Firewall

  • Thread starter GSV Three Minds in a Can
  • Start date
G

GSV Three Minds in a Can

from the wonderful said:
Is the Windows XP firewall adequate or would it be better to get a 3rd
party one

it works, but only blocks incoming packets, so it won't tell you if
something on your PC tries to 'call home'. The free Zone Alarm version
is better - easier to configure, etc.
 
B

Bruce Chambers

Greetings --

WinXP's built-in firewall is fine at stopping incoming attacks, and
hiding all of your ports from probes. It doesn't give you any alarms
to tell you that it is working, though. What WinXP also does not do,
is protect you from any Trojans or spyware that you might download and
install inadvertently. It doesn't monitor out-going traffic at all,
much less block (or at least ask you about) the bad or the
questionable out-going packets.

To enable the built-in firewall, Start > Network Connections >
Right-click the connection > Properties > Advanced > Protect my
computer.....

ZoneAlarm or Sygate are much better, and there are a free versions
available. Personally, I've been very happy with Symantec's Norton
Internet Security 2002 (NIS 2004 is now available), which includes
Norton AntiVirus, Norton Personal Firewall, parental controls, privacy
controls, and ad blocking. (Just the elimination of most pop-up ads
on the Internet made the price worth-while to me.)


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
 
K

Ken Blake

In
Greg Wikle said:
Is the Windows XP firewall adequate or would it be better to get a 3rd
party one


The XP firewall monitors incoming traffic, but does nothing to
stop rogue programs trying to call home. It also is much less
configurable than other choices.

For those reasons I recommend the free version of ZoneAlarm
instead.
 
G

Greg Wikle

Is the Windows XP firewall adequate or would it be better to get a 3rd
party one
 

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