PopNote Frequently Asked Questions
Copyright 2005-2009 - All Rights Reserved G. Mike Raymond
Last Updated 10/17/09 at 0630h cst
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For details on the latest build of PopNote or the history of its various versions and bug fixes, visit the build an bug page. The following questions were obtained from e-mails, PopNote chats and voice conversations on various VOIP services. The users comments may have been edited for clarity and brevity. The answers are my own. Few people are patient enough to read FAQ's, but 99% of the time your questions are already answered here or in PopNote's Documentation. Q>Quote your documentation: The inherent beauty of a PopNote is that it does not demand an immediate reply. Then why not just use e-mail? A> With modern e-mail you never know if your message was actually delivered. With PopNote you get an immediate Echo of your message back from the destination. Q> I have an odd problem. I have 2 PC's on my Router. I am sure I forwarded ports correctly thru my Router to the jack connected to the PC with PopNote and occasionally it works like it should. Other times not. Could my Router be intermittent? A> Thats unlikely. The problem here can occurs if PC number two powers up before PC one powers up. In this case PC two grabs the LAN IP normally assigned to PC one when it powers up first. The cure is to force each PC to use a static or fixed LAN IP. Then no matter which PC powers up first the Router's DHCP server will always allocate the same IP to each machine. This is not a big deal to change. Enter the PC's TCP/IP properties of your NIC or Network Interface Card. Un bullet the line that says "Obtain an IP automatically" and bullet the line that says "Use the following IP". Assuming your Router is generic it will usually allow LAN IP's in the range of 192.168.1.100 thru 192.168.1.254 Set PC one to say "192.168.1.101" (later make sure you readjust your forwarded ports to that IP). Use 255.255.255.1 for the Net Mask (usually standard) then set the gateway IP (where data will originate from - i.e. the Router) to the Routers gateway address (usually 192.168.1.1). Next call your ISP and ask them for their primary DNS IP address. Its usually posted under Support on their website. Enter it in line one of "Use the following DNS server IP". Enter the routers gateway IP in line two. Don't forget to do all this with your second computer using 192.168.1.102 for its static LAN IP address. Q> I have my Away message timer delay set to six minutes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it dosen't. Bug? A> No. Everytime you send a PopNote you reset the delay timer when Away is on. Thus if you send a popnote, and five minutes later you send another, it will be another 6 minutes before your Away message resets. The idea behind this is logical. If you are typing at your keyboard, you are not Away. However, if after typing you desire to turn Away ON immediately, just toggle it back on vi the Function menu's Away choice. Q> After running PopNote for several days I get an "Out of Memory" error and PopNote closes. How come? A> This has been reported a few times in the past. One fix is to occasionally "Clear" the chat window after several sessions. For a captured log of your past chats, toggle the Logs/Auto Record feature to ON, along with Ctrl+O (saving to individual user log files). Now "all" chat dialog will be saved for later review. Another fix is to reduce the number of web pages or apps you have open. Q> I accidentally discovered I can add an FQDN to the address book using the "Add IP" option. Unfortunately the FQDN wont work. A> Failure to follow the built in popup message help results in these anomalies. However, to protect naive users from these cock pit errors the "Add IP" option in the last build of 3.8 will no longer allow an FQDN, only an IP. Q> Why does PopNote close before running AEDIT, and can AEDIT be run as a stand alone editor? A> PopNote closes and then runs again after AEDIT closes so any changes made by AEDIT are picked up by PopNote. AEDIT can be used independent of PopNote but (A) PopNote must NOT be running or (B) a copy of AEDIT must be in another folder with a current copy of PopNoteA.CFG. When creating a shortcut to run AEDIT as a stand alone editor, use "/L" (less quotes) as a command tail to force AEDIT to pre load the address file. Q> Is it possible to Minimize PopNote with the Mouse? A> Click the X in the uppermost top right corner. Note: This answer, like many others, are covered in PopNote's Documentation. Hint, hint! Q> In todays world, security using the Internet is a big concern. Convince me that PopNote has no vulnerabilities? A> Would over 100,000 happy users worldwide make you feel better? PopNote has been out for 7 years. Many FreeWare re distribution sites (like SoftPedia) continually test new releases for malicious code, backdoors etc. PopNote always rates 100% clean. Q> A bud who also uses PopNote said sounds and other things could be customized. Where are the menus for this? A> There are no menus. This falls into the realm of advanced user techniques. Here are some hints; however, if the light bulb does not immediately turn on, this may not be for you. SOUNDS: Popnote uses two 8 bit/16khz WAVE files to produce sound thru your PC sound card and speakers. INPOP.WAV and ECHO.WAV You can custom create and record your own WAVES naming them as above then replacing the default versions. Popnote will then use your creations. POPTOYS: All PopToys are stand alone 32bit utilities that use Windows internal RUN command to launch as independent apps. Hint: VIEW.EXE is very limited in its ability to display big images. You can take a better viewer (one that accepts command tails) rename it to VIEW.EXE then replace the default with yours. EDITOR: PopNotes upper chat window can be used as a basic text editor (like NOTEPAD) for creating or modifying any text file. Like those used by Popnote (*.CFG, away.txt etc). Monitor mode should be off when doing this. Q> Sometimes, usually after running PopNote for several hours, I can no longer get echos. If I close PopNote and rerun it, things are normal again. Is this a bug? A> No. Some crappy ISP's will change your IP address while you are still online. The result is you can Send, but get no echos, and because the remotes get your old IP they cannot send to you unless you have a FQDN and they use it. The fix is, when you suspect your IP changed, is to do a "Force IP Update" rather than closing and re-running PopNote. PopNote can also check for an IP change every 10 minutes if you activate the feature. Another solution is to request a "Static IP" from your ISP (most charge for that, some don't). Some cable ISP's provide a "Sticky IP", i.e. one that seldom ever changes but can. Hint: Many DSL providers only change your IP when you power down the Modem and power it up again. So, leave the modem (and or router) always powered up :) Q> PopNote's Icon minimizes to the tool tray, can I control where it goes in that mix? A> Not exactly. Usually the last program to open then minimize sends its Icon to the extreme left of the group (assuming the program uses the ToolTray and not the Taskbar). Q> Im confused about the Away feature. When I activate it, it says "Away is ON" then when I Send a PopNote, its says "Away is OFF", is this right? A> Yes, the act of Sending a PopNote stops PopNote from echoing your Away reply until nothing is sent by you for the duration of your Away delay time. After which the Away message will again be echoed. The menu "Away" therefore reflects the current or active state. To turn Away OFF, click the menu Away when it says "Away is ON". To change the Away trigger time (3-15m), click Ctrl+T Q> PopNote seems stuck on some ports I was testing. How do I get back the defaults? A> When PopNote closes it saves the last ports it was using in the popnoteD4.cfg file. Several options are: edit that file; OR, run popnote from a shortcut using the default ports as command tails; OR, go to Network/Change Ports and reenter the default ports of 54538 and 54539. Q> Can I run PopNote from a Jump or Thumb Drive? A> Absolutely. PopNote has never used the arcane Windows Registry. All of PopNote's configuration data is created and updated in .CFG files in its default folder. Furthermore, PopNote's CFG files are ordinary text files that could be easily modified using any basic test editor by knowledgeable users. In fact, moving PopNote to another PC is just a matter of coping its folder content. Likewise, un-installing PopNote is just a matter of deleting PopNote's folder and content. Q> How does one become a PopNote Beta tester and are there any perks? A> Thanks for your interest. Beta testors are always welcome. I do expect Beta Testors to have a good basic understanding of Windows, Modems, Routers and Firewalls. The only perk is having access to PopNote pre releases. All existing Beta testers have the authority to assign other beta helpers at their discretion. Q> Why is there no right click menu for copy and paste in PopNote? A> Update: Version 3.8 now provides this feature. However, for the record you can COPY from any text based windows source, by HOLDING the left mouse button over the 1st character of the string you wish to copy, while dragging it to the last, then release the left mouse button. This highlights the desired text. Next do a Ctrl+C to COPY what you have highlighted to the internal windows clipboard. Now place the cursor where ever you want to paste this text and press Ctrl+V. Note: Ctrl+A (block all) and Ctrl+X (delete and copy text) behave in a similar manner. Q> With the tremendous success of Twitter, basically a short text form of communication, do you feel PopNote has been vindicated in light of previous detractors? A> For some reasons these silly questions keep coming up. Trying to compare Twitter to PopNote is like trying to compare a phillips to a flat blade screw driver. Although PopNote and Twitter are both intended for short burst of text communications, PopNote is exclusively private and does not depend on outside servers. Admittedly many people originally frowned on using PopNote because of the necessity to type messages versus calling on the telephone. However it seems the day of "texting" has arrived. Maybe PopNote was just ahead of its time :) Q> Every time I make changes to my PopNote default settings I lose them the next time I run PopNote. Whats wrong? A> Nothing is wrong. After any changes go to menu Functions - Save Changes to immediately save your new settings. Or, properly Exit PopNote BEFORE you Close down windows. PopNote saves any changes when you Exit the program; not if you leave it running and then Close Windows. Q> I heard that PopNote works even when the Internet is down. How is that possible? A> What you heard is true but slightly out of context. In LAN mode popnote relies only on your local area network and is independent of the Internet. Lets say you have a business LAN with 50 terminals. Each terminal could popnote with one another even if connectivity to the outside WAN (Internet) is broken. Q> Im hearing about popnote more and more on the Forums and VOIP operations I frequent. However I have only been able to assemble bits and pieces of explanations. Exactly what is a Popnote? A> POPNOTE: A simple way to send an instant message directly to anyone else using PopNote on the Internet. This process departs from most traditional methods of chatting by bypassing the use of 3rd party servers that act as proxies, receiving and then relaying your personal information; (a few examples are Yahoo, MSM, Skype, CQ100, etc etc). The popnote process is known as peer to peer or direct communications. Anyone who connects to the Internet gets a totally unique Internet address or IP number. This number can be used to send information directly from one computer on the Net to another. Therefore a big advantage to a popnote is privacy. In addition, it is an almost instantaneous form of communication. Plus, being IP driven, it will work when many Internet providers DNS systems go down, which is not uncommon. And of course, PopNote will work when servers for Yahoo, CQ100 etc go down. There are many applications currently used by computer owners to take advantage of IM or Instant messaging. The ultimate degree of privacy comes from using UDP protocols that do not make virtual connections between computers (such as TCP/IP does). UDP technology is the same protocol used by almost all voice or VOIP communications. The principle disadvantage of PopNote is that it requires a working knowledge or ability to manage the configuration of a systems firewalls. Typical home PC installations usually involve a Modem, a Router, and PC software firewalls; three places where signal blocks occur. A secondary disadvantage is a user being confronted with dynamic or changing IP addresses. Some ISPs will provide a static IP just by asking. Some ISPs provide Sticky IPs to DSL users, or IPs that never change as long as the Modem is kept powered up. Then there are many outfits that offer free FQDN services. Obviously both disadvantages are easily overcome by motivated users with a desire to learn. Q> I notice the 5 Quik Send user buttons fill as popnotes arrive. Can I manually fill one? A> Yes. Select the address you want in the drop down address window, then press Alt+G. The first available button will populate with that user's ID. The Function keys, F1 thru F5, can clear individual buttons. The first 3 buttons (left to right) are static buttons and will not be overwritten automatically as new popnotes come in, unlike the last two. The first three buttons are intended for users with static IP's. Q> I frequently enjoy sending the same info to my buddies. Is there a way other than Copy and Paste to do this? A> Yes. Type what you want into the Send window then use the HotKeys Ctrl+1; this saves your text to a special text buffer. Next time you want to send this info again, use Ctrl+1 again. To clear this text buffer, type "/CLEAR" then Ctrl+1 again. Q> Regarding the "Functions/HotKeys" popup window: What is the difference between Ctrl+B (Block Pop Downs) and Ctrl+G (no minimize on run)? A> In the early days, latency on the Net frequently resulted in returning echoes taking longer times to return. PopNote would go to sleep (minimize) while it was waiting, then re appear with the arriving echo. As the Internet infrastructure improved, echoes now arrive on average under 1/5 of a second (200ms). Ctrl+B (a toggle that stops or allows) PopNote to minimizing on Sends giving the user more control. Some people have popnote launch when windows loads (menu Functions/Start Options) but prefer the PopNote GUI to go to sleep (minimize) after running (to clear the Desktop). This action can be prevented or allowed by Ctrl+G (a toggle). Note: The launch on Windows Run option is better suited to users with always on Internet connections. Q> When I go to restore my PopNoteA.CFG address file with Ctrl+W it says my PopNoteA.BU file is missing. Whats with that? A> You must first create backups with the hotkeys Ctrl+N (always a good idea). Then, when needed, Ctrl+W will find and use PopNoteA.BU to recreate PopNoteA.CFG Q> I am a bit fuzzy about how to capture or log my popnotes. Can you help? A> There are two ways to do what you want. First you can manually save any text appearing in the upper chat window (even text that has scrolled off screen) by going to the "Logs" menu and clicking "Save Chat" or "Save Chat Clear", which saves and clears the upper window. The recording is saved/appended to a text file called SCREEN.TXT which can later be viewed with the "Logs/Show Chatlog" menu choice. The second method is to toggle Auto Record to ON under the same "Logs" menu. In Auto mode you can also toggle on or off unique user name log files using the hotkeys Ctrl+O If you toggle the latter and are chatting with Bill and Joe, aside from the dialog going into SCREEN.TXT, individual or unique logs titled BILL.TXT and JOE.TXT will be created. They can later be viewed on screen vi the "Edit/Open File" menu selection. Finally, if SCREEN.TXT grows too large you can save and append its contents to SCREEN_DB.TXT and return SCREEN.TXT to zero bytes. This is accomplished with the hotkeys Ctrl+N Q> I cannot get LAN mode to work. However PopNote's WAN mode works fine. A> LAN stands for Local Area Network. My guess is you are on a dialup internet account or connected directly to a digital modem, in either case, without a Router and other PCs you have no LAN to make use of that feature. Q> I forwarded popnote's two ports thru my Router and it still wont return, or echo back, my outbound popnotes. This is very frustrating, what could be wrong? A> You overlooked another firewall block or the remote is not online. This is the most common question, and tons of hints to help solve the problem have already been published, both here, in PopNote's documentation, and in the Popnote Forum. However, to renew your faith, and prove popnote can echo properly, try sending a popnote to yourself. Either add 127.0.0.1 (your LOCALHOST loop back address) or, your current WAN IP, to popnote's address window/file and send a popnote to that IP. Q> Can I resize PopNotes main window to change its size? A> Yes, but within limits. Put the mouse on one edge of PopNotes window, then hold the left button and drag the edge (using the mouse) VERY SLOWLY into the direction you want it to expand too. If the window smears, you can quickly restore it (Ctrl+8) or minimizing PopNote using the Ctrl+M hotkeys (or left click the [X] in PopNote's top right corner_. Then Normalize PopNote back up onto the DeskTop by left clicking PopNote's ToolTray Icon. Q> I am new to the PC world and the Internet, yet I managed to install and get PopNote working. I see a new version of PopNote is out. I want to upgrade. How do I do it? A> PopNote is distributed over the web in a self contained executable archive titled "PNE_INSTALL.EXE". This utility will do a new install, or do an upgrade, but with some considerations. If upgrading the installer will automatically warn you if it finds pre existing popnote files. You are then offered the option of skipping or overwriting. If you want to keep all your original configurations, each time you are offered to overwrite any file with the .CFG extension, just click SKIP; and Ok to overwrite all the others. PopNote can also do an online upgrade. Here you must toggle the menu Network/Monitor to OFF (this temporarily stops PopNote from receiving). Then go to the menu Functions and click on Upgrade (which should now be un-gray'ed). Depending on the speed of your connection, in 10 to 60 seconds you will be advised the upgrade is complete and to click Ok to continue. PopNote will then reload running the newest version. Should you already have the newest version, you would be informed of that too. Q> I edited my Away text message but the changes I made are not being sent. Am I doing something wrong? A> Toggle Away OFF, then ON, but this time use the Clear button before clicking the Use button. Clicking Clear first forces the Use button to re-load the new or modified Away file. Q> Can you offer me some heads up on simultaneously running several copies of PopNote on a single PC? on a LAN? A> When running several iterations of Popnote on the same PC, its important you make separate folders for each Popnote installation. This will allow each copy of Popnote to maintain individual configuration (.CFG) files. You must also create individual shortcuts with proper command tails containing the unique ports of your choice. All but the last copy of Popnote should be in Multi Instance mode. Depending on your setup, all your chosen ports must be passed thru your modem, router and firewall. When running Popnote in WAN mode on different PCs within a LAN requires a few caveats. You can use Popnotes default ports on each PC, but they must all be port forwarded; however, only one PC at a time may be Enabled in the Router. If using different ports on different PC's, those ports must also be forwarded to the correct nodes but in this case they can all be enabled. When running PopNote in LAN mode each individual PC in the LAN can run a copy of PopNote using PopNote's native default ports without any port forwarding consideration. In this situation, all communication takes place inside the LAN using each PCs non routable LAN IP addresses. Q> Is there any character restrictions to what I can use for my PopNote user name? A> Yes, you are limited to no more than 15 standard ASCII english text characters. However, to avoid rare operational problems among your group of friends its suggested you create a unique user name or Nic to avoid confusion, the same as required on many network chat and or e-mail services. Q> Although not a technical question, I hope you will offer your opinion. With all the new free social networking services now available on the Internet, such as Twitter etc, why should I consider using PopNote and will PopNote will survive? A> Popnote is not intended for chats with the general public. PopNote is intended for private communication. PopNote has several big advantages over most other chat systems. PopNote will run perfectly on older, slower computers and operating systems; and equally important, it signals fine on low bandwidth dial up internet accounts. In addition, communicating with PopNote is peer to peer (not passing thru someone else's server) and therefore basically private (at least more private than a telephone call). If the so called social networking services like Twitter, Youtube and Facebook have server failures and go down, you can no longer communicate using them. PopNote will always work as long as there is an Internet. This last point may be the least likely benefit, but it is still valid nevertheless. The number of people worldwide, who are downloading PopNote, continues to increase with every new release. This suggest to me that interest in private internet communication versus public social networking is still alive. While I cannot predict the future, I believe PopNote will be around for a long long time. Q> Where is PopNotes IP Address (PopNoteA.CFG) file located? I am using MS's Notepad to try editing it but cannot find it. A> Without trying to devine your cockpit problems, the address file is in the same folder as Popnote (by default its C:\POPNOTE). However its very easy to go to Popnote's Menu/Edit and click on "Open File". Now scroll to locate PopNoteA.CFG in the listing and select it. Walla, you can view, edit and save it now, all from within Popnote. Q> The MouseOver help hint boxes seem to be partially covered by PopNote's main window. Can you fix that? A> NOTE: This was a bug and fixed since build 3.5. If you are still running an older version, you can fix the problem by momentarily toggling the OnTop feature (menu Tools/OnTop) to Off. Now, when moving the mouse pointer over a button or box etc, the Help Hints should show without being clobbered by the GUI. Q> Sometimes the type writer sound I hear when a PopNote arrives mysteriously stops working. Is this a bug? A> Some of the older, original releases of "full duplex" PC sound cards get a channel block. A quick cure, other than upgrading your sound card, is to close PopNote and re run it. Q> Why can't PopNote be designed to avoid all the headachs and automatically configure the necessary port forwarding it requires? A> That would be ideal in an ideal world. But there are several problems here. One, if PopNote could do what you want, any malware or spyware could do it. Next, the philosophy of PopNote is PRIVACY. That is, PopNote operates peer to peer passing no data to or from any 3rd party servers. The downside to running 3rd party (relay) servers is if they ever go down, your client stops working. With PopNote, as long as the Internet functions, PopNote will continue working. Q> How can I manually arrange my User's buttons the way I want them, they seem to fill, or populate as you refer to it, automatically. A> First lets review the basics. The five user buttons are located at the bottom of PopNote's main window. From left to right, they count 1 thru 5 and can be cleared individually using the Function keys of F1 thru F5. Or, you can clear them all at once using the menu "Main/Send Clear". Next remember that buttons 1 thru 3 are static once they are filled; i.e. only 4 and 5 will auto populate after 1 thru 3 are filled. Now, to manually populate the next blank button (starting from the left) you pick the address you desire from the address book drop down list and once it shows in the active address box, use Alt+g to populate the next blank button. Now, using clever logic you should be able to figure out how to arrange them as you want. Q> I thought DYNDNS was a free service but I just got an email to tell me my time has or will run out, is that normal? if so, how much does it cost? I have been useing PopNotes regularly so I dont know why they emailed me? A> This has nothing directly to do with using PopNote. To keep your DYNDNS account alive requires updating your DYNDNS account, generally every 30 days (whether your IP changes or not). Our PopToy DNDUP utility only updates their DNS system IF your IP changes. You can keep your DNS account manually tickled or updated (in between IP changes) by visiting their web site, or by clicking on the update link in the e-mail they sent you, or using the Force IP update button in whatever utility you use! Be aware that "frequent" forced updates are frowned on by the DNS providers. Note: Some DYNDNS providers offer a never expiring account if you pay, otherwise it is free. Q>Isn't there some simple way to track down where PopNote's ports are being blocked? A> Please visit the PopNote Forum for hints to solve Firewall Blocks. Q> If the Router connecting my PC to my Modem contains a hardware firewall, why should I need anything else? A> Hardware firewalls block any unapproved connections coming from the Internet that attempt to communicate with software on your PC. However, hardware firewalls do not block programs on your PC from sending request or data outbound to the Internet. Many of these programs are legitimate, like PopNote, or (unfortunately) they can be any variety of spyware, adware or malware that "phone home" and surreptitiously got installed on your PC. Only a good software firewall can detect programs that attempt to connect outbound, then ask you if this action is legitimate (and should be approved) or blocked. Q> How do I pass UDP ports 54538 and 54539 to make PopNote work? A> This is covered in detail in another web page: Click Fix PopNote. Or visit the PopNote Forum. Q> I tried everything to get PopNote to operate and failed. I have DSL, a Router and XP. My router is in DMZ mode and the native XP firewall is disabled. Where do I go now? A> Lately a lot of port block problems have been isolated to Westel's newer DSL modems. They contain a rudimentary firewall and by default they block all non standard incoming ports. The good news is you can turn the blocking off. Ask your DSL provider for your Modems IP address and using your Browser, enter its configuration menu. The IP is usually 192.168.1.254. After accessing the DSL modems setup you want to enable something like IP or Port Passthrough or Forwarding or DMZ mode! CAVEAT: I hope you intend to run a good software firewall on your PC! Q> I am on a Digital Modem and never turn my computer off; I also keep PopNote running. But I notice after a day or two my friends can no longer popnote me unless I close PopNote and rerun it? A> The likelihood is that your ISP changed your dynamic IP to a new one. This is very common with ISP services provided by telephone companies where the number of users is large but their range of available dynamic IP's is not. There are several solutions to your problem. Every morning you could go to PopNote's Network menu and choose "Force IP Update" or just click "Auto IP Updater", in which case PopNote will check for a new IP every 10 minutes. Q> I read your "how to fix popnote problems" document very carefully. You suggested, among other things, that my DSL modem may be blocking most incoming ports by default and thus stopping me from receiving echos on port 54539 of the Popnotes I send. You suggested setting my DSL modem to "IP Pass Through" mode. I contacted Bell South (my provider) for exact instructions on how to do that. They STRONGLY suggested not to do it, insinuating I would be opening up my system to virii, worms, spyware and malware. So, why would you suggest that? A> Imagine pouring flour into a strainer over a empty stirring pot. Now take 3 more strainers and add them all in between. If the strainers are all identical, will the falling flour be sifted any finer? NO! It may even pass through a lot slower. You need just ONE good firewall to stop problems. Typically a modem can act as a firewall; a Router can act as a firewall; the operating system can include a firewall; and you can run any of many 3rd party software firewalls. But is it necessary to use them all? NO. But by all means you should have a firewall running - a fully configurable firewall. Bell South's advice was not totally wrong, just only one piece of the big puzzle. Q> I have watched several of my friends use PopNote and would love to get it working correctly on my PC. They all say they get "my" PopNotes but no one can send to me. I have tried all their suggestions and still have problems. Where do I go from here? A> I sympathizes with your frustration but the only plausible answer to your situation is that you are overlooking the point (or points) where your port blocks are occurring. PopNotes travel directly between PC's over the Internet using two unique UDP ports (54539 and 54539). Packets using these two UDP ports must have unfettered access from the public Internet (Port Forwarded) to your PC. This means passing through your modems firewall (yes, new DSL modems now have rudimentary firewalls - but you can set them to IP PASSTHROUGH mode); Port Forwarding your Router (if one is involved); Port Forwarding or disabling your PC's internal firewall, and Port Forwarding any 3rd party software firewall that may be installed. In rare cases you may have to totally disable internal PC firewalls and un-install flaky existing 3rd party software firewalls, replacing them with better ones. Unfortunately it is beyond the scope of this FAQ to go beyond this explanation; only to assure you that your problem IS solvable and without compromising the security on your PC. A lot of good hints and help is available in PopNote's online Documentation. At this point I recommend you go there. Q> I recall reading somewhere in your documentation that you recommend using a software firewall on a computer connected to a node on a router. Why is this necessary? Isn't the Router a firewall? A> Good question. The router will block anything incoming unless you have enabled specific port forwarding for legitimate software you use on that node. In other words, anything trying to act as a server that you don't approve of, wont receive. What most routers wont do is block spy ware etc from phoning home (sending packets outbound). If it did, your legitimate clients, like a web browser or email client would not function properly. What a software firewall can do (like ZoneAlarm) is notify you of any software on your system that is attempting to "send" or "receive" over the Internet. Thus, the use of a software firewall on a PC connected to a Router depends on your level of paranoia and desired security. Go to Top |
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