PC help: Is Ping dangerous?

Q I have been looking for a security suite for Windows Vista and downloaded and installed Norton 360.

I then ran the Shields up test according to the Workshop. The computer failed on the ping test no matter what I did to the settings of Norton Firewall.
Bob Brookes

A Ping is a very simple network command used to find out if there is a computer using a particular network address.

The network in question could be either a home network or the internet.

Unless told otherwise it makes five attempts to contact the computer and the other computer responds with a simple message saying that it is turned on.

There is nothing wrong with the ping comand and it can be a useful tool for solving problems, but there are two downfalls to this approach.

The first is that demonstrating the address is in use may make you a target for hackers. The other is that someone could start sending an infinite number of ping commands to the computer. This would slow down and maybe crash the computer.

The best advice is to allow ping on your network but not over the internet. Most firewalls work with two sets of options, one for the net and the other for a trusted network.

The most likely reason why the settings in Norton Firewall are not making any difference to the results in Shields up is that the computer connects to the internet with a modem router.

In this case, it is the router that is responding to the Shields up test. If the router responds to ping requests it is not a reason for concern.