Firewalls for XP

A wise man asks the questions
An ignorant man doesn't bother.
Only one of the two excels.

User66 wrote:
> I was one of those users who was massacred by the charnoble
> virus on the last day of April, several years ago. Since then, I
> have learned not to trust any safety related software one hundred percent.
> That was the sole reason for asking this question about firewalls.
> Thank you for your comments.
>
> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake.TakeThisOut@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:eTu9okKGHHA.960@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> User66 wrote:
>>
>>> What is the reason for not to use multiple firewalls for a user PC
>>> or a gateway PC ? Appreciate comments.
>>
>>
>> You achieve no extra protection, you incur the extra overhead of
>> running two firewalls, and you run the risk (probably small, but not
>> zero) of conflicts between them. See
>> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx
>> which includes the following: "Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall
>> and a software firewall
>> from a different company on my Windows XP computer?
>>
>> "A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for
>> typical home computers, home networking, and small-business
>> networking scenarios. Using two firewalls on the same connection
>> could cause issues with connectivity to the Internet or other
>> unexpected behavior. One firewall, whether it is the Windows XP
>> Internet Connection Firewall or a different software firewall, can
>> provide substantial protection for your computer." Also note that if
>> you update your third-party firewall to a new
>> version, the update routine will probably turn it off first. If the
>> Windows firewall isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no
>> running firewall, which is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows
>> firewall temporarily before doing maintenance on your third-party
>> firewall. The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost
>> any
>> third-party firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping
>> rogue programs trying to call home, and is a better choice. --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup

User66 wrote:

> I was one of those users who was massacred by the charnoble
> virus on the last day of April, several years ago. Since then, I
> have learned not to trust any safety related software one hundred percent.
> That was the sole reason for asking this question about firewalls.


Asking is fine. Always better to be safe than sorry.


> Thank you for your comments.


You're welcome. Glad to help.



> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake RemoveThis @this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote in message
> news:eTu9okKGHHA.960@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> User66 wrote:
>>
>>> What is the reason for not to use multiple firewalls for a user PC
>>> or a gateway PC ? Appreciate comments.
>>
>>
>> You achieve no extra protection, you incur the extra overhead of
>> running two firewalls, and you run the risk (probably small, but not
>> zero) of conflicts between them. See
>> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/firewall.mspx
>> which includes the following: "Q. Should I use both the built-in firewall
>> and a software firewall
>> from a different company on my Windows XP computer?
>>
>> "A. No. Running multiple software firewalls is unnecessary for
>> typical home computers, home networking, and small-business
>> networking scenarios. Using two firewalls on the same connection
>> could cause issues with connectivity to the Internet or other
>> unexpected behavior. One firewall, whether it is the Windows XP
>> Internet Connection Firewall or a different software firewall, can
>> provide substantial protection for your computer." Also note that if
>> you update your third-party firewall to a new
>> version, the update routine will probably turn it off first. If the
>> Windows firewall isn't running, you will temporarily be left with no
>> running firewall, which is very dangerous. So turn on the Windows
>> firewall temporarily before doing maintenance on your third-party
>> firewall. The Windows firewall monitors incoming traffic only. Almost
>> any
>> third-party firewall will also monitor outbound traffic, stopping
>> rogue programs trying to call home, and is a better choice. --
>> Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
>> Please reply to the newsgroup