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Firewalls

On the Internet, hackers use malicious code, such as viruses, worms, and Trojan Horses, to try to find unlocked doors, aka an unprotected computer. A firewall can help protect your computer against these and other security attacks. Most modern operating systems have a firewall option. The following directions will tell you how to enable and disable the system firewall in Windows XP and in Mac OS X (10.2 or greater). Earlier versions of Windows and Mac OS do not have a system based firewall option for all intents and purposes.

Windows XP & XP Service Pack 1:

  1. Click on the Start button.
  2. Go to Settings, click on Control Panel.
  3. Double click on Network Connections.
  4. Right click on the Local Area Connection icon.
  5. On the quick menu, click on Properties.
  6. Click on the tab titled Advanced.
  7. Make sure the box for the Internet Connection Firewall is unchecked to turn it off, and checked to turn it on.
  8. Click OK.
  9. Close the Network Connections window.

Windows XP Service Pack 2:

  1. Click on the Start button.
  2. Go to Settings, click on Control Panel.
  3. Double click on Network Connections.
  4. Right click on the Local Area Connection icon.
  5. On the quick menu, click on Properties.
  6. Click on the tab titled Advanced.
  7. Click on the Settings button under "Windows Firewall".
  8. Select "Off (not recommended)" to turn it off and "On (recommended)" to turn it on.
  9. Click OK.
  10. Close the Network Connections window.

Mac OS X Firewall (10.2-10.4):

  1. Click on the Apple in the top left corner of your screen.
  2. Go to System Preferences, Click on Sharing.
  3. Click on the Firewall tab.
  4. Enable the firewall by clicking the 'Start' button, disable the firewall by clicking the 'Stop' button.
  5. Close the Sharing Preferences window.

Mac OS X Firewall (10.5):

  1. Click on the Apple in the top left corner of your screen.
  2. Go to System Preferences, Click on Security.
  3. Click on the Firewall tab.
  4. Enable the firewall by clicking the 'Allow only essential services' button, disable the firewall by clicking the 'Allow all incoming connections' button.
  5. Close the Security Preferences window.

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