NIS 2004 or hardware firewall?

Someone has given me a new sealed copy of Norton Internet Security (2004) with a validation code on it and I am wondering if there is anything on it which could be of use to me. Does anyone have a view on this? Or is it yet another resource hog which, like their other programs, Symantec sell but don't dare support ?

Do it's antispam features work (90% of all spam I receive gets sent through to my deleted items folder by Outlook already)?

Or do it's security and pop-up blocking features do anything which Adaware or Spybot don't do? I think that at the moment I am using not one but TWO hardware firewalls, one on my Buffalo WiFi router and one on the in-series Linksys router supplied by my VOIP service. Buffalo once told me that there is no conceivable need for a software firewall if you have a hardware one. (But I seem to remember the useful configurability of AtGuard which became part of NIS in the old pre-XP days)

(I have also found that the Multi_AV program is extraordinarily useful)

Buffalo is dead wrong. Software firewalls have there place. If you have a need to restrict what applications a user runs to access the internet, need to restrict their network access via IP/port/protocol or need to protect your network computers from each other then by all means install and configure a software firewall or use the Windows Firewall if you do not need application and outbound control.

For those that do not fall into that category a hardware firewall is just fine and are for the most part easy to setup and forget. We don't use any host/software firewalls on any of our eight computers/servers at home and rely on our Netscreen 5XP [available on Ebay used for around $100] to protect our network which it does very well. I have not tried NIS myself but you might want to consider not using it unless you have needs like I described in the first paragraph. --- Steve

I can tell you that if you don't like bloat or resource hogs then you won't like NIS... it is the Bloat King...

I suspected that was the case: There must have been a reason why Symantec had to discontinue all support (even bug reporting) while screaming out so loudly on every web page you see about how award-winning their self-award-winning support is.

My position however is that I live in an apartment house with about 8-10 WiFi networks and while mine is encrypted, others (apparently with boosters, extenders, repeaters, amplifiers, external antennas etc) aren't and often completely overpower mine and my computers sometimes log on to the other networks (even where I am the ONLY one on Channel 1 and they are on 6 or

11). Theirs can go through numerous walls and floors and span hundreds of feet whereas mine can hardly manage four feet line-of-sight. Buffalo Systems says that their second level tech support is working on this but they haven't actually been able to call me back with any solution (beyond disable access to all other systems: When mine sometimes stops actually working at all! Yes, they have replaced the router a few times)

Your POC is not a POC that proves anything about Firewalls.

I don't think, that on one of these CDs there will be anything of use at all. ;-)

Yours, VB.

This will not work at all. Do you know my POC on

Yours, VB.

I had a suspicion that was the case, except for the anti-virus program itself which one should probably have. I haven't yet figured out whether NAV actually adds anything to Multi_AV? Although there cant be much wrong with having a program always running in the background which looks at whatever is coming in and determines if it is OK or not?