Testing Your Defenses (Part 3)

I posted the articles 'Testing Your Defenses' Part 1 & Part 2 earlier, if you have not already read them then I would highly recommend that you do so. This should be the last segment in this series or articles.

Network Security Tests
How secure is your computer's firewall software? To know for sure you need to test your system for security vulnerabilities. You can use one of the online security scanning services below to test your computer's defenses.

Each of these online services will probe your computer firewall for security weaknesses. If these weakness are not corrected, a malicious person or program can exploit these vulnerabilities to compromise your PC and it's data. Use the results from the scan to close holes in your digital security defenses.

• PC Flank: This site's tests show how vulnerable your computer is to various Internet threats. The tests can also determines if a Trojan horse has already infected your system and how much personal information your Web browser reveals about you while you're surfing the web.
• Sygate Technologies: Scans the different ports and protocols on your firewall, and can show you if any of them are open or vulnerable. Notes: Most of these tests will take a while to complete.