firewall

[Michael1]

Does anyone know of a good firewall program to run? I was
curious to see if it's best to stick with the same brand
as your antivirus program, like McAfee 8.0 I run right now
and have no problems with it, or does it really matter. I
have heard of Zone Alarm and was wondering if anyone here
is using it and how well it works.

 

[Jurren Bouman]

Does anyone know of a good firewall program to run? I was
curious to see if it's best to stick with the same brand
as your antivirus program, like McAfee 8.0 I run right now
and have no problems with it, or does it really matter. I
have heard of Zone Alarm and was wondering if anyone here
is using it and how well it works.

ZA is a good one, McAfee is a good one.
Most important is, is your firewall protecting you?
You could test it at ShieldUp!
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

You'll find support for McAfee at their Help Forum, if you have any
questions:
http://forums.mcafeehelp.com/

 

[DILIP]

Zone Alarm is an excellent firewall, even in its free form. Whatever you
do, don't use Sygate PF, as it sometimes transfers without you giving clear
permissions. The best thing about ZA is you don't need to work with the FW
and configure it much, much like many MS products that work hard while you
look smart...

 

[Paras Wadehra]

Windows XP has inbuilt Firewall support, so u do not need to install a 3rd
party firewall. Goto Network Connections, then right click on your network
connection u want to protect and choose properties -> goto Advanced Tab and
check the box inside the Internet Connection Firewall frame. It will enable
the firewall on your computer.

I don't know how can we do the same for a dial-up connection - does anyone
has any ideas?

 

[dglock]

not even close to being true!
the xp firewall is nearly useless. i has no control of
outgoing traffic and is not configurable.
since you are using mcafee virus software i would go with
the mcafee firewall. i use that combination and am happy
with it.
don

 

[Picsou]

A test with ShieldUp showed that my machine is perfectly safe .....
It is protected with the Windows XP build-in firewall !!
So why adding another one ?

 

[Picsou]

The Windows XP firewall works just fine with dial-up lines (I am using it
all the time).
I just made a test at ShieldsUp and my machine seems to be perfectly safe !!

 

[Michael1]

Thanks for the advice everyone gave. I may go on and get
the Mcafee program since I have the virus scan. I just
wanted to make sure.

 

[Lem]

A test with ShieldUp showed that my machine is perfectly safe .....
It is protected with the Windows XP build-in firewall !!
So why adding another one ?

The WinXP built-in firewall protects against INcoming evils, but does not
check anything going OUT. Thus, if you activate some malware (for
example, by clicking on a link in an email), you will not be aware if it
"phones home" with some of your personal data. Most good 3rd party
firewalls, e.g. ZoneAlarm, check in both directions.

 

[Testy]

Zone Alarm may not be as secure as you think:
http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Upcoming/20040213-2.html

Testy

 

[john]

Norton Internet Security or Zone Alarm

Steve

 

[Lem]

Zone Alarm may not be as secure as you think:
http://www.eeye.com/html/Research/Upcoming/20040213-2.html

Testy

Interesting, if a bit sketchy so far. It's in the "initial report stage." I
guess we'll have to stay tuned.

 

[Starman]

Should or could you enable Zone Alarm or some other firewall software in
addition to that provided by Windows XP Pro?

If so, is there any special way to do that when you have home networking
enabled?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Should or could you enable Zone Alarm or some other firewall software
in addition to that provided by Windows XP Pro?

The is no advantage to having two firewalls, and a risk of
conflicts between them. You should run only one at a time.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Because Gibson's Shields Up! checks only a very few of the more
than 65,000 ports available, and even skips one of the ones exploited
by messenger service spam.

You should also test your firewall at:

Symantec Security Check
http://security.symantec.com/ssc/vr_main.asp?langid=ie&venid=sym&plfid=23&pkj=GPVHGBYNCJEIMXQKCDT

Security Scan - Sygate Online Services
http://www.sygatetech.com/

WinXP's built-in firewall is fine at stopping incoming attacks, and
hiding 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.


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

A test with ShieldUp showed that my machine is perfectly safe .....
It is protected with the Windows XP build-in firewall !!
So why adding another one ?

 

[mac davis]

Does anyone know of a good firewall program to run? I was
curious to see if it's best to stick with the same brand
as your antivirus program, like McAfee 8.0 I run right now
and have no problems with it, or does it really matter. I
have heard of Zone Alarm and was wondering if anyone here
is using it and how well it works.

I use McAfee antivirus and personal firewall.. been using the firewall
for about 6 months..
i was a firewall newbie and had no problems installing or using it..


Mac

 

[Unknown]

Best firewall is the one included with Windows XP.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

You're joking, right?

WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks,
and hiding 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.

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 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

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

Best firewall is the one included with Windows XP.

That's simply nonsense. The Windows firewall isn't bad, and it's
much better than nothing, but it's far from the best firewall
available. It might be the *worst* firewall available.

There are two main disadvantages of the Windows firewall, as
compared with just about any of the available alternatives:

1. It monitors incoming traffic only and does nothing about rogue
programs trying to call home.

2. It is much less configurable than the alternatives.