Firewalls

[Cameron203]

Ok i have heard alot of differance in opinion about the xp firewall does anyone know enough about it to clear the air?
Does it block attempt on your comp or just outgoing?
How does it compare to other firewalls such as norton internet security and zone alarm and mccrapny i mean mcafee

[nocando]

Here is a description:

I have three different programs but only one is installed. I used Zone alarm and it worked fine but on my small system required to much energy to use. I'm currently using Nortons which i like very much because its comes included in a suite. I'm not suggesting this is a reason to choose it. You can download each one, try it for yourself and make a determination from your own experience.

ZoneAlarm makes it easy. Unlike other personal firewalls, ZoneAlarm protects automatically from the moment it's installed - no programming required. ZoneAlarm barricades your PC with immediate and complete port blocking. And, then runs in Stealth Mode to make your PC invisible on the Internet - if you can't be seen, you can't be attacked.

ZoneAlarm delivers simplicity without compromising your security. A getting started tutorial explains controls and alerts to get you up and running quickly. And, to keep you confident that you're always protected, intuitive color-coded alerts rate security risks - in real time.

[arkie]

Originally posted by Cameron203
Ok i have heard alot of differance in opinion about the xp firewall does anyone know enough about it to clear the air?
Does it block attempt on your comp or just outgoing?


Some say it is just as good. Myself I use ZoneAlarm and leave XP firewall disable. Some run both.

My computer passed all the below.
Test it for your self.

http://www.dslreports.com/scan
http://grc.com/lt/leaktest.htm
http://grc.com/
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

[mnosteele52]

The problem with the XP firewall is that it does not alert you of out going traffic, it only blocks incoming, how well I don't know. But I would not recommend using just for that reason, say for instance you got a trojan horse and it was sending your personal data out, you wouldn't even know. I use Norton's firewall and like it the best, if I used anything else it would be Zone Alarm.

[Set]

hey guys where do i go to turn of xp's firewall?

[mnosteele52]

Control panel - network connections - right click your connection - properties - advanced.

[Stef]

Although it might seem awkward now, XP's built in firewall will eventually surpass all comercial firewall simply because of flexability.

BY this I mean, once XP's firewall evolves (in like 2-3 new Microsoft OSes) to the point where it will be able to filter incoming, local, forwarded and outgoing traffic you, the end user, will be able to build yourself a firewall to your custom needs.

In UNIX systems such as OpenBSD or Debain GNU/Linux packet filtering tools have been available for a couple of years now. UNIX system administrators have been using this to their their advantage. Microsoft is just trying to bring scalability to the masses of dummies just like it did with the internet :D

In a way this is great, security is a task that everybody needs to participate in.

Stef