Free firewall-alternative to present zone alarm?

LincolnshireYokel

torbrex wrote: »

and yet nothing gets through

Depends where you go and what you do on the net, if all you do is read the Mail Online and run MS Word, then your in pretty safe waters.

On the other hand, I know for a fact I could shut your firewall down using a buffer overflow vulnerability to run a 'net stop' command. I also know of a way to exploit a vulnerability in the Sygate DLL authentication controls and bypass the firewall

To be precise, the attack is possible because of an error in ActiveX control in SSHelper.dll which allows a remote attacker to execute arbitrary code via a long third argument to the SetRegString method.

DCFC79

closed wrote: »

windows firewall will give you a lot less trouble, and a speedier pc, along with free avast AV instead of avg.

This works for me,

waddler_8

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Depends where you go and what you do on the net, if all you do is read the Mail Online and run MS Word, then your in pretty safe waters.

My bold.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2008/12/02/daily_mail_malware/

Tainted banner ads are being served up onto the Daily Mail's website.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/09/14/nyt_scareware_ad_hack/

Similar attacks have hit media outlets including The Daily Mail and ITV of recent months.

I'm sure there has been other times too.

LincolnshireYokel

Bearing in mind the link is 4 years old!!

thor

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

I run a hardware firewall, a nokia box running SecurePlatform, with CheckPoint firewall. The makers claim no one has ever breached Checkpoint.

Its top of the range, but then its £3000 for the licence........I got it free, but thats another story..................

The moral is you cant beat a hardware firewall,. At least run Zonealarm on a separate box with two network cards. In actual fact, my Raspberry Pi will get tested for this function when it turns up......

Won't a router do the job? I'm sure I read somewhere that using a router will get you a hardware firewall.

LincolnshireYokel

Yes, some routers have firewalls built in, but i have a virus checker in the DMZ, so i use a separate box, its just historic setup.

Notmyrealname

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Yes, some routers have firewalls built in

ALL routers using NAT have a firewall built in. Every single one of them. No defined routing for a port, no access to computers on the LAN side...

waddler_8

LincolnshireYokel wrote: »

Bearing in mind the link is 4 years old!!

My main point was no website can be considered totally safe. There's been many legitimate & otherwise reputable sites hacked or been victim of malware spreading via malvertisements shown on the site.

As just one other example, .gov.uk domains have been hacked with malicious code inserted.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/03/31/lizamoon_mass_injection_attack/

John_Gray

Of course, the hardware firewall in your router and any software firewall you may have on your PC/laptop/netbook are really doing different protection things (Google if you're interested). Thank heaven that all routers always have hardware firewalls! A software firewall is included as part of an "Internet Security Suite", or can be standalone (like the ones mentioned before). Microsoft has got its act together on software firewalls over the years, and those currently in Vista, Windows 7 and 8, are quite functional, as is the antivirus package Microsoft Security Essentials ==> Windows Defender.

LincolnshireYokel

John_Gray wrote: »

Of course, the hardware firewall in your router and any software firewall you may have on your PC/laptop/netbook are really doing different protection things (Google if you're interested). Thank heaven that all routers always have hardware firewalls! A software firewall is included as part of an "Internet Security Suite", or can be standalone (like the ones mentioned before). Microsoft has got its act together on software firewalls over the years, and those currently in Vista, Windows 7 and 8, are quite functional, as is the antivirus package Microsoft Security Essentials ==> Windows Defender.

Its always been a point, however, that running the firewall on the same pc you want protecting is a weak strategy. Running the firewall and virus checker on a pc with two network cards in is better, and running the firewall on a separate pc with three network cards(or built into in the router), and then the virus checker on a third pc in the DMZ is the perfect solution.