free Zone Alarm firewall compared to SP2

[Moe Belli]

I was wondering which is better? Should I get rid of Zone Alarm and just
use the built in Windows XP SP2 firewall? Does Zone Alarm give me
anything that XP's firewall doesn't give me features wise?



MB

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

The XP SP2 Firewall doesn't monitor outgoing access from your PC to the
Internet. I would suggest that you will be off using ZoneAlarm as that is a
'2-way' Firewall.

 

[george]

I was wondering which is better? Should I get rid of Zone Alarm and just
use the built in Windows XP SP2 firewall? Does Zone Alarm give me anything
that XP's firewall doesn't give me features wise?



MB

for openers ZA will monitor both incoming as well as outgoing traffic.
Windows Firewall only monitors incoming.

For me that alone has been the single most important feature for sticking
with ZA (or any other Personal Firewall) instead of Windows Firewall. Just
suppose despite all your precautions, you actually succeeded in hosting some
dialer or other spy/malware that shares my info with the world without you
knowing, because outgoing traffic is not monitored.

)
george

 

[Wislu Plethora]

-----Original Message-----
Hi

The XP SP2 Firewall doesn't monitor outgoing access from your PC to the
Internet. I would suggest that you will be off using ZoneAlarm as that is a
'2-way' Firewall.

If I use ZA will I be off too?

 

[Guest]

I use winxp and uninstalled zone alarm, of course there are a few other items
installed as well.

 

[Will Denny]

If I use ZA will I be off too?

Hi

If you use ZA, your system will have protection from outgoing access to the
Internet from your PC and also protection from incoming attempts to access
your PC from the Internet.. The XP SP2 Firewall only performs the latter.
So, yes, you will be better off using ZA.

 

[Unknown]

Where did you get the information that SP2 does not monitor outgoing??

 

[Moe Belli]

I was wondering which is better? Should I get rid of Zone Alarm and just
use the built in Windows XP SP2 firewall? Does Zone Alarm give me
anything that XP's firewall doesn't give me features wise?



MB

Okay, so I guess it's better not to use the XP firewall and to just run
Zone Alarm.

I've been hearing people with problems with the most recent versions of
Zone Alarm. Is there a better shareware/freeware XP firewall solution
out there that anyone can recommend.




mb

 

[Will Denny]

Hi

The XP Firewall never has monitored outgoing access to the Internet.

 

[Wislu Plethora]

-----Original Message-----


Hi

If you use ZA, your system will have protection from outgoing access to the
Internet from your PC and also protection from incoming attempts to access
your PC from the Internet.. The XP SP2 Firewall only performs the latter.
So, yes, you will be better off using ZA.


--

Will Denny
MVP - Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups

I was just making a little joke based on your typo in
the previous post. You said that the OP would be "off"
using ZA, rather than "better off."

 

[george]

Okay, so I guess it's better not to use the XP firewall and to just run
Zone Alarm.

I've been hearing people with problems with the most recent versions of
Zone Alarm. Is there a better shareware/freeware XP firewall solution out
there that anyone can recommend.




mb

Sygate (free for personal use)
http://smb.sygate.com/download_buy.htm
is another good candidate

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Windows Firewall may monitor outgoing traffic, but only to see if incoming
is OK.

[[If you want more advanced control over the traffic that passes through
your computer and you also want to block outgoing traffic (that is the
traffic from your computer out to the Internet) then choose a personal
firewall from another company.]]
Frequently Asked Questions About Internet Firewalls
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx

New Windows Firewall
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0104.mspx#EFAA

Description of the Windows Firewall feature in Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;843090

 

[sgopus]

In this case there is no advantage to being native, the
resident firewall in XP doesn't monitor what goes out,
just what attempts to come in, Zone alarm is IMHO much
better than the XP firewall, simply due to it's ability to
monitor and control outgoing connections.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I was wondering which is better? Should I get rid of Zone Alarm and
just use the built in Windows XP SP2 firewall? Does Zone Alarm give
me
anything that XP's firewall doesn't give me features wise?



MB

WinXP's built-in firewall is adequate at stopping incoming attacks,
and hiding your ports from probes. What WinXP SP2's firewall does not
do, is protect you from any Trojans or spyware that you (or someone
else using your computer) might download and install inadvertently.
It doesn't monitor out-going traffic at all, other than to check for
IP-spoofing, much less block (or at even ask you about) the bad or the
questionable out-going signals. It assumes that any application you
have on your hard drive is there because you want it there, and
therefore has your "permission" to access the Internet. Further,
because the Windows Firewall is a "stateful" firewall, it will also
assume that any incoming traffic that's a direct response to a
Trojan's or spyware's out-going signal is also authorized.

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 the commercially
available 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

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Where did you get the information that SP2 does not monitor
outgoing??

From about every piece of official Microsoft documentation
concerning it, where else?

--

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

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

I was wondering which is better? Should I get rid of Zone Alarm and just

use the built in Windows XP SP2 firewall? Does Zone Alarm give me
anything that XP's firewall doesn't give me features wise?

First the new XP firewall is better than the old. It now can block (or
allow really) what programs on you computer that may act as a server !

BUT it still does not (as I see anyway) control what programs that
SEND data out FROM your computer to the net (can't stop a virus that
is sending data from the computer).

ZA however will alert you for every program trying BOTH to send or
receive data, and you can then allow or deny that program access (and
you can choose to remember that setting too). That's really neat.

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

Unknown skrev:

Where did you get the information that SP2 does not monitor outgoing??

How can it? There are no alerts when programs try to send things.
OK, you may block certain ports, but then they are blocked for all
programs. In ZA you can choose individual programs to have access.

 

[Lars-Erik Østerud]

Moe Belli skrev:

I've been hearing people with problems with the most recent versions of
Zone Alarm. Is there a better shareware/freeware XP firewall solution
out there that anyone can recommend.

I'm currently testing ZA 5.2 beta. Look real good (I had lots of
trouble with 5.0, so I were using the 4.5 version before). It has lots
of new smart stuff as well (the 5.5). Test the beta, or wait for the
release (among other things it can protect against password,
card-numbers etc beeing transmitted without your approval, nice