MS Proxy 2.0 - Firewall?

Proxy is relatively secure yet it has to operate on top of NT which needs alot of fixes to be considered secure. Most people just tell your boss if you want a firewall, use a firewall.

You have to consider the source. I can just about guarantee that the guys who are talking to your boss do not like Microsoft in general.

NT does tend to need a lot of patches and updates. You also have to realize that MS Proxy only wants Microsoft clients to be involved on the network. Like most Microsoft products, it does not play fair with other clients, so whether or not other clients are or may potentially be on the network is definitely a consideration.

Secondly, there is a substantial increase in resource requirements due to the unnecessary overhead for the GUI that Proxy uses. For something as simple as a firewall, you really do not need this because it can really drag down network performance, which can cause all sorts ofbottlenecks.

For these reasons, I tend not to like Microsoft Proxy, even though we are using it. I do not know if you have a choice, but Border Manager (Novell) should be taken into deep consideration.

Good Luck!

A lot depends on your overall configuration, but I believe Proxy Server provides a level of security that is acceptable for most businesses. Particularly if you've implemented appropriate packet filtering and have internal IP addresses that are private (10.x.x.x or 192.168.x.x). I tested my Proxy 2.0 implementation (I use basic packet filtering and 10.x.x.x addresses) with the Shields UP website - if you haven't gone there give it a try - https://grc.com - there's lots of interesting security-related info here - and it tested out very secure except for email protocols which, of course, we have to leave open. Hope this helps!

Proxy Server does work but other options are worth investigating. As a firewall, I really like BlackIce from http://www.networkice.com/. It is excellent for controlling access at any level you set for one PC or a hundred. Personally, I have foundit to be very effective and user friendly. Definately, check it out! (In addition if you run a Netware Server, BorderManager is excellent as well, but thats another subject. Hope this helps!