High Speed Cable Modem.... & "toys"

Hi,

I just had a high speed cable modem installed last night.

It is very fast and I am enjoying it.

I run windows xp currenlty and use IE5 for a browser.

What recommendations would you guys make on a browswer and firewall, etc to get the most performance out of this cable modem ?

I'm also going to add more memory to the PC this weekend, i was told that I'm running too little now.

thanks

Alternative Browsers
================
www.opera.com...
www.mozilla.org...

Pop-up blockers
================
www.intellistopper.com...
www.panicware.com...

Anti-virus
================
www.grisoft.com...
www.thefreesite.com...

Firewalls
================
www.zonelabs.com...
smb.sygate.com...
www.tinysoftware.com...

Misc Computer Utilities
================
grc.com...

Thanks Dark... you da man !!!

I'll check these out tonight when I get home.

MOZILLA!!!
No ads (unlike Opera), stable, tabbed browsing, built-in popup blocker, more secure than IE, skinnable, etc etc etc.
It's fantabulous.

Firewall is very important. I'm a big fan of Norton Personal Firewall, but ZoneAlarm ain't bad (and it's free).
Get a router for extra protection.
Make sure you're running a good antivirus, too.

To add to darklanser's picks, for P2P try WinMX.


-B.

good call, Banshee. Get a cheap Linksys/Dlink/netgear router to put between you and your connection. You can be online all the time and feel safe knowing someone can't easily access your PC, they'll get hung up at your router. I've seen them as cheap as $20 after rebate and everyone I've seen is also a switch/hub, allowing you to hookup additional PCs that can share your broadband connection. I wouldn't use my cable modem w/ out one.

Other than that, make sure you run an AV application and update the signature files often. XP service packs/ windowsupdates are wise too.

Thanks for the WinMX tip Banshee.

I now have Zonealarm for a firewall and Mozilla - firefox for a browser...

I'm going to check into getting a router this weekend.

As far as virus protection, my PC is only about 6 months old and I'm running XP, do I already have some protection or should I get something ?

thanks guys


[Edited on 25-3-2004 by elevatedone]

Nah, no virus protection included with Windows XP. You need to get one, especially theses days.

My personnal favorite is Symantec Antivirus Corporate Edition.

Everybody recommended good software, I personnaly like the choice of Darklanser on Tiny Firewall for a software firewall, if you're into software firewall it's one of the best. But I think routers with firewall function are so much simplier, and do the job in a nicier way since they don't take ressources on your comp. Plus they've become quite cheap today. You can also buy one with a 4 ports switch, so you can throw lan parties.

I also like Ad-aware and Spybot for removing all the junks from the net like spywares and such.

You really do need antivirus software... better safe than sorry!
AVG is free.
Symantec's Norton is my personal favorite. Not free, but well worth the (inexpensive) cost.

Depending on where you got your computer (Dell, Gateway, whatever), there may be something like Norton or McAfee already installed. Check for either of those before you buy any new antivirus software.

Re: Mozilla ---
Themes aka skins - changes the look of the browser. I use Blue Streak.
Extensions - nifty little addons. Adblock & Google Bar are highly recommended.

-B.

I just put up Mozzilla, Thanks Banshee

Speaking of Anti-Virus, I have Norton Internet Security, and my Auto-Protect for NAV went haywire, and it will not autoprotect, I have followed thier troubleshooting tips, but to no avail. I don't fell like spending a gazillion $ talking to thier damn tech support, any ideas????

I'd take a note of your settings then uninstall the application then reinstall. You'll probably pay $ for tech support to tell you to do the same.

Autoprotect, and by that you probably mean 'realtime protection' is paramount. AV apps are quite useless w/ out it.

Originally posted by Bob88
I'd take a note of your settings then uninstall the application then reinstall.

Been there done that. I cleaned out my registry of any traces of symantec, as well as the rest of my hard drive:bnghd::bnghd::bnghd::bnghd:

Symantec/Norton uses some shared files that usually don't get removed when you remove the app.

I *think* within the 'c:\program files\symantec' folder (or it could be norton) there is a 'shared files' folder (or do they call it 'common files')
Also look here:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared

I had a similiar problem when removing a corp version of NAV for an updated pro version. I had to delete the shared folder - though I uninstalled the apps and just removed all norton/symantec folder I found.

Also, I've seen some viruses out there disable NAV's realtime capability. Update your signature files and run a manual scan

I once remember Norton having a utility available that would *completely* remove Norton - though that might not work with your exact app. but something you might want to look around their site for.

[Edited on 26-3-2004 by Bob88]

For p2p use K-Lite K++ edition. Its pretty good.