Re: Broadband and security question

Leythos wrote:
In article <e3xcfEh4GHA.3444@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, spamyou@xxxxxxxx says...
cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user) wrote:
On Mon, 25 Sep 2006 19:35:49 -0600, Dan <spamyou@xxxxxxxx> wrote:

So Chris, I guess you really do not like Zone Alarm Professional and is it because it is too bloated or what is the reason? Thanks in advance for your replies.
I was thinking that it's exactly the kind of pervasive add-on you're
trying to avoid. I've used/troubleshot the free ZA since it started
out as the only free firewall ("what's a firewall?") in the early
Win9x days, and with every new version of Windows, came hassles and
the search for "really, *this* version works" fixes.

Problems included blockage of LAN file and print sharing, tangles with
System Restore, constant writes to the file system that would cause
Scandisk and Defrag to continuously restart, bunfights with resident
av (especially CA's eTrust) and side-effects of its attachment
awareness. In the end, I just thought "I don't need the hassle".

When I do use a 3rd-party firewall, as is mandatory for Win2000, I've
been using Kerio. I've heard good things about Outpost, but I haven't
used it. Personally, I'd rather use a router to hide the systems from
direct access and use XP SP2's firewall, than hope for better
protection from a third-party firewall (esp. if no router protection)

So do you think the software firewall is a waste if a user is behind a NAT router?

If you are reasonably sure you know what you are doing, a NAT router will be all that you need in most home user cases. They block inbound traffic, so, nothing reaches your computer unless you invite it to reach your computer - that means that as long as you don't download/install some malware, external users can't directly reach your computer.

If you are the type that visits questionable sites, or doesn't patch their computer, or downloads files for the fun of it, then nothing you install or hardware will protect you.

All installable personal firewall solutions can be compromised on a Windows box when you run as a local administrator, some PFW's provide reporting and real-time traffic displays, but you should never count on a PFW to fully protect you, you really need to monitor the logs in that NAT Router to be sure what your network is doing.


Thanks Leythos for your reply. I will continue to use the NAT router and monitor it from time to time. I will use Zone Alarm Professional as well. I look forward to testing the Windows Vista Firewall soon by connecting directly into the modem and see what hits the Vista operating system receives and the blocking ability with just the Vista software firewall and no hardware protection. I did this for a few months with XP Professional Service Pack 2 and the majority of hits came from China and they also had the strongest hack attempts. <grin>
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Firewall Necessity
    ... Your precise thinking is a major reason why when a new exploit is ... The layered protection is necessary to properly protect the computer. ... Properly configured a firewall adds little overhead to the computer. ... You should keep the politics of Iraq out of this. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.help_and_support)
  • Re: Firewall Necessity
    ... Your precise thinking is a major reason why when a new exploit is ... The layered protection is necessary to properly protect the computer. ... Properly configured a firewall adds little overhead to the computer. ... You should keep the politics of Iraq out of this. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.network_web)
  • Re: Norton Internet Security 2005 Personal Firewall slows down Windows XP startup
    ... tell you what lets round all the venders up who use the term firewall ... every time a NAT router is referenced? ... I simply used the term firewall to describe the protection ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Hardware, software or both?
    ... > checking the Sygate Personal firewall and like it a lot. ... You can get a cheap NAT router that will catch most attacks before it ... Think layered protection and not depend on one single element is going to ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)
  • Re: Is there a risk with firewalls?
    ... It appears that a NAT router is the safest way to protect my or any PC from ... Is a firewall such as Zone Alarm still needed even if one has a NAT ... Finally you say that a firewall needs two network interface cards one ... Internet and the network it's protecting the LAN. ...
    (comp.security.firewalls)