wintermute2.0

is there anyway around the airscanner firewall compatibility issues with the x30? I would like to use this thing to access e-mail and such @ hotspots, but no way in hell am I going in unprotected.

psydstudent

what are you so afraid of that you need a firewall for your PPC? It is more difficult to access a PPC remotely than a desktop. Plus I dont think people are going to try to hack into PPCs anytime soon as it is more difficult (heck, there are virutally no viruses that infect PPCs, note that I said virtually) and with limited storage space and functionality they would be wasting their time.

wintermute2.0

there are virtually no viruses as of yet. it's just a matter of time, tho, and i don't feel like being the first to find out. plus i'm sure someone's tried to use the activesync to toss a trojan on a PC - there's no type of activesync firewall.

It's a tough world, you gotta protect yourself. And i wouldn't say that PPC's resources are so limited that anyone would be wasting their time. 64 Mb of RAM and 624 MHz processing isn't something to sniff at - it's plenty of space in which to run some pretty nasty executables.

Plus there's plenty of people out there who keep all sorts of stuff like PINs, account #'s and such on their PDAs protected by MAYBE some type of chintzy encryption program.

It's just a good idea to wear some protection.

psydstudent

I guess but most individuals who try to hack a computer are doing so either because they are bored, want to steal something on your computer, or are trying to use your computer as a zombie computer to carry out some other attack.

Even if they are bored they probably wouldnt waste their time with a PPC since many more people are connecting to the internet via desktops/laptops and would be easier for them to tap into those machines than a PPC.

Second, unless you work for the FBI, CIA, or have some crucial information related to domestic homeland security, I dont think the average person is going to want to tap into your machine for Aunt Sally's home phone number. Yes, people do store their PINs and stuff on their machines, but someone would probably want to know that you actually have that stuff on your PPC before than attempt to hack it. Since most people dont have PPCs, compared to those who use desktops/laptops, it again becomes an issue of wasting time.

Lastly, as far as a PPC being taken over by a Trojan for use in a zombie attack, the PPC processing power is so limited (a 624mhz PPC CPU IS NOT the same as a desktop running at the same speed) that it doesnt make sense for it to be used in a zombie attack.

I hope you dont think I'm not trivializing the matter. Eventually the issue of PPC security (virus and firewall) will increase and become more important. However, i dont forsee it becoming an issue until PPC devices become more powerful and more readily used by the public. Right now there is limited to no risk of a PPC virus (though a trojan was recently introduced to smartphones...doesnt infect other Win mobile devices though). Plus, viral removal is fairly easy, a hard reset will take care of it. Just be sure to back up your information regularly.

Back to your original post...I wasnt aware of any compatibility issues with the Airscanner Firewall and x30...what specifically is the problem out of curiosity?

wintermute2.0

when you install the firewall on the PPC, you immediately lose your wireless connection (even if all security features are turned off) and the Dell WLAN utility indicates that the antenna is disabled (even if it was enabled and the lights are flashing). even disabling the firewall entirely does not restore the connection. from what i've seen, the only way to reestablish your wireless connection is by removing the firewall. Airscanner lists this incompatibility on their website and states that they are working on it. I was thinking about removing the Dell WLAN utility and running everything through Odyssey, but that program's really counterintuitive, and i wanted to see if anyone knew if Dell's utility was the culprit before i did anything.

psydstudent

Could be a conflict with Dell's utility but I think the responsibility to fix it is either a joint Dell/Airscanner issue or just an Airscanner issue. They need to be able to work around a PPC's connection software. I would probably wait until Airscanner releases a patch or new version that fixes it.

wintermute2.0

I e-mailed Airscanner's tech support regarding this issue over thnxgvng weekend. Their tech support guy e-mailed me during the holiday weekend, told me he'd have one of their support guys who has an axim e-mail me and tell me how he got around the problem and asked me if i wanted to try the beta when they have it ready. the second guy e-mailed me his current fix as an attachment (which outlook bounced back - stupid security settings). now i gotta ask for it again.

this has become more of an issue for me now that my 4 year old laptop is having trouble booting because it only sees my bootable hard drive some of the time and i may have to rely on my axim as my primary computer for a while.

keithclancy

I don't really see the point of using a firewall when theres only one service to exploit, namely activesync

Starting nmap V. 2.53 by fyodor@insecure.org ( www.insecure.org/nmap/ )
Unable to find nmap-services! Resorting to /etc/services
Interesting ports on (192.168.55.101):
(The 4360 ports scanned but not shown below are in state: closed)
Port State Service
990/tcp open ftps

Just disable activesync on your PocketPC when accessing wlans, Also the attacker would have to be on the same WLAN as you and be specifically looking to target the PocketPC Platform (highly unlikely) as nearly all access points use NAT, the only way you'd be open to the world would be if the access point used bridging or port forwarding (which would just be stupid because only one host would be able to use a service).

Firewalls are pretty much useless anyway on a desktop machine if you know what services you are running as you can just turn them off if you wish rather than blocking the port, the only exception to this would be on Windows as some services are not possible to turn on such as RPC.

Previous guy is right though, If you want to be protected don't use WLANS period, and the only way you can get a trojan/virus is to physically run an executable yourself on your pocketpc. Basically the same rules as a desktop, don't open unknown executables !

The worst someone could do is knock you offline (ping -f) and even a firewall won't protect you from that.

In short, Anti-Virus software and Firewalls etc will NEVER provide 100% protection as, when you get a virus , you already have it then the Anti-Virus people will add its signature to its definitions and then you have protection from it in the future :) but you already got it !

Regards,
Keith