I got a router that has a Firewall (NAT), I would like to know if i should also use a software Firewall. Thanks,
Hi Octex, You still need to protect against outbound connections. There are many firewalls that would be suitable and you will find much information about these in this forum. Most are available as trial-ware and some are free, find what suits you best. L & S, Zone Alarm, Outpost, Kerio and Sygate to name a few. HTH Pilli
yes definately you should always use a software firewall to protect outbound. if your av or anti trojan , if you run them, miss something in a file and you open or execute it a lot of these can "call home" or steal passwords etc... you woln't know until its to late. if you are only using router make sure to constantly monitor your port usage also. with a software firewall all of these outbound can be stopped. as stated above many are free and will do the job just fine. i suggest kerio or outpost. i personlly use outpost i switched from kerio. i do like kerio better as an overall package but it does eat up system ram. i would trial a few to get a feel for what type of firewall you like also. if you are new to firewalls you probably want an application based one instead of a rules only based. you can do more harm in my opinion by misconfiguring a rules based than good. hope this helped any questions let me know
Hi Octax ... and welcome to Wilders Your router will provide good protection against unsolicited inbound connections. It will basically limit communication to that initiated by systems behind it. Software firewalls on systems behind the router are optional, but do allow you to filter what applications on these systems are permitted network access and also for applying other restrictions for users. Many users prefer to use this additional layer of security. You need to assess your requirements keeping in mind all users and systems behind the router. User education, practicing safe hex and following best practices go a long way in reducing risk and keeping your systems secure and healthy. Regards, CrazyM
i think seriously to buy a Hardware Firewall and remain with the Windows Firewall ,i noticed all soft Firewalls are restrictives,and in the end,i have complete concern in when pages i surf.(don,t surf in pages that you know are full of worms and virus,almost try to stay away of porn and hackers and warez etc,etc,etc sites,if you follow the rules for secure surfing,you can pass a hole year ,maybe two without finding a malware,is too easy)
Windows' own firewall does not offer any protection over what a hardware firewall can offer - other software firewalls do require you to make decisions about what to allow and what to block but this really comes down to knowing what programs you are running that need Internet access (e.g. your browser will need access, your email client will need access, etc). As for web pages, it is not possible to tell which are dangerous without actually visiting them first! Here a web filter (that can remove ActiveX, Java and Javascript) is the most appropriate defence - many firewalls include such filtering as extras but specialised filters (like Proxomitron) can provide far greater control (and can also filter HTTPS - see The Dangers of HTTPS for why this is important).
