firewalls

[Guest]

I have a dell inspiron 600 m laptop. It, of course, has a firewall on it.
I also have Norton Internet Security - new version in Sept. Do I need to
run both firewalls, or just one.

If just one, then which one?

Thanks.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Run only one firewall. Running more than one can cause problems.

If just one, then which one?

Up to you. Personally, I would not have anything by Norton.

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[marz]

I have a dell inspiron 600 m laptop. It, of course, has a firewall on it.

....and this myserious, no-name, firewall is called what?

I also have Norton Internet Security - new version in Sept.

Uninstall it. You deserve more. Symantec doesn't respect you.

Do I need to run both firewalls, or just one.
One

If just one, then which one?

Anything but Norton, even the no-name "firewall" (application gateway) that
is "on your laptop".

Even just XP's built-in application gateway is better than Norton.

If you have a home network, also think about an actual hardware firewall.
You can even build one yourself for almost nothing. Just drag that old
computer out of the basement/closet, throw a second NIC into it, and use one
of the GPL'd packages... (Smoothwall, IPCop, Shorewall, Monowall, etc, etc)

 

[Rock]

I have a dell inspiron 600 m laptop. It, of course, has a firewall on it.
I also have Norton Internet Security - new version in Sept. Do I need to
run both firewalls, or just one.

Best to have only one firewall active.

I second Wesley's comment. You are better off without NIS, NAV or any of
the Norton home products. NIS and NAV are resource heavy, extremely
invasive, can cause problems at some point, and are difficult to repair. If
it runs fine for you then ok, but many times it will cause problems further
down the road.

There are good alternatives, some of which are free. Anti-Virus: Avast
(free), AVG (free), NOD32; Firewall (all free): Sunbelt Software Kerio
Personal Firewall, Comodo Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm; Anti-Malware (all
free): Ad-Aware SE Personal, SpyBot S&D, Windows Defender, BHO Demon,
Spyware Blaster, HijackThis.

 

[Louis Rost]

Best to have only one firewall active.

I second Wesley's comment. You are better off without NIS, NAV or any of
the Norton home products. NIS and NAV are resource heavy, extremely
invasive, can cause problems at some point, and are difficult to repair. If
it runs fine for you then ok, but many times it will cause problems further
down the road.

There are good alternatives, some of which are free. Anti-Virus: Avast
(free), AVG (free), NOD32; Firewall (all free): Sunbelt Software Kerio
Personal Firewall, Comodo Personal Firewall, Zone Alarm; Anti-Malware (all
free): Ad-Aware SE Personal, SpyBot S&D, Windows Defender, BHO Demon,
Spyware Blaster, HijackThis.

Saying one is better off without any Symantec products is a bit
strong. I dare say Partition Magic and Norton Ghost are reasonble
products.

Lou

 

[GO]

Saying one is better off without any Symantec products is a bit
strong. I dare say Partition Magic and Norton Ghost are reasonble
products.

Lou

It may be strong, but it's certainly true. Symantec has really gone to hell
with their products. Partition Magic is still good as it has been untouched
by Symantec since they bought it from Power Quest. Ghost was good up until
version 8, but again this was not their product initially. Version 9 was
crap and I'm really unsure about 10 but don't want to touch it regardless.

 

[Rock]

Saying one is better off without any Symantec products is a bit
strong. I dare say Partition Magic and Norton Ghost are reasonble
products.

I agree. I was directing the comment towards NIS, NAV and System Works. I
have PM, though before Symantec got their hands on it. I also have Drive
Image which is what the current Norton Ghost is based on.