can I feel safe with windows 7!?

simply by knowing your ip..........hogwash..........

Alright that is very reasuring to hear =) so I guess they would need to infect me with a virus somehow to get access and its not just a matter of trying hard enough to connect.

a router with nat/spi firewall is excellent for inbound protection....but does little for outbound connections

Outbound connections are not then disabled by default from ms firewall, well in my mind outbound sounds like connections coming from my computer meaning if i got infected and the spyware/virus would use hole to send signals back? well I will use google to try and find out exactly what it means anyway thnx for pointing this out.

apply all updates/have a good av/practice safe surf/use second opinion scanners/disable remote access...and still if you dread the ip stuff go for a reputed VPN....but mind you that has its own implications

yes I do keep up to date and surf "safe" I have all scripts disabled in opera forexample which i was told helps, could be wrong. I am not to sure about those VPNs, besides I am more concerned with keeping people who already have my ip address out.

Thank you for all the great pointers has given me some insight.

------------

That means there is a hardware firewall built into the router. A hardware firewall is much more secure than a software firewall. Remember, nothing is 100% secure. You can test your firewall's effectiveness at this link: **Home of Gibson Research Corporation**. Click on Shields Up and follow the instructions.

thank you, I will try this test =)

------------

as for putting my computer to sleep well I cant because everytime I do that my microsoft mouse keeps on disconnecting every 5 seconds :/ so I will do as Jacee suggested and simply turn it off.

I believe in layered protection. I know of no reason you can't use a router, MSE, and Windows 7 built in firewall at the same time. I also recommend and use Shields up. My computer is stealth except ping. I have no idea how to stop it and be on line at the same time. Don't forget to check out Malwarebyts Anti Malware and Super Anti Spyware, both free. I use them both to check and see if anything slipped by my security. I call this method (Layered Protection)
MAM and SAS free are on demand. You have to tell them to update and to run scans. Until you do they just sit there and do nothing.

I did the gibson research firewall test and passed all the test it could not detect any "holes" or get any info back from my comp so 10/10 on that test, kind of feels reasuring even if it might only check for the most known problems.

Layback Bear said:

I believe in layered protection. I know of no reason you can't use a router, MSE, and Windows 7 built in firewall at the same time. I also recommend and use Shields up. My computer is stealth except ping. I have no idea how to stop it and be on line at the same time. Don't forget to check out Malwarebyts Anti Malware and Super Anti Spyware, both free. I use them both to check and see if anything slipped by my security. I call this method (Layered Protection)
MAM and SAS free are on demand. You have to tell them to update and to run scans. Until you do they just sit there and do nothing.

thank you i will check out MAM and SAS I see what you mean by layered protection makes sense to not put all your eggs in one basket.

all in all I feel safe enough with these measures this combined with the fact that I dont really surf into "suspicious" websites other than the occasional googling for denise richards in bikini! and do not install cracked software.. and if someone wants to spend a lot of time and effort and access my computer only to sort through a clutter of nonsense and Star Trek stuff I have gathered over the year well I guess they are welcome lol but they should just try emailing me!

I just have a question though and would appreciate any answer as I have tried googling and still not sure, does quick format really "clean" your harddrive of malware and such I mean does it even clear bootsectors?