Windows XP Firewall, is it good enough?

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Nirad9er

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I've been using the Windows XP firewall for sometime now and was wondering if I should use it or go with some other third party firewall like zonealarm etc. Does the Windows XP Firewall block hackers, trojans, and whatever else a typical firewall is suppose to do? I already have antivirus software so I dont have to worry about that part.

Thanks
 
depends on how paranoid you really are. imho, no, sp2 is not good enough by itself
 
It will block incoming traffic, but if you get spyware / virus on your machine and that program wants to send data out etc it will without prompting you that is doing it. I am the type of person that likes to know when a program tries to access the internet, but that is all in preference.

Overall I think it is ok, but there are some free ones out there on the net. I don't know how many of them have free version, but there is ZoneAlarm, Kerio, and Tiny.

 
it's okay and will protect you from basic things, but no, you should go with a third-party app.

/* commercial firewalls */
pc-cillin: good, solid program with regular updates.
norton - many ppl complain about bloat/slow performance but i've never had problems.
blackice - i really liked this when i used to use it, though i haven't tried it in awhile.
f-sesure - was fairly popular.
zone alarm - i've personally never liked this, it seems a bit bloated but it should get the job done, just try to configure it so there aren't a million notifications.

i don't know of any good free ones (on windows) as i've always had free (not illegal) copies of popular/current ones. :x

if you have a spare pc you could set it up as a firewall using *bsd (freebsd or openbsd) or some linux distro.
 
I've used ZoneAlarm for years. It's basic to setup and works well. The only issue you might note is the first time you try to run a multiplayer game the program will pop up a do you want to allow *game* to connect to the net. You have to alt tab back to windows to give it the permissions. Basically, you'll get pop ups the first time you go to use a program. Once you tell it that something can connect then you won't see it again. In the case where some spyware gets on your system, it will pop up a window asking if you want to let gator, etc, connect to the internet. Then you quickly say no, update spybot and run it.

From my perspective, I don't trust MS a lot when it comes to security. Their first vulnerability in XP (nobody probably remembers this) was some backend they left open for when the OS gets applied to smart devices like refrigerators. It basically could allow someone to have full access (much like remote desktop) to your system. Also, I don't think that world+dog standardizing on one firewall is such a good idea. It is better than nothing, but there are better free alternatives available.
 
For personal use i would say sp2 is, with a good A/V you should be fine
if not get peer guardian
 
For the average home user, SP2, good AV software, good Spyware remover (or two), and a router (if using broadband) should be fine.
 
it seems r-firewall is pretty good. i have not used it personally, so i cannot verify how well it works, but from its description on what it does, it sounds very good. i used sygate for a bit and it seemed pretty good.
 
with 64-bit windows , I have been using nVidia's firewall proggie without issue (on the Marvell adapter .. nVidia ethernet always seems to go batty with our without firewall enabled/disabled/installed/not-installed ..dont matter ...but Marvell always gets the job done)

was using Ghostwall (64-bit) ..but I like to be notified when an app tries to call out of which Ghostwall doesnt do... seems to be a real lack of good free firewalls for 64-bit windows

 
KevinO said:
It will block incoming traffic, but if you get spyware / virus on your machine and that program wants to send data out etc it will without prompting you that is doing it.
Click to expand...

Nor will a 3rd party firewall. Software firewalls are easy enough to bypass from what I have read. 3rd party firewalls are a PITA too. I prefer to use a hardware firewall and the XP firewall. Much less of a PITA. I have a few tools for checking for outbound connections if I suspect something.
 
djnes said:
For the average home user, SP2, good AV software, good Spyware remover (or two), and a router (if using broadband) should be fine.
Click to expand...
QFT
 
windows defender (free ms download) does great things. if I recall it does virus scan crap, and allows you to regulate in/out communications....
 
ThreeDee said:
with 64-bit windows , I have been using nVidia's firewall proggie without issue (on the Marvell adapter .. nVidia ethernet always seems to go batty with our without firewall enabled/disabled/installed/not-installed ..dont matter ...but Marvell always gets the job done)

was using Ghostwall (64-bit) ..but I like to be notified when an app tries to call out of which Ghostwall doesnt do... seems to be a real lack of good free firewalls for 64-bit windows

Click to expand...


Hm. Interresting.

I was going to install Zone Alarm until I realized that my copy wouldn't work on x64. Nonetheless, it feels like it slows down the computer at times. I was cruising without a firewall or anti-virus for a while and somehow I aquired about 6 trojans and 2 viruses (Which is odd because I don't look at pr0n or anything. I blame myspace). I..didn't feel them or notice anything out of the ordinary. I found it odd but not suprising. I use the regular MS firewall now and I like to believe i'm okay. Of which i'm probably not.
 
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