch your machine off (although some firewalls can block all internet access to and from your PC). The protective software I, and many others, use are there to prevent PCs from being caught by the many traps that are out there, e.g. port scans, embedded viruses, bogus jpg/wmf files, spam and phising emails, keyloggers, browser hi-jacks, etc.

Saying all that though, I still feel safer having my PC protected and cannot imagine going on the internet or using LW without all my protective software working.




UK Bob