A virtual "No Trespassing" sign
Written: Jan 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Affordable, easy to use
Cons: Could use GUI interface to configure server ports
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| jtown's Full Review: Macmillan BlackICE Defender Full Version for PC (1... |
BlackICE Defender has been on my system for all of 48 hours and has caught three port scans and one blatant attempt to utilize a known trojan. I didn't figure this out from deciphering cryptic log files. I clicked on the entries in the event list and a description of each event was provided in plain English. It's safe to say that none of these people would have actually been able to access my machine but it's sure nice to have a record of who's got their eye on my computer. Kind of like putting a security camera on your front door...except this camera grabs the guy's license plate, gets his home address from the DMV, and throws down a 2" thick solid steel plate in his face if it looks like he's planning to use that crowbar in his hand.
You don't need to know a single thing about networking or security to use this program. Just install it and look at the cool graphs, event summaries, and "intruder" list. If you want to get fancy, there are four preset levels of security and people running servers can manually open specific ports. It would be nice if there was a GUI for that last bit but very few people are going to be running servers on their cable modem or DSL connections.
If you're on a cable modem or xDSL system, get this. It's not an option. Even if you shut your machine off when it's not in use, you're still at relatively high risk while you're online because the hackers know which subnets are used by cable and xDSL providers and they're much more likely to be scanning your ADSL subnet than your ISP's dialup connections.
It would be nice to see cable modem and xDSL providers package a "lite" version of BlackICE with their service.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
jtown
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Member: Jamie Town
Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 16 members
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