Firewall??

Question

My computer is letting in some spyware, so I've been thinking it's the firewall. And I go to my control panel and then firewall, but it's locking me out and I can't touch anything on my firewall. Is that fixable?? How?? Also, is there a way I can search for the files it's letting in??

Answer 1

Ad Aware will find the spyware files. Go here: http://adaware.authenticdownloads.com/ and download and install Ad Aware and run it. Delete the spyware files it finds.

I don't know what you mean by firewall locking you out. If you use XP, the built-in firewall only works on 'outgoing'. I would advise getting another one, then you can disable the built-in. You can use a search engine for free firewalls. I think Zone Alarm still has a free one.

If you do have a firewall other than the XP, check in Program Files and open it from there. You can also make a shortcut icon and add to desktop or the Start menu.

Then, if you want, install spywareBlaster, a program that prevents spyware from installing on your machine. You can get that here: http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/

This can be configured to protect Internet Explorer and Firefox browsers. Once it's configured, it won't need to be opened and doesn't run in the background. Keep Ad Aware and run that once in a while, just to be sure. You can't get too much spyware protection.

If you don't have a virus scanner, there is one called AVG.
http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1
The free version does a good job.

Good luck.

Oh, if you want more protection, find Spybot Search and Destroy at: http://www.download.com/

Answer 2

I recommend zone alarm free edition.( firewall )