Do I need a firewall if I have SSM installed?

I have the full version of System Saftey Monitor installed - so will I need a firewall as well. I curently use the windows firewall and hook up to the net via a Netgear wireless router.

Does SSM offer any inbound protection?

Cheers,

ChrisP

 

As i understand it SSM only offers a basic network firewall which monitors outbound connections. If your router has a hardware firewall then that combined with ssm will give you decent protection provided you have your router configured correctly and are confident using ssm.

 

Hi ChrisP

No.

SSM is an HIPS, not a Firewall...

http://www.syssafety.com/faq.html

 

If you want specific, highly restricted outbound network access for applications, that setup will not work. SSM full only offers basic Yes-No outbound network access for your apps. If you want, say, svchost to connect only to Microsoft update servers on ports 80, 443 and to your DNS servers, as well as for DHCP access, then that setup will not work.

Some people prefer that setup, however, as they are not interested in dealing with the time and effort involved in controling how everything accesses the network (usually the Internet).

A decent application filtering fw will give you full control over how your applications connect to specific ip address, direction, protocols and ports.

 

This same question was previously asked & answered Here and Here