HP Norton Personal Firewall 2003 manual Risks from inappropriate content and activities

Understanding Internet risks

Risks from inappropriate content and activities

Risks from inappropriate content and activities

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There is a wealth of information on the Internet that is easily accessible to everyone. However, some topics are not suitable for all people. For example, most people consider pornographic and violent sites to be inappropriate for viewing by children. You may feel that other topics should also be off limits.

Blocking site and newsgroup categories

Norton Personal Firewall lets you choose Web sites and newsgroups that you want to be accessible to people using this computer. Because different people need different levels of access, you can configure Norton Personal Firewall to block specific content for each user.

Restricting access to programs

Some Internet-enabled programs might be inappropriate for use on your computer. For example, you may not want children using realtime chat programs. You may also want to restrict the use of file transfer programs. This reduces the risk of introducing viruses, worms, zombies, Trojan horses, or other malicious code onto your computer or network.

Norton Personal Firewall lets you choose categories of programs that can access the Internet. It keeps the list of programs up-to-date, so your protection stays current as new programs are released. You can also add custom programs, and control their uses as well.

Risks to your privacy

The Internet presents several risks to your privacy. Some sites collect and save personal information, such as credit card numbers. Some sites track your Internet usage. Some programs send information about your computer usage to Web sites without your permission.

Sending private information

You probably don’t want private information, such as credit card numbers or your home phone number, to be sent unencrypted over the Internet. Privacy Control prevents private information from being entered on Web sites that do not use secure, encrypted communications, and from being sent on instant messenger programs.