PC Security - Firewall. Windows? ZoneAlarm?? Which to use???
I am currently looking at the security of a PC i am working on at the moment.
I am interested to hear comments on what firewall to use, i currently have the Windows default Firewall activated an running. But, is this sufficent security for my system? Should I have ZoneAlarm running as well?
I also have AV protection running and a period sweep of Spyware with SpyBot S&D.
The windows firewall isn't efficient enough. I turn my windows firewall off because its annoying. I do use another firewall, antivirus, script block, and cookie blocker all in one. If you have zone alarm use it. It can be helpful and I think its better than the windows firewall. I use Bit Defender Pro.
Windows firewall is complete rubbish IMO -
I have a hardware firewall as well as McAfee Personal Firewall on several computers around here. A hardware firewall is usually a lot more reliable and sufficient than a software firewall can be.
I use IPTables. lol Oh wait windows doesn't have that. That's right I'm using Linux... I use ZoneAlarm on my wife and my mother-in-laws computers but I use IPTables that come with linux. It's much more secure than anything you can get on a PC except for a hardware firewall.
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Who gave you that Ugging infraction? Yeah that's right it was me!
The built in Windows XP firewall only does half the job that a firewall is supposed to do. It blocks unknown programs from outside from being able to communicate with your computer. If you download a virus, spyware, trojan, or other nasty onto your computer then that software can communicate out without your knowledge and it can also update the firewall rules to allow all of its fellow nasties to communicate into your computer so as to effectively destroy what effectiveness the firewall has.
Any other firewall blocks unknown traffic in BOTH directions and has the rules in an ENCRYPTED file so that only the firewall program has the ability to update access permissions. With any firewall apart from the XP one any nasties that get into your computer will be inable to communicate out and will be unable to update the access rules which will reduce the amount of harm that they can do if/when they do get in (eg. as an email attachment or embedded into a program you download).
I use ZoneAlarm Security Suite to protect my computer network.
Well, it's not entirely true that a hardware firewall is better than a software firewall. A software firewall has much better inspection possibilities and knowledge of outgoing communications. I of course have both hard and soft firewalls (ZoneAlarm, had McAffee before my free registration ran out a couple of months ago).
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PC Security - Firewall. Windows? ZoneAlarm?? Which to use???
I use ZoneAlarm on my wife and my mother-in-laws computers but I use IPTables that come with linux. It's much more secure than anything you can get on a PC except for a hardware firewall.
