Please recommend a software firewall.

[ibex333]

I have a feeling that someone is monitoring my computer, possibly even using my internet connection for his needs. This is not paranoia, but an educated guess. There are many recent events pointing to this possibility. Anyway I'd like to know what I can do to find out if any of my suspicions are true, and possibly find out who is doing this to my PC. I'm not talking about names here. Just the person's IP. Also I off course want to stop this person from having any access to my PC, and I want to be able to know exactly what connections are being made from and to my computer.

Is a free firewall like outpost or zone alarm adequate for this or something more "serious" is required?

Lastly, a somewhat "offtopic" question if you don't mind. Is there any way a person can make his IP invisible or untraceable on the internet? I know complete security is impossible, but is there any way to minimize the chances of people being able to acquire my IP if they are so inclined?

I heard of proxy servers but they have monthly fees which I do not have money to pay. Any free IP hiding solutions?

 

[stash]

Firewalls are not a good way to see if someone is using your connection or monitoring you. A better tool is a sniffer like Wireshark or Network Monitor 3.1, or an IDS, which is essentially a network sniffer with analytics.

 

[law9933]

Maybe do a HJT log to see if control of your PC has been stolen???

 

[ibex333]

What's HJT?

 

[law9933]

http://www.download.com/Hijack...0-8022_4-10379544.html

There is a newer version.
It is a program used by trained advisors to help you find & remove malware infecting your PC. It is free & so is the help.

 

[lusher]

Or you can use the far superior runscanner. http://www.runscanner.net/