Firewall

[Don]

Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

[Shenan Stanley]

Don wrote:
> Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?

Depends on your needs and situation.

For most people, it will be MORE than adequate and anything else would be a
pain. The current implementation of the XP ICF only blocks INCOMING
traffic. That means if you get a virus like sasser on your machine somehow,
you will be sending it out to other people and trying to infect them.

Essentially - it can make you into a Typhoid Mary character.

Look around, compare, learn. Don't base your decision strictly on a
question asked once in a newsgroup and a half-dozen answers. Use Google to
research on your own!

ZoneAlarm (FREE and up)
Basic PC protection for the home user
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp

Windows XP ICF (comes with Windows XP)
got windows xp? - you have this one if you do
http://www.microsoft.com/WindowsXP/pro/using/howto/networking/icf.asp

Kerio Personal Firewall (KPF) (FREE and up)
builds a barrier between your personal computer and the Internet
http://www.kerio.com/kpf_download.html

Outpost Firewall from Agnitum (FREE and up)
basic protection solution for casual web surfers and low budget systems
http://www.agnitum.com/download/

Sygate Personal Firewall (FREE and up)
the most user-friendly PC firewall and personal desktop security solution
http://smb.sygate.com/buy/download_buy.htm

Symantec's Norton Personal Firewall (~$25 and up)
keeps hackers out and personal data in
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/npf/

BlackICE PC Protection ($39.95 and up)
intrusion detection system and a personal firewall for a one-two punch of
protection
http://blackice.iss.net/

Tiny Personal Firewall (~$49.00 and up)
turn your pc into the fortress
http://www.tinysoftware.com/

That should get you started!

--
<- Shenan ->
--

everyone uses McAfee

[joust in jest]

<LsuEdu @ msn com> wrote in message
...
everyone uses McAfee

I don't use McAfee, I use Zone Alarm. Even if I were the only such person
in the world of computing, that would be enough people to prove your
assertion to be wrong.

steve

[dave @ stejonda]

In message >,
writes
>everyone uses McAfee

But the question is, what do they use it for?

--
dave @ stejonda

"To materialist eyes, India is a developing country;
to spiritual eyes, the United States is a developing country."
Ram Dass (an optimist)

[Mike]

Alongside a decent anti-virus program, the XP firewall is good enough to
protect you when you first go online to get Windows XP and anti-virus
updates.. consider using Zonealarm or Sygate firewall, both free.. they are
basic (but good) and there are versions that are better but you have to
pay.. I use McAfee pro version 7 package that includes AV and firewall, so I
use the McAfee offering, and to date have never had a virus or trojan..
others will advise you to go for Norton products.. we all have our
favorites.. the main thing is to ensure that whatever is used is also
updated as and when.. XP firewall will be improved through the release of
SP2, but do NOT install SP2 yet.. wait until it is released in its final
form..


"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
...
Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

[Unknown]

Yes!
"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message ...
Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

[Unknown]

Like hell! Where on earth do you get your data? Everyone uses McAfee is the biggest bunch of BS ever on this newsgroup.
<LsuEdu @ msn com> wrote in message ...
everyone uses McAfee

[Don]

One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated, but it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it that I'm not aware of?

--
Don
"Unknown" > wrote in message .com...
Yes!
"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message ...
Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

[joust in jest]

"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
...
One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated, but
it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it
that I'm not aware of?

--
Don
"Unknown" > wrote in message
.com...
Yes!
"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
...
Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

As others have pointed out, there are several software firewalls other than
the one supplied by Microsoft.
The basic function of a firewall is to block all incoming ports except for
those assigned for use by Internet browsers.

The firewall supplied with WinXP does this. That firewall does not,
however, block outgoing ports. This feature is not necessary if you keep
your computer free of Worms, Trojans, and Spyware that try to get in your
computer via e-mail and scripts -- those parasites, once on your computer,
make use of outgoing ports to propagate themselves. .

Other firewalls block incoming ports, and also offer various degrees of
customization (e.g. allow you to open a specific incoming port for a
specific use that you specify. Some offer script blocking, some scan
in-coming e-mail, and so forth. It is these extra features, and not the
basic firewall funtion, that is "constantly being updated" .

As others have pointed out, for a typical home user, IF they are diligent
about downloading and installing Windows XP security patches, and If they
are diligent about downloading and installing new Virus definitions for
their Antivirus program -- then the built in Firewall is just fine.

Hope this helps,

steve

[Don]

Thanks

--
Don
"joust in jest" <joust in > wrote in message
...
>
> "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
> ...
> One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated,
but
> it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it
> that I'm not aware of?
>
> --
> Don
> "Unknown" > wrote in message
> .com...
> Yes!
> "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
> ...
> Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
> --
> Don
>
> As others have pointed out, there are several software firewalls other
than
> the one supplied by Microsoft.
> The basic function of a firewall is to block all incoming ports except for
> those assigned for use by Internet browsers.
>
> The firewall supplied with WinXP does this. That firewall does not,
> however, block outgoing ports. This feature is not necessary if you keep
> your computer free of Worms, Trojans, and Spyware that try to get in your
> computer via e-mail and scripts -- those parasites, once on your computer,
> make use of outgoing ports to propagate themselves. .
>
> Other firewalls block incoming ports, and also offer various degrees of
> customization (e.g. allow you to open a specific incoming port for a
> specific use that you specify. Some offer script blocking, some scan
> in-coming e-mail, and so forth. It is these extra features, and not the
> basic firewall funtion, that is "constantly being updated" .
>
> As others have pointed out, for a typical home user, IF they are diligent
> about downloading and installing Windows XP security patches, and If they
> are diligent about downloading and installing new Virus definitions for
> their Antivirus program -- then the built in Firewall is just fine.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> steve
>
>

[joust in jest]

You bet.
steve

"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
...
> Thanks
>
> --
> Don
> "joust in jest" <joust in > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
> > ...
> > One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated,
> but
> > it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it
> > that I'm not aware of?
> >
> > --
> > Don
> > "Unknown" > wrote in message
> > .com...
> > Yes!
> > "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message
> > ...
> > Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
> > --
> > Don
> >
> > As others have pointed out, there are several software firewalls other
> than
> > the one supplied by Microsoft.
> > The basic function of a firewall is to block all incoming ports except
for
> > those assigned for use by Internet browsers.
> >
> > The firewall supplied with WinXP does this. That firewall does not,
> > however, block outgoing ports. This feature is not necessary if you
keep
> > your computer free of Worms, Trojans, and Spyware that try to get in
your
> > computer via e-mail and scripts -- those parasites, once on your
computer,
> > make use of outgoing ports to propagate themselves. .
> >
> > Other firewalls block incoming ports, and also offer various degrees of
> > customization (e.g. allow you to open a specific incoming port for a
> > specific use that you specify. Some offer script blocking, some scan
> > in-coming e-mail, and so forth. It is these extra features, and not the
> > basic firewall funtion, that is "constantly being updated" .
> >
> > As others have pointed out, for a typical home user, IF they are
diligent
> > about downloading and installing Windows XP security patches, and If
they
> > are diligent about downloading and installing new Virus definitions for
> > their Antivirus program -- then the built in Firewall is just fine.
> >
> > Hope this helps,
> >
> > steve
> >
> >
>
>

[NoNoBadDog!]

No. It is for inbound traffic only. It offers no security for outbound traffic, and has very little flexibility. I would opt for either Norton Personal Firewall or the free version of ZoneAlarm.

Bobby

"Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet> wrote in message ...
Is the firewall provided with windowsxp good enough?
--
Don

[NoNoBadDog!]

They do? funny...no one I know uses McAfee...I know I don't, and I would never let it near my machine.

Bobby

<LsuEdu @ msn com> wrote in message ...
everyone uses McAfee

[David S]

Am operating Win XP Home with firewall enabled.
Am planning to switch to DSL with MSN amd am wondering whether it
advisable to supplement the firewall.

I purchased Norton 2004 Pesonal Firewall software, but am looking for
aadvice before loading. I also have Zonealarm (not Pro) loaded and
operative.


On Mon, 10 May 2004 10:47:09 -0700, "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet>
wrote:

>One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated, but it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it that I'm not aware of?

[Lawrence]

The McAfee CD's make good coasters after AOL stopped mailing me theirs.

"dave @ stejonda" > wrote in message
...
> In message >,
> writes
> >everyone uses McAfee
>
> But the question is, what do they use it for?
>
> --
> dave @ stejonda
>
> "To materialist eyes, India is a developing country;
> to spiritual eyes, the United States is a developing country."
> Ram Dass (an optimist)

[Unknown]

Not necessary to supplement XP's firewall. I have mine turned on, keep the
'puter updated and have never had a virus.
"David S" > wrote in message
...
>
> Am operating Win XP Home with firewall enabled.
> Am planning to switch to DSL with MSN amd am wondering whether it
> advisable to supplement the firewall.
>
> I purchased Norton 2004 Pesonal Firewall software, but am looking for
> aadvice before loading. I also have Zonealarm (not Pro) loaded and
> operative.
>
>
> On Mon, 10 May 2004 10:47:09 -0700, "Don" <dbitzerATcomcastDOTnet>
> wrote:
>
> >One concern I have is that other firewalls are constantly being updated,
but it doesn't seem like the XP one ever is. Or is there a way to update it
that I'm not aware of?
>
>

[dave @ stejonda]

In message >, Unknown
> writes
>Not necessary to supplement XP's firewall. I have mine turned on, keep
>the 'puter updated and have never had a virus.

But XP Firewall provides no protection from unwanted outgoing
connections. :(

--
dave @ stejonda

"To materialist eyes, India is a developing country;
to spiritual eyes, the United States is a developing country."
Ram Dass (an optimist)

[Don Burnette]

Not really.

For broadband, I prefer a NAT hardware router, like Linksys or Netgear.
They are reasonable priced, and you don't have to worry about it using system resources. Plus,. it gives you the advantage of being able to connect more pc's to the router for internet connection should you desire.
I just have the one pc, and run it behind a Linksys BEFSR41 router, it basically masks the pc behind the router,, and the internet thinks the router is the pc. I have never had a problem with trojans, and do not run any software firewall.



--
Don Burnette

<LsuEdu @ msn com> wrote in message ...
everyone uses McAfee

[David S]

What is NAT router?
I have Actiotec router (DSL Gateway) provided by Qwest--would that do
the same?
David
On Sat, 15 May 2004 10:54:03 -0500, "Don Burnette"
> wrote:

>Not really.
>
>For broadband, I prefer a NAT hardware router, like Linksys or Netgear.
>They are reasonable priced, and you don't have to worry about it using system resources. Plus,. it gives you the advantage of being able to connect more pc's to the router for internet connection should you desire.
>I just have the one pc, and run it behind a Linksys BEFSR41 router, it basically masks the pc behind the router,, and the internet thinks the router is the pc. I have never had a problem with trojans, and do not run any software firewall.