NOD32 + Win XP Firewall enough? Or do I need another firewall?

Hi,

Until now I've used Norton Antivirus and Firewall. But it was far too resource demanding, so I switched to NOD32 as antivirus instead. Now my question is if the firewall in Windows XP SP2 is enough for me, or if it's too bad?

I just need basic protection against intrusions, I have no need to specify granular firewall settings myself. I use it on my work pc (not a server), and I do not use any kind of server software that need specific firewall settings.

But is the Windows firewall good enough against intrusion?



Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, it´s good enough. You could also try Ghostwall, simple and efficient.

 

lucas1985, thanks for your answer

I haven't hear about GhostWall before, but on their site they claim that it performs better than the Windows Firewall: "...GhostWall is simply a firewall, mainly designed to replace the standard Microsoft firewall with better features and performance."

Of course, I would like a firewall that is as little resource demanding as possible. Do you find it less resource demanding than Windows Firewall?

 

Yes, it´s very light.

 

Stick with the windows firewall if you are not comfortable making rules

 

I use NOD32 and the Windows XP firewall, they work beautifully together. I have been using the Windows XP firewall since the beginning and I have never had any conflicts or problems using this firewall with other security applications.

 

NOD32 is fameous for its heuristic detection. Because it focusses on small bit patterns it is also very fast. Until now most virusses are variants on previous malware. NOD has proven to realilable protect against these treaths.

I would not spend money on a firewall, because VISTA offers a firewall which can be configured and integrates well with the new OS-kernel.

So I would opt for Comodo free when you feel the need to add additional protection. To provide additional protection I would add a sandbox like GeSwall (free and paid) or DefenseWall (paid only with 30 days trial period).

Have a look at http://www.techsupportalert.com/security_HIPS.htm

 

I think you do need more than XP F/wall.

Here try this out. Its a free firewall that's lite as a feather and see for yourself. I'm suggesting it to control programs known and unknown that want to "phone home" - 'outbound stuff'.

You might be surprised what goes on behind the keyboard.

http://proxyfirewall.org/

 

Hello Joakim,
Personally, yes, I would add some sort of protection for outbound internet connections by applications. You could do this by replacing the windows firewall with a 3rd party firewall, there are a number of good free firewalls available, or possibly adding to the windows firewall with an hips which will/can control applications access to the internet.
If this is not what you wanted, then I would suggest at least an application, such as PG free or more advanced SSM/PS free to at least give you control of the applications that can execute and possibly attempt intenet access.