>Well, my plug is for... Avsim http://www.avsim.com/ :-) LOL! Here here.

Hi there,i have NAV and Norton Personal Firewall. They both work fine on my PC but as many of you have those pauses in FS9.So, this morning (after a safety backp of my main partition ;-)) i uninstalled both Norton progs and their accessories via control panel and RegSeeker; after that i installed and updated AVG and also installed Zone Alarm Free Edition and went through an Internet Vulnerability Profiling (http://grc.com/x/ne.dll?rh1dkyd2).My PC works in FULL STEALTH MODE! :-coolNow some questions: how long will this protection last? Does ZA block hackers from your PC? When using Norton Personal Firewall i had to update the program; should i do same thing with ZoneAlarm? Which advantage will i get buying ZA-PRO version?Back onto FS9 tests....Luigi ;-)

The service names are:"avast! Antivirus""avast! iAVS4 Control Service"and one program:"ashdisp.exe"

Thanks Ken.

The easiest solution, although you have to be somewhat "smart" about your internet usage is to not use antivirus.You don't have to be worried about hackers if you are using a DSL or cable router that is doing NAT.The only real difference in the incoming packet handling between a router and firewall, if they're both running NAT, is that a "real" firewall does stateful packet inspection. If the ports are not open, then NAT drops the packet anyway. If you have no ports open, then there is no way for a hacker to get to your computer. Period. NAT (Network Address Translation) on most home routers uses dynamic port mapping with a single public IP. Even if someone tries spoofing your IP, NAT will close the port once your request is returned.If you are afraid of e-mail borne viruses, check the box in Outlook Express (under the security tab) to disallow opening of potentially harmful files. I believe there is a registry hack to set the type of files you want to prevent.Most e-mail viruses (escpecially the latest crop) will try to fool you into thinking the file is a different type. For example, the filename could be:"picture.jpg .exe"When you see the file, the name will be truncated so you will only see "picture.jpg" and you will run the virus. Outlook will not be fooled though.In internet explorer options, I generally set the internet zone restrictions to custom, and disable scripting, downloading, and running activex controls. For sites that I trust, I add them to the trusted sites list.To do that,Click Tools/Internet Options/Security/Trusted sites then Sites, then add the site and a flag for the alias/host names.*.avsim.com*.flightsim.comYou really don't need zone alarm unless your PC is live on the internet- i.e. connected directly to your cable/DSL modem. If you have a router- don't bother- it won't add anything.If you have multiple people, and kids using the PC, then definately use AV software. There are many game sites (and the obvious porn sites) that do drive by spyware/adware installs.

I had un-installed Norton Anti-virus about a week ago and am using AVG only. I was using both. This morning I did a search in regedit for Symantic and Norton. I still had over 200 entrys in my regestry for Symantic. and only about 20 or 30 for Norton. If you do this.... Do it twice. The second time I had about 50 Symantics in there.I too am running Zone Alarm Pro.Works for me.Joe w.

A couple of points on your post Christian, and I don't want to get into an argument with an MS Instructor ;-)Using some NAT routers can cause sever problems for people want to fly with VATSIM, and I suspect IVAO, as the VATSIM/ProController forums here will show.Secondly I see no point in someone buying a router if they only have one or 2 PCs connected to their cable/ADSL, to me it is overkill.I consider myself reasonable smart but still would not want to run without AV especially when it's free like AVG.Rgds

AFAIK There is no need to update Zone Alarm, my version dates back to March 2003.In the early days (1998) there were a number of updates which ZA notified you about via email but there has been nothing for the last 12 months.My understanding is that ZA basically blocks every port apart from the ones you tell it to open via the 'allow this application'. The only thing you need to watch out for is applications wanting to become servers rather than just connecting to the 'Net, there are a few.Before setting up ZA I would suggest doing a virus scan of your whole system and then check for any trojans with something like spybot.Once you know your system is clean there should be no unknown applications asking to become servers on the 'Net.The only ones I know of are to do with on line flying, such as RW, FSHost and a couple of others.A lot of more savvy users don't like ZA because you don't control the specific ports, the applications do that, but for regular home users the ease of configuring ZA is a good thing.BTW If you elect for 'stealth mode' your PC is not even visible on the 'Net so you should be safe from hackers.Just a satisfied user of ZA and AVG.HTH

Thanks for that. I hav NAV and the dreaded stutter/pause. When my subscription expires I will be moving to AVGBill

Hi Vulcan,thankyou very much for your clarifications.Just run a SpyBot search for problems: NO immediate threats were found. Also AVG cannot find anything! My PC seems to be a clean -safe one :-coolSee you in the skyLuigi ;-)

No arguments, everybody can say what they feel :)I agree that I would be cautious to go the non-AV route. I run AV on my laptop, and that is the only machine I do serious surfing on. I pretty much stick to major sites on my desktop. I don't open any attachments that I'm not expecting (unless they're .jpgs- don't want to miss all those topless strippers in American Flag bikinis going around :) You definately have to use your best judgement. Remember that even with AV software you can still get viruses- you should always be prudent.I was not aware of any issues with IVAO/VATSIM. I would suspect the problem is that the client software pulls your IP locally, while the VATSIM servers would see a public IP? This could be an issue, but there are workarounds.I feel that hardware firewalls are much better than software firewalls. A software firewall uses CPU and memory and inevitably slows down the PC, although it may be an insignificant amount. Plus, there is the off chance that a software firewall can crash, while the rest of the system is still running. This would leave you wide open.I'm not sure how you would connect 2 PCs with no router... You mean connect one PC to the cable modem, give it a public IP and then use ICS to give the second machine internet access? Even then you'd need a switch or hub, or wireless access point. You wouldn't be saving any money (OK 10 or 15 dollars), and then you would need the ICS (internet connection sharing) machine turned on for the other machine to access the internet. And both machines would have to be running firewall software.A Belkin or Linksys router is only $65, and do DHCP, NAT, and have built in switches. This way you aren't relying on another PC for internet access. They support static port mapping (or application servers, or virtual servers- whatever you want to call it) so it's easy to open ports on specific PCs if you have a need.I agree with you about the AV software- If you're not comfortable without it, then use it- even if you have to pay for it- just stay far,far away from Norton/Symantec (as has been previously stated- it is impossible to get rid of, and has many issues- especially the corporate versions).The router I have to disagree though- I think it is a good idea no matter what else you are doing. Especially if you have more than 1 computer.

I agree with everything you say Christian for the best set up and to use both ( or more) PC's to access the Internet.The main problem with flying on line and routers is the NATs bit, evidently some routers will not let you forward the required ports or they assign random ports or close the port if it is not in use for a short time.I have very little knowledge on routers so cannot be more technical, I just know they can be a minefield to choose the correct one.I use 2 PC's for on line flying and there is no real need for the second PC to have direct access to the Internet so my setup is one PC connected to BB modem and second PC connected to first one via a cross-over UTP.However to allow FS to host 'private' MP sessions I do have ICS enabled so the second PC (with FS) can access the Internet.Hope that explains *my* reasons for suggesting a router is not really required in that situation.BTW I do not run a firewall on the second PC, my understanding is that the second PC accesses the 'Net via the software firewall on the 'Net connected PC.With the quals showing in your sig I should pop your head in on the VATSIM & ProController forums, I'm sure you will get asked losts of questions about setting up routers for on line flying :-)Thanks for the informative post BTW.

Can you please help?ZA keep my networked client PC out of the door :-(I went through ZA Help and read i have to add a Trusted Zone with the IP of my client PC. At that point i checked network properties of the client and the network adapter TCPIP has no IP adress (get IP automatically is checked). Which numbers do i have to set as IP adress and Subnet Mask? Can you please explain what should i do?BTW if i disable ZA my client PC come back to life....Thanks in advance Luigi ;-)

I've had some success with keeping Norton Auto protect, but by disabling auto-update. I then disable Auto protect before I fly. The auto update is one of the pain in the "you know what aspects" of Norton. Disabling it seems to temper the problems. I just have to remember to run the updates manually at regular intervals.Lee

>I've had some success with keeping Norton Auto protect, but>by disabling auto-update. I then disable Auto protect before I>fly. The auto update is one of the pain in the "you know what>aspects" of Norton. Disabling it seems to temper the problems.>I just have to remember to run the updates manually at regular>intervals.>>LeeThat is precisely what I do. I run Live Update usually at the start of each session on my PC. With Broadband this only takes seconds. Also, I routinely use Ken's FSAutoStart which stops and restarts Norton AntiVirus Autoprotect Service and the program Navapw32.exe before and after each simming session so, as far as FS is concerned NAV doesn't enter into the equation any more.Mike