Martin said:
everything else loaded on my damn computer! Not unless *I* say it is OK!
The only thing you can say is to install something or not. If you say it
is not O.K. you may or may not block something and the software can
still easily communicate without you even noticing. A PFW cannot do what
you want.
Unless Windows is the *only* thing loaded, it seems to me that the Windows
Firewall is a little out of its depth...
No, believe me, it is perfectly fine and does not uses have the
processor speed as other PFW do for doing little not much more than the
SP2 firewall except annoying people with pop-ups that most people don't
understand and more or less randomly answer, reporting "attacks" on
ports where no process is listening and actually making DoS attacks
really effective, a.s.o....
Let me see, you really want me to trust Microsoft Windows to provide a
security solution for problems that usually result because of faults in,
umm, well, Microsoft Windows?????? Hmm......
If that is your problem, then you should not use Microsoft Windows.
Microsoft does a whole lot of stupid things and Windows is a security
nightmare. But at least in this respect they did a good job and provide
the security (meaning real security) that is possible and not making
false statements about some super-miracle-security that is simply
impossible. How many people out there are surprised and wonder how it is
possible that their computer was infected and private data was stolen
although they were running AV, PFW and everything else? You want
something that blocks data unless you say its OK. And I just tell you
that the PFW you are using does a very bad job about it if it comes down
to it. If you rely on it, you will loose in the end...
The rest of us simply like a little more protection and extras, like warning
if *any* mail program tries to e-mail more than (x) number of messages at
once (i.e. like a virus may try), or warning if something new is trying to
gain access to the internet (yes, maybe not fool proof but still a lot more
that WFW offers)...
Like the "Microsoft Subsystem" or what is it's name? Printer Spooler? Do
you always know what component it is? Do you actually verify the
executable that tries to access the internet? An software author can
write any name into the version information of its program and can name
the exe whatever it wants to. So if a pop-up comes up that ask whether
or not to allow access to "Microsoft Internet Explorer", do you know
what it is? The program is called "IEXPLORE.EXE" and tries to access
port 80 somewhere...
You want protection because you want to prevent a virus that is running
on your system to send e-mails. The problem is however that you have the
virus already. In that moment, you already lost control of your
computer. The virus just has to deactivate your PFW and nothing is
blocked or detected.
The important thing is to prevent the infection in the first place. But
why would you bother about that if you know that you have your PFW that
"prevents" the virus from talking to the internet?
So what makes you believe that Windows Firewall would be any different?
Let's see, how many security issues have resulted due to exploits of faults
in Windows over the years??? It seems that almost all of our problems would
be solved by not using Windows, but you want us to accept that Windows can
supply the very best Firewall available??? HAHAHA!!!
O.K. If you don't trust the operating system you are using it is your
own fault. It is your assumption that the Windows Firewall is flawed,
too. But first: the Windows IP stack is pretty stable and seems to be
free of flaws. So IP itself does not seem to be the problem. And
although Microsoft usual policy is to go for the amount of features
instead of its quality, this one time they actually did it the way how
good design should be: keep it simple and do it right. The firewall is
extremely fast and does not mess with your whole Windows systems like
some many PFWs do causing more problems than helping. It does what a
firewall is supposed to do: it blocks incoming traffic. That is all it
can do and that is what it does. It is well integrated into the system
and it is not easy to circumvent unless you are only using the
Administrator account. With SP2 FW a virus, if you catch one cannot
establish a server on your computer which can be contacted from the
internet. With your PFW a virus can fool the PFW or turn it off and then
it is really free to do whatever it wants.
So if you have problems trusting Windows, don't use it. It is weird to
see how you rely on third-party software to make Windows secure and how
you believe so steadfast in the perfection of that third-party software
compared to the flawed Microsoft Windows implementation. Why do you
believe someone you promises you 100% security when you know it is
impossible?
Well, like anything these days it is impossible to stop everything, isn't
it. A burglar alarm only makes noise, and deadlocks only means a burglar
will find another way in. A combination of measures helps to prevent
problems, which is why I don't rely solely on ZA to provide all my security,
but it is also why I would NOT rely solely on Windows Firewall to provide
firewall services!
But you still rely first on software to provide your security instead of
taking your own responsibilty. With the SP2 firewall it is easy to make
a Windows machine secure in the way that it won't get infected just by
being connected to the internet. It does this job and it does it
perfectly. Anything beyond that is your responsibilty because in the end
you run the software, you browse dubious web sites or you open
junk-mails in your bugged Outlook Express. Why do you use OE? Aren't
there much more secure alternatives out there? Your PFW makes you think
you don't have to worry because it protects you. It just like you buy a
car with the newest safety technology, 20 airbags, ABS, EPS, XAS, and
whatever else they may invent and you believe you are absolutely safe.
It goes even further, because the company that sells you all that stuff
tells you that with all these things you won't have an accident any more
and you just go for it...
Without your PFW you know that you have to be careful and you have - in
my opinion - a proper sense of the dangers and threats in the internet.
You just don't walk into a strange neighborhood. That's common sense,
isn't it? Why is the internet so much different??
Gerald
