[FourtySeven]

Cool, thanks! Very interesting. The bottom line is though that running a firewall should stop most of these kind of attacks, right?

[IamHD]

My daughter has up to date Norton, and also has zonealarm, and she still got hit with Sasser b. variant. She didn't even have a chance to finish downloading the patch and it shut her computer down. :(

[CyberCowboy777]

Firewall and up-to-date AntiVirus.

Most folks have no need for FTP and other TCP ports being open, shut them down.

CABLE USERS - Many Broadband companies will sell you a cable modem (SurfBoard is common) and you will be able to get on the Internet. However I highly suggest you purchase a Cable/DSL router and put it in between your Cable Modem and PCs. A Router with a 4 port switch (for 4 PCs) can cost as little as $50.00 and the control and protection it will give you is priceless.

These Routers will have a easy to use Web Interface and a manual for setup. The Firewall functions can usually be set to default High Level Security to block all uninitiated inbound TCP ports.

[FourPeas]

IF the firewall is properly configured.