How reliable is windows XP firewall?

1st of all the question that i have aks is what kind of computing needs to have a top/best quality firewall..... as for home/personal computing (which includs ocational visit to cr***k sites...) with good antivirus like KAV can we rely on windows firewall....

now why i am asking this is bqz i was useing NIS05..... every thing is OK (not gr8 at-all but OK) about the package.... but the firewall behaves abnormally.... like, as i am on dial up, so I go to yahoo mail open a mail & then dc my connection for reading & writing a reply.... then intend RC the connection for sending the reply email.... now the problem starts.... NIS firewall isnt allowing any application to use the connection..... even turing the firewall off doesnt helps.... i have to restart to gain access to the net.... after the restart when i connect every things stay allright.... but when i repit the proces (dc then rc) the same problem....

off late with ever incrising problem with Norton i'm begaining to think that, am i over cousus about my online security?? my computer will never be a specific target of hackers.... i dont store secret gov or any company files.... so cant i trust windows firewall??

The best freeware firewall IMO is kerio and zone alarm.

Kerio:
*www.kerio.com/us/kpf_download.html
Zone alram:
*www.zonelabs.com/za_download_1.htm

And regarding the windows sp2 firewall, provides one-way network protection only. It blocks incoming traffic as configured, but it will not block any outgoing traffic.

So it's better that u go for a third party firwall such as kerio or ZAP.

Zone Alarm is very good, though sometimes it acts buggy and prevents even the wanted programs from accessing the internet but still it is a lot better than others and about the Windows XP SP2 firewall , well in a word it is UN-RELIABLE.

yes i do know about the zap..... but as i maintioned

my computer will never be a specific target of hackers.... i dont store secret gov or any company files.... so cant i trust windows firewall??

D

*www.thinkdigit.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15701&highlight=
The above thread should give you a fair idea of where windows firewall stands as of now.

As of your situation,I pity you for the simply reason that you seem to be in a mess.No offence meant mate but I would rather ask you to move to a easily configurable firewall for ex. zone alarm or any other firewall you are at ease with.
Not that I'm providing alternatives instead of a solution but it will require a bit of reading,adding applications to access the internet,you need to play with a options a bit & configure it accordingly.Instead of all the hassles it would be wise to move on.
Incase you are intent in playing around with NIS do let me know.I would follow suit till your problem gets solved.

off late with ever incrising problem with Norton i'm begaining to think that, am i over cousus about my online security?? my computer will never be a specific target of hackers.... i dont store secret gov or any company files.... so cant i trust windows firewall??

Every user has to take care of its own security.The level of security will simply depend on what you want to hide from others,even if you dont work for the FBI or a high priority bank doesnt free you from the chain of secure computing.
Although you are on dial-up the last thing you need is your machine to be a zombie pinging www.microsoft.com with loads of data for a eventual server crash.

P.S:Now dont tell me the above last para can/cant be true

It's not true that hackers will target your Pc only if you have top secret govt docs.
There are several worm attacks that takes place on random IP addresses generated by them such as SQL Slammer and there are Script Kiddies!
You can have Windows Firewall, but it does not provide outbound protection, as it is said earlier.
Also, blocking capabilities of Win Firewall is not comparable to that of dedicated Firewalls.It's better to go for ZA free.

well...it does not really matter if u use windows firewall or some other decent third party firewall software....but use one absolutely...please don't make the mistake of disregarding the importance of an important piece of software called a firewall...it's as important as your anti-virus utility which u must be using in your computer...it will keep out all sorts of intruders from hijacking your data..or using it for launching an attack on other systems...just think of it as the boundry wall which u have outside your home...it keeps out the general public and only those people are let in which are permited by u to enter...using windows firewall provides complete integration with the operating system which u might or might not get with other firewalls

D

well...it does not really matter if u use windows firewall or some other decent third party firewall software

eh? for a novice if monitoring outbound connections is the primary concern should he/she go with windows firewall & feel secured?
Nope i'm sorry mate but it all depends on your requirements.If i'm looking for outbound protection then what will a windows firewall give me?

A

Your system need not have any secrets. But it can be used for ddos attacks (if u have broadband). They can also steal ur ID (Credit card no,Passwords,Even ur ISPs user and password). Then they can drain ur connection hrs(dialup). Use a reliable firewall. eg. Mcafee,Norton,Zone Alarm(BEST AND FREE)

what about the problem i wrote about NIS firewall.... can any one put a little light on that?? if not then i have to think for ZAP+KAV....

NIS is good and reliable but hogs resour :twisted:

ces

T

do we really need another discussion on firewalls ? havent we had enuff
anyways a rulel of thumb as ive notices
if u have to "ask" if windows xp firewall is any good .. then its not for u
rather stick to 3rd party software like ZAPro
and ofcourse if u dun have to ask we wouldnt be having this topic

hehehe

I

I seriously think we should have a sticky on firewalls, AV's and Spywares. Most of the discussions spanning this section and the software section is based on these topics. Would be so much easier to travese the forum then. Raven..care to do the deed ?

T

there is an unofficial guide on spyware and online safety
as for firewalls yeah ...
but we need diggy , enoon and u working on that

any takers ?

I

will talk to enoon and diggy and come up with somethin. And then its upto u to "sticky" it

yes that guide realy helped me a lot.... if i cant solve the problem that i maintioned

now why i am asking this is bqz i was useing NIS05..... every thing is OK (not gr8 at-all but OK) about the package.... but the firewall behaves abnormally.... like, as i am on dial up, so I go to yahoo mail open a mail & then dc my connection for reading & writing a reply.... then intend RC the connection for sending the reply email.... now the problem starts.... NIS firewall isnt allowing any application to use the connection..... even turing the firewall off doesnt helps.... i have to restart to gain access to the net.... after the restart when i connect every things stay allright.... but when i repit the proces (dc then rc) the same problem....

then i will opt for KAV+ZAPro.....

T

enoon can sticky it too ice

go ahead get workin on it ... if ur as lazy as me then beat me to it