XP Firewall?

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Guest

Should I use the XP firewall or install one from another company? I ask because when it was activated I never was asked for access from certain programs and never got messages of incoming traffic that was blocked.
 
SteveSac said:
Should I use the XP firewall or install one from another company? I
ask because when it was activated I never was asked for access from
certain programs and never got messages of incoming traffic that was
blocked.
Click to expand...

XP ICF currently doesn't filter outgoing traffic at all and silently logs
the incoming traffic, if you tell it to.
 
Have you really had that much trouble with the built in
firewall? It has worked fine for me.

Make sure you install several spyware programs, because
somehow those bugs manage to get onto your system. I
wish they could provide built in spyware protection too;
wishful thinking I guess...
 
No, I have not had any trouble that I know about. Because it worked behind the scenes, I forgot I was using it and installed a firewall from norton. The newly installed firewall is so much different I began to question the effectivness of the XP firewall. Since the new firewall is so much work constantly asking me about access and informing of incomming attemps that were blocked, I would love to go back the XP firewall but need some reassurance of its effectivness.
 
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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