Suggestion wanted

Hi all, I am running xppro/sp2 thru a router and am happy with my firewall situation. Now that I am on Hughes net, I want to know who, what where. I used to use Atguard, but of course it doesn't log in XP.

I am looking for a simple program that logs all connections.

Any thoughts are welcome. Regards, Terry

The possibility to change file permissions exists.

Wolfgang

I like you even though your mother didn't teach you better manners

I just downloaded it, it works fine, but, since I use a limited account while on the internet, it won't let me access the log. Thanks anyway Terry

Thank you, but it is a system folder and won't allow me to change the permissions.

Terry

Of course you need admin privileges to be able to grant access there. Log in as an administrator and grant read access to your user. Better: add a new group "logwatch", add your user to this group, and grant read access on the logs to that group.

cu

59cobalt

I was logged on as admin, but still wasn't allowed to grant access. Is there another way besides going thru sharing security?

Terry

And you surely stopped Windows Firewall before trying that? After all, it's normally not possible to change the ACLs of an open file in Windows.

Please elaborate. How exactly are you "not allowed to grant access"? If you have a vanilla XP Pro some stuff is hidden by default, but that can be changed through the Explorer options.

cu

59cobalt

cacls.exe

Sharing menu? WTF? Security privileges are to be found in the 'Security' dialogue under the tab with the very same name.

(Maybe you should learn how to use your OS first.)

Thank you Sebastian and Ansgar.

I log into the admin account, go to the logfile folder in sys32 and open the sharing menu. The lower options are grayed out saying it can't be shared because it is a operating system folder.

Terry

The "Sharing" tab is for granting remote access. That's not what you want. You need the "Security" tab, which is probably hidden (that's for some obscure reason the default).

I don't have an english version of Windows at hand here, so I may get the labels wrong, but what you need to do is this: go to the Explorer options, select the "View" tab, and disable everything that says "simple", "easy" or "hide". After you click "OK" you should get an additional tab "Security" in the properties dialog of files and folders. There you can grant access to users and groups.

cu

59cobalt

Ummm... no. you misread that. The security tab is by default *hidden* when the computer is member of a workgroup (as opposed to being member of a domain). You unhide it by disabling simple sharing.

No. The tab is supposed to be there when simple sharing is disabled. Could it be you're using FAT32 as your filesystem? FAT doesn't support ACLs, in which case the security tab isn't shown. If that's the case I

*strongly* recommend to switch to NTFS (by using the command "convert" on the command-line). However, if you really are using FAT32, access to the files in the system directory should not be denied.

May be, but without knowing what software you have installed there's no way to tell.

cu

59cobalt

Thanks for being so professional. As for Sebastian, I have high hopes for him. If he would just slow down, think, and understand that if I knew it I wouldn't be here asking questions.

I had disabled simple sharing long ago. You started me in the right direction. According to Microsoft, the security tab for these types of folders is disabled and can't be turned on when part of a workgroup. Perhaps it is time to think of another way or program. Perhaps it is a part of some firewall that I am not familiar with. The windows firewall logs but with very limited information.

Problem solved. I installed PortReporter on my other puters and the tab was there. I uninstalled it and re-installed it on my internet puter and the tab was there like magic in properties in the PortReporter folder. Gremlins during the first install I guess. I am running NTFS I discovered that it creates a new log file each time the computer is turned on as well as a new one at midnight. In just 2 days I have 6 files, lots to be sorting out to view.

I would like a third party logger with just one file which I can cleanout once in awhile like the Atguard one. I am using the Windows firewall and a D-link router. What else should I be telling you about my software? I have googled it and found some programs that seemed too Mickey Mouse to me.

Any thoughts?

I appreaciate your help

Terry

Are you by any chance located in Prussia?