firewalls

[auggybendoggy]

Guys,

I'm a long time norton user and I'm sick of it. I know that 2003, 2004, 2005 all have a bun that arbitrairily causes them to turn the security off leaving you exposed. I've read about it and I'm tired of waiting a year to see when a new version will come out that does not have this.

 

I know you guys are truly learned and am hoping you all can tell me which is a better firewall.

 

Heres a good way to start.

 

Panda is out. I hate this wall more than norton.

 

so lets start from there.

 

Auggy

[mookie]

If all you need is a firewall, just get a NAT which will drop any incoming connections.

[Goofus Maximus]

If you're using Windows XP, then you won't be hurting too much by just using the built in Windows firewall.

 

For Linux, there are many front-ends that give you a nice graphical "firewall" to configure, while doing all the IPTables rulemaking so you don't have to.

[Laz.e.rus]

Theres a few good freebies out there. Ive had weak ones, and Ive run one so strong I had to approve every single thing you could imagine.

Google ftw

[auggybendoggy]

is the windows really good? I thought that thing would be cracked in 2 days : )

 

Aug

[Cujo]

if you have a router you already have a firewall and need not worry. if you don't then just use the built-in firewall with windows sp2.

[Wolfsblood]

I like zonealarm, but mainly use the built in one on my router. ZA just makes sure nothing gets out that I don't want to get out.

[akaM2]

if you have a router you already have a firewall and need not worry. if you don't then just use the built-in firewall with windows sp2.

[Sgt. Slaughterâ„¢-TopBrass]

For the times I'm on a different network or not behind a router, I use Windows LiveOne Care firewall. The only reason I use it is because I have some folders I share for work that have top secret eyes only stuff in them ( ). I've had it for about 4 months now, and I like it so far.

[Metallurgic]

Sygate is a good software firewall, unfortunately it was discontinued. You can still use it to filter anything you want.

[auggybendoggy]

ok,

i've got a linksys wireless router. Does it have a firewall?

if so how do I enable it?

 

Aug

[mookie]

Any NAT (Network Address Translation) router will act as a firewall. When packets come in to the router, it needs to know where they go (since there could be any number of machines behind the NAT). If the packets aren't coming in to a port that's already being used for one of the machines (or a port you've manually set a forwarding rule for), they just get dropped. It's equivalent to putting a switchboard in your house, and then giving yourself some arbitrary extension. When a telemarketer calls, they probably won't know what extension you're at, and they're not going to sit there and try every one.

 

A NAT generally won't do some of the more interesting stuff that some software firewalls do, like blocking traffic to specific programs. It should protect you 100% against anything trying to attack your computer out of the blue, but is no protection at all against anyone exploiting some weakness of a program that you're using to browse the web, etc.

[auggybendoggy]

mookie,

are you saying using both a router for cloaking on the net

and use software to ward off attacks when programs are exploited?

 

Aug

[mookie]

I'm saying that a router won't protect against some stuff, specifically stuff that you might inadvertantly bring onto yourself when downloading screensavers or w/e. I think an on-access scanner like what many antivirus programs have will take care of a lot of that. Depending on how careful you are and what websites you look at, you probably don't need antivirus software at all if you're protected by a NAT.