Changing firewalls....

oysterman

Got windows firewall, done a test on it & it,s not good.

1. My question is before installing a new one do i uninstall windows one first
2.Which is a good one to replace windows with

albertross_2

what test, what result? It should work ok.. for inbound protection, it does the job, unless you have opened ports up, or have a malware infection.

zonealarm, sygate, kerio.., or even better, a router.

elvis_bloggs

albertross wrote:

....or even better, a router.

Can you explain that for a non-techie person please - namely me.

jaws77

Routers work by hiding your pc on a private IP range using NAT (Network Address Translation). Have a read of this for a further explaination.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/nat.htm

albertross_2

if you have broadband, then instead of using a usb modem, you can get a router for around £40, this allows you to plug more PC's in and share the connection, use wireless (about £15-20) more, and most have a built-in hardware firewall, which blocks attacks before they get to your PC.

It's always a good idea to use a software firewall as well, just in case, and to block lan side worms.. but a hardware firewall gives an extra level of protection (software firewalls can be disabled by malware/viruses etc.., and you'd never know).

oysterman

albertross wrote:

what test, what result? It should work ok.. for inbound protection, it does the job, unless you have opened ports up, or have a malware infection.

zonealarm, sygate, kerio.., or even better, a router.

'Shields up' at qrc.com(i think) leak test, sorry for being a bit thick hope this helps

albertross_2

which ports are open? it's grc.com

oysterman

albertross wrote:

which ports are open? it's grc.com

It dose'nt say any ports open just comes up firewall penetrated,

electron_3

oysterman wrote:

Got windows firewall, done a test on it & it,s not good.

1. My question is before installing a new one do i uninstall windows one first
2.Which is a good one to replace windows with

You cannot Uninstall Windows Firewall.

I would go for

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm Kerio
Or
http://www.simtel.net/product.download.mirrors.php?id=53687 Sygate

oysterman

electron wrote:

You cannot Uninstall Windows Firewall.

I would go for

http://www.sunbelt-software.com/Kerio.cfm Kerio
Or
http://www.simtel.net/product.download.mirrors.php?id=53687 Sygate

So there won't be any conflict if they run together or do i turn off the windows one

electron_3

oysterman wrote:

So there won't be any conflict if they run together or do i turn off the windows one

Absoulutely no conflict at all, and some firewalls even disable
windows firewall as standard as it over rides windows firewall.