FINALLY FUCKING MADE IT!!!

[preacher]

Ok, if you are new to linux, iptables can be a real bitch to set up correctly. Fortunately Mandrake comes with Bastille. Bastille can easily set up firewall rules and other security things. If you dont have it installed, then install it now. It is truly a great tool for beginners trying to secure their boxes.

[Calum]

thanks for all the answers! personally i use KDE2.2 becuase that's what comes with mandrake 8.2. I used to use XFce but now i am tentatively quite enjoying KDE even though it is full of options panels and all that crap. XFce is just a toolbar. Some stuff expects you to use KDE or GNOME though, and XFce sometimes finds it hard to play along (but not as often as you might think).

Re: firewalls, bastille, eh? i will set it up and then look at what it is doing. thanks for that...

[Master of Reality]

Did you swutch on anti-aliased fonts in KDE? They aren't on by default.