Firewalls

[Ken Arnold]

I have just installed a linksys router. Prior to this purchase I have been
running Zone Alarm. My question is, do I need to be running both of these
firewalls?

Thanks

 

[Alvin Brown]

Hello

Well yes you can,, you have both a software and hardware
so really it can't hurt anything, but in the end it's your call, I
would run both

Alvin

 

[Chuck]

I have just installed a linksys router. Prior to this purchase I have been
running Zone Alarm. My question is, do I need to be running both of these
firewalls?

Thanks

Ken,

Your Linksys will give you excellent protection against incoming
threats. It won't do anything about hostile code sending outgoing
traffic, which is why many purists insist that a NAT router is not a
real firewall.

The firewall should be part of a layered protection strategy anyway.
Other layers include religious virus and spyware scanning and real
time protection, religiously applied software updates, using a port
monitor (such as Port Explorer (free) from
<http://www.diamondcs.com.au/portexplorer/index.php?page=home>), and
using enhanced process monitoring (such as Process Explorer (free)
from <http://www.sysinternals.com/ntw2k/freeware/procexp.shtml>).
Know what's running on your computer, and be aware of current threats
(<http://isc.sans.org/>).

That said, if your computer had enough power to run ZA previously, it
will run better with the Linksys blocking the constant background
noise from hostile traffic, which should cut down significantly the
power wasted by ZA in dealing with that traffic. I've always
recommended applying multiple layers of protection until you run out
of resources (financial or computer), paranoia, or time. And I'm very
paranoid.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Wislu Plethora]

Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a

bad thing.


Paranoia is a pyschotic disorder--it is *delusional* by
definition, you moron.

 

[sgopus]

Lately when it comes to the internet, paranoia is a good
thing, I use the double layer, cause I want to know whats
trying to get out, za and a dlink router/firewall

 

[Chuck]

Paranoia is a pyschotic disorder--it is *delusional* by
definition, you moron.

Paranoia CAN be a delusional disorder. Just because you're paranoid,
it doesn't mean you have nothing to worry about.
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Frank]

Lately when it comes to the internet, paranoia is a good
thing, I use the double layer, cause I want to know whats
trying to get out, za and a dlink router/firewall

If something can't get in, it surely won't be trying to get out.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Even good hardware firewalls (and NAT-capable routers) do nothing
to protect the user from him/herself. 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. Most
antivirus applications do not 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.


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

 

[Steve Shattuck]

I have just installed a linksys router. Prior to this purchase I have been
running Zone Alarm. My question is, do I need to be running both of these
firewalls?

If you are running the Pro version of Zone Alarm, it works in concert with your LinkSys Router to enhance your security by allowing the Router to disable Internet access if ZA gets disabled. Run both as a hardware firewall doesn't protect you from backdoors you may already have installed.

 

[Chuck]

If something can't get in, it surely won't be trying to get out.

Frank,

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

You can load spyware onto your computer, either packaged as part of a
legit install, or from a malevolent script included in a website. If
you do not run real-time spyware protection (or if your protection is
not updated frequently enough), a browser monitor or keystroke logger
may be transmitting personal data from your computer to someone else.

A personal firewall or port monitor is your last line of defense
against such a threat, which at its worst may contribute to an
identity theft threat against you. At its least, spyware will
wastefully use your bandwidth.

Spyware or similar threats get loaded onto your computer thru your use
of the internet. Regardless whether you block malevolent incoming
traffic with a firewall or NAT router.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

 

[Frank]

Frank,

Unfortunately, this is not the case.

You can load spyware onto your computer, either packaged as part of a
legit install, or from a malevolent script included in a website. If
you do not run real-time spyware protection (or if your protection is
not updated frequently enough), a browser monitor or keystroke logger
may be transmitting personal data from your computer to someone else.

A personal firewall or port monitor is your last line of defense
against such a threat, which at its worst may contribute to an
identity theft threat against you. At its least, spyware will
wastefully use your bandwidth.

Spyware or similar threats get loaded onto your computer thru your use
of the internet. Regardless whether you block malevolent incoming
traffic with a firewall or NAT router.

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.

BULLSHIT
Not unless one is utterly ___STUPID____

 

[Chuck]

BULLSHIT
Not unless one is utterly ___STUPID____

Frank,

What's stupid? Folks make mistakes, and there are plenty of places to
make mistakes on the internet. What don't you believe?
1) Keyloggers exist.
2) Keyloggers and other parasites can be installed by code on hostile
websites.
3) It is good to know when a keylogger is installed on your computer.
4) You can detect a keylogger when it tries to "phone home", ie, send
traffic from your computer thru your firewall. Assuming that you have
one.

A software firewall is one portion of a layered protection strategy.
Each layer has redundant components. Redundancy is good - it's your
computer and what you don't know can hurt you.
- NAT router.
- Personal firewall or port monitor.
- Spyware and virus scanning and real time protection.
- Carefully updated operating system and applications.
- Hardened browser. The right browser, carefully configured.
- Common sense.

Please spend some more time reading what gets discussed on these
forums before you try to bluster like that.

And please learn to munge your email address.
http://www.mailmsg.com/SPAM_munging.htm

Cheers,
Chuck
Paranoia comes from experience - and is not necessarily a bad thing.