Firewall question

[john ranger]

Is there a program that is ONLY a firewall and nothing else?

[EzyStvy]

Yeppers.....There are many.

[john ranger]

Could you give me a few names please?

[EzyStvy]

Zone Alarm.

[john ranger]

Zone Alarm.

Would you say that Zonealarm is better than the Xp built in firewall?

[EzyStvy]

At best, the built in firewall is WEAK.

Comodo Firewall Pro - does more then just a firewall and is apparently better then Zone Alarm.
http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

[glc]

The XP firewall is adequate as long as you are behind a router. The more things you expect a firewall to do, the more likely something else isn't going to work right.

[john ranger]

The XP firewall is adequate as long as you are behind a router. The more things you expect a firewall to do, the more likely something else isn't going to work right.

Are you saying like a ordinary router like Linskys Cable/DSL???

[Force Flow]

I like sunbelt/kerio for prompting for when apps request incoming/outgoing traffic.

For just basic firewall protection, SP2's firewall is fine.



Are you saying like a ordinary router like Linskys Cable/DSL???

Anything with NAT

[glc]

NAT is basic, NAT plus SPI is even better.

[john ranger]

NAT is basic, NAT plus SPI is even better.

I took a picture of my Linskeys the only place I found nat. Does this look good to you guys??

[glc]

Actually all routers have NAT - what model is that Linksys? You should be okay with that and the XP firewall, just remember that the XP firewall doesn't monitor outbound packets.

[john ranger]

Actually all routers have NAT - what model is that Linksys? You should be okay with that and the XP firewall, just remember that the XP firewall doesn't monitor outbound packets.


Linksys model number:BEFSR41 V 4

Outbound packets ...Is that not important?

[EzyStvy]

Outbound packets are what "leave" your pc and go to the outside world. If your pc is virus/torjan free you don't have to worry.

[Force Flow]

You would also see what/when applications try to "phone home"

[glc]

The BEFSR41 does not have SPI, just NAT. The Windows firewall actually has basic SPI, it just doesn't monitor outbound as already said.

[357mag]

ZoneAlarm is not just a firewall like it used to be. The company now puts an anti-virus in with it.

It's getting harder to find just a dedicated firewall nowadays. Most products come bundled with other utilities that may be or may not be what you want.

[glc]

That's why I feel that the XP/Vista firewall along with a router is adequate.

I'm behind a router. I'm using the Windows firewall on my XP box and Zone Alarm 4.5.594 on my 2K box. Starting with version 5, ZA became bloated and troublesome.