My Norton subscription finally ran out, so I ditched it with much joy. So now I'm back on my Sophos Anti-virus, but lacking a firewall. So, this is my question.
I used the firewall checker at Symantec and it says, that I'm fully covered. But this is my ISPs firewall, which covers about 2500 other users. I'm guessing that the firewall also covers my local network ("dorm") which consists of roughly 30 apartments. So... I'm wondering... do I need a seperate/personal firewall? And if so, could I "settle" with the WinXP one? Seems to me, that that'd cover the essentials.
Firewall advice
Moderator: Officers
Never rely on the windows firewall by itself, and never rely on an ISP's firewall. There are all manner of unpleasant people on the inside if your ISP's firewall.
Unless you have particularly sensitive data on your PC, the native windows firewall in combination with a firewall/NAT router is quite adequate.
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I have a Netcomm NB5plus4W modem/router which provides a level of hardware defence. Then I use the Trend Micro small business AV/Firewall solution because I get it free thru work. I haven't been able to fault it yet for antivirus function plus it's very light weight, doesn't seem to slow anything down or cause any crashes.
It's a minumum 5-user pack which is affordable if you split the cost across various family member's computers (ie there's nothing in the licence about them having to be in the same building).
Their single-PC / Home version is called PC-Cillin but I've never used that so can't recommend it personally.
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I can sell you this stuff *grin* but you can also get it through many other vendors. Just remember to NEVER trust a harvey norman type salesman. They're all slime that will over-service you.
Unless you have particularly sensitive data on your PC, the native windows firewall in combination with a firewall/NAT router is quite adequate.
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I have a Netcomm NB5plus4W modem/router which provides a level of hardware defence. Then I use the Trend Micro small business AV/Firewall solution because I get it free thru work. I haven't been able to fault it yet for antivirus function plus it's very light weight, doesn't seem to slow anything down or cause any crashes.
It's a minumum 5-user pack which is affordable if you split the cost across various family member's computers (ie there's nothing in the licence about them having to be in the same building).
Their single-PC / Home version is called PC-Cillin but I've never used that so can't recommend it personally.
---
I can sell you this stuff *grin* but you can also get it through many other vendors. Just remember to NEVER trust a harvey norman type salesman. They're all slime that will over-service you.
To sum up tsui's post....tsuix wrote:Never rely on the windows firewall by itself, and never rely on an ISP's firewall. There are all manner of unpleasant people on the inside if your ISP's firewall.
Unless you have particularly sensitive data on your PC, the native windows firewall in combination with a firewall/NAT router is quite adequate.
---
I have a Netcomm NB5plus4W modem/router which provides a level of hardware defence. Then I use the Trend Micro small business AV/Firewall solution because I get it free thru work. I haven't been able to fault it yet for antivirus function plus it's very light weight, doesn't seem to slow anything down or cause any crashes.
It's a minumum 5-user pack which is affordable if you split the cost across various family member's computers (ie there's nothing in the licence about them having to be in the same building).
Their single-PC / Home version is called PC-Cillin but I've never used that so can't recommend it personally.
---
I can sell you this stuff *grin* but you can also get it through many other vendors. Just remember to NEVER trust a harvey norman type salesman. They're all slime that will over-service you.
Don't bother with firewalls
There are no atheists in a hen house.
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