Windows XP SP2 Firewall

[JoeB]

Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?

[Philippe L. Balmanno]

You could, if you are a home user, find a web site that will test your
firewall. Something like this site: http://scan.sygatetech.com/ or this
http://www.firewallguide.com/test.htm. In any case doing a search for
firewall test will get you a lot of options. Stick to non-hacker sites and
enable all other protection AV, Spyware busters etc...

"JoeB" > wrote in message
m...
> Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
> working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
> has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
> doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?

[Bill Crocker]

If you're behind a router, most likely you will not see any intrusion
attempts.

Bill Crocker


"JoeB" > wrote in message
m...
> Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
> working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
> has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
> doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?

[Philippe L. Balmanno]

Providing they've taken the liberty of not simply allowing default
router/gateway settings.

"Bill Crocker" > wrote in message
...
> If you're behind a router, most likely you will not see any intrusion
> attempts.
>
> Bill Crocker
>
>
> "JoeB" > wrote in message
> m...
>> Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
>> working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
>> has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
>> doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?
>
>

[Mike Hall]

Silent is good.. if you have no trojans and worms on your system that you
haven't inadvertently loaded by your own efforts, then it is doing its job..
however, the SP2 firewall doesn't track outgoing events.. get yourself a
reasonable software firewall..

I will not attempt to suggest any because I would get jumped on for my
choice.. I suggest that you type 'software firewall' into a Google search or
use the search engine of choice.. some offer a free version and a full paid
version too..


"JoeB" > wrote in message
m...
> Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
> working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
> has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
> doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?

[Dude]

Mike Hall wrote:

> the SP2 firewall doesn't track outgoing events

As a former user of ZoneAlarm, I was surprised by the SP2 firewall
not checking outgoing events. Very strange! Many apps "phone home"
and I assumed the SP2 firewall would prevent it. Not so. Back to
ZoneAlarm for me? Perhaps... but it's such a bitch to use, and it
never remembers my settings. :(

[CS]

On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 13:11:44 +1100, "Dude" > wrote:

>Mike Hall wrote:
>
>> the SP2 firewall doesn't track outgoing events
>
>As a former user of ZoneAlarm, I was surprised by the SP2 firewall
>not checking outgoing events. Very strange! Many apps "phone home"
>and I assumed the SP2 firewall would prevent it. Not so. Back to
>ZoneAlarm for me? Perhaps... but it's such a bitch to use, and it
>never remembers my settings. :(
>

You might wish to consider Sygate Personal Firewall instead. It's
also free and has recently been updated to comply with the new XP
security center. I stopped using the free version of ZA because it
interferes with my PPPoE broadband connection. Sygate does not.

http://smb.sygate.com/free/spf_download.php

Give it a try. Good luck.

[Mike Hall]

Be careful how you edit these threads.. I did make the statement 'the SP2
firewall doesn't track outgoing events', but can't be accredited with the
rest of it..


"CS" > wrote in message
...
> On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 13:11:44 +1100, "Dude" > wrote:
>
>>Mike Hall wrote:
>>
>>> the SP2 firewall doesn't track outgoing events
>>
>>As a former user of ZoneAlarm, I was surprised by the SP2 firewall
>>not checking outgoing events. Very strange! Many apps "phone home"
>>and I assumed the SP2 firewall would prevent it. Not so. Back to
>>ZoneAlarm for me? Perhaps... but it's such a bitch to use, and it
>>never remembers my settings. :(
>>
>
> You might wish to consider Sygate Personal Firewall instead. It's
> also free and has recently been updated to comply with the new XP
> security center. I stopped using the free version of ZA because it
> interferes with my PPPoE broadband connection. Sygate does not.
>
> http://smb.sygate.com/free/spf_download.php
>
> Give it a try. Good luck.

[Bruce Chambers]

JoeB wrote:
> Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
> working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
> has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
> doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?

You won't. WinXP's built-in firewall doesn't provide any alerts to
tell you that it has blocked any attempted intrusions.

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 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, an 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, 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 the commercially
available 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

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

[CS]

On Sat, 27 Nov 2004 22:41:38 -0500, "Mike Hall"
> wrote:

I know that Mike. Although I didn't edit out your remark, the reply I
gave was directed toward "Dude". Hopefully he read it. Sorry if it
caused confusion.

>Be careful how you edit these threads.. I did make the statement 'the SP2
>firewall doesn't track outgoing events', but can't be accredited with the
>rest of it..
>
>
>"CS" > wrote in message
...
>> On Sun, 28 Nov 2004 13:11:44 +1100, "Dude" > wrote:
>>
>>>Mike Hall wrote:
>>>
>>>> the SP2 firewall doesn't track outgoing events
>>>
>>>As a former user of ZoneAlarm, I was surprised by the SP2 firewall
>>>not checking outgoing events. Very strange! Many apps "phone home"
>>>and I assumed the SP2 firewall would prevent it. Not so. Back to
>>>ZoneAlarm for me? Perhaps... but it's such a bitch to use, and it
>>>never remembers my settings. :(
>>>
>>
>> You might wish to consider Sygate Personal Firewall instead. It's
>> also free and has recently been updated to comply with the new XP
>> security center. I stopped using the free version of ZA because it
>> interferes with my PPPoE broadband connection. Sygate does not.
>>
>> http://smb.sygate.com/free/spf_download.php
>>
>> Give it a try. Good luck.
>

[JoeB]

Bruce Chambers > wrote in message >...
> JoeB wrote:
> > Several weeks ago I downloaded XP SP2 and everthing seems to be
> > working great - no apparent problems. I'm using the XP firewall but it
> > has been totally silent. Nothing has appeared to indicate that it is
> > doing its job. How do I know if it is working or not?
>
> You won't. WinXP's built-in firewall doesn't provide any alerts to
> tell you that it has blocked any attempted intrusions.
>
> 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 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, an 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, 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 the commercially
> available 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
>
> Help us help you:
> http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>
> You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
> both at once. - RAH

I tried ZoneAlarm but it was constantly asking me to allow or block
something. With my limited computer experience I was never sure if it
was a bug or something needed for my operating system. Maybe Sygate
would work better for me. Thanks. JoeB.