Vista Home Premium

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AliceZ

I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I
was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday
that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I
should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned
that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a
"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.

Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's
Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since
I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a
novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible,
which is a bit confusing and daunting
 
I am using Vista Ultimate and only use the Windows Vista Firewall however,
my broadband connection does work through a modem/router (the router
effectively being a hardware firewall rather than software). The 'ping' you
refer to from ShieldUp simply means that the ShieldsUp program managed to
get through the firewall and register your IP address.

While I use Vista's firewall I have also always been an advocate of Zone
Alarm (the free version). If you feel worried or threatened by what you read
regarding firewalls and want to make the change, the by all means download
Zone Alarm (free version) I would certainly recommend it.


--
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..
 
There is nothing wrong with Vista's built-in firewall.
However, for maximum protection, consider installing
a comprehensive anti-virus/security program, such as
Windows OneCare. You can try it FREE for 90 days.
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Desktop Experience -
Windows Vista Enthusiast

---------------------------------------------------------------

:

I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I
was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday
that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I
should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned
that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a
"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.

Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's
Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since
I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a
novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible,
which is a bit confusing and daunting
 
Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba
notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster),
but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster)
and that also showed the same "ping" thing.
 
Sorry - forgot to mention that I also use DSL.

AliceZ said:
Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba
notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster),
but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster)
and that also showed the same "ping" thing.
Click to expand...
 
AliceZ said:
I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which
I
was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me
yesterday
that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They
suggested I
should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned
that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a
"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.
Click to expand...

ShieldsUP is written by Steve Gibson, whom some revere as a security genius,
and the rest of us think he's a plagiarising idiot who doesn't know what
he's talking about.

It has been a long time since 'ping' was anything remotely like a security
threat. I personally like keeping it in place, as it is used as a measure of
network connectivity.

The firewall in Windows Vista is sufficient for most purposes, and is
configurable. ZoneAlarm (what 'ZA' usually stands for) is something of a
fashion, and if you want a program that keeps asking "is it okay to let this
application communicate to the Internet?", and believe that you can
competently answer that question, then perhaps it's for you. However,
Windows Vista's firewall does a thoroughly competent job of preventing
traffic that you didn't invite.
Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's
Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now
since
I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a
novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible,
which is a bit confusing and daunting
Click to expand...

Perhaps now is not the time to be adding a new program that is going to
assume you understand what you're doing?

Make sure you keep patched, keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware updated
(there are free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, if you can't afford to
keep current on the short-term subscription to whatever came with your
system), and you should be ahead of most people.

The big additional feature most people will suggest ZoneAlarm for is that of
"outbound filtering". In an enterprise, this could be useful, in that it
allows you to prevent policy-breaking programs from communicating outside
the system - for a home user, it's "game over" already if you have an
unauthorised program installed on your system. [And in an enterprise, there
are better tools than ZoneAlarm available - an enterprise would not trust a
potentially-malicious machine to police itself]

Alun.
~~~~
 
I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I
was told had good security programs installed)
Click to expand...

what security programs are those?
and someone told me yesterday that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is
not (very) effective.
Click to expand...

That's just the usual nonsense from clueless "outbound control"
junkies.
They suggested I should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say).
Click to expand...

For what purpose? - For screwing up your network and making your
system possibly more vulnerable? Fine - go ahead.
They mentioned that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a
"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.
Click to expand...

Yes. Followers of Gibsons "stealthing" nonsense will often say
something like that. They are mostly clueless security wannabees. As
long as you're not exposing any open ports you should be fine.
Responding to pings is not to be considered a security risk unless you
believe in security theater.
Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's
Firewall?
Click to expand...

It's good enough.
Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since
I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a
novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible,
which is a bit confusing and daunting
Click to expand...

As a novice you should pay more attention to what you do, what sites
you visit and so on. Don't click on everything you see and don't
run/install/allow all kinds of crap from dubious sources.

And most important: Keep your system patched.
 
Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba
notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster),
but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster)
and that also showed the same "ping" thing.
Click to expand...

This indicates that your DSL thing is also a router, and ShieldsUp is
actually testing this device and not your machine. Nonetheless no real
issue.
 
I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I
was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday
that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective.
Click to expand...


I disagree. I think the built-in Vista firewall is fine, and there's
no reason to avoid using it. It's what I use.

However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note
that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at
least two anti-spyware programs.

Vista does *not* come with anti-virus software and you need to install
a third-party product. I recommend either the freeware Avast, or
ESET's NOD32, if you are willing to pay for one.

Regarding anti-spyware, Vista comes with Windows Defender. It's OK,
but note that just using one anti-spyware program is *not* good
enough. Eric Howes, who has done extensive testing on Anti-Spyware
products,
states:

"No single anti-spyware scanner removes everything. Even the
best-performing anti-spyware scanner in these tests missed fully one
quarter of the "critical" files and Registry entries" See
http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm

I recommend that you use two or more of the following:

Spybot Search and Destroy
Adaware
Spyware Blaster
Windows Defender
Super-Antispyware
 
Straight Talk said:
what security programs are those?
Click to expand...

I was referring to the Vista Home Premium Firewall, Defender, etc. Also, the
AVG-AV; AVG-AS; SpyBlaster that I had installed by my son.
 
Thanks
i just mentioned the NAV on the desktop (which also got the 1 ping thing)
because not only the Vista Home Premium sps1 (firewall) and the NAV showed
this ping thing. I always get weekly updates for the NAV and then do full
scan.
 
AliceZ said:
I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I
was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me
yesterday
that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They
suggested I
should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned
that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a
"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.

Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's
Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now
since
I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a
novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible,
which is a bit confusing and daunting
Click to expand...

Vista firewall is, by default, set to work on incoming only. It can be set
to protect on outgoing, also, but can be confusing to a new user. There is
some debate as to whether outgoing protection is even needed since incoming
should not allow any nasties to enter. But firewalls are not 100% effective,
no security is, of course. I like outgoing because I can see what or who is
asking to connect and what program is trying to phone home. The bad guys
come out with programs and viruses so fast it is hard for any security
company to keep ahead of them so we are never completely safe online. It is
a risk we all take just by connecting.

According to leak tests, only a few free firewalls pass, Online Armor (not
yet Vista Compatible) and Comodo Firewall Pro if you use the defense +
security in version 3 (see Scot's Newsletter) (compatible if you use the
latest version 3). The paid Zone Alarm passes, the free doesn't. Vista
built in firewall doesn't pass the leak test but is usually enough for a
home user, especially if you have a router. Any firewall, in training mode,
will ask if you want to let a program connect if it has outgoing protection.

http://blog.scotsnewsletter.com/2008/03/24/the-best-firewall-software-of-2008-online-armor/
http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/index.htm
http://www.matousec.com/info/articles/introduction-firewall-leak-testing.php

Sphinx Vista Firewall Control can be used to adjust the Vista Firewall for
both incoming and outgoing (outgoing lets you see if anything is trying to
phone home but you need to know if the phoning is good or bad). I am using
Comodo Firewall Pro free 3 (latest version) with AVG Antivirus (Avast and
Anitvir free are better but don't play well with Comodo on my system).
Comodo shows stealth on various test sites. I was using Kaspersky Internet
Security 7 but it had problems with Vista that were just too annoying so it
is working well on our WinXP computer.

I do not like Norton anything. Symantec is very intrusive and uses lots of
resources and memory. When I used it, our machine got infected several
times. It never got an infection with Kaspersky but, as stated, had
problems on this particular system. Do not run more than one AV at any
time. If you want a second opinion Trend Micro's Online House Call can scan
your system online and report any problems your installed AV may have
missed. There are also other online scanners, but I can't remember the
addresses. Maybe one of the MVPs can tell you.

Trend Micro also has a free root-kit scanner called rootkitbuster. Spyware
is a huge problem on the net and a good spyware program (such as Windows
Defender) should help. There are other spyware programs you can use to scan
as a second opinion. Hope this helps. Sorry for the long-windedness.
 
I have Vista Home Premium and use Sphinx Vista Firewall Control,
freeware version.

It works with Windows Firewall and you can control what goes _out_ from
your pc.

Done a ShieldsUp test and reports my pc is invisible ??
Click to expand...

How do you manage to hit the right buttons when it's invisible?
Running, the program uses 3500k of memory (not much) and installs on
disk using 1.90mb

In 12 months, it seems i have been well protected. Whether its Vista
Firewall Control, Windows Firewall or the combination of the 2 ?
Click to expand...

It's just the windows firewall in combination with your brain that has
kept you protected. No need for all kinds of anti-crap.
 
However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note
that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at
least two anti-spyware programs.
Click to expand...

And soon your new turbo-machine is crippled with anti-crap.

BTW, how would adding further potentially vulnerable code to an
already vulnerable system actually increase it's security?
I recommend that you use two or more of the following:

Spybot Search and Destroy
Adaware
Spyware Blaster
Windows Defender
Super-Antispyware
Click to expand...

I recommend keeping the bad stuff out instead. This is done mainly by
staying away from inherently broken software, keeping ones system
patched and using ones brain.
 
And soon your new turbo-machine is crippled with anti-crap.

BTW, how would adding further potentially vulnerable code to an
already vulnerable system actually increase it's security?


I recommend keeping the bad stuff out instead. This is done mainly by
staying away from inherently broken software, keeping ones system
patched and using ones brain.
Click to expand...


All of those things are good to do. But relying on them alone is
foolhardy.
 
Windows Vista's firewall does a thoroughly competent job of preventing
traffic that you didn't invite.
Click to expand...


Which is precisely the job of a firewall--that and nothing more.
 
Steve Riley said:
Which is precisely the job of a firewall--that and nothing more.
Click to expand...

Strange - I thought the job of a firewall was to keep pestering the user:

"You've clicked on a link from a stranger who promised you naked Russian
tennis players, but might possibly infect your computer instead, do you
really expect to see naked Russian tennis players?"

.... and then expecting the user to pause for a moment's reflection before
clicking "no, not really, I must have been confused".

Anyone who believes that they will answer those questions correctly (and
then will investigate why an unexpected outbound connection was initiated)
might want something like ZoneAlarm.

Alun.
~~~~
 
Windows One Care is a complete piece of garbage.
You can now be considered a spammer for Microsift Products!
 
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