how important is it to have a third party firewall?

I know this has been addressed, but if I have a decent AV, AS, and HIPS running in RealTime behind a wireless router firewall, wouldn't I be better off adding say CBOclean than a third party firewall that passes all or most of the leak tests?

 

If you want outbound control (for network activity) then use a third-party firewall, otherwise dont.

Also if you have said "decent AV, AS, and HIPS" then do you really need BOClean?

 

Hi duke.

So you are basically asking do you need a firewall with you current setup? OK, but the thread title is wrong then.
It would primarily depend on the scope of protection needed. Some people don't need outbound protection, and that's quite fine. They use router's f/w or just a simple NAT (honestly, I don't think there are those who still use just NAT). Some don't need AV or AS (I am one of those who don't feel the urge for the latter, and maybe former as well ), that's also fine. So, perhaps you don't need a software firewall at all? Seems that you are not overly concerned with outbound protection, which is not necessarily a bad thing. But then again, if you're using a HIPS capable of controling network access, you may not need a software firewall with the same feature. What HIPS are you talking about?

"How important" is a software firewall is another question... that opens a (very long) wide discussion. I'd say "very". Well, I'm a firewall user so yes, I am biased.
Majority of users (here) are using some kind of s/w firewall, they have their reasons, so expect strong encouragement on using one.

Cheers.

 

I'm currently using Comodo Pro Firewall and a-squared with it's IDS enabled and AVG Pro AV. I want to add Prevx 2 with a-squared's IDS off and AVG, and not use a third party firewall unless someone feels it's more important to use one instead of the protection an extra security software like Prevx would give me. This is why I initially mentioned CBOclean. If something can't get in due to protection from a few good security apps, then how important is it to have a third party firewall? It doesn't have to be my current set up, but anyone's that doesn't include a third party firewall.