Is a software firewall still needed if you have a hardware firewall?

ye i agree if you have a laptop i think you should have a software firewall for hot spots but for my sister's laptop at university i had to make do with the windows one because she wouldn't know what to do with any other firewall i dont think. i hope the vista firewall isnt as easy to turn off as the windows xp one is. people will use third party firewall with windows vista anyway its just there to protect people who dont know what a firewall is.

lodore

 

So... just for that extra security, what *free* and light firewall do you recommend?
P.S.: Don't bother recommending Kerio 2.1.5, I already tried it and it gave me a nasty BSOD upon reboot.

 

Connecting to an open public network for internet access is an important reason to have an active software firewall on a notebook computer for inbound protection. However, for most businesses, SOHOs, and personal home networks the most likely threats will come from a computer inside the local network infected with malware, from a guest computer temporarily accessing that local network, or from a deliberate attempt to access another computer on the local network by a malicious user. Having a properly configured advanced software firewall on every machine will help protect against these inbound threats on a local home or business network. If you combine a properly configured NAT router with the important local network protection offered by an advanced software firewall while using its outbound program control then this increases the level of firewall security against all these types of threats much more than simply using only the NAT router for WAN (internet) inbound protection alone.