Win XP Pro and firewall....

[The Green Bean]

Does turning the Win XP firewall effect internet speed in anyway? Im using a slow cable.

 

[The Green Bean]

nm

 

[InlineFive]

The Windows XP firewall is very insecure, I would instead recommend the free-version of ZoneAlarm found on their website.

 

[pelikan]

I don't agree that its insecure. The potential problem with the xp firewall is it only checks incoming threats, not outgoing. So you have to do regular virus scans, which is a good idea anyway. The advantage to the xp firewall is it probably uses the least resources of any firewall. So its great for gaming.

 

[nrg99]

Originally posted by: PorBleemo
The Windows XP firewall is very insecure, I would instead recommend the free-version of ZoneAlarm found on their website.

I agree...

 

[dnuggett]

XP's built in firewall is not insecure. But you would do best to install ZoneAlarm. It is probably the best mass produced firewall around.

 

[The Green Bean]

nah I installed it but its too complicated to use....Who the F*** in his right mind whould hack me anyway .So des it effect speed? YES or NO?

 

[pelikan]

Yes zone alarm affects the speed of your system. If you want a firewall that affects speed as little as possible you want the xp firewall.

 

[synapse02]

or buy a router

 

[The Green Bean]

Whats the diffenece b/w a hub and a router?

 

[Confused]

Originally posted by: pelikan
Yes zone alarm affects the speed of your system. If you want a firewall that affects speed as little as possible you want the xp firewall.

It will probably not be that noticable, anyway.

Originally posted by: hatim
Whats the diffenece b/w a hub and a router?

A hub is a dumb device, it purely takes the data coming in a port, cleans it up/amplifies it, and sends it out of all ports.

A switch (even though you didn't ask ) is almost the same as a hub, but instead of sending it out of all ports, it sends it out only the one that it needs to.

A Router allows you to communicate with other networks, with different network address ranges, or in SOHO (small office home office) devices, allow you to share internet connections with more than 1 PC. Most SOHO routers include a switch. SOHO routers use Network Address Translation (NAT) to share the network connection, and the NAT process is also a kind of firewall (ie it won't allow data in unless it has been requested from inside the network).

However, that still won't protect your computer from sending out malicious messages (Ie "phoning home"), nor will the Windows XP firewall.

Your best bet will be something like ZoneAlarm, as i said earlier, it shouldn't affect your speed in a noticable way


Confused

 

[synapse02]

However, that still won't protect your computer from sending out malicious messages (Ie "phoning home"), nor will the Windows XP firewall.

Confused

this is solved by not putting any personal information into ur computer..

 

[starwarsdad]

People miss a huge part of the point by thinking "Why would anyone want to hack me?"!

There may not be anything of value on your computer to you, but to a malicious hacker, your machine is still a great target, especially if you have broadband access.

They can compromise your system, and then use it to run attacks against other systems. The logs from the machines they are attacking will contain your address not theirs! You are subject to at least some extreme discomfort if an attack is tracked back to you. You then have to prove that it was not you.

Protecting the Internet is everyone's job. A firewall is just a part of your responsibilty!

 

[synapse02]

wow i feel inspired..

seriously though, nicely said

 

[The Green Bean]

I can garentee my comp will not be hacked any time soon

 

[synapse02]

do you connect to the net with a 14,4 modem.. lol..

 

[The Green Bean]

128 but still I got nothing on my PC important, besides im connecting through an intenet gamteway

 

[synapse02]

a gateway doesnt do any kind of packet validation, you would still need to instal something that does a NAT if you wish to gain any security..

a gateway might make ur computer more vulnerable actually, cuz it allows any kind of protocol as long as it complies iwth TCP/IP to gain access to whatever is behind it.. or something like that.. never thought i would need to explain that..

 

[synapse02]

are there restrictions on how a gateway initiates a tcp/ip connection?? that could provide security..

 

[starwarsdad]

Originally posted by: hatim
I can garentee my comp will not be hacked any time soon

It is truely a shame that so many people think that way. And people think that Microsoft is the reason for insecurity :disgust:

 

[synapse02]

im paranoid as fook..

 

[Fuzznuts]

Originally posted by: starwarsdad

Originally posted by: hatim
I can garentee my comp will not be hacked any time soon

It is truely a shame that so many people think that way. And people think that Microsoft is the reason for insecurity :disgust:

its not if you know what your doing i know that anyone that tries to hack my network will take quite some time to do it. I have a linux gateway running iptables with snort and tripwire IDS. my internal machines are on a different subnet from the firewall.


now i am under no illusions that ANYTHING given time can be hacked. but i am also aware that most hackers will move onto a "softer" target. and my IDS systems "should" warn me off attacks by ip which i then block in the firewall.

I cant be 100% sure that i wont be hacked but i can relax a little bit more than you imply

 

[The Green Bean]

ok I got my self a copy of Zone Alarm Pro 4

I only have my LAN ip....wheres my internet IP settings in zone alarm

Also how much will it effect speeds?