Firewall question

My McAfee has expired and I'm now using AVG Pro.

As AVG is just a Anti Virus, am I OK using just the Windows XP firewall along with the Integrated SPI Firewall that is on my router, or should I throw something else on my machine?

Thanks in advance

Edited by deleted (Sat 14-Jul-07 19:14:02)

I'm no expert but I've been told and have read that the XP firewall is pretty useless as a firewall. Your router firewall should be okay but if you want peace of mind why not try a free firewall like Kerio? I use Kerio v2 (don't like v4). If you want a copy of it and a "how to use" doc let me know and I'll email one to you

I use Comodo, which seems to be well-regarded, and is also free. This site is quite useful
http://www.techsupportalert.com/best_46_free_utilities.htm

One of the best Firewalls is the one in your router.

This is not as simple a question as it might seem. It depends on a) how your router is configured and b) what you are trying to protect against.

Most home routers are configured to use NAT, with pretty much no port forwarding. This means that you tend to be pretty well protected from 'inbound' nastiness by default. So, if you want protecting from outside stuff probing your PC, then your router firewall might be enough.

The flip side of this is 'inside stuff' getting out. This is the additional protrection offered by 'personal firewalls' as they tend to alert you if something tries to get out - you then get to choose to allow it or not. Therefore if some nasty Trojan gets through and tries to connect back to home, you have some opportunity to prevent it from doing so. That said, the Windows Firewall doesn't provide that, so really it adds very little if you have a reasonably secure router setup.

Generally, a personal firewall is recommended - my work systems have a Symantec Client Security corporate package, and at home I've used ZoneAlarm and Sygate Personal Firewall in the past.

Hope that helps
Ruz

Someone did suggest Comodo, which is very easy to install and works quite flawlessly. There's also PCTools firewall. Again very simple and works very well. There's ofcourse a plethora of info re firewalls on this site.

There's no way I'd depend on the firewall built into Windows XP. (It's a long story but I risked it once....) As well as a properly configured router, I use Zone Alarm Pro. There's also a FREE version available that I've installed on countless systems. Comodo (FREE) also has a 1sr class reputation.

Thanks for all the advice and links guys, off to look at them all now

*EDIT* Just installed Comodo, all looks good so far

Thanks again

Edited by deleted (Sun 15-Jul-07 12:29:11)

In reply to:

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As AVG is just a Anti Virus

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AVG also have a version with firewall, and a full internet security package.

They will give you a price based on your pro version. Try www.avguk.com for details

Thanks for that, I did find that out after I got AVG Pro!

However, after using Comodo firewall for a few days, I think I'll move to their AV as well when the time comes. It gets good reviews and best of all it's free...forever!!!