XP Firewall

  • Thread starter Thread starter William B. Lurie
  • Start date Start date
W

William B. Lurie

I see some flak about what the XP Firewall does and doesn't do.
How about a reference from our MVPs as to what it is supposed
to do, and what evidence it gives that it is actually doing
anything? I've had mine "on" for a couple of months, and it
gives no evidence that it is doing anything. Maybe that's
really good! A program that just does its thing and doesn't
brag about it.
 
Hi

The XP Firewall works in the background, so you won't see anything
happening. It doesn't however monitor outgoing access to the Internet. You
will need to install a 3rd party program for that, such as ZoneAlarm:

www.zonelabs.com

--


Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups
 
I "assume" that you read other people's posts, as well as the answers to
your own. You MUST have come across numerous threads telling people that the
SP2 firewall is only half a solution. You do not believe them?

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
William

There is nothing better than the feeling of being 'needed'.. thanks for the
vote of confidence in all of the people that come here to help that are NOT
MVPs..

There seems to be little point in me telling you that the XP firewall exists
primarily to protect the OS on its first visit to the internet, such that it
can be updated without fear of being attacked within the first few seconds..
that if MS attempted to place a fully fledged firewall into XP that they
would be flooded with lawsuits.. that MS also recommend use of a third party
software firewall..

... And there is no point in me telling you to do a Google search for free
software firewalls and what they offer over and above the SP2 offering
either, because I am not an MVP..

Happy New Year to ya..

Mike Hall
 
I now believe that you are a lonely old man who's only source of a "life" is
posting rubbish to these newsgroups.

You are a TROLL. You offer NOTHING to the newsgroups. You don't even ask
semi-intelligent questions. AND, when you do get answers for your questions
you like to "barter" over the answers.

Why don't you view the answers and use the information to make an "informed"
choice? You ARE capable of that- no? I guess not!
 
Mike Hall said:
William

There is nothing better than the feeling of being 'needed'.. thanks
for the vote of confidence in all of the people that come here to
help that are NOT MVPs..

There seems to be little point in me telling you that the XP firewall
exists primarily to protect the OS on its first visit to the
internet, such that it can be updated without fear of being attacked
within the first few seconds.. that if MS attempted to place a fully
fledged firewall into XP that they would be flooded with lawsuits..
that MS also recommend use of a third party software firewall..

.. And there is no point in me telling you to do a Google search for
free software firewalls and what they offer over and above the SP2
offering either, because I am not an MVP..

Happy New Year to ya..

Mike Hall
Click to expand...

Good one. :)

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
 
Richard said:
I "assume" that you read other people's posts, as well as the answers to
your own. You MUST have come across numerous threads telling people that the
SP2 firewall is only half a solution. You do not believe them?
Click to expand...
Yes and no, Richard. There are far too many to allow reading all.
I only read those that have a subject I'm interested in. And searching
gives too many also. A short question, a short answer (like just above)
and that's all it need involve.
Bill
 
All good points, Mike. Rounds out the picture. BTW, no need
for you to feel slighted; advice from the MVPs is always
worth reading. Advice and other comments from non-MVPs can
be a mixed bag, as you know. If genuine Microsoft links
exist, they don't come from anybody other than the MVPs.
Have a good year.
Bill
 
| Richard Urban wrote:
| > I "assume" that you read other people's posts, as well as the answers to
| > your own. You MUST have come across numerous threads telling people that
the
| > SP2 firewall is only half a solution. You do not believe them?
| >
| Yes and no, Richard. There are far too many to allow reading all.
| I only read those that have a subject I'm interested in. And searching
| gives too many also. A short question, a short answer (like just above)
| and that's all it need involve.
| Bill

So you post your inane twaddle because you're too lazy to read a few posts?
 
William B. Lurie said:
Yes and no, Richard. There are far too many to allow reading all.
I only read those that have a subject I'm interested in. And searching
gives too many also. A short question, a short answer (like just
above) and that's all it need involve.
Bill
Click to expand...

Actually, there are not to many posts in this newsgroup to allow reading all
of them.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
 
| | > Richard Urban wrote:
| >> I "assume" that you read other people's posts, as well as the
| >> answers to your own. You MUST have come across numerous threads
| >> telling people that the SP2 firewall is only half a solution. You do
| >> not believe them?
| > Yes and no, Richard. There are far too many to allow reading all.
| > I only read those that have a subject I'm interested in. And searching
| > gives too many also. A short question, a short answer (like just
| > above) and that's all it need involve.
| > Bill
|
| Actually, there are not to many posts in this newsgroup to allow reading
all
| of them.
|
| --
| Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
| Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
| http://www.fjsmjs.com
| Protect your PC
| http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
|

There are if you have a 30-second attention span.
 
Frank said:
Actually, there are not to many posts in this newsgroup to allow reading
all of them.
Click to expand...
Matter of opinion, Frank. And this NG is only one of many.
What there are too many of, are people who have no
interest in being constructive.
 
When you install the latest version of ZoneAlarm it will automatically shut
down the SP2 firewall. This, when you think about it is a bit scary. If
ZoneAlarm can do it, why not some form of spywear. Another reason to dump
the Windows XP firewall.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

If you knew as much as you thought you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!
 
Mike,

I will be getting my first XP system soon. From your post I understand that
I should leave XP firewall on for the fist internet visit until I get Zone
Alarm, etc. d/led. After ZA is in place I should disable XP firewall?
 
Stan said:
Mike,

I will be getting my first XP system soon. From your post I
understand that I should leave XP firewall on for the fist internet
visit until I get Zone Alarm, etc. d/led. After ZA is in place I
should disable XP firewall?
Click to expand...

If it is not WinXP SP2 you will have to turn on the firewall yourself before
connecting.

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP, IE/OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
 
William said:
I see some flak about what the XP Firewall does and doesn't do.
How about a reference from our MVPs as to what it is supposed
to do, and what evidence it gives that it is actually doing
anything? I've had mine "on" for a couple of months, and it
gives no evidence that it is doing anything. Maybe that's
really good! A program that just does its thing and doesn't
brag about it.
Click to expand...


WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks,
and hiding your ports from probes. What WinXP SP2's firewall does not
do, is give you any kind of alerts or other indication that it's working
or has blocked any attempted intrusions. It also does not 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.

Description of a Personal Firewall
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321050

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

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
Bruce said:
WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks,
and hiding your ports from probes. What WinXP SP2's firewall does not
do, is give you any kind of alerts or other indication that it's working
or has blocked any attempted intrusions. It also does not 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.

Description of a Personal Firewall
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;321050

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.
Click to expand...
Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate the informative response.

Bill
 
| When you install the latest version of ZoneAlarm it will automatically
shut
| down the SP2 firewall. This, when you think about it is a bit scary. If
| ZoneAlarm can do it, why not some form of spywear. Another reason to dump
| the Windows XP firewall.
|
| --
| Regards,
|
| Richard Urban
|
| aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)
|
|

"Spywear"--is that a trenchcoat and dark glasses?
 
Thanks for the tips.


Stan said:
Mike,

I will be getting my first XP system soon. From your post I understand that
I should leave XP firewall on for the fist internet visit until I get Zone
Alarm, etc. d/led. After ZA is in place I should disable XP firewall?


that
Click to expand...
 
William said:
Thank you, Bruce. I appreciate the informative response.

Bill
Click to expand...



You're welcome.

--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
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