Re: Hardware vs Software
From: Bruce Chambers (bchambers_at_nospamcableone.net)
Date: 04/21/04
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Date: Tue, 20 Apr 2004 19:21:42 -0600
Greetings --
You've been very lucky, to date.
Like WinXP's built-in firewall, NAT-capable routers do
nothing to protect the uninformed user from him/herself. Again -- and
I _cannot_ emphasize this enough -- almost all spyware and many
Trojans and worms are downloaded and installed deliberately (albeit
unknowingly) by the user. So a software firewall, such as Sygate or
ZoneAlarm, that can detect and warn the user of unauthorized out-going
traffic is an important element of protecting one's privacy and
security. Most antivirus applications do not scan for or protect you
from adware/spyware, because, after all, you've installed them
yourself, so you must want them there, right?
Secondly, if you're operating on a large network, and don't have a
software firewall in place, your only intrusion protection is the
LAN's perimeter firewall. What is there to safeguard your workstation
from being compromised by a worm or Trojan installed upon another
workstation on the LAN by a user who inadvertently downloaded and
installed something malicious? An awful lot of LANs were compromised
by Blaster and Welchia because some users connected their laptops to
their unprotected home networks, or to compromised public networks -
like those in hotels and airports, and then returned to the office and
plugged into the company LAN.
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 "Linda B" <anonymous@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:1a3c01c426fa$cdf12930$a601280a@phx.gbl... > > Why is it whenever people on this NG ask about what they > should do to protect themselves from the evils rampant on > the Internet, everyone always responds with "install NIS" > or "install ZoneAlarm"? Always install, install, install! > > Personally, I have always been an advocate of the "less > software = more stable system" school of thought, and > would *much* rather have a router hooked up between me and > my cable modem to protect me than any software installed > on my machine. I don't have any firewall software -- not > even any anti-virus software -- and I've never had any > problems whatsoever as long as I'm plugged into my > precious router. > > Considering you can pick up a four-port router for about > the same amount of money as NIS, why do more people not > consider this an option? (Admittedly, ZoneAlarm is free, > but then you have ZoneAlarm on your computer, always > asking you if Site A is safe or if Popup B should be > allowed.) > > Just my two cents. > :) LB
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