xp firewall or one installed

[shadowmonty]

Is the firewall in xp pro sufficient for the average computer on the net or would you put a separate one and turn off the xp one

[muskrat26]

I don't think the XP one is very good. Mine's turned off and I use Comodo (recently changed from Zone Alarm) I would not feel safe with the xp one at all.

[mikkh]

There's a lot of paranoia about firewalls, perpetuated mostly by computer magazines and people believing what they see in Hollywood movies IMO.

Lets compare firewalls with virus checkers a minute. Everyone has either caught a virus or knows someone who has.

How many people are positive they've been hacked or even know anyone who claims to have been hacked? It's none in my experience, and the 'zombie spam network' is mostly as a result of virus infections - not a leaky firewall.

If you have no other protection, the XP firewall is better than nothing and actually does a resonable job. It's much vaunted weakness of only monitoring incoming connections is sufficient if you have a clean machine to start with.

Having said that, there's obviously better software out there and playing safe is no bad thing. With a lot of people owning several PC's/laptops the real answer is not to use a software firewall at all, but invest in a router (a hardware firewall) It sits between you and your internet connection, uses no resources and just quietly does it's job without throwing up panic alarms to justify it's worth like most software firewalls do.

And they've never been cheaper, certainly cheaper than buying a 'pro' version of a software firewall - which is madness IMO when a hardware solution is available and makes it childsplay to share a connection.

No yearly updates required either, it just keeps working

[shadowmonty]

Thanks,

Monty

[kubik8]

100% what mikkh said. Spot on.

With the only proviso that if you are a paranoid type but don't - for whatever reason - want to use a router, then it's probably best to use any software firewall other than that which comes with Windows. Not because it is inherently weak, but simply because its weaknesses are well known, and if you were targetted, any would-be hacker would have an easier job circumventing your defences.

But really, it's no big deal imho.

[nike]

Totally agree with Mikkh here, but for one point. Even if your laptop is part of your network, there will be times when it's being used outside of it, and then, you WILL need a good third party firewall. Comodo springs to mind here.

Remember, the windows one will protect you from incoming crud, but if you open an attachment to an e-mail, there MAY be a chance of installing a key logger or dialler, and the XP one won't stop them sending info back to the host.