I have a Dell Latitude running Windows XP professional, I connect my work labtop a IBM T40 running Windows 2000, and a Replay TV (with a wireless network bridge) all connecting to the internet through a linksys combined cable modem and router. I haven't (as far as I know) installed a firewall of any type. I run several types of anti-spyware software such as spybot, spyware blaster, and also Norton Antivirus. I'm wondering what I should install for a firewall (that's free) or if I need to...would the Windows XP firewall surfice, and what do I need to do (if anything) to make sure I don't block any of my own devices from sending out going traffic. Thanks
If you want a simple firewall that is easy to use that performs well, I would recomend zonealarm free version. It will ask you if you want to allow an application access to the net. here is a link to Zone alarm download.
PGM you may find that you wont have enough juice in that lappy to run Norton and zone alarm.....I do agree with BigC suggestion...am just wondering how slow the lappy will become. If you do discover that you lack the power....before un-installing ZA check back here....ZA can be rather tricky to un-install for some people.......BigC will do doubt be a great help.....so, if your lappy begins to freeze....check your resources
Whether you need to is something you will have to determine. How important is application and outbound control given what you do with your system and who uses it? (your router will deal with unsolicted inbound connections providing you are not forwarding any traffic) If you have other systems/devices behind the router (LAN), something other than the XP firewall would provide more flexibility and ease of configuration. Free Software Firewalls Kerio Perosnal Firewall v2.15 - direct download link Look 'n' Stop Lite - direct download link Outpost Personal Firewall Sygate Personal Firewall ZoneAlarm Firewall Regards, CrazyM
PGM, XP's firewall can protect from outside attack but will not (pre-SP2) prevent trojans or other malware (this does in my view include Windows Media Player) from making connections out so a replacement is strongly recommended. Even if you run anti-spyware, anti-virus scans regularly, a second line of defense will help if something new slips through. ZoneAlarm seems a popular first choice and is simple to configure but lacks flexibility. Kerio is more flexible but views are mixed - however the free version offers almost all the features of the paid version (I believe ad and web filtering is the only thing cut out) making it a worthy free contender. The free version of Outpost is also flexible (check the Web-Hiker's Guide for more details) and should not be too heavy on resource usage (unlike the Pro version) - however it is not up to the latest leaktests .
Thanks for all the info. The forum is great as usual. Prompt responses -- awesome!! Though it's potentially redundant since I'm always connecting through my router (which if I understand it correctly, should block attempts at unauthorized access, including local wireless access since I configured a MAC access list), I went ahead and downloaded ZoneAlarm (the freebie) and I'm going to see how that goes for me.
I hope it performes to your liking I have used ZA in conjunction with my router and it has always worked well at filtering out going request's bigc