need firewall advice

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Guest

I've been reading up on securing my PC and am confused about one point: do I
need hardware and software firewalls? I have one PC on which I'm the sole
user and my Internet connection is a DSL modem ... what type of firewall
should I have or do I need both?
 
Hi

with just a single computer, software firewall will be ok. If you were to
be using multiple computers with your DSL connection, you would require a
router to enable all computers internet access. With most routers today,
comes with a hardware firewall.

Now if your really paranoid, then you can run both a hardware and software
firewall.

Jeff
 
I agree with Jeffrey. More over if you XP then you can install XP firewall
built-in with XP SP2. It's really very good. It give good protection. For
having XP SP2 you don't have to invest. Juz download and update your system.

Regards
Adnan Rafik
 
Adnan said:
I agree with Jeffrey. More over if you XP then you can install XP firewall
built-in with XP SP2. It's really very good. It give good protection. For
having XP SP2 you don't have to invest. Juz download and update your system.

Regards
Adnan Rafik

:
Click to expand...


I'm afraid that you're sadly mistaken.

WinXP's built-in firewall is merely _adequate_ (that's far short of
"really very good") at stopping incoming attacks, and hiding your ports
from probes. What WinXP SP2's firewall does not do, is protect you from
any Trojans or spyware that you (or someone else using your computer)
might download and install inadvertently. It doesn't monitor out-going
traffic at all, other than to check for IP-spoofing, much less block (or
at even ask you about) the bad or the questionable out-going signals.
It assumes that any application you have on your hard drive is there
because you want it there, and therefore has your "permission" to access
the Internet. Further, because the Windows Firewall is a "stateful"
firewall, it will also assume that any incoming traffic that's a direct
response to a Trojan's or spyware's out-going signal is also authorized.

ZoneAlarm, Kerio, or Sygate are all much better than WinXP's
built-in firewall, and are much more easily configured, and there are
free versions of each readily available. Even the commercially
available Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall is superior by far,
although it does take a heavier toll of system performance then do
ZoneAlarm or Sygate.

--

Bruce Chambers

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