SP2 Firewall vs. Zone Alarm?

I use Adaware.

I use Mozilla.

I use Eudora.

I'm still looking for an opinion as to SP2 Firewall vs. Zone Alarm. Any takers?

Thanks again!

Ken

Could you recommend one? Or post a URL to an article, FAQ or review about them?

Thanks for the tips!

Ken

Assuming that a Windows PC is malware free and has all available critical (high priority) updates, then its biggest problem is not going to be solved by adding firewall software. Its biggest problem is going to be solved by closing of the routes that malware may take to get on the system. Firewall software will not do this. Don't use Internet Explorer, use an alternative. Consider an alternative to Outlook Express if you can't trust the user with email of unknown origin. Don't allow any new software to be added to the system unless you're very sure it can be trusted and it's definitely needed. Remove any services and running processes which are not needed. Become aware of what is running in the system and why it's there. Don't run as administrator unless you have to, use a limited user account. Removing CD drives is sometimes necessary but this may be difficult in a home environment. You may want to have a home policy which provides for some kind of extreme punishment for anyone who installs software without permission.

You need less software, not more.

Jason

Plenty of people will tell you that the Windows firewall does not intercept outbound connections. These people generally don't stop to think about what the average Windows user will make of popup windows asking whether or not najort.exe should be allowed to connect to some.ip.address:6667 It's also possible that they've never compiled and tested any of the example code out there which shows how easy it is to fool and bypass personal firewall software. If you really want to control outbound connections then get yourself a proper external firewall/proxy box. I don't mean a $50 NAT box. Otherwise the XP SP2 firewall is fine.

Jason

you might want to check out the Linux-Bering firewall. It uses Shorewall, boots from a floppy, and runs on just about any crappy old machine with 2 network cards in it. You can find it on sourceforge.

Steven.

If you are the only user of your home PC and if you are sufficiently knowledgeable to secure it and if you can restore a clean backup image at any time then a NAT box may be more than sufficient.

If you have a group of inexperienced Windows users in a work environment who think it's normal to download and install anything they like whenever they like then you need a lot more than a NAT box and some of it may have to be written into employment terms and conditions.

You are the best person to decide what's best for you.

If you want reading material then get some keywords like these into your favorite search engine. firewall proxy linux firewall sonicwall watchguard monowall ipcop smoothwall etc

Ask your friends at csc.com to recommend something.

Jason

The person is asking for a Windows based solution and has a NAT router is place.

What good would the above do?

Duane :)

This describes my situation, except there will be one other user--my wife who has a Mac.

What is csc.com? I went to that site, but it just looks like a company web page. Is there a link on there that I should click?

Thanks again,

Ken

If you examine the headers of your posts there's an IP address which leads to csc.com but that doesn't necessarily mean anything and there's no reason why you should go there.

Jason