XP Firewall

[Phil]

What are peoples opinions on using the XP built in Firewall?

Is it good enough to use on it's own or is it better to purchase another
Firewall (i.e. Norton's etc)

 

[JAX]

Hi Phil,

XP's firewall is very basic. It only prevents incoming traffic and has no
effect on outgoing. That is to say, if you have some sort of malware that
would access the internet and send out information, XP's firewall, "ICF",
would not block it or notify you about it. Also, there is no way to
configure ICF to suit your own needs.

There are several good FREE firewalls out there. I use ZoneAlarm and have
for years. The free edition is all the average user needs. Don't bother with
the rest of the stuff they try to sell you. Not to say that it isn't good,
there are free programs that will do the same thing. The link below will
take you to the ZoneAlarm site.
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

HTH, JAX

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

In

What are peoples opinions on using the XP built in Firewall?

Is it good enough to use on it's own or is it better to purchase
another Firewall (i.e. Norton's etc)

The XP firewall monitors incoming traffic, but does nothing to
stop spyware programs trying to call home. It also is much less
configurable than other choices.

For those reasons I recommend a third-party firewall, such as the
free version of ZoneAlarm instead.

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Well, WinXP's built-in ICF is certainly better than nothing, but
it's no substitute for a real firewall.

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. Nor is it very easily
configurable. What WinXP also 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 ICF 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 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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[Philippe L. Balmanno]

I myself have XP firewall enabled and got rid of zone alarm. It was a
package deal with my Linksys devices and PC-Cillan. The settings on ZA kept
changing and kept me from receiving email and sometimes from connecting to
the internet. It was as if it was possessed. In news groups I found a lot
of people with similar experiences. I tested ZA's ability to protect my
network at http://scan.sygatetech.com/. You can choose all of the scans
possible and it will let you know which ports and vulnerabilities your
system has, I found a lot of security wholes with ZA. Coupled with the ever
changing settings, I suspect some websites had code that comprimised ZA and
changed the settings could be by accident, but it always changed after
surfing the internet. regardless of which firewall you choose test it out
at the site it will give you a good perspective on your network wholes. I
finally bought sygate's firewall after using the free trial version, it has
a stealth mode that you have to turn off if you want windows update to
recognize your OS for updates otherwise it refuses to acknowledge you.