John This is free: http://download.com.com/3000-2092-10184369.html it'll tell you what traffic you have and you can have it ask before allowing applications to access the internet. It also has an active response to port scans and intrusions - blocking traffic for preset times. it may not be better than hardware but it's better than nothing at all, right? hth Tony -- http://www.xebit.net/ Sent with M2, Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: https://secure.bmtmicro.com/opera/buy-opera.html?AID=627923