[hi!]

If i turn off my ZoneAlarm Firewall and not use my Internet Explorer then no one is going to intrude my computer? Or does it not matter? I got DSL and always connected.. so do those buggers going to get into my computer even If I'm not actually surfing the net?

I want to Download things from the internet and found that if I turn off my Firewall I dont time out as much.. but I'm not surfing the net on websites.. thank you.

[techdawg667]

No you cannot, but ONLY if you are completely virus/spyware free. If you already have evil warez on your computer then your computer can still be compromised. But I strongly wouldn't recommend disabling it. Why are you asking this anyways?

[masterjim]

Yes. You are still vulnerable when the computer is on even when not surfing the net. Software firewalls can be disabled by a virus, I had one disable ZoneAlarm and AVG antivirus years ago. For DSL/Cable, it is best to use a router,even for just one computer since they have a hardware firewall which can't be disabled by viruses,malware,hackers,etc. And Internet Explorer 7 is just as secure as Firefox. Just don't use IE6 and older versions. Use a good antivirus like NOD32 which has HIPS(Host Intrusion Prevention System) and a antispyware program like Spyware Terminator which also has HIPS along with Windows Defender which lets you know when any changes have been made to your registry. You don't have to be afraid to surf the internet.

[hewee]

Yes with any connection to the internet you can get something.
So keep ZA running and also get a router and other Anti protection programs.