Re: Good firewall recommendations
From: Celtic Leroy (I_am__celtic_leroy__san_verbage_at_myhost.com)
Date: 08/27/04
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Date: Fri, 27 Aug 2004 19:09:51 GMT
Edw. Peach <bogus_addie@yahoo.com> wrote:
>I've read in a number of places (including here) that Zone Alarm (at
>least the free version) really isn't that good. Is that true?
>
>What is good, as far as firewall software goes?
I lived in Washington DC in the mid 70's where I saw a TV ad for a
martial arts studio. The owner would come on the screen and say "No
body messes with me!". Some weeks after the ad started airing he was
attacked in the parking lot outside his studio...he was beaten to a
pulp and spent 3 weeks in the hospital. The ad was pulled and future
ads did not challenge others to "test his abilities".
I have used Zone Alarm, in it's various versions, since it was first
offered in tucows.com many years ago. I have used various anti-virus
programs as well. I currently do not use an AV program (I believe the
AV companies actually write some of these virus to keep you "on the
hook"), but I still use ZA. I'm happy to say my system has never been
infected, compromised, or owned (this is not a challenge to "test"
me!!!). Although, as a test, I did get the dreaded Blue screen of
death once (back a few years) on Win98SE while using ZA...this was one
of the now well known exploites that have since been fixed with an SP.
My point is this. ZA will protect you from the occasional "ping" on
various ports (like the current 445 mess) by showing no "presents"
and, in turn, illiciting no attack. But, if the attacker is aware of
your presents (as in the test where he knew I was on-line, or if you
are providing a presents such as a web server listening on port 80 or
any other type server), the attack can be, and often is, successful
against ZA. ZA is great for stopping unwanted internet access from
programs you have on your system...for example, I NEVER allow an
installed program to register itself on-line.
So, the answer to your question may be more than just simply "which is
the best?", but, "what do I need?". In cases involving a dial-up
connection and no servers, a simple application of Zone Alarm may
suffice (show no presents, invite no attacks). Where you are using a
high-speed connection (cable, DSL...), also with no server(s), you
should have a router (for the hardware protection needed by static
IP's) as well as a s/w firewall (Zone Alarm may well be all you need
here too). If you are a business and have both a static IP address
and host a server or servers, your needs are much more pronounced than
the simple home user...and you would do better to acquire the services
of a professional to establish a secure site.
If you have further question regarding the configuration of specific
devices or products, please feel free to ask specific questions :) I
will defer to the experts on those subjects.
Regards,
Leroy
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