Do I need two firewalls?

[Millybags]

Hi,

I have Norton Internet Security 2006 running on my three machine LAN. Each
machine sits behind a wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS) which has a SPI
firewall. My question is - do I need the Norton Firewall as well as the SPI
firewall?

Thanks for any help.
Steve

 

[R. McCarty]

Don't believe running two firewalls is a good choice. Besides, the way
they hook/intercept traffic the 1st would do the Lion's Share of packet
monitoring/filtering and the 2nd would repeat the same actions. Guess
it wouldn't hurt anything, but increases the chances of causing the PC
to malfunction.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Hi,

I have Norton Internet Security 2006 running on my three machine LAN. Each
machine sits behind a wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS) which has a SPI
firewall. My question is - do I need the Norton Firewall as well as the SPI
firewall?

Thanks for any help.
Steve

If you use a router with NAT, it's still a very good idea to use a
3rd party software firewall. Like WinXP's built-in firewall,
NAT-capable routers do nothing to protect the user from him/herself
(or any "curious," over-confident teenagers in the home). Again --
and I cannot emphasize this enough -- almost all spyware and many
Trojans and worms are downloaded and installed deliberately (albeit
unknowingly) by the user. So a software firewall, such as Sygate or
ZoneAlarm, that can detect and warn the user of unauthorized out-going
traffic is an important element of protecting one's privacy and
security. (Remember: Most anti-virus applications do not even scan for
or protect you from adware/spyware, because, after all, you've
installed them yourself, so you must want them there, right?)

I use both a router with NAT and Sygate Personal Firewall, even
though I generally know better than to install scumware. When it
comes to computer security and protecting my privacy, I prefer the old
"belt and suspenders" approach. In the professional IT community,
this is also known as a "layered defense." Basically, it comes down
to never, ever "putting all of your eggs in one basket."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. -Benjamin Franklin

 

[Steve Shattuck]

I have Norton Internet Security 2006 running on my three machine LAN.

Each
machine sits behind a wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS) which has a SPI
firewall. My question is - do I need the Norton Firewall as well as the
SPI
firewall?

Forget the answer about not running two firewalls. That's good advice when
talking about two SOFTWARE firewalls, but is NOT good advice when talking
about one hardware and one software firewall. The Router cannot deter
security problems from within your computer, it only protects against
outside threats. If I had a Linksys Router (I do), I would prefer Zone
Alarm Pro to Norton because the Linksys router can be set to work in concert
with Zone Alarm, stopping traffic if Zone Alarm gets closed or disabled.

 

[ANONYMOUS]

My personal opinion is to have a router based firewall as well as
Windows Firewall. You don't need anything else. Norton Security is, in
my opinion, an added resource which you can do without.

hth

 

[Plato]

I have Norton Internet Security 2006 running on my three machine LAN. Each
machine sits behind a wireless router (Linksys WRT54GS) which has a SPI
firewall. My question is - do I need the Norton Firewall as well as the SPI
firewall?

You dont need 2 software firewalls. However, a hardware firewall and a
software firewall are OK.

 

[Plato]

If you use a router with NAT, it's still a very good idea to use a
3rd party software firewall. Like WinXP's built-in firewall,

Agreed.