Where can I learn, in depth, how to use the Windows firewall?

[Cymbal Man Freq.]

Where can I learn, in depth, how to use the Windows firewall?
I'm such a newbie with firewalls, and all the technical gibberish is really
beyond me. But the Windows Firewall has checkboxes and radio buttons, and
Exceptions and more than I expect to reasonably comprehend. My 1000+ page book
on Windows has NOTHING in-depth about the Windows Firewall specifically (Windows
XP, Inside and Out).

My mom was typing in a URL yesterday to check her e-mail and the letters deleted
themselves from last to first in the address bar as she was typing them in.
Maybe it was the webmail site dealing with a M$ patch? The PC World (pp. 49 in
the July, 2006 issue) magazine I got in the mail today has an article about
Windows Updates causing havoc with uncounted numbers of websites and Windows
users. Was it a hacker, a website malfunction, or something else that caused the
disappearing type? PC World also tests the latest anti-virus and firewall
products...and Norton Internet Security 2006 comes out on top! (severe groan
from the MVP's)

 

[Cymbal Man Freq.]

My mom was typing in a URL yesterday to check her e-mail and the
letters deleted themselves from last to first in the address bar as
she was typing them in.

I'll go over the "Insert" key with her tomorrow, but that was probably not the
problem.

 

[Pennywise]

|>Where can I learn, in depth, how to use the Windows firewall?
|>I'm such a newbie with firewalls, and all the technical gibberish is really
|>beyond me. But the Windows Firewall has checkboxes and radio buttons, and
|>Exceptions and more than I expect to reasonably comprehend. My 1000+ page book
|>on Windows has NOTHING in-depth about the Windows Firewall specifically (Windows
|>XP, Inside and Out).

Maybe not the best but very informative (all firewalls in general)
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Where can I learn, in depth, how to use the Windows firewall?
I'm such a newbie with firewalls, and all the technical gibberish is really
beyond me. But the Windows Firewall has checkboxes and radio buttons, and
Exceptions and more than I expect to reasonably comprehend. My 1000+ page book
on Windows has NOTHING in-depth about the Windows Firewall specifically (Windows
XP, Inside and Out).

Which edition of "Windows XP: Inside Out" do you have? The second
edition seems to have quite a bit about the Windows Firewall, although
I've not perused that portion of the book. Otherwise, it's rather
difficult to provide "in-depth" information on the Windows firewall, as
it's such a barebones, rudimentary firewall; it has no real "depth" to
be learned. I'd suggest that you start here:

Microsoft TechNet The Cable Guy - February 2004: Manually Configuring
Windows Firewall in Windows XP Service Pack 2
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/community/columns/cableguy/cg0204.mspx

On a more serious note, I'd strongly recommend that you obtain a
better, more flexible and powerful third-party firewall. 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
provide an important additional layer of protection by informing you
about any Trojans or spyware that you (or someone else using your
computer) might download and install inadvertently. It doesn't monitor
out-going network 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 or Kerio are much better than WinXP's built-in firewall,
in that they do provide that extra layer of protection, are much more
easily configured, and have free versions readily available for
downloading. Even the commercially available Symantec's Norton Personal
Firewall provides superior protection, although it does take a heavier
toll of system performance then do ZoneAlarm or Kerio.




--

Bruce Chambers

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