Unfortunately I seem to have little capacity to absorb the detail of security technicalities, consequently I spend much of my time in "anxious concern" about what my vulnerabilities might be *right now*. Sure, firewalls are up, all the "recommended" things looked to but received wisdom in a constantly changing world is scant consolation to the truly paranoid+.

So, I felt good about being steered to an online testing facility that even I could understand:

http://www.grc.com/ (follow the links to ShieldsUp! - near the bottom of the extensive list of apps - and hit the "Proceed" button when ready)

*Now* I feel better! But who says I can trust the tester? Well, I found it recommended in a forum at: http://www.atomicmpc.com.au/ Hmmm ... which seems to be run by mutant Gen Xers ;-) [Further addition, following prompting from Wazoo - the facility is provided by the author of SpinRite - the utility Windows *should* have provided instead of ScanDisk and before Defrag.]

+ not really paranoid - "they" actually are out to get us all, aren't they? Or can we take comfort in knowing *we* are smarter than are they? Even basic probability theory indicates such belief might be "delusory". I found the test site seriously reassuring.

Not sure why you linked "into" the "Shields Up" test section. The test sute is provided by Steve Gibson, author of the famous Spin-Rite hard-drive tool. He also offers a support Forum, a number of free utilities, a number of other items o interest. Granted the main page is advertising, and Steve has been known to toot his own horn loudly, but ..... As one is consuming his bandwidth, one should not miss the opportunity to see what else he has to offer .... http://www.grc.com with the suggestion to find/follow the Shields Up! link would be nicer (in this case)

Because it was the link I was given, turns out to be less confusing for the already confused ... But you make excellent points, it should be no hardship to be nice and I agree entry at the top level would be both more courteous and more informative (not to mention reassuring as to the trustworthiness and credentials of the test facility) ... will modify my opening post accordingly. For a small illustration of why we might all love grc if we were adequately informed, see http://www.krakau-inc.com/200204.htm

Keep up the good work Wazoo, it is appreciated.