J
Jonathan Kay [MVP]
Greetings Jim,
Glad to hear it =).
QoS stands for Quality of Service -- it really doesn't have any security impact. A router
*is* a NAT, although if it supports UPnP, most features in MSN Messenger 6 will continue to
work -- however, this really isn't required and really isn't worth the expense. As well, you
can experience a number of problems with Messenger and routers, even if they do support UPnP.
Keeping up to date with the updates from WindowsUpdate (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
on a weekly basis (and in the case of Windows XP, using the automatic updates feature) should
protect you from most of the exploits. Although yes, a firewall is preferred (but not
required), in most cases, a software firewall will allow you the most flexibility.
Some examples of software firewalls are ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com), Norton Internet
Security or Norton Personal Firewall (http://www.symantec.com/product/index_homecomp.html).
In the case of ZoneAlarm, you can actually download the "basic" version for free:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?lid=pdb_za1
Please keep in mind (for at least ZoneAlarm) that some configuration may be necessary in
order for all the features in Messenger to work properly with a software firewall (in the
case of ZoneAlarm, the 'Medium' setting is preferred).
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
Glad to hear it =).
QoS stands for Quality of Service -- it really doesn't have any security impact. A router
*is* a NAT, although if it supports UPnP, most features in MSN Messenger 6 will continue to
work -- however, this really isn't required and really isn't worth the expense. As well, you
can experience a number of problems with Messenger and routers, even if they do support UPnP.
Keeping up to date with the updates from WindowsUpdate (http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com)
on a weekly basis (and in the case of Windows XP, using the automatic updates feature) should
protect you from most of the exploits. Although yes, a firewall is preferred (but not
required), in most cases, a software firewall will allow you the most flexibility.
Some examples of software firewalls are ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com), Norton Internet
Security or Norton Personal Firewall (http://www.symantec.com/product/index_homecomp.html).
In the case of ZoneAlarm, you can actually download the "basic" version for free:
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?lid=pdb_za1
Please keep in mind (for at least ZoneAlarm) that some configuration may be necessary in
order for all the features in Messenger to work properly with a software firewall (in the
case of ZoneAlarm, the 'Medium' setting is preferred).
____________________________________________
Jonathan Kay
Windows MVP, Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com