Re: Kerio Personal Firewall 4 and NIPS

From: Volker Birk (bumens_at_dingens.org)
Date: 08/29/05 

Date: 29 Aug 2005 19:56:06 +0200

Pam <pam_staley@removethishotmail.com> wrote:
> I've been trying to educate myself on firewalls ect... I'm running XP PRO
> and was running ZA but had too many email problems so removed that thru
> control panel - and was told to install Kerio - but after reading some of
> the messages on this thread - maybe I don't even NEED a firewall other than
> my xp pro which is already activated? Is that what you are saying?

Yes. The Windows-Firewall is OK.

> If that's true...then do I need anything to stop virus ect?? what should I
> be using?

It's a good idea to use a virus scanner. Virus scanners are one of the most
overestimated software types, though.

A virus scanner cannot find every virus. But a virus scanner can find the
viruses it knows already, and those are usually many.

The best virus scanner is your brain ;-) If you don't use software
out of dubious sources, if you cannot be folled by mail worms, because
you're thinking before opening a mail (and not using a MUA which opens
the mail for you like older Outlook Express releases), and you don't
use Internet Explorer, which has lists of unfixed bugs, but any other
browser and keeping also this software up to date like your system
software (use Windows-Update!), then you should be safe even if you
have no virus scanner.

A virus scanner can help, though. Especially, if you're not using it
as "online-access-scanner", but rebooting from another media from time
to time, and scanning your hard disk frequently. Also it is a good idea
to scan files, which you're downloading or receiving as mail attachement,
before you're using them the very first time.

HTH,
yours,
VB. 

-- 
"Es kann nicht sein, dass die Frustrierten in Rom bestimmen, was in
deutschen Schlafzimmern passiert".
                                    Harald Schmidt zum "Weltjugendtag"

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