Firewalls?

[JustMee]

Okay, I admit it, I am completely confused about firewalls.. People
start talking about "stateless" versus "stateful", or "packets", or
"run only one firewall" versus "run 2 firewalls" and I quickly get
very confused... I am far from stupid, but I find this whole thing
very confusing.. Does one have to purchase a firewall to get really
adequate protection, or will a free firewall work?

Finally, If one needs to purchase a firewall, which one is really the
best, and the most user-friendly to set up and use?


confused here,

JM

 

[Phil]

A firewall is a firewall, they all do the same basic thing, which is hide,
block, open and close ports on the computer. You're computer has like 65000+
ports(doors). You don't need to know about packets and such, just use a
firewall at all times and forget about it. The only difference in firewalls
is what extra they bring. The better ones block incoming and outgoing. This
helps with programs that try to "phone home". The xp firewall in SP1 does
not do outbound blocking. Free firewalls work well and one of the best is
Zone Alarm. www.zonelabs.com

 

[Tumbleweed]

A firewall is a firewall, they all do the same basic thing, which is hide,
block, open and close ports on the computer. You're computer has like 65000+
ports(doors). You don't need to know about packets and such, just use a
firewall at all times and forget about it. The only difference in firewalls
is what extra they bring. The better ones block incoming and outgoing. This
helps with programs that try to "phone home". The xp firewall in SP1 does
not do outbound blocking. Free firewalls work well and one of the best is
Zone Alarm. www.zonelabs.com

Seconded. Just download and install ZA (free version) and fuggedaboudit

 

[Guest]

Why don't you take a look at http://www.howStuffWorks.com/firewall.htm