In article <1185074631.141883.271760@z24g2000prh.googlegroups .com>,
nasra11a******.com says...
> On Jul 22, 12:03 pm, Leythos <v...@nowhere.lan> wrote:
> > In article <1185073133.439352.249...@e9g2000prf.googlegroups. com>,
> > nasra...******.com says...
> >
> > > Hi there,
> >
> > > I have a PC built for me, and I installed Windows XP SP2 on it. I
> > > presume I need to put a firewall and antivirus on it to ward off worms
> > > and viruses. I am more concerned about the firewall. I installed
> > > ZoneAlarm Free Edition, and it worked al'right. However, it always
> > > bothered me by asking me to pay up, so that I uninstalled it. My
> > > computer is currently running on the in-built Windows firewall. Is
> > > this OK ?
> >
> > > As an antivurus, I am using AVG Free Edition, and it seems doing its
> > > job. Also, I can get a corporate edition of Trend Micro's PC-cillin
> > > from my employer for little money; should I get it ? Thanks.
> >
> > A simple NAT router will do more and better than ZAP or Windows XP
> > Firewall in most all cases. Linksys BEFSR41 or a wireless version is
> > under $50 and provides protection from inbound attacks.
>
> My early experience with connecting a PC with no firwall to the
> Internet (via dial up) shows that it gets infected with a worm within
> 20 minutes. So that now I always put a firewall between my PC and the
> Internet. Now my PC is connected to the Internet via a NetComm NB5
> ADSL2+ modem router. You think this will repel the worms ?

The NAT router blocks "unsolicited" connections to the PC, it's sort of
a 1 way filter - it lets you out, but only lets external sites
talk/reach your PC if you contact them first.

Many people use NAT routers are their primary protection method with no
firewall at all and have no problems.

Security is more than the firewall, it's not using easy to compromise
apps, keeping updates installed, not doing things that put you in harms
way, monitoring your firewall logs (as you can easily monitor the
Linksys devices for in/out traffic), and many other things.

If your address is not a private address then your Modem is not doing
NAT, and if you have a live public IP then you're screwed without a
barrier device.

--

Leythos
- Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.
- Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling a
drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"
spam999free@rrohio.com (remove 999 for proper email address)

In article <1185080864.730283.306800@x40g2000prg.googlegroups .com>,
computerflyer******.com says...
> On Jul 22, 1:39 pm, Leythos <v...@nowhere.lan> wrote:
> > In article <1185074631.141883.271...@z24g2000prh.googlegroups .com>,
> > nasra...******.com says...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > On Jul 22, 12:03 pm, Leythos <v...@nowhere.lan> wrote:
> > > > In article <1185073133.439352.249...@e9g2000prf.googlegroups. com>,
> > > > nasra...******.com says...
> >
> > > > > Hi there,
> >
> > > > > I have a PC built for me, and I installed Windows XP SP2 on it. I
> > > > > presume I need to put a firewall and antivirus on it to ward off worms
> > > > > and viruses. I am more concerned about the firewall. I installed
> > > > > ZoneAlarm Free Edition, and it worked al'right. However, it always
> > > > > bothered me by asking me to pay up, so that I uninstalled it. My
> > > > > computer is currently running on the in-built Windows firewall. Is
> > > > > this OK ?
> >
> > > > > As an antivurus, I am using AVG Free Edition, and it seems doing its
> > > > > job. Also, I can get a corporate edition of Trend Micro's PC-cillin
> > > > > from my employer for little money; should I get it ? Thanks.
> >
> > > > A simple NAT router will do more and better than ZAP or Windows XP
> > > > Firewall in most all cases. Linksys BEFSR41 or a wireless version is
> > > > under $50 and provides protection from inbound attacks.
> >
> > > My early experience with connecting a PC with no firwall to the
> > > Internet (via dial up) shows that it gets infected with a worm within
> > > 20 minutes. So that now I always put a firewall between my PC and the
> > > Internet. Now my PC is connected to the Internet via a NetComm NB5
> > > ADSL2+ modem router. You think this will repel the worms ?
> >
> > The NAT router blocks "unsolicited" connections to the PC, it's sort of
> > a 1 way filter - it lets you out, but only lets external sites
> > talk/reach your PC if you contact them first.
> >
> > Many people use NAT routers are their primary protection method with no
> > firewall at all and have no problems.
> >
> > Security is more than the firewall, it's not using easy to compromise
> > apps, keeping updates installed, not doing things that put you in harms
> > way, monitoring your firewall logs (as you can easily monitor the
> > Linksys devices for in/out traffic), and many other things.
> >
> > If your address is not a private address then your Modem is not doing
> > NAT, and if you have a live public IP then you're screwed without a
> > barrier device.
> >
>
> Check out ghostwall. It resembles a rule based router-firewall more
> than a bloatware internet protection package. If you are savy enough
> to set it up, it works as advertised.

A proper Usenet Client would snip the signature lines when you reply,
consider getting one.

Any software that runs on the users computer is a security risk, even
ZAP and others, if it's on a non-dedicated firewall computer then it's a
risk. A NAT Router is transparent, doesn't ask the user anything, and
does its work without exploits when properly setup - this is not the
case for most PC based firewall solutions.

--

Leythos
- Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum.
- Calling an illegal alien an "undocumented worker" is like calling a
drug dealer an "unlicensed pharmacist"
spam999free@rrohio.com (remove 999 for proper email address)