[pvkemail]

Hi all

I have two questions in this forum to ask:

1) Whenever I intend to install any softwares, some give two executable files, one for Windows 32bit and the other for windows 64 bit. What are these? I am using the Windows XP Home edition [1GB RAM and 120GB HDD] and how should I know which one to install ?

2) I have a broadband internet connection with a bandwidth of 2Mbps. I understand that when connected to internet, my IP address is my identity in the WWW. But recently I came to know that IP can easily misused by some websites and hackers. Therefore it is essential to protect our IP address while surfing from intruders. I also don't wish to mask(proxy)/hide my IP as it is not legal (?). Therefore, my question is, "Are there some open source softwares to protect our IP or is there some technique in windows to play around?"

I am really curious to know about these, please share your knowledge.

Thank you for your replies,

Have a great day :)
Regards
Vijay

[Carbon]

You are almost certainly running the 32 bit version, so go with those.

You cannot "hide" your IP unless you run through a proxy, because IPs have to be used to send packets and make the web work. It is extremely unlikely that someone will "hack" you via your IP address, the worst they can do is port scan you and anything they try should be blocked by a firewall. The notion that an IP address is equivalent to a bank account or credit card number and should be protected and safeguarded via any means is both absurd and unrealistic. So don't worry about it - just run a decent firewall.

[pvkemail]

Thanks Carbon

So, Windows XP means 32-bit OS and running a firewall program protects the IP address from intruders.

Thanks a lot,
:)

[Carbon]

The first one is a little off. There are two versions of XP, one that's hardly ever used that enables people to use more than 3.5GB of RAM, called 54-bit or x64, and the x86 "32-bit" version. Chances are better than 99% you're using the 32 bit version. It's not as clear when people have Vista, as since they come on the same disk a lot of people use x64. So you'll want the 32 bit software, but don't think that there's no 64-bit version of XP (because there is).