George -

Post these kinda queries in the Geek Forum, uh, er I mean the Forum About These Forums. I'm moving it there.

There have been numerous discussions on software firewalls and ZoneAlarm. Search will locate these for you. If you have an always-on Internet connection, as with cable modem or DSL a firewall is mandatory. I'll try to answer your specific questions.

Thanks,
Saint NAT
[This message has been edited by JTimothyA (edited 04-27-2001).]