is built-in fw enough for a win xp terminal?

If you find online armour too heavy there is still kerio v4 and outpost firewall free.

 

Of course it has been known for some time that the so-called "firewall" that comes with Windows XP is not really a firewall after all. A real firewall stops all unauthorised traffic both inbound and outbound. The so-called "firewall" in Windows XP stops no outbound traffic unless it is custom configured to do so but does not stop outbound traffic by its default settings. Also remember a router's ability to stop unauthorised outbound data does not exist since it does not know what is authorised and what is not.

Why monitor or stop any outbound traffic? Perhaps a Trojan (unbeknownst to the user) has gotten onto the computer and is actively harvesting all sorts of data, account information, usernames, passwords, contacts, visited web sites and who knows what all else. Perhaps a simple key-logger is doing the harvesting but in any case these nefarious programmes collect private and personal information and send it to some server where the information is used for evil purposes not the least of which is identity theft (with victims exceeding 10 million per year worldwide and financial losses around £30.000.000 per year).

Even if someone may say something like "I never use my computer for any banking or financial purposes and never use a credit card online and besides I have never seen any kind of malicious software running on my computer" will best be better off taking lessons regarding computer security and personal privacy. Those who say they have nothing to hide and disregard the harvesting attempts of criminals to gather stolen data dishonor their fellow citizens and also their country's laws that uphold privacy for all.

Best regards