winxp pro firewall question

[elad elkoby]

Hi, I am just wondering if I keep up with all crtitical updates from
microsoft and have Norton A/V Pro 2004 installed will the XP firewall do.
I have ran both symantec security check and a/v system scan with nothing
nasty showing up on the hard disk.
Thanks.

 

[Lanwench [MVP - Exchange]]

The XP firewall is fine if you don't want to monitor what is being sent
*from* your computer to the Internet, such as trojans, etc....

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

WinXP's built-in firewall is _adequate_ at stopping incoming
attacks, and hiding your ports from probes. It doesn't give you any
alarms to tell you that it is working, though. What WinXP also does
not do, is protect you from any Trojans or spyware that you might
download and install inadvertently. It doesn't monitor out-going
traffic at all, much less block (or at even ask you about) the bad or
the questionable out-going packets. 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.

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 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
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