Hi,
I'm using an old computer at home for casual personal communication (checking
Web based emails and MSN instant messaging) and Web surfing and it is still
running on Windows 98 SE due to its limited RAM and CPU power. No plan to
upgrade and the computer is still good enough for the simple job.
Nevertheless, since I connect my computer to the Internet via a ADSL
router/modem, I did some preliminary check on my computer to see how secure I
am.
I used winipcfg.exe to obtain my IP address (192.168.1.101) and did a netstat
-a on it to find out what ports are open and/or listening. It reports only port
139 as listening, which after googling around a bit says it's a NetBios session
port. Dunnoe what this means though, but I've _not_ enabled "File and Printer
Sharing."
Now assuming I'm a cautious Web surfer who uses Firefox and only visit
reputable sites like MSN, Yahoo! and Google, and avoid visiting hacking sites
and running hacking tools, and that my computer is currently not infected by
malware, virus or rootkit (i.e. computer is clean and updated), is there any
way that a hacker can still connect to my computer over the Internet, browse my
hard disk and steal my files?
Theoretically, I've not enabled port forwarding in my router/modem, and so
external computer trying to ping or connect to my computer should not succeed,
and if there's no port listening at all (except for port 139), no other
computer should be able to infilitrate right?
Yet, I can't say anything is foolproof. So just like to seek your expert
opinion. What are the other areas I should continue to look at to further
protect my system? Is it still possible to be attacked through a listening port
139 with file sharing disabled?
Thanks in advance.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
This list is sponsored by: Norwich University
EARN A MASTER OF SCIENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE - ONLINE
The NSA has designated Norwich University a center of Academic Excellence
in Information Security. Our program offers unparalleled Infosec management
education and the case study affords you unmatched consulting experience.
Using interactive e-Learning technology, you can earn this esteemed degree,
without disrupting your career or home life.
http://www.msia.norwich.edu/secfocus
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
