Hi, I recently changed my router and just realised that the new one has no firewall, and that my new Macbook came with the firewall switched off (no idea why it isn't on as a default). Before that I think the rooter had a firewall, but the mac one was off for the last 2 months since I bought it. Should I worry that my computer may have been compromised in any way, and if so, what should I do? Thanks (I used to have a PC, hence the paranoia!)
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No firewall for few days, should I worry?
- Thread starter benmadrid
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How can you state that without even getting further information from the OP? For example, do you know if he is running any server software that may have exposed information about his computer whilst he was without a firewall?
Sean
Is your computer behaving strangely, slower, with functions disabled? If so you may have been hacked, if not you are safe.
No. all seems fine to me. BTW, nice location, I was brought up down the road in Radley
Thats not too far from where I live at all, I don't actually live in Oxford itself but a small village outside...
just always remember Murphy's Law
Nah, Mac OS X is pretty bulletproof. Not totally by any means, but its a lot more secure than most other OSs.
And what if, for example, someone had managed to access the OP's network share by his public address and view files? There would be no signs of the computer acting strangely, but he would have been exposed by not running a firewall. Not all intrusions leave strangely behaving computers behind
Sean
So, Windows File Sharing on, no Firewall, no Router security* -- yeah, your files were hanging out there in the open for an enterprising hacker anywhere in the world to attempt to see. You can count on a machine on the Internet to be portscanned within a few minutes to a few hours, looking for open doors.
(*Confused on that point -- does not your router do NAT -- that is, don't your machines on your internal network have their own IP addresses 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x ? Network Address Translation is a primitive form of protection)
Also, make sure whatever router you set up, you change the default admin username and password of the router itself - whats the point of having a firewall in the router if you leave it open to be turned off by the well known admin PWs?