For those that don't know about Microsoft's latest update..

[RawAlex]

Far be it for me to tell you how to work, but there is a complete work around to the issues of pinnacle version 9 (and make sure you have 9.1 or higher):

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=884130 lists the problem.

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?kbid=875351 has the work around. Basically, the way pinnacle tries to pass information around is the same way that many viruses work. So that path is blocked unless you specifically disable certain things. If you disable, things are apparently fixed.

If you paid pinnacle for a working product, you should be on their case for not keeping up with patches... SP2 has been out for a while, this isn't a "new this week" issue.

As for software firewalls, well, like I said, they are ALL pointless. I leave microsoft's running because it is there, but I have neutered it down almost entirely. Nice to know when programs want to talk outside, I guess. But the hardware firewall stops the most significant types of attacks, port scans and such.

Alex

[lassiter]

Originally Posted by RawAlex

As for software firewalls, well, like I said, they are ALL pointless.

Well, maybe. A firewall that sets all ports to emulate stealth mode, like ZA, certainly offers protection from all the script kiddies that are just auto-pinging ports within certain IP ranges looking for an open port. ZA always shows my ports as non-existent, and there's plenty of wide-open unprotected machines for the kids to hack.

Sure, it probably wouldn't stop a knowledgable person who specifically wished to do me harm, but it's effective against virtually all of the idjits that are probing for open ports.