Wetlook World Forum

To answer your question: the connections are almost certainly not from "friendly" people... and someone connecting to your computer as adminstrator can/will have COMPLETE control over your machine. Consider yourself very lucky if your machine hasn't been compromised yet and they give up after only a few tries... but to quote Schwarzenegger: "THEY'LL BE BACK!"

1.  Windows 98 is NOT secure. It's fine for corporate desktops (behind corporate firewalls), and unlikely to be compromised when accessing the internet direct via dialup (assuming connect durations are short). However, permanent-on connections like DSL or cable will make a Win 98 system a sitting duck for hackers. There are enough of them out there running IP/port scanners that one WILL find you in fairly short order (as apparently already happened). Add to that the weak-to-nonexistent internet security in Win 98 (it just wasn't built with our present internet environment in mind) and you are basically making a gift of your computer to the hackers as their toy as soon as your machine and modem are powered up.

2.  Windows 98 should really be viewed as a "legacy" platform. It is NOT a 32-bit O/S like NT, Win 2K, or XP. If anything, it is a sort of transitional O/S.

3.  Software firewalls are NOT bulletproof. As your computer starts up, it activates networking BEFORE starting up the firewall, so there is always a window of opportunity for it to be hacked (even if it is brief). In my opinion, this weakness makes them a waste of time.

4.  You should be able to upgrade from Win 98 to Win 2K without having to do a re-install. Typically, the NT-based O/S's (including 2K and XP) have offered the option to use either FAT or NTFS, and installations always start on a FAT volume and automatically convert to NTFS (if that is what you want). (This was always the case for NT 4, I believe it was true for 2K, but have no experience with XP, so I can't say for sure). Anyway... you SHOULD have the opportunity to simply upgrade the O/S without having to reformat your disk but DON'T take my word on that.

My best advice:

1.  Buy an all-in-one DSL/cable router/firewall/hub (SMC Barricade or equivalent)... they are CHEAP and EFFECTIVE! Plus, they are ideal for creating small home networks. You don't have to go wireless, but if you've got the money, why not! Just bear in mind that if you DO go for the wireless option, make sure you enable the wireless security features (not always enabled by default). If you get one of these wonderful gadgets, you don't have to waste your time (or your computer's resources) with a software firewall. Any O/S (even Win 98) should be safe behind an "external" firewall such as the Barricade assuming it is correctly configured (in the case of the Barricade, it is secure by default).

2.  Move up from Win 98! Be sure to back up your data (email and everything), and make sure you've got installations for all your favourite software BEFORE YOU START, even if you elect to try an in-place upgrade (rather than a radical reformat/re-install). You will almost certainly have to reinstall all your application software no matter what approach you take for your O/S upgrade. If you are able to get through the update (rather than radical reinstall) successfully, there's a fair chance you can save a few steps (not having to restore your data or re-install applications), but DON'T COUNT ON IT! I think it is worth the attempt.

3.  Don't be too quick to trust freeware. Remember the rule: "you get what you pay for".

4.  If you have a CD burner, consider something like DriveImage... a great tool for backup/recovery of any disk, including working operating systems. It can be a bit problematic to use on some systems because (the version I have) doesn't know how to burn a CD, so a backup has be staged somewhere (typically on another disk or logical drive) before it can be burned to CD (using something like Nero).