How essential is an additional firewall?

I caught a glimpse of FERRANTE on Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:09:19 -0500, writing in comp.security.firewalls:

I think a decent firewall & anti virus program is important. If you are still using Zone Alarm you shouldn't run the XP firewall.

In the morning before my shower and breakfast, I update the following free programs and have them scan my computers.

Ad-Aware. Spybot. Malwarebytes' Anti-Malware.

Also I get the free SpywareBlaster to check for updates.

I'm currently running Sunbelt software which I'm happy with.

No.

It's on the system anyway, it focuses on what a firewall can do reliably, and it's had far less bugs in the past than ZA and the likes.

cu

"Erik Vastmasd" escribió en el mensaje news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net...

Read and choose...

1. Antivirus software
   formatting link
   Firewall
   formatting link
   Saludos,

-- Sr Peabody

If you have a NAT router and Windows Firewall, if you don't run as a local administrator, you don't need a third party firewall application.

I am using a D-Link DI-524 router (wired, no wireless turned on as far as I know) and the windows firewall. So, I should just go ahead and uninstall the ZA?

This may sound stupid, but how can I tell if I am running as the local administrator? And if I am, what should I do to fix things to ensure the most security on my computer please?

Thanks in advance to EVERYONE for your help, Mark

I sit behind a real firewall, not a router pretending to be a firewall (like most of those from D-Link, Linksys, NetGear), and don't use any third party firewall applications - when I travel I just make sure that the computers are fully patched, don't have file/printer sharing enabled, that all exceptions are removed from the windows firewall settings, etc...

In the control panel, open Administrator Tools, select EVENT VIEWER, if you can open the SECURITY Section then you're an admin, if it is denied access then you're a limited user.

Also, if you installed/setup Windows and you didn't create a limited account, the first account is always an Administrator level account, and you need to make sure you keep at least one Admin account, you create an additional one to use for normal functions.

Open a command prompt and run "net user". If "Administrators" is listed under local group memberships, you're a local administrator.

cu

Open a command prompt and run "net user %USERNAME%". If "Administrators" is listed under local group memberships, you're a local administrator.

cu