Hi,
First of all I want to say that Im using protowal for few days now and i think its a great software.
I will always use it while sharing P2P files.

Im not sure if this is the right section to post, if not please move my post.

But i have some questions that concern me.

1. After I installed protowall Ive seen a lot of packets blocked from MediaSentry, SafeNet and many other even while Im NOT using p2p. Sometimes i dont even browse the web/download anything.
So my question is can those packets do harm to me? I know that while im using p2p they are blocking unwanted traffic and hiding my ip. But why do they appear while not using p2p?

2. Most of the websites are loading slower or not at all, and need to exclude them fome the ip list (im using BLM).
So my finall question is, what can happen if I will stop using PW for day to day web browsing ? (i have AV and normal software firewall and router with firewall). I know PW also blocks ADS and spyware but ads have never been a big concer for me - i dont click shit.

Also I can play some games over the internet like COD4 and i dont want to exclude every single IP of everysingle server i play than procees the list, convert and export just to be able to do NORMAL things.

I will ofc use it while sharing files over p2p, but whats with web browsing ? Ive been using internet for many years now, never using such a program for this and never had any problems.
Also, does it matter where do I leave, can all those organisastions liek RIAA, MPAA etc reach ppl outside of US ? (im living in poland).

The last question: what is the average harmfullness of a packet sent to me by "those Ips in blocklist" while im just surfing the web, playing games etc?

I know this post might be a mess, but i have a lot of questions and concerns about this.

Thanks for answers in advance.
Regards,
Yogal

Hi yogal.. ask anything you need to, that's what we are here for.



Somtimes after you have been using P2P programs the traffic will continue to try and reach you long afterwards, p2p afterglow, also there may be some IP ranges that you will get blocks from while just browsing the net.

When we block anti-p2p webhosts you can get the same blocks that you see on p2p networks from various websites.

Someone may also have picked up your IP on a p2p network and come back later to scan your computer looking for more information, profiling to see what ports are still open etc..




The people most at risk seem to be the people within the closest reach of the MAFIAA corporations in the us.. Many countries do have their own version of these well financed organised crime like companies. They can affors to pay off politicians and law enforcement and to to pay off other try hard hackers like media sentry to break the laws that other people could never get away with.

Are they a threat ? How paranoid are you I'm not sure what the P2P situation is like over in poland but we do try to cover as many countries as we can including yours.



Nothing at all might happen, it's up to you to decide. Just use your IP blocking power when you feel you really need it. Your firewall/router should take care of most of the other things you have to be careful of when not using P2P Apps.



For general web browsing, in the past I would have said that as long as you are careful where you go on the net and if you are fairly responsible you can get away with little protection.. as long as you have at least some kind of basic protection, such as a decent firewall and antivirus.

Unfortunately the way things are now on the net you can get hijacked from any number of normal sites simply through their 3rd party ad networks, like the current wave of SWF file attacks launched through some of the most popular sites on the net.

While the kind of protection offered by IP blockers like Protowall are much more suited to P2P use, it does work very well against web based threats. Of course the main problem with blocklists is that if something is a threat to you or your system and it isn't already in your list then your blocklist wont do you much good.

A layered approach to security has always been the best way to protect yourself. Find a good combination of security measures that will give you a decent amount of protection that you will be comfortable with and not restrict too much of your internet travels.

What is a comfortable level of protection to to me might be way over the top to you, so you need to develop your own system really.

For web browsing protection you would be a lot safer to use a regularly updated Hosts file, and use a secure browser like Firefox, along with something like the no script extension for firefox.

I use Greenbrowser that allows me to disable things like active scripting and active x controls globally, but still allows me to enable them on a page by page basis when I need to access a safe page or site.

Sooner or later You are still going to come across something on the web that could cause you a bit of damage, and if you are prepared for it then you will have less to worry about and will be back in business sooner rather than later.



It's not a must, as long as you have something else to rely on for protection.

Thank you for such a comprehensive reply!
That's what I needed.




Thats what I will do. Use PW for p2p, but not for normal web browsing. Or maybe I will use only really important blocklists, like Level1,2 Spywere etc. I need to test it. Im glad you can use the software whenever you want to



Yes, Im using firefox with noscript , such a great addon and also Opera for browsing 100% safe sites.
I need to read more about Hosts file though. Maybe this is what i need ?



P.S. I've read somewhere about the ipfilter.dat file for uTorrent (which im using). I need to do more research on the web. I know that it generally serves the same purpose - blocking unwanted traffing, but when I decide to use PW only for p2p, wouldn't it be better to use integrated filtering like the mentioned above in uTorrent? Does it give you the same level of protection ? Or just stick to PW while using p2p apps ?

Questions will never end, but I think its better to ask them, than sit silent and suffer

P.S. 2 Sorry for all my previous spelling mistakes, I've been in a hurry.

Regards,
Yogal

Um, almost. It would be a definitive yes if they were updated as often as the blocklists, but there`s a bit of a lag there. I guess you could turn off PW while browsing the web and temporarily rely on the ipfilter. Which BTW is nothing more than a big lump made up of several (nipfilter) or all of the blocklists (pipfilter).

Thank you for the explanation