Decisions

I use Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which seems to do its job OK. However,
every so often I get a dialogue box labelled "Outgoing Connection Alert"
which warns me that Google Toolbar Notifier is trying to communicate
with a remote computer. It asks me to permit or deny but how do I tell?
It gives the remote port but that doesn't help much.

So do I permit or deny or how do I decide?
--
Denis Scadeng
denis@burdon.demon.co.uk
http://www.burdon.demon.co.uk/

Re: Decisions

In message Denis Scadeng
wrote:

>I use Sunbelt Personal Firewall, which seems to do its job OK. However,
>every so often I get a dialogue box labelled "Outgoing Connection Alert"
>which warns me that Google Toolbar Notifier is trying to communicate
>with a remote computer. It asks me to permit or deny but how do I tell?
>It gives the remote port but that doesn't help much.
>
>So do I permit or deny or how do I decide?

Do you trust Google Toolbar Notifier, and do you know why it wants to
connect out? If so, allow it.

If not, uninstall the app.

--
Americans couldn't be any more self-absorbed if they were made from equal
parts water and papertowel.
-- Dennis Miller

Re: Decisions

>Do you trust Google Toolbar Notifier, and do you know why it wants to
>connect out? If so, allow it.
>
The point is that it asks me to make a choice of permit or deny and I
don't have enough information to do this. If it automatically allowed or
disallowed I would trust it to make the right choice. In practice I tend
to permit and wait to see if any nasties appear but that is a risky
strategy.

--
Denis Scadeng
denis@burdon.demon.co.uk
http://www.burdon.demon.co.uk/

Re: Decisions

On 15-Aug-2007, Denis Scadeng wrote:

> >Do you trust Google Toolbar Notifier, and do you know why it wants to
> >connect out? If so, allow it.
> >
> The point is that it asks me to make a choice of permit or deny and I
> don't have enough information to do this.

www.google.com - type in the name of whatever is trying to connect and you
will _usually_ get a good idea of whether it is benign or not. Just from
the bits that show up on Googles page - without having to actually go and
read the full articles.

> If it automatically allowed or
> disallowed I would trust it to make the right choice.

You are very trusting.

> In practice I tend
> to permit and wait to see if any nasties appear but that is a risky
> strategy.

Yes, *very* risky. Better / safer strategy is to deny - but do not check
the 'remember this answer' box - and see if you can still do whatever you
want / need to do. Then when you reboot and it asks you again, re-deny,
after a day or three, if everything is still working, then - and only then
- check the 'remember this answer' box when you click deny.

--
Never raise your hand against a child.
It leaves your groin unprotected.