Shoutbox

Windows Firewall .. is it secure?

I use to have ZoneAlarm, but it got very annoying because it popped up every 2 minutes. Someone suggested to use Windows Firewall, so I did, and have been for a few months. Sometimes I worry that it's not secure enough.. don't know why..

I've tried many firewalls in the past but find they are annoying because they pop up all the time and i'd just rather have something that doesn't popup all the time [like Windows Firewall]

So my question is... Is Windows Firewall secure enough?

Do I need a program like ZA that is more secure?

windos firewall has popusp too i think WFW is alrite as long as u know wat kind of stuff u do. i just moved to ZA security suite and set it to learning mode where once u tell it a certain program is secure it will remember and once u use every application that needs to be allowed you wont see any messages anymore

Windows Firewall has been proven to be as secure as any other firewall. The only difference being that Windows Firewall only provides basic protection; isn't as sophisticated as other software firewalls - they offer outgoing protection and incoming protection, application modification detection, anti-tampering, intruder detection, packet monitoring etc.

Usually, Windows Firewall suffices for a home computer.

As for Zone Alarm, be careful what you do with it. I and a large number of people have had issues with it crippling your internet connection.

Curious, what the heck is WFW?

quote:

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Originally posted by EvilSeph

Curious, what the heck is WFW?

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i abrebiated Windows FireWall

Zone Alarm only has a few more pop ups compared to Windows Firewall and most of them will be the ones to allow programs to connect to the internet, just like the Windows Firewall has. If it's a program you trust, just tick "Remember this action"

To stop the common alerts popping up, open the control center and go to "Alerts and Logs". There, turn off information alerts.

Zone Alarm is so much more sophisticated than Windows Firewall. The "few more popups" you speak of are because you haven't delved into the advanced functionality of Zone Alarm. You could make it inspect each component used, rather than each program if you so wanted to.

If you turn off the alerts, then what's the point in using Zone Alarm or any other more-advanced firewall? Just use Windows Firewall. It does the job. It does it well. The alerts are a key part of what makes those other firewalls so powerful.

So you recon I should get ZA?

I don't know about anyone else, but I had recently upgraded to the latest free version of ZA and kept getting an error and it telling me to restart my computer.  I uninstalled it and have been looking for something to replace it or some way to fix the issue since then. What is the comparison between WFW and ZA?

Windows XP includes a Firewall to protect your system against unwanted "visitors" from the
Internet , but it does not control connections from your system to the Internet ( to control
the "calling back home of XP" or a virus/worm trying to spread itself ).
To control outgoing connections, you need to install a non-Microsoft firewall, there are several
packages available on the web


more details
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/wxpzonea.html

I use Windows Firewall, behind a hardware router firewall too. Double security. Even before I had DSL and a router, I used Win Firewall.

Only time it gives me a pop-up, is when something tries to access, that hasn't been set as allowed/disallowed yet. ie: When I installedand ran  BF1942 for the first time, it popped up and asked "What do you want to do?". Hasn't popped up since.

Win Firewall DOES NOT block things from going out of your computer, only things coming in. So it will block a hacker from coming in, but will not stop a trojan from sending something out. Therefore I would only recommend Win Firewall on its own, if:

- You know what you are doing, and regularly run AV, Spyware and Adaware programs, and know how to spot a potentially harmful file, prior to downloading it.

AND/OR

- You already have a hardware firewall, and just want a little bit of extra protection.