free firewalls
- Thread starter Swither
- Start date
The router is a hardware firewall and should be utilising NAT which will stop most random access from the internet but a personal (software) firewall such as ZoneAlarm, Windows Firewall, Windows Defender etc is useful to stop things like trojans etc. from installing themselves if they are setup right.
Personal firewalls are necessary if you do a lot of peer to peer sharing or visit some...ahem...disreputable websites.
Personally, I just use Windows firewall and have never (touch wood) been infected with anything nasty. However, I know countless people who have had nasties attack them and it can be a real pain removing the stuff.
I think ZoneAlarm is prolly one of the best ones around, I'd stick with that if I were you.
Personal firewalls are necessary if you do a lot of peer to peer sharing or visit some...ahem...disreputable websites.
Personally, I just use Windows firewall and have never (touch wood) been infected with anything nasty. However, I know countless people who have had nasties attack them and it can be a real pain removing the stuff.
I think ZoneAlarm is prolly one of the best ones around, I'd stick with that if I were you.
Router > everything
The MS Firewall I thought hackers had actually found a way to remotely turn off, i.e once they found your machine they could then just disable the firewall. For my money a router with a hardware firewall is everything you should really need. No idea how accurate that view is mind you, but since I've gone to using a modem/router to connect to the internet I have not once been hit by a virus, and only hit by spyware once when I just was being an idiot and not paying attention.
If you are using Zone Alarm already though, like StGeorge says, stick with that
The MS Firewall I thought hackers had actually found a way to remotely turn off, i.e once they found your machine they could then just disable the firewall. For my money a router with a hardware firewall is everything you should really need. No idea how accurate that view is mind you, but since I've gone to using a modem/router to connect to the internet I have not once been hit by a virus, and only hit by spyware once when I just was being an idiot and not paying attention.
If you are using Zone Alarm already though, like StGeorge says, stick with that
Chick
Cartwheel RIGHT
no disrespect but firewalls and antivirus are pretty much useless these days.
Your router / nat / dss connecction will give you (ok - should give you) adequate protection from internet borne worms and other nastyness.
Your best defence these days is good anty-spyware stuff. Modern virus mutate too frequently for AV to be worth much, unless you are worried about, well,s tuff that propagates over a internet link - that is firewalled at your router.
I'll try to write a longer post when i'm less drunk, but basically if you want to be 100% safe use windows policies to whitelist all executable files, with their authentity checked via 2 hashes (md5 & a.n.other) - just one is burte-force breakable. trust me. Nothing else is effective any more. You can buy viruses over the internet, almost on an open market, that can easily evade or subvert any firewall / AV package you care to name.
Depressing, but true.
The best defence is, as gotta put it:
Firewalls and similar software makes you lazy.
good luck.
Your router / nat / dss connecction will give you (ok - should give you) adequate protection from internet borne worms and other nastyness.
Your best defence these days is good anty-spyware stuff. Modern virus mutate too frequently for AV to be worth much, unless you are worried about, well,s tuff that propagates over a internet link - that is firewalled at your router.
I'll try to write a longer post when i'm less drunk, but basically if you want to be 100% safe use windows policies to whitelist all executable files, with their authentity checked via 2 hashes (md5 & a.n.other) - just one is burte-force breakable. trust me. Nothing else is effective any more. You can buy viruses over the internet, almost on an open market, that can easily evade or subvert any firewall / AV package you care to name.
Depressing, but true.
The best defence is, as gotta put it:
Firewalls and similar software makes you lazy.
good luck.