XP firewall + Process Guard/Appdefend, good choice?

Apologies as this is largely a duplicate post I made to one of the long, older threads that may have got buried. But I was wondering if using the built in XP firewall along with Process Guard or Appdefend would provide "complete" firewall protection? The idea being PG or AD providing the outbound protection that XP firewall lacks along with more features, or have I misunderstood how those applications work? Would they prompt when an application is trying to access the internet like Zone Alarm free or other firewalls with outbound control do?

The main reason I am asking is that I have a new laptop and usually the first thing I would do is install Zone Alarm free as my firewall. I am considering trying something else as although I have not used the laptop that much yet the internet speed seems a lot quicker than my desktop. Could part of that be that Zone Alarm free slows things down? Or would that likely be so small as to be undetectable? I have always liked ZA free for its simplicity and have never had any problems and I do want outbound protection so I am wondering if enhancing the XP firewall is a good option as I have read that the XP inbound protection is excellent.(true?) Do you think the XP firewall + Process Guard free would provide better protection and speed than say ZA free or Kerio free?(or even compared to other free firwewalls) Or would you recommend just forgetting the XP firewall and stick to ZA free or another full inbound/outbound firewall?

Thank you.

roark37

 

the xp firewall and appdefend combo would more or less offer "complete" firewall protection. if it works for you, use it.

processguard would give u app control but it doesnt prompt for apps wanting internet access.