Am I the only one?

[glennc]

Hello,
Recently had a problem with my Linksys Router and their Tech Support stated the unit needed replacement. I replaced it with a DLink DIR-615. It is up and running with two concerns.
Am I the only one who doesn't have a list of URL's of malicious sites to put in the router setup? I mean I can put a bunch of the in. Is their a site that gives say the top 20 malicious sites?
The second problem harks back to how to disable ping. In the setup of the DLink router I disabled the router (I think), yet the GRC test still shows it responding causing to me to fail the test. Can anyone assist, I of course am probably doing something wrong. Just don't know what.
Thanks for any assistance!
glennc

 

[Mike Connor]

Lists of malicious sites are not normally set up on the router, they are set up on your machine using the Hosts file

Here is such a host file containing a large list of malicious sites;

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts.txt

However, using a large hosts file can slow down your internet connection.

More information;

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts.htm

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts2.htm

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hostsfaq.htm

As I told you before, disabling the PING service on your router makes no difference to security.

The router you have uses dual active firewalls;

D-Link Wireless N 300 Router

There is no way for a PING to reach your machine. Anybody pinging you will only get the address of the router. Anybody sending anything to your router is pointless unless you have specifically opened a port. It will be ignored.

Malicious sites are only dangerous to you if you allow them access. They can not simply access your machine through a firewalled router.

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[glennc]

Lists of malicious sites are not normally set up on the router, they are set up on your machine using the Hosts file

Here is such a host file containing a large list of malicious sites;

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts.txt

However, using a large hosts file can slow down your internet connection.

More information;

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts.htm

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hosts2.htm

http://www.mvps.org/***********/hostsfaq.htm

As I told you before, disabling the PING service on your router makes no difference to security.

The router you have uses dual active firewalls;

D-Link Wireless N 300 Router

There is no way for a PING to reach your machine. Anybody pinging you will only get the address of the router. Anybody sending anything to your router is pointless unless you have specifically opened a port. It will be ignored.

Malicious sites are only dangerous to you if you allow them access. They can not simply access your machine through a firewalled router.

Regards....Mike Connor

EDIT: For some reason the board software will not allow those links. If you want to use them you will have to go here; Welcome to the MVPs.org home page! and search on the site for "Hosts file".

Hello Mike,
I have been inundated with data, so I apologize about the ping thing. GRC stated it was a regular old time attack route, what do I know? I've turned them off in the DLink Setup Page, yet they still show up on GRC's test. I've set it WPA2 AES with MAC filtering on my three machines that use it. In reference to the malicious sites, there appear to be about a million of them on all different programs. I will admit I haven't a clue. Do you suggest I set up a list of blocked sites?
I am glad to hear that my router has two firewalls, although understanding what that meant would be better, I know it is complicated. I'm not broadcasting the SSID. But there are so many options that were not on the Linksys options let alone the G DLink. I did not WiFi protect my wireless, but went in and set them manually.
Also for some reason only know to the knowing, the network changed from Network 2 to Network 4. To make matters worse, Commodo shows Network 2 and loopback as allowed. I removed everything else, it did NOT have a Network 4 showing.
Everything appears outwardly to be operating correctly within my ability to discern.
Do you have any more of your knowledgeable recommendations, suggestions, opinions, heck anything!! Thanks for your assistance.
Glenn

 

[Mike Connor]

Do you have any more of your knowledgeable recommendations, suggestions, opinions, heck anything!! Thanks for your assistance.
Glenn

First of all, forget about Gibson research and their obsession with PING! It is not security relevant. Most especially not if you are behind a router firewall.

If you are behind a router firewall, a ping, or indeed any other access attempt of any sort, can not reach your machine. Unless the router has been expressly programmed to open a port, or you are using a tunneling protocol, NOTHING can directly access your machine.

You are worrying too much for no good reason. My advice in this case would be to do nothing at all. The router you have is a good solid piece of equipment with no known issues.

If you have your machine set up properly with an anti-virus program, then you have nothing much to worry about. All you have to be careful of is scam e-mails and similar, which you can effectively combat using this;

Mailwasher Free Spam Filter Software: The Reliable Free Spam Blocker | MailWasher - Mailwasher Free

This software deletes them on your provider server before they even reach your machine. Once set up it is absolutely reliable. In my opinion the best system available.

I have been using this for years. I got a free life-time licence as one of the original beta-testers. The freeware only works on ONE mail account. If you have more than one account you need the paid version.

Also, you must be careful what you click on or download, and you should check any sites you use with this;

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/linkextend-safety-kidsafe-site/

I don't bother with the toolbars etc . I just look at the results it gives me when I am searching Google for instance.

If you are uncertain about any download, then submit it here;

VirusTotal - Free Online Virus, Malware and URL Scanner

BEFORE you download it.

Don't use any torrent or other peer to peer "sharing" software, it is always dangerous.

If you do all that then you are as safe as anyone can be on the Internet, and certainly have no cause for excessive worry.

I usually scan my machine about once a week with Malwarebytes, just in case I may have made a mistake somewhere. And I use http://www.avira.com/free free antivirus software.

I have not had a virus or anything like that on any of my machines for years. ( Unless I put it there on purpose! For testing or similar).

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[DeaconFrost]

I would have to say you are going way past what most people would do for a home network. Mac filtering can be a royal pain for certain devices, or if you have family or friends stop over. Just use a strong protection method with a strong key. You'll have the hardware firewall in place, as well as the one in Windows 7. Run good AV that you keep updated, and have Malwarebytes as a free, second opinion for manual scans. Combine that with common sense and good computing habits, and you'll be fine.

 

[Shootist]

Not sure you fully understand the real purpose of a router.
Not only is it to make having a LAN easier, with the built in DHCP server assigning IPs to your hardware on your LAN, but to separate the public, internet, side from the private, LAN, side. Blocking all incoming traffic from the public side with NAT (Network address translation), which is basically a rudimentary firewall, unless YOU SPECIFICALLY allow that traffic to enter your LAN by opening and forwarding ports to a specific IP address inside your LAN.

None of this has anything to do with WiFi. WiFi is on your LAN and gets the same security from the public, internet, side as does all the hardware wired to the router.
Where security is needed on WiFi is to block people, Computers, from connecting to the WiFi signal without you specifically allowing them to connect.
No one from the internet side can logon to your WiFi signal.
MAC filtering is not security. No need to use it, IMHO and many others. Disabling SSID is no security. It only makes it harder for YOU to connect to YOUR WiFi.

Ping Sming. Don't worry about it. So your router is pingable. Ping IS PING. That is all it does. My router is pingable also. Has any of my PCs inside my LAN ever been hacked through ping or any other method, NO. And I have a static public IP that is hit all the time. I can post the logs from my router to prove that. I also have ports open so "I" can get to PCs on my LAN from the outside, internet. I use Remote Desktop to connect to my home LAN and for the longest time I used the default port 3389. Even with that I have never been hacked because I have a very secure password on all my PCs. So even if someone tried to connect to RD, and people have tried, they would be met with a user name they didn't know and a password that would take forever to figure out, including the password on the built in Administrators account.

 

[glennc]

Do you have any more of your knowledgeable recommendations, suggestions, opinions, heck anything!! Thanks for your assistance.
Glenn

First of all, forget about Gibson research and their obsession with PING! It is not security relevant. Most especially not if you are behind a router firewall.

If you are behind a router firewall, a ping, or indeed any other access attempt of any sort, can not reach your machine. Unless the router has been expressly programmed to open a port, or you are using a tunneling protocol, NOTHING can directly access your machine.

You are worrying too much for no good reason. My advice in this case would be to do nothing at all. The router you have is a good solid piece of equipment with no known issues.

If you have your machine set up properly with an anti-virus program, then you have nothing much to worry about. All you have to be careful of is scam e-mails and similar, which you can effectively combat using this;

Mailwasher Free Spam Filter Software: The Reliable Free Spam Blocker | MailWasher - Mailwasher Free

This software deletes them on your provider server before they even reach your machine. Once set up it is absolutely reliable. In my opinion the best system available.

I have been using this for years. I got a free life-time licence as one of the original beta-testers. The freeware only works on ONE mail account. If you have more than one account you need the paid version.

Also, you must be careful what you click on or download, and you should check any sites you use with this;

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-us/firefox/addon/linkextend-safety-kidsafe-site/

I don't bother with the toolbars etc . I just look at the results it gives me when I am searching Google for instance.

If you are uncertain about any download, then submit it here;

VirusTotal - Free Online Virus, Malware and URL Scanner

BEFORE you download it.

Don't use any torrent or other peer to peer "sharing" software, it is always dangerous.

If you do all that then you are as safe as anyone can be on the Internet, and certainly have no cause for excessive worry.

I usually scan my machine about once a week with Malwarebytes, just in case I may have made a mistake somewhere. And I use Avira AntiVir Personal - Free Antivirus free antivirus software.

I have not had a virus or anything like that on any of my machines for years. ( Unless I put it there on purpose! For testing or similar).

Regards....Mike Connor

Yo Mike,
Glad to hear!!!! I feel pretty secure. Use Norton 2011, Comodo with standalone scans with MSE, AntiMalwareBytes and SuperAntispyware. Once in a while I have the bootable Avira disk and give the comp a once over. Paranoia is the ultimate form of self preservation . Thanks for the advice and recommendations.
Glenn

 

[glennc]

I would have to say you are going way past what most people would do for a home network. Mac filtering can be a royal pain for certain devices, or if you have family or friends stop over. Just use a strong protection method with a strong key. You'll have the hardware firewall in place, as well as the one in Windows 7. Run good AV that you keep updated, and have Malwarebytes as a free, second opinion for manual scans. Combine that with common sense and good computing habits, and you'll be fine.

Howdy DeacoFrost,
One would assume that I want my friends and family access to my network. The only thing my sister-in-law did was go on Facebook. I'm pretty sure she has no idea of computer issues. That issue aside, yes I am a bit over the top. I feel secure, peace of mind and such. Thanks for the advice!
Glenn

 

[glennc]

Not sure you fully understand the real purpose of a router.
Not only is it to make having a LAN easier, with the built in DHCP server assigning IPs to your hardware on your LAN, but to separate the public, internet, side from the private, LAN, side. Blocking all incoming traffic from the public side with NAT (Network address translation), which is basically a rudimentary firewall, unless YOU SPECIFICALLY allow that traffic to enter your LAN by opening and forwarding ports to a specific IP address inside your LAN.

None of this has anything to do with WiFi. WiFi is on your LAN and gets the same security from the public, internet, side as does all the hardware wired to the router.
Where security is needed on WiFi is to block people, Computers, from connecting to the WiFi signal without you specifically allowing them to connect.
No one from the internet side can logon to your WiFi signal.
MAC filtering is not security. No need to use it, IMHO and many others. Disabling SSID is no security. It only makes it harder for YOU to connect to YOUR WiFi.

Ping Sming. Don't worry about it. So your router is pingable. Ping IS PING. That is all it does. My router is pingable also. Has any of my PCs inside my LAN ever been hacked through ping or any other method, NO. And I have a static public IP that is hit all the time. I can post the logs from my router to prove that. I also have ports open so "I" can get to PCs on my LAN from the outside, internet. I use Remote Desktop to connect to my home LAN and for the longest time I used the default port 3389. Even with that I have never been hacked because I have a very secure password on all my PCs. So even if someone tried to connect to RD, and people have tried, they would be met with a user name they didn't know and a password that would take forever to figure out, including the password on the built in Administrators account.

Howdy Shootist,
Thanks for stopping in. I'm a bit of a creature of habit and have been using the above methods since I went wireless. IIRC I put a wireless router on before I even had wireless devices to get the added security. But as technology changes, I've fallen behind. So many features and options, so little time.
Can you explain briefly what wifi protected option actually does?
glennc

 

[Mike Connor]

Yo Mike,
Glad to hear!!!! I feel pretty secure. Use Norton 2011, Comodo with standalone scans with MSE, AntiMalwareBytes and SuperAntispyware. Once in a while I have the bootable Avira disk and give the comp a once over. Paranoia is the ultimate form of self preservation . Thanks for the advice and recommendations.
Glenn

Good, stop worrying and just use the machine for a while.

A little "paranoia" may be advantageous, as it tends to make people more careful, but it can easily turn into obsession. Also, being paranoid about something does not mean they are not after you! Of course there are nutjobs, scammers, spammers, hackers, and other assorted lowlifes on the internet, and they ARE out to get you! They are out to get everybody!

With a little care it is not too difficult to stay out of their reach, and so I prefer to term this as taking appropriate measures and care, rather than paranoia.

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[DeaconFrost]

One would assume that I want my friends and family access to my network.

Then you're going to want to get rid of MAC-filtering. If someone brings a laptop over, you'll have to get the MAC address from their system, log into your router to add it, and then hope the router has a way of labeling each MAC address for future reference. I did this for a year, and it prompted me to just use strong encryption with a strong key. Now, when a friend stops by, I can give them the key code and be done with it. If I feel like it's been given out to much, I can change it on my router once, and be done with it.

 

[glennc]

Yo Mike,
Glad to hear!!!! I feel pretty secure. Use Norton 2011, Comodo with standalone scans with MSE, AntiMalwareBytes and SuperAntispyware. Once in a while I have the bootable Avira disk and give the comp a once over. Paranoia is the ultimate form of self preservation . Thanks for the advice and recommendations.
Glenn

Good, stop worrying and just use the machine for a while.

A little "paranoia" may be advantageous, as it tends to make people more careful, but it can easily turn into obsession. Also, being paranoid about something does not mean they are not after you! Of course there are nutjobs, scammers, spammers, hackers, and other assorted lowlifes on the internet, and they ARE out to get you! They are out to get everybody!

With a little care it is not too difficult to stay out of their reach, and so I prefer to term this as taking appropriate measures and care, rather than paranoia.

Regards....Mike Connor

Your are of course right, I don't think they are out to get me, there out to get everybody. I don't want it to be me. So I take what I consider the necessary precautions. Yet is is an evolving game. Well, I haven't been got yet.
Take it easy!!
Glenn

 

[glennc]

One would assume that I want my friends and family access to my network.

Then you're going to want to get rid of MAC-filtering. If someone brings a laptop over, you'll have to get the MAC address from their system, log into your router to add it, and then hope the router has a way of labeling each MAC address for future reference. I did this for a year, and it prompted me to just use strong encryption with a strong key. Now, when a friend stops by, I can give them the key code and be done with it. If I feel like it's been given out to much, I can change it on my router once, and be done with it.

Yeah, I usually tell them it is too much trouble and I don't have the time!! :devil:
Glenn

 

[MacGyvr]

Glad to hear!!!! I feel pretty secure. Use Norton 2011, Comodo with standalone scans with MSE, AntiMalwareBytes and SuperAntispyware. Once in a while I have the bootable Avira disk and give the comp a once over. Paranoia is the ultimate form of self preservation . Thanks for the advice and recommendations.
Glenn

Do yourself a favor and remove Norton. The performance hit that you take isn't worth having it installed. Keep your two anti-malware tools and use MSE as your full time anti-virus. Never have two antiviruses installed at the same time.

 

[glennc]

Glad to hear!!!! I feel pretty secure. Use Norton 2011, Comodo with standalone scans with MSE, AntiMalwareBytes and SuperAntispyware. Once in a while I have the bootable Avira disk and give the comp a once over. Paranoia is the ultimate form of self preservation . Thanks for the advice and recommendations.
Glenn

Do yourself a favor and remove Norton. The performance hit that you take isn't worth having it installed. Keep your two anti-malware tools and use MSE as your full time anti-virus. Never have two antiviruses installed at the same time.

Hello MacGyvr,
Appreciate your input. I like Norton, it is easier for me to handle than MSE. I've heard the argument before, but am happy with the compromise. I keep MSE only for standalone scan, not running realtime protection. Maybe if I get less lazy and learn MSE I'll understand it's benefits. But I've got quite a while on my subscription to learn. Always accept learned advice. As for the never have to AV's running at the same time, as I said I do not, but have previously for years and never had any problems. Lucky I guess. Take care.
glennc

 

[DeaconFrost]

The reason most people suggest MSE, aside from the quality of it's scans, is that there is nothing to learn. You install it, and that's pretty much it. It keeps itself updated through Windows Update, and there isn't really anything you need to configure.

 

[Shootist]

Hello MacGyvr,
Appreciate your input. I like Norton, it is easier for me to handle than MSE. I've heard the argument before, but am happy with the compromise. I keep MSE only for standalone scan, not running realtime protection. Maybe if I get less lazy and learn MSE I'll understand it's benefits. But I've got quite a while on my subscription to learn. Always accept learned advice. As for the never have to AV's running at the same time, as I said I do not, but have previously for years and never had any problems. Lucky I guess. Take care.
glennc

I got rid of any Norton/Symantec products long ago.
They are for the most part CRAP. Resource hogs, bloat ware.
9 times out of 10 they cause more problems then they solve.
I am amazed how many people still use these products. Symantec/Norton should be out of business.
I think most of it comes from the hysteria over virus/malware/spyware infections we suffer from today.

I myself do not run any AV, malware or spyware programs REAL TIME on any of my PCs.
I do have Malware bytes and several AV programs on a BOOT recovery USB flash drive and I make regular images of my main system and program drive.
I don't go to junk websites or open emails form people/places I don't know (and if by chance I do VIEW a email form someone/place I don't know I NEVER click on the attachment included), they get deleted straight away.
Suit yourself but there are much better product on the market.

 

[glennc]

The reason most people suggest MSE, aside from the quality of it's scans, is that there is nothing to learn. You install it, and that's pretty much it. It keeps itself updated through Windows Update, and there isn't really anything you need to configure.

Hello DeaconFrost,
That is part of the problem. I've looked at MSE and there are to me many cryptic options and choices. Too cryptic for my ease of use. I do not like to rely on a program's default settings usually, also. With some understanding and real knowledge, I would probably agree with you. Till that occurs I must rely on what I know works. My combo has kept me completely free. Performance wise I really don't notice a difference since I upgraded my computer about the same time and it is much more powerful than my last that everything flies. I would like to learn MSE but have a lot on my plate. Many people I respect, including you, say the same thing! Must be something to it! Thanks
Glenn

 

[Shootist]

Hello DeaconFrost,
That is part of the problem. I've looked at MSE and there are to me many cryptic options and choices. Too cryptic for my ease of use. I do not like to rely on a program's default settings usually, also. With some understanding and real knowledge, I would probably agree with you. Till that occurs I must rely on what I know works. My combo has kept me completely free. Performance wise I really don't notice a difference since I upgraded my computer about the same time and it is much more powerful than my last that everything flies. I would like to learn MSE but have a lot on my plate. Many people I respect, including you, say the same thing! Must be something to it! Thanks
Glenn

You're kidding, right?
At least MSE allows you to get to the options. The last time I ran a Norton product most of the options were hidden, buried so deep that you have to go through all kinds of windows to get to them.
There attitude was Use the program as WE suggest, Don't make changes in any way to how it works. No thanks.

 

[DeaconFrost]

I have to agree. If MSE's options are too confusing, you certainly won't like any other products on the market, especially not my favorite of the paid options, NOD32.

As for not leaving it as a default, why form this opinion without any facts behind it? If the product is set to the correct options by default, and works very well, why feel like you need to make changes?

It sounds like you need to start replacing some of your paranoia with some fact-based thinking, and you'll reset a lot easier.