Firewall

[psimonl]

hello,

A couple of days ago, I asked about if you knew nvidea firewall http://spyderco.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21292 and I had to finally reinstall xp.

Now, my question is: What Firewall do you use? I have heard about some sharewares, but I would like information from people I trust (You!!!).

Some say that the one that comes with xp is ok for most use... What do you think..?


Simon

[Senate]

Zone Alarm, a little ressource demanding but if you can afford 20Mb of RAM, go for it.

[The Deacon]

Zone Alarm Pro here.

[uhiforgot]

Zone Alarm here too. It's probably the most effective and customizable firewall there is! 20Mb of RAM seems a bit steep. Mine is using 2300Kb at the moment.

There's the free version (I'm using this now), and the paid/Pro version. I would reccomend going pro. It's about 40 bucks, and you can either set it up to never hear from it, or do what I do and have your computer ask you for permission every time it wants to scratch its ass. Either way is very effective, but I'm just a bit more paranoid than others.

I had Norton for a while, but apparently they are a bit too buddy-buddy with Microsloth, and certain LEGITIMATE programs were permanently rewriting my firewall rules without my permission. That is grounds for MERCILESS AND IMMEDIATE DISMISSAL in my office :mad: Period.

So yeah, GO ZONE ALARM!!! :D

-Jeff

[yablanowitz]

Actually, I prefer the hardware firewall built in to my router. I have run Zone Alarm, Zone Alarm Pro, and the XP firewall, and none of them really get a chance to do much behind the hardware firewall. Zone Alarm Pro is good, but it averaged about one alert a month, usually when a new program first tried to check for available updates. If I remember right, it said it had blocked two intrusion attempts in a year, so I went to the XP firewall for the level of protection I need. Even if you only have one comp on a broadband connection, I still suggest using a router just for that reason. :D

[severedthumbs]

I use a router and the built in firewall on XP and have never had a problem.

[Jonny8642]

I have windows firewall that comes with xp it works pretty well with windows defender (beta 2) micrsoft free spyware scanner and mozilla firfox helps as well.

[uhiforgot]

Actually, I prefer the hardware firewall built in to my router. I have run Zone Alarm, Zone Alarm Pro, and the XP firewall, and none of them really get a chance to do much behind the hardware firewall.
That's part of the problem. Double firewalls means your asking for trouble. They will work against each other.

severedthumbs and Johnny8642, if I were youn's I'd run your antivirus and spyware/adware scanners...

Then download THIS antivirus program and run it (it's free):

http://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5

And then download THIS adware scanner and run it (it's also free):

http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

I think you'll be surprised at what they find. Unlike firewalls, it's OK to have more than one virus scanner and/or adware scanner, and is actually a GOOD idea. Some programs will find things that others won't, but the two above programs seem to be the most thorough in their scans.

Hopefully nobody takes offense to this, but the firewall that came with Windows XP Service pack 2 is a useless piece of crap and should have never been created. If that is the only firewall you use, download AVG Anti-Virus and Ad-Aware SE and see what a great job it's doing.

...Did I happen to mention they are FREE???

-Jeff

[yablanowitz]

Jeff, I run Norton Anti-virus, full scan daily. I run Spybot Search and Destroy AND AdAware at least once a month. Average total virus, worm, adware and spyware threats detected per month - 5. Runs the same whether I run a software firewall or not. Go figure. :rolleyes:

[uhiforgot]

Jeff, I run Norton Anti-virus, full scan daily. I run Spybot Search and Destroy AND AdAware at least once a month. Average total virus, worm, adware and spyware threats detected per month - 5. Runs the same whether I run a software firewall or not. Go figure. :rolleyes:
When push comes to shove, you go with what you trust, and you seem to have a pretty thorough watch over bugs and such. Keep that up!!!

I respect people such as yourself because you actively maintain and TAKE CARE of your computer. Very few do, and it can become a very costly problem if left unattended. But more than anything, people that don't take care of their computers IRRITATE me because they always ask the nearest geek to help them... And as obsessive-compulsive as we are, we must fix the problem.

===I feel a tangential A.D.D. RANT building...===

One of my friends from high school needed me to fix her computer, and I did. I then told her to go buy ANY firewall and ANY antivirus program at ANY computer store (better than nothing, which was what she had, and this was before I knew of the free stuff) before I would come to fix the computer again. A few weeks later she calls asking me to fix the computer. And no, she has bought NEITHER a firewall nor antivirus program. Apparently the $60 she had supposedly alloted for such software was used to get her hair done :confused:

...that was the END of the conversation, and it was not long before her computer became a rather large and expensive paperweight. Good riddance!

Owning and using a computer is like driving a car: It's not a right, it's a PRIVELIGE!!! Just as you must be responsible enough to get the oil in your car changed every 3,000 miles or so, so must you be responsible enough to keep your computer running smoothly with simple maintainence. And you don't have to be a mechanic or a geek to do these things; you only need to have common sense and be RESPONSIBLE!!!

===End of Rant===

Anyway, this is where I use the underwear analogy: Everybody wears something different because it works for them, so if you wear briefs, it's not my place to tell you to wear boxers.

-Jeff

[boxer93]

free zonealarm for me. Provides great protection for me at home.
Chris

[yablanowitz]

Jeff, I love my little sister, but she is one of those "ignore it until it dies" people. Add that to the fact that she has been using my old computers for about 10 years now. :rolleyes: My favorite was when she got a virus on a Win98 machine and brought it to me to fix. I checked system tools, days since Scandisk last run - 768, days since defrag - 768, days since virus definitions were updated - 768. Guess how long she had had it? :D