Dear George: "Some of my friends have had hacker hits on their computers. They are now downloading firewalls. Before I do that, can you recommend software, preferably free, to determine any hits on my computer. I use Mcafee Virus Scan. However, this is not a 24/7 monitoring program. Are there any free firewalls?" -- Prudent Shopper

Dear Prudent Shopper: I recommend Norton Personal Firewall 2002. As with most Norton products, you can "try before you buy." This personal firewall application blocks online intrusions. It also keeps your personal information private. Perhaps the most engaging feature, however, is that it secures your PC automatically.

Since you already have an antivirus application, the addition of Personal Firewall should provide you with a complete solution. Should you decide to purchase Personal Firewall 2002 after trying it, the listed price is $49.95. When last I checked, Norton was also offering a $20 rebate. If you wish to run a free Internet security check on your PC, click on the "check for security risks" in the lower left corner of the Personal Firewall 2002 page.

Dear George: "How often should I run Norton Antivirus Live Update?" -- Wondering

Dear Wondering: New virus definitions, during "normal times," were usually released every 10 days to two weeks. These are not normal times. Last week I received three updated NAV files. I recommend daily updates of any antivirus definition files for your virus protection application.

Dear George: "I have a Toshiba Satellite 1755 laptop computer. The Palm VII I recently acquired has a sync cradle with a connector that doesn't seem to fit any of the ports on my computer. There is one connection that appears to be the correct size, but it requires a male connection. The sync cradle has a female connection. How can I synchronize my Palm?" -- Unsynced

Dear Unsynced: The port you see on your Satellite 1755 is a video port. What you need is a Palm Serial Cradle to USB adapter. There are a number of Palm accessories sites on the Internet in addition to retail stores. One of these Internet sites is www.gethightech.com. Scroll down the Home page to the Sync Cradles/Cables hyperlink in the second grouping on the left. Scroll down to the Palm Serial Cradle to USB adapter. When last I checked, it was listed at $29.99.

Dear George: "I read an article you wrote many months ago. In it you state that you use the Black Ice Defender firewall from Network Ice. Do you still recommend it? I'm not what I would call a computer expert, although I can use basic software programs. Is Defender very complicated to set up?" -- Nervous

Dear Nervous: I still use Black Ice Defender. However, it does require an understanding of nine components of your PC that are located on three different "layers."

These layers are the hardware or "adapter" layer, the transport protocol layer and the network services layer. Symantec (makers of Norton Antivirus) has a very informative article pertaining to the configuration of the various components. To access it, click Configuring NetBIOS for Maximum Security.

Dear George: "We are a web design and hosting company located in Florida. We would like to provide MLS listing data to our broker customers with web sites. Is there a procedure to pull MLS listing data to our server? Or, can we act as a 3rd party solution provider to obtain this data for our customers?"-- Web Service

Dear Web Service: It is my understanding that local MLSs throughout the nation are required to implement the National Association of Realtors Internet Data Exchange ("IDX") policy on or before January 01, 2002. However, each local MLS may differ as to how it implements IDX. I suggest you contact the local MLS serving each of your customers. Whether a local MLS permits framing, basic downloading, or both, you will need to determine the requirements of each MLS.

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George Stephens welcomes tech questions for possible use in this column. Send your questions to George via e-mail. Because of the volume of mail received, questions cannot be answered individually.

Published: October 5, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.

George C. Stephens, CRB is the Broker of deRaat Stephens, Inc. dba ERA Stephens Properties and the Director of Compliance for eRealty, Inc. Stephens served as 1998 Chairman of the 13,000+ member Houston Association of REALTORS® and is the Vice Chairman of HAR’s wholly owned subsidiary, e-Har, Inc. He is the 2001 Secretary/Treasurer of the 50,000+ member Texas Association of REALTORS® and TAR’s 2002 Chairman-Elect. Stephens holds a Texas Real Estate Broker license as well as a Texas Mortgage Broker License.