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Windows XPs' built in firewall.

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15 replies

by wayne_da_man

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I get a lot of questions from friends who have questioned the protection that Win XPs built in firewall provides for high speed internet service. Not being familiar with this type of firewall, can anyone come up with some more information on it. They tell me that the cable company that provides the high speed internet service does not even recommend using a firewall. They must be nuts. Any answers I can give these folks would be appreciated. I am talking single work station for a home office situation.
Thanks,
Wayne

15 replies

by thechas

The cable company is recommending to not use a firewall to reduce support calls from users who mis-configure their firewalls, and can't access the internet. Also, some of the setup programs require that you disable both the firewall and virus scanning before creating the original connection.

XP's built-in firewall should be looked at as a very light duty firewall.

Another thought to consider, is that the hacking community has a general grude against Microsoft, so they will put most of their efforts into exploiting any weaknesses in Microsoft products over any other product.

Conclusion, use any other "freeware" firewall over the built-in XP firewall.
But, install and configure the firewall after the user has sucessfully connectedto the ISP.

Chas

by dclanton

I would not under any other situation use a "freeware" firewall. They are not very secure @ all. I would recomend using Norton Personal Firewall 2002 and getting updates daily on it. XP's firewall is very weak!!! Please if you have questioins letme know!

-Danny-
IT Consultant

by mtrahern

XP's firewall doesnt really work. I have cable internet, and I started getting hacked when I was using the XP firewall. There are some decent software firewalls out there...Zone Alarm isnt bad, but I personally recommend getting a hardware firewall. I bought a 4 port linksys cable router on sale for around $60. But, since your friend only has one computer, a one-port router would be the way I would go...

by jpcoz

Like the other guys that posted responses, I've heard very little positive about XP's built-in firewall. I use Norton Personal Internet Firewall 2002 and found it to be very easy to configure. The live update feature is pretty handy and lets you feel secure because you know you are running the most current version of the software.

by jimbalaia

Personally, I would not recommend ANY SOFTWARE FIREWALL, as they all have vulnerablities, and they all use system resources (they slow your computer down). Get a gateway/router and connect it between your cable/dsl modem and all other computers, you will not regret it. I obtained a NetGear RT314 Gateway Router when I first got broadband internet service. The only security hole I know of is of the spyware/adware type, which can be prevented with good antivirus software and system monitoring tools.

by phil.hall

The reason you (ar anyone for that matter) is having concerns about the ICF is because MS foolishly didn't document it very well outside the Windows XP Technical Documentation Manual ($50). You can get some good info from here: http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1620

But ideally, the solution is a hardware router/firewall (like the SMC Barricade). But to say that the ICF is worthless is wrong. The reason a previous poster has been getting "hacked" is probably because he didn't have it configured right -- a problem that could plague any hardware firewall as well.

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