If I am using WinMX as my file sharing program and am running Zone Alarm as my firewall what settings should I consider so that my WinMX experience is optimized and my security isn't compromised? When installing WINMX it prompts you to choose whether or not you will allow connections to your computer and then chooses a TCP connection for you if you choose to allow connections to share your files. I'm a proficient computer user but not saavy so a lot of the terminology (UDP packets, TCP/IP ports, etc.) goes over my head. I select my settings more out of instinct than anything else but wonder if I'm doing the right thing. Zone Alarm asked me once while using WinMX if I would allow the local security authority service (lsass.exe) access to my computer. I denied it but wonder if using WinMX leaves me vulnerable to attacks as my ports are open, so to speak. Any help is much appreciated; hopefully you can understand my message. Thanks.

Justin

Unless you specify that Zone Alarm should allow connections to your computer on the ports that WinMX uses, then they will not be open and available to the Internet.

Even though you may have specified you would like to share files with other users with WinMX, if the firewall is not configured for it, it will not work