13 Oct 2015

And Then A Check….

I've mentioned this before but thought I'd update a little as this may assist any of you recent updaters to Windows 10.

Update to 10 I did and just two nights ago realised I hadn't visited ShieldsUp! since the update and, in view of all the Microsoft communications bits an' bobs you need to opt out of, I thought I'd give him a go.

If you're new to the site, on the front page click on 'Proceed' then, on the second page, I scan using All Service Ports.

Guess wot, much to my totally not surprised at all I found a port was closed but visible thus vulnerable. Click on the blue/red port for a description of its use, threat level and how to stealth him. Having said that, some of these ports can be more than a pain to stealth if you're as dim as I am. However, look along the top and there's a Freeware tab wherein you may find the kit wot will do the job with no fuss.

My problem port, on both the laptop and desktop, was either 443 or 445. Sorry, it was forty-eight hours ago and way too far in the past for me to remember. However, if you do find a port in the 44 something of a hundred range in blue or red, try downloading DCOMBobulator from the Freeware dropdown menu, it's so small you could call it really little if you want, run him and hopefully, upon running the scan again, you should find, as I did, that your kit is showing a field of green, in full stealth mode and thus your computer is basically invisible to all the bad boys out there.

Hope this helps someone a bit. Depending on your level of paranoia.

Quote;  Charles Lamb.

"The greatest pleasure I know is to do a good action by stealth and have it found out by accident."

            Ambrose Bierce.

“TAKE, v.t. To acquire, frequently by force but preferably by stealth."

2 comments:

Grandad said...

I just probed myself but got no response. Should I be worried? Am I being non-consensual or just aloof? Should I see my psychiatrist?

Mac said...

Grandad,
For sure the use of the word ‘probe’ is a tad unsettling and the web site isn’t clear on this. Has the probe already been inserted remotely or do you need to insert the probe yourself and, if self insertion is needed, where exactly do you insert the probe?
Probing definitely isn’t for the fainthearted but for optimum results I’ve found, by trial and error, that the probe should be firmly inserted in.... Oh, you’ll figure it out for yourself and your comment would seem to suggest you may already have done so.
I do hope this helps you make a better informed judgment as to the merits, or lack thereof, of being probed, either remotely or locally, and negates your needing to consult a trick-cyclist at great expense owing to the inordinate amount of time it would take for you to explain exactly what a ‘loof’ is.