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BlackICE PC Protection

You’d be stir-crazy to go online these days without some kind of firewall protection. BlackICE offers this and more. Dave Cook checks it out.

Thanks to various Government snooping issues such as the RIPA bill, the huge increase in CCTV surveillance, talk of ID cards, and the recently failed snoopers’ charter, you have every right to feel anxious about your right to privacy. For make no mistake, in today’s world only the truly paranoid survive!

Take your typical computer hacker, for instance. The modern hacker boasts a variety of tools and techniques that are designed to compromise computer security. So big is the threat that, to safeguard resources, many companies end up spending a fortune on hardware firewall protection.

But while a hardware firewall has much to offer, it’s largely overkill for the rest of us. Thankfully, there are plenty of personal (software) firewall solutions available – and one such product is BlackICE PC Protection, from Internet Security Systems.

What It Does

BlackICE helps to protect and secure your system by inspecting all inbound and outbound traffic to and from the computer. It provides an advanced intruder detection system that constantly monitors Internet connections for any kind of suspicious behaviour.

Unauthorised activity is blocked, while legitimate traffic is allowed. Moreover, a new Application Protection feature prevents unauthorised applications from harming your computer, actively shielding it from Trojan horse applications, worms, and similar attacks. 

Up And Running

We installed BlackICE on a test machine running Windows XP and it began operating immediately from its default configuration, with online access through AOL working just as before.

But while BlackICE default settings provide an acceptable level of security, we recommend users should ramp up the level slightly once they become familiar with the software. Happily, when this situation comes to pass, there are enough bells and whistles included to impress the more experienced user.

The controls may not be as pretty as ZoneAlarm’s interface, for instance, but it does mean BlackICE is easier for a non-technical user to understand. This is important when using a personal firewall, since security can be easily compromised with just a couple of errant clicks of the mouse.

Take Four

Basically, there are four protection levels to choose from, ranging from the complete trust of inbound traffic (not recommended) to a paranoid setting that blocks all unsolicited inbound traffic.

You also have options to enable/disable Auto-Blocking, Internet file sharing, and the NetBIOS Neighbourhood. Further control is possible through settings that enable you to manage addresses and ports from which BlackICE explicitly allows or blocks.

Application permission settings can be finely tuned, and a back trace option provides control over how and when BlackICE locates network information about intruders. The logging of events, intruders, and history graphs can also be useful. Event alerts are visual, audible, or both.

Verdict

BlackICE PC Protector is an excellent choice for most SOHO users. When used with an up to date antivirus application, the software makes an ideal addition to the fabled paranoid user’s toolkit.

Even so, in order to maintain protection, bear in mind that any personal firewall depends ultimately on the credibility and know-how of the person using the computer.

Dave Cook

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