quote:right to the question, every now and then i get a pop up message from some company trying to sell me some sort of a port blocker, and it says my messenger port is wide open to the internet and open to attack, does....
Tony, what you are doing is running a program from your PC that is connected to the internet. The programis sending information that you type and receiving information that is sent to you. In order to do so a port is open through your internet connection to your PC. This is the port that can be exploited provided the person knows how.
The risk factor: A person who wishes to do so must firstly know that you are on line and must also be able to detect your IP and open port.
They then need to have something in place on your PC in order to connect to it. This can be in the form of a trojan or program to which they then create a network connection using it between your PC and theirs.
There are several programs available for doing this (I won't name them) which are freely downloadable from the internet if you know where to look. But the use of them is also illegal without the other person's permission.
They were originally designed for Network Administrators and Remote Technicians to connect to PC's remotely to resolve problems, configure systems, etc.
As for a Firewall. Most firewalls allow Port blocking just check your settings.
By the way, that picture you've got in you 'My Pictures' folder? Does your missus know about it ? [:I]
Only kidding lol [
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Dave
