Firewall software

jonnibgood

I am about to connect my new PC to the web via a broadband connection and am aware of the need to have both anti virus software as well as a firewall - can anyone recommend some cheap firewall software? I have been looking at Norton Personal Firewall, but was wondering what other firewall software options were available and if they are any good.

Many thanks

Woby_Tide

have a look at the "techie questions" questions board further up, 2 or 3 discussions on firewalls including the free ones

ksrao

Get afree sygate personal fire wall free from https://www.majorGreeks.com.It is very good.

condyk

If you have XP and latest SP2 Patch then use the built in firewall.

m00nie

Zone alarm.. (free also)

cloud_dog

If you have XP and latest SP2 Patch then use the built in firewall.

Would suggest that anyone who has the option of running a firewall other than the XP SP2 firewall does so.  There are a number of very good free firewalls.

Obviously if you do not have one / cannot download one then iy is better than nothing.

Chippy_Minton

If you are using a broadband modem, check whether it has a built-in firewall. Many ADSL router/modems include a firewall, so there's no need to run a software firewall as well.

cloud_dog

If you are using a broadband modem, check whether it has a built-in firewall.  Many ADSL router/modems include a firewall, so there's no need to run a software firewall as well.

Chippy

Not sure this is 100% correct.  For example some router firewalls whilst stopping unsolicited connection can actually deny the attack but by doing so they actually alert the attacker to the presence of something at that IP address.  Also most will not stop trojans / malware from initiating a connection from your PC to the web.

You need to check things out.

There are a number of sites out there that will probe your connection and check your security status.  I used:

http://grc.com/default.htm  (as I said there are others)

They have two test of interest (amongs others - some useful download utilities) that test your vulnerability from the web (SheildsUp) and one that tests for the ability for software on your PC to 'dial home' - Trojans (Leak Test).

My connection was 100%, quote "very cool" regarding attackes from the web, but had zero protection from Trojans - despite runnig a very goog ADSL modem/router/firewall.

Have now downloaded ZoneAlarm to deal with this aspect.  Obviously if you are 100% certain that Trojans cannot get onto your PC then you are probably safe without worrying about the other aspect.

cloud_dog

monomer

It's a good idea to safeguard your PC as much as you can, but not to go to extremes.

An unprotected PC can apparently be hacked in 4 minutes according to one test.

However, I doubt any PC can be 100% safe whilst it's connected to the internet and still have an acceptable level of usability. For example, human error can be a factor that you can never really stamp out. If a trojan is able to get in, the more sophisticated ones are able to identify popular security software applications and terminate them, leaving you vulnerable to attack from both sides. There are others that may try to start a low-level service or attempt to modify your operating system.

It's probably best to adopt a pragmatic approach. Lock down your PC too much, and it becomes impractical to actually use! Think about sensible precautions like educating yourself on how things are able compromise your security, be cautious with emails and unknown programs, and have some sort of back up in case things do go wrong.

The consensus advice is to have at least an antivirus and some sort of firewall.

At the end of the day, we can only do the best we can really!

Noobie_2

Blimey, that was an interesting article monomer linked to from USA Today. Wondered if any (fairly experienced) users have tried either of these:

IRCBot Detector

“The batch file will let you know how to determine whether or not your system has an IRCBot running without your permission.”

http://www.jasons-toolbox.com/programs.asp?Program=IRCBot%20Detector

Regirstry Prot, from diamondcs (makers of TDS3)

RegistryProt's most useful attribute is that it will detect the vast majority of trojans at the exact moment that they infect/install themselves into your system.

RegistryProt is a 100% free, standalone, compact, low-level realtime registry monitor and protector….. RegistryProt will alert whenever a key is added or changed, and then give the option of accepting the key change, reverting back to the original key setting, or deleting the key.

http://www.diamondcs.com.au/index.php?page=regprot

Are they any use?

StrikeEagle

That was due to a bug in Windows Small Business Server. A normal pc could not be attacked in such a way unless it had compromised components on it (WINS).

Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP and Windows Millennium Edition also contain WINS but are not affected by this security issue, Microsoft said.

http://security.itworld.com/4347/041201msflaw/page_1.html