Laptop security issue resolved
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Well, not to be beaten, we went back to the BRAZILLINKS site for some more digital punishment !
First we did a quick re-cap of everything we'd checked out yesterday
Physical connection - ok
Able to ping around subnet - ok
NetBIOS enabled - ok
Network settings correct - ok
Workgroup correct - ok
Security permissions and user accounts - ok
Services all started - ok
No router or firewall filters - ok
Next we connected ANOTHER laptop and found we had the same symptoms.
At this point I was almost certain it was a firewall issue.
Each of the Brazillink machines was running Windows ICF but they could all talk to each other so I decided to start with the newly introduced laptops.
Both the "new" laptops had Norton Internet Security on them - well - sort-of !
The second laptop we tried DID have a valid and operational copy of NIS 2006 whereas the first one we were trying to get connected (the Compaq) had been delivered with a 30-day trial version of NIS 2006 ... which had expired !
It was in some strange sort of state where it wouldn't even bring the main interface up properly yet still had it process starting up and running in Task Manager.
Given that it was an expired trial I suggested we remove it from the machine entirely.
Some time later (it took ages) NIS was uninstalled and the machine rebooted.
GUESS WHAT !
The COMPAQ could see the Brazillink MSHOME workgroup !
It could now browse and attach to Brazillink1 but while it could "see" the "server" (Brazillink), it could not browse or attach to it.
Hmmm ?
... then I noticed Brazillink had hung !
A quick reboot of the brazillink machine and PRESTO ! It all works.
About that time, my friend (whose laptop we'd been using as the second trial) wanted to know why HIS one couldn't connect to the network.
Ahhh ! That was easy !
Start NIS 2006 on his PC
Select Firewall --> Configure
Choose the Network Tab and add the IP address range of the workgroup to his Trusted Sites list
Bingo ! His laptop could also share workgroup files as well.
Ahh !!
The satisfaction of beating yet another instance of a rogue firewall doing what it shouldn't be doing.
There has been more than one occasion where I have had to completely uninstall Nortons firewalls to get peer and VPN networks to work, then re-install it afterwards.
It seems like there are times it just WILL NOT allow a new network to operate correctly without that network being there at the time the firewall is installed.
Although Nortons is still ranked as one of the best all-round security suites, I actually no-longer recommend it to my customers as I've had so many niggly little problems with it on so many different machines.
My current favorite is ZoneAlarm(R) Internet Security Suite 6
ZA comes in two flavors - free and purchase.
For the extra functionality and constant updates, SPEND THE MONEY ! It is well worth it !
ZAISS-6 is much less system resource hungry than other similar products, has a very easy to use interface and good help about security intrusion events that occur.
Because it's less resource hungry, it loads faster and operates quicker.
Every package has it Pros and its Cons, but for my money, I'm really pleased with all the copies I've installed to-date.
So ... the laptop workgroup security dilemma is solved.
All that remains is for them to buy a good firewall
(such as ZoneAlarm(R) Internet Security Suite 6) and life should be great !
While I currently recommend Zone Alarm, that does not detract from the fact the NIS 2006 is still a great product.
For those who want the features of Norton Internet Security 2006
just click here
Well, not to be beaten, we went back to the BRAZILLINKS site for some more digital punishment !
First we did a quick re-cap of everything we'd checked out yesterday
Physical connection - ok
Able to ping around subnet - ok
NetBIOS enabled - ok
Network settings correct - ok
Workgroup correct - ok
Security permissions and user accounts - ok
Services all started - ok
No router or firewall filters - ok
Next we connected ANOTHER laptop and found we had the same symptoms.
At this point I was almost certain it was a firewall issue.
Each of the Brazillink machines was running Windows ICF but they could all talk to each other so I decided to start with the newly introduced laptops.
Both the "new" laptops had Norton Internet Security on them - well - sort-of !
The second laptop we tried DID have a valid and operational copy of NIS 2006 whereas the first one we were trying to get connected (the Compaq) had been delivered with a 30-day trial version of NIS 2006 ... which had expired !
It was in some strange sort of state where it wouldn't even bring the main interface up properly yet still had it process starting up and running in Task Manager.
Given that it was an expired trial I suggested we remove it from the machine entirely.
Some time later (it took ages) NIS was uninstalled and the machine rebooted.
GUESS WHAT !
The COMPAQ could see the Brazillink MSHOME workgroup !
It could now browse and attach to Brazillink1 but while it could "see" the "server" (Brazillink), it could not browse or attach to it.
Hmmm ?
... then I noticed Brazillink had hung !
A quick reboot of the brazillink machine and PRESTO ! It all works.
About that time, my friend (whose laptop we'd been using as the second trial) wanted to know why HIS one couldn't connect to the network.
Ahhh ! That was easy !
Start NIS 2006 on his PC
Select Firewall --> Configure
Choose the Network Tab and add the IP address range of the workgroup to his Trusted Sites list
Bingo ! His laptop could also share workgroup files as well.
Ahh !!
The satisfaction of beating yet another instance of a rogue firewall doing what it shouldn't be doing.
There has been more than one occasion where I have had to completely uninstall Nortons firewalls to get peer and VPN networks to work, then re-install it afterwards.
It seems like there are times it just WILL NOT allow a new network to operate correctly without that network being there at the time the firewall is installed.
Although Nortons is still ranked as one of the best all-round security suites, I actually no-longer recommend it to my customers as I've had so many niggly little problems with it on so many different machines.
My current favorite is ZoneAlarm(R) Internet Security Suite 6
For the extra functionality and constant updates, SPEND THE MONEY ! It is well worth it !
ZAISS-6 is much less system resource hungry than other similar products, has a very easy to use interface and good help about security intrusion events that occur.
Because it's less resource hungry, it loads faster and operates quicker.
Every package has it Pros and its Cons, but for my money, I'm really pleased with all the copies I've installed to-date.
So ... the laptop workgroup security dilemma is solved.
All that remains is for them to buy a good firewall
(such as ZoneAlarm(R) Internet Security Suite 6
While I currently recommend Zone Alarm, that does not detract from the fact the NIS 2006 is still a great product.
For those who want the features of Norton Internet Security 2006
posted by Col. Sanders | 4:11 AM
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