As if anyone needed an excuse to call me a bonehead.

[stuckincincy]

So far I'm doing well, my arcsoftphotostudio 5.5 survived the crash. I don't know why but I like it. (cross fingers)

 

 

 

A big part of the reason I wrote this thread is to help others. I'm glad you're getting something out of it. I'm sure others who don't post are probably too.

 

You knock on my door, we are havin' pancakes, bacon, followed by quantities of cheap beer and Winston cigarettes. Unfortunately, my little local controlling junta has ordinances against black and smokeless powder gun discharges, and while BB and pellet gun discharge is legal, they would charge us with inducing panic.

 

However, we can spit to our heart's content, as well as firing off rubber-band powered paper clips at anything that moves.

 

[BuffaloBill]

I told you earlier. Turn the computer off, disconnect all the cables, pack up the original box, and send it back from whence it came

 

Harsh .... but funny.

[Steely Dan]

You knock on my door, we are havin' pancakes, bacon, followed by quantities of cheap beer and Winston cigarettes. Unfortunately, my little local controlling junta has ordinances against black and smokeless powder gun discharges, and while BB and pellet gun discharge is legal, they would charge us with inducing panic.

 

However, we can spit to our heart's content, as well as firing off rubber-band powered paper clips at anything that moves.

 

 

 

I just added the link for my homepage to the bookmarks toolbar. When I click on it the multitab problem doesn't happen. I'd still like to know why it's doing this, but like Amelia Earhart and the Bermuda Triangle I guess we'll never really know.

[/dev/null]

Harsh .... but funny.

 

How is it harsh?

 

It will solve all of his computer problems.....

 

plus we won't have to deal that Jackass anymore

[Booster4324]

 

I just added the link for my homepage to the bookmarks toolbar. When I click on it the multitab problem doesn't happen. I'd still like to know why it's doing this, but like Amelia Earhart and the Bermuda Triangle I guess we'll never really know.

 

You did download the latest version of Firefox right? There was a version that allowed an option that IIRC opened up all bookmarks when launching the browser.

[The Dean]

I'm giving you a pass on this one, Mr. Dan.

 

But it's probably a good thing that you had to do a reinstall. If I recall correctly, your computer was all screwed up, anyway.

[Steely Dan]

How is it harsh?

 

It will solve all of his computer problems.....

 

plus we won't have to deal that Jackass anymore

 

 

You did download the latest version of Firefox right? There was a version that allowed an option that IIRC opened up all bookmarks when launching the browser.

 

Yes, I did

 

 

I'm giving you a pass on this one, Mr. Dan.

 

But it's probably a good thing that you had to do a reinstall. If I recall correctly, your computer was all screwed up, anyway.

 

 

What's interesting is that the CNN videos worked before I installed some add-ons. When I had this problem before the crash I disabled all of my add-ons and it didn't help. I'm not in the mood right now to eff with them.

[thebug]

 

I just added the link for my homepage to the bookmarks toolbar. When I click on it the multitab problem doesn't happen. I'd still like to know why it's doing this, but like Amelia Earhart and the Bermuda Triangle I guess we'll never really know.

 

 

Dano, I am a professional..... This link should help.

 

Cheers!

[Steely Dan]

Ok, now my firewall turns itself off periodically.

 

I seem to recall it doing this when I first got it but I forget how I fixed it.

[Steely Dan]

What does anyone know about zone alarm? It's supposedly better than windows firewall.

[Fezmid]

What does anyone know about zone alarm? It's supposedly better than windows firewall.

 

I used Zone Alarm years ago and hated it -- it messed with the TCP/IP stack and was stopping legitimate traffic. Piece of crap.

 

I'm really not a fan of software firewalls to be honest. Personally, I think a regular cable router with NAT is fine. If your IP address starts with 172.30 or 192.168, then you should be fine -- nobody can connect to your computer from the internet.

 

A software firewall is nice in that it potentially blocks malware that's already installed on the PC from making connections without your knowledge -- but I personally don't think it's worth the issues it creates.

[Steely Dan]

I used Zone Alarm years ago and hated it -- it messed with the TCP/IP stack and was stopping legitimate traffic. Piece of crap.

 

I'm really not a fan of software firewalls to be honest. Personally, I think a regular cable router with NAT is fine. If your IP address starts with 172.30 or 192.168, then you should be fine -- nobody can connect to your computer from the internet.

 

A software firewall is nice in that it potentially blocks malware that's already installed on the PC from making connections without your knowledge -- but I personally don't think it's worth the issues it creates.

 

Thanks,

 

How do I find my IP address?

[/dev/null]

Thanks,

 

How do I find my IP address?

 

 

Right Click "Network Places"

Select properties

Double click "Local Area Connection"

Select "Support" tab. Look for something like 192.168.1.100

[Steely Dan]

Right Click "Network Places"

Select properties

Double click "Local Area Connection"

Select "Support" tab. Look for something like 192.168.1.100

 

Thank you. My IP starts with 67. There is also an icon for 1394 connection? What's that for?

[/dev/null]

Thank you. My IP starts with 67. There is also an icon for 1394 connection? What's that for?

Firewire

[Fezmid]

Thank you. My IP starts with 67. There is also an icon for 1394 connection? What's that for?

So are you plugged directly into your cable modem....? If so, that's bad.

 

Go buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Cisco-WRT54G...9051&sr=8-2

 

Or this if you want hardwired gigabit ethernet:

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DGL-4300-Wire...8650&sr=8-1

 

 

You connect your cable modem to this, then connect your PC to it (or connect wirelessly - be sure to setup WPA2!). This box will give you an unroutable IP address, and will also allow you to connect multiple computers to the internet.

[Steely Dan]

So are you plugged directly into your cable modem....? If so, that's bad.

 

Go buy this:

http://www.amazon.com/Linksys-Cisco-WRT54G...9051&sr=8-2

 

Or this if you want hardwired gigabit ethernet:

http://www.amazon.com/D-Link-DGL-4300-Wire...8650&sr=8-1

 

 

You connect your cable modem to this, then connect your PC to it (or connect wirelessly - be sure to setup WPA2!). This box will give you an unroutable IP address, and will also allow you to connect multiple computers to the internet.

 

Thanks, but I don't wanna buy nuthin.

[Fezmid]

Thanks, but I don't wanna buy nuthin.

 

Well, then your computer is on the internet and exposed. And I don't care if it's a PC, Mac, UNIX, or Linux, that's not a good thing from a security point of view. There's a reason that companies have their computers behind hardware firewalls.

[/dev/null]

Thanks, but I don't wanna buy nuthin.

Seriously dude, go buy one

 

Plugging your computer directly into the cable modem/onto the internet is just begging to get hacked

[The Dean]

Thanks, but I don't wanna buy nuthin.

 

 

If you are looking for a good free firewall, Zone Alarm isn't it, IMO. It used to be OK, but it has become very bulky and bundled with crap. It is better than XP's built-in firewall, though.

 

I think the best free firewall is still Comodo. But Comodo is now trying to sneak a toolbar onto your machine, and comes bundled with their AV product, too. If you decide to use Comodo, do NOT install the toolbar, and only install the firewall after you download. Comodo can be fairly complex, and you will have to tame it, early on. Comodo is a full-featured firewall (and comes with HIPS protection), unlike many other free firewalls.

 

Online Armor also has a good reputation, but I'm not crazy about their free version. It doesn't update itself, and doesn't have an installation setting (for when you are installing or updating software) so it is very intrusive. That may have changed since I last used it, though. The paid-for version is very nice.

 

Outpost also has a decent firewall. The free version isn't as good as the paid-for version, but it is better than nothing (and probably better than Zone Alarm).

 

Quick Edit: It is better to have a hardware firewall and best to have both. But a good software firewall is the least you should have.