different firewall testers...

i know there are many different firewall testers out there, but one thing ive been curious about...when i do the sygate tests at sygatetec.com, and grc.com it says all the ports it scans are stealthed, but sometimes when i do the testing at pcflank.com all the ports are stealthed except ports 134,135,137,138, and 139. Those ports always show up as visible for some reason. Pcflank.com is the only tester site where those ports are visible, the other sites i goto stated above says all ports are stealthed. So i was wondering whats wrong and if the test at pcflank.com is not as good as the tests on grc.com........these are the firewall testing sites i use http://www.testmyspeed.com/firewalls/scan.htm http://grc.com/ im just trying to make my computer as "hackerproof" as possible

[vee_ess]

They might be using different pinging methods (TCP, UDP, ICMP). Also, the first one tests only commonly used ports as mentioned.

[thatoneperson]

its a free open source encryption program, encrypt ur whole hard drive and then u dont have to worry about viruses or hacker

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by thatoneperson

its a free open source encryption program, encrypt ur whole hard drive and then u dont have to worry about viruses or hacker

Can you do a Fly By?...I am not following. I get the part about the encrypting the whole hard drive....but what program are you refereing too???...maybe I am having a slow day, but I did not see where you named the actual program???

ignore him. encrypting your filesystem is not the greatest of ideas unless you know what you are doing. You could easily lock yourself out of all of your data, which is not something you want to do, i assume.

139 being open is not such a good thing. I believe that is the port for windows filesharing, and opening that open to the internet is a pretty bad idea.

what firewall software are you using, if any? are you behind a router, or do you plug your computer straight into a modem?

btw, don't bother reading grc.com. 99% of the stuff he writes is not worth reading. For whatever reason, he likes to spread massive FUD

Originally Posted by entertainerz504

im just trying to make my computer as "hackerproof" as possible

You should redefine your goals. You don't seem to be sincerely paranoid. It depends on what sort of tradeoff you want to forego to achieve becoming 'hackerproof'.

The following questions are rhetorical for the most part and just for your consideration:
1. Are you concerned with physical security of your computer? [do multiple people use your computer? can someone use it and steal stuff easily with a usb stick or portable drive?]
2. What information is stored on your computer that is private/sensitive? [think data mining, keylogging, financial info, your address, addresses of friends, things you might miss, behavioral information on your surfing habits]
3. What sort of activity do online that someone might observe? [bank things, payments, accounts/passwords for websites]

The thing you seem to be concerned about is hackers creating a backdoor on one of your ports, or using a common windows exploit to gain access to your computer via those open services/ports.

In this case you should become hyperaware of all the things you click on in your email, check for phishing attacks on you, make sure you don't download anything you don't intend to. Don't download anything from non-company sites unless you are sure it doesn't have any illigitimate spyware/adware/trojanish/virus buried in it.

A firewall is important but not as much as making sure you have local security policies on your machine. Turn off all the services you do not use in windows, make sure you change the password to your administrator account, and disable all accounts not in common use. Make sure your password is alphanumeric/upper&lowercase and over six characters. To use as a guide to determining how quick your password is reducable by computers mathematically refer here: http://www.thecrypt.co.uk/lockdown/recovery_speeds.html

Keep windows updated with the security patches. This will help you avoid major worms that could comprimise your computer and aide in DDoS attacks.

To mitigate the loss of your data, in the event that your system does get comprimised you should obviously perform backups, and not keep sensitive information for too long on your disk especially if you don't use it all the time. refer to [2].

At this point a firewall would be a good addition, just make sure you know what services you have enabled, to learn about your own security you should disable all services, and work up to the point of where you have everything you will use frequently. For all other things enable as they become an issue.

I could go on for days so here are some references if any of you readers are serious about being a paranoid mofo:

http://forums.bsdnexus.com/viewtopic.php?id=715 - topic on password systems. do you have a method of separation/management of passwords to different sites/services?
http://openbsd.org/ - OS for the paranoid [and maybe linus haters, and theo lovers]
http://kaos.to/cms/ - Anonym.OS, liveCD based on the OS for the paranoid
http://www.ethicalhacker.net/content/category/2/8/2/ - improve your knowledge, I suggest reading the "Technical Foundations of Hacking" and "Anatomy of A Hack" (these are not full books, go check it out at a library or book store, or find an ebook online)

I seem to be a major proponent of BSD, and that may be the case but learning the methods by which secure operating systems work helps you slim down the chances on a windows machine that you will become comprimised by service attacks.