Firewalls....?

[Guest]

Greetings ! I am new at the PC.... Question in regards to firewalls; Am
currently working with Windows XP, SP2 ...with Norton Internet Security 2006,
behind a router for second PC on location set up the same.....Can we leave
the Windows firewall on without causing a conflict or should it be turned off
on both ? We have been working with both firewalls on, seems to be fine,
however am not sure on this issue....Any insight, be greatlly appreciated!
Cheers! William.

 

[Mike Hall \(MS-MVP\)]

William

You do not need to be running the SP2 firewall.. I am surprised that NIS
2006 hasn't turned SP2 firewall off.. well maybe not.. after all, it is
NIS..

 

[Rick]

Greetings ! I am new at the PC.... Question in regards to firewalls; Am
currently working with Windows XP, SP2 ...with Norton Internet Security 2006,
behind a router for second PC on location set up the same.....Can we leave
the Windows firewall on without causing a conflict or should it be turned off
on both ? We have been working with both firewalls on, seems to be fine,
however am not sure on this issue....Any insight, be greatlly appreciated!
Cheers! William.

The windows fire wall only protects from incoming information. I would
add something like Zone Alarm ( which is free I think) to protect both
incoming and out going programs. I would disable the windows firewall
if I was using ZA.

For what it is worth.

Rick

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Greetings ! I am new at the PC.... Question in regards to firewalls;
Am currently working with Windows XP, SP2 ...with Norton Internet
Security 2006, behind a router for second PC on location set up the
same.....Can we leave the Windows firewall on without causing a
conflict or should it be turned off on both ? We have been working
with both firewalls on, seems to be fine, however am not sure on this
issue....Any insight, be greatlly appreciated! Cheers! William.

Don't run two software firewalls. You achieve no extra protection, you incur
the extra overhead of running two firewalls, and you run the risk (probably
small, but not zero) of conflicts between them.

See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx which
includes the following:

"Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall and a software firewall from a
different company on my Windows XP computer?

"A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for typical home
computers, home networking, and small-business networking scenarios. Using
two firewalls on the same connection could cause issues with connectivity to
the Internet or other unexpected behavior. One firewall, whether it is the
Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall or a different software firewall,
can provide substantial protection for your computer."

Also note that if you update your third-party firewall to a new version, the
update routine will probably turn it off first. If the Windows firewall
isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no running firewall, which
is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows firewall temporarily before doing
maintenance on your third-party firewall.

The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost any third-party
firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping rogue programs trying
to call home, and is a better choice.

 

[Guest]

Don't run two software firewalls. You achieve no extra protection, you incur
the extra overhead of running two firewalls, and you run the risk (probably
small, but not zero) of conflicts between them.

See http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx which
includes the following:

"Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall and a software firewall from a
different company on my Windows XP computer?

"A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for typical home
computers, home networking, and small-business networking scenarios. Using
two firewalls on the same connection could cause issues with connectivity to
the Internet or other unexpected behavior. One firewall, whether it is the
Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall or a different software firewall,
can provide substantial protection for your computer."

Also note that if you update your third-party firewall to a new version, the
update routine will probably turn it off first. If the Windows firewall
isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no running firewall, which
is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows firewall temporarily before doing
maintenance on your third-party firewall.

The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost any third-party
firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping rogue programs trying
to call home, and is a better choice.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup


Appreciate replies received, slowly learning the basics thanks to kindness of others! Cheers ! William