Power cuts and disk check?

T4i

The IP that keeps flashing up through ZoneAlarm is:-

whois for 65.204.123.182

UUNET Technologies, Inc. UUNET65 (NET-65-192-0-0-1)
65.192.0.0 - 65.223.255.255

EXTENDED STAY HOTELS, INC - 9822 UU-65-204-123-160 (NET-65-204-123-160-1)
65.204.123.160 - 65.204.123.191

Not too sure as to why they keep flaggin up.

albertross_2

I don't think you should skip the chkdsk.. If the power cuts continue, then you are at risk of corrupting your registry (As is anyone who doesn't shutdown the PC properly). If this happens, you will have an unbootable PC. The chkdsk can sometimes (but not always) fix this potential corruption.

If you can, I would suggest speaking to the local electricity board, to ask them why it is happening (I'm assuming that this is happening to the street, not just you), or buy a UPS as already suggested.

In the meantime, make sure (XP?) system restore is switched on (in case you get the unbootable system scenario), and backup any important files, just in case.

If you are on broadband, then a router with a hardware firewall will give you some added protection from remote attacks. It sounds as though Zonealarm is doing it's job, but a hardware firewall is a good extra layer of defence, and if you get one, you should never see another inbound alert again.

You can test your firewall with this:

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

ksh123

But I did the scan and got a perfect result! which is of great reassurance!

thanks for that Albertross - didn't understand much of it but it worked!

Isn't it strange the ports that try to access me/us? and why?

btw do I need the windows xp firewall turned on as well as all the other stuff?

thanks again for your help

albertross_2

Sometimes the port scans are spurious. e.g. if you have just logged on, and have a dynamic ip address, then a server or kazaa user somewhere may be trying to talk to the previous user of your ip address.

But, someone could be doing a port scan (attack). (there are 64K ports to choose from), or a webpage (server) you have visited may be trying to talk to your PC, or it could just be your ISP..

Assuming your PC is clean from infections, this is nothing to worry about. Some malware can disable your AV/spyware/firewall software, so that is why I would recommend a router, as this is much harder for malware to tinker with, and takes the load off your PC.

You shouldn't need windows firewall if you have zonealarm enabled.

tigermatt

If the power cuts continue, then I would seriously consider getting a UPS (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uninterruptible_power_supply) to keep the PC running during the power cuts, allowing you to shut it down correctly.

I've got one on a computer here - it's nothing fancy, just a heavy, black box with a battery inside. You plug your mains into one side and then your computer tower and monitor are connected with a different power connector (supplied with the UPS). When the power cuts, it will beep at you every 10 seconds to let you know, and so long as you have your monitor plugged in taking power from the UPS, and your tower, then you should have adequate time to shutdown your PC correctly.

You can also get ones that connect to the PC via USB and can tell the PC to shutdown without you having to do it manually. But if the power cuts are only for a few minutes then you don't need this feature.

ksh123

thanks again.I am becoming more reassurred....I have certainly never known Zone Alarm so active but I guess this is a good indication of the job it is doing.
One more question: what's a "router"?

redux

You can set Zone Alarm so it still does its work quietly in the background, but doesn't flag up these firewall warnings all the time. Go to Alerts & Logs; the Main tab; switch to Off and you still get program alerts but not firewall ones. You can look at the logs once in a while if you want to see them.

or just tick the Don't show me this again, next time one comes up (sorry, so long since I did this)

albertross_2

this is a router:

http://kbserver.netgear.com/products/DG834G.asp