Norton vs Zone Alarm firewalls
in [Firewalls]
|
From: Ken Blake, MVP on 24 Nov 2007 10:01 On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:31:59 GMT, "Luis Ortega" <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: > My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few days and I recently > bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 package A bad mistake, in my view. Norton is the *worst* security product on the market. > that contains a firewall. > I currently have the Norton firewall turned off and just use the Zone Alarm > Pro firewall. > I don't use the Win XP firewall because I heard that it's not a good idea to > have several firewall on at the same time. That's correct. You should run only a single software firewall. > We get internet through a Belkin pre-N wireless router that is supposed to > have some sort of firewall built in and that one is turned on. Good. > My computer connects to the router with an ethernet cable and my son's > computer uses a Belkin N usb wireless adapter. They both have the same > current setup I describe regarding firewalls. > Can anyone please advise on whether the Zone Alarm Pro firewall is any > better than the Norton firewall in my situation? My view, as I said above, is that almost any other product is better than Norton anything. > Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or uninstall it when it > expires and turn on the Norton firewall? Those are only two of your many choices. I would use ZA in preference to Norton, but I would also use ZA free rather than ZA Pro. I don't think Pro is worth the money. You could also use the built-in Windows firewall instead of either. Finally, note that with your router, any software firewall adds very little to your protection. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
From: Luis Ortega on 24 Nov 2007 10:49 Thanks. My understanding of router firewalls is that they only block incoming traffic and if there is some malware on the system then outgoing stuff is not blocked. Is that correct? "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake(a)this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message news:duegk35uco6l75o5klqmor4hmq3tu3drk0(a)4ax.com... > On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:31:59 GMT, "Luis Ortega" <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> > wrote: > >> My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few days and I >> recently >> bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 package > > > A bad mistake, in my view. Norton is the *worst* security product on > the market. > > >> that contains a firewall. >> I currently have the Norton firewall turned off and just use the Zone >> Alarm >> Pro firewall. >> I don't use the Win XP firewall because I heard that it's not a good idea >> to >> have several firewall on at the same time. > > > That's correct. You should run only a single software firewall. > > >> We get internet through a Belkin pre-N wireless router that is supposed >> to >> have some sort of firewall built in and that one is turned on. > > > Good. > > >> My computer connects to the router with an ethernet cable and my son's >> computer uses a Belkin N usb wireless adapter. They both have the same >> current setup I describe regarding firewalls. >> Can anyone please advise on whether the Zone Alarm Pro firewall is any >> better than the Norton firewall in my situation? > > > My view, as I said above, is that almost any other product is better > than Norton anything. > > >> Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or uninstall it when it >> expires and turn on the Norton firewall? > > > Those are only two of your many choices. I would use ZA in preference > to Norton, but I would also use ZA free rather than ZA Pro. I don't > think Pro is worth the money. > > You could also use the built-in Windows firewall instead of either. > > Finally, note that with your router, any software firewall adds very > little to your protection. > > -- > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > Please Reply to the Newsgroup
From: Ken Blake, MVP on 24 Nov 2007 11:19 On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 15:49:43 GMT, "Luis Ortega" <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: > Thanks. My understanding of router firewalls is that they only block > incoming traffic and if there is some malware on the system then outgoing > stuff is not blocked. Is that correct? Yes, it's correct. The same is true of the built-in Windows firewall; it too is inbound only. However many knowledgeable people feel that monitoring outbound traffic adds little or nothing to the effectiveness of the firewall. I'm personally not convinced that either point of view is absolutely right, but as a precaution, I use the free ZA in addition to what my router does. My guess is that any extra protection I'm adding is slight, but on the other hand, the hit on performance by having it running appears to be slight too. > "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake(a)this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in message > news:duegk35uco6l75o5klqmor4hmq3tu3drk0(a)4ax.com... > > On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:31:59 GMT, "Luis Ortega" <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> > > wrote: > > > >> My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few days and I > >> recently > >> bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 package > > > > > > A bad mistake, in my view. Norton is the *worst* security product on > > the market. > > > > > >> that contains a firewall. > >> I currently have the Norton firewall turned off and just use the Zone > >> Alarm > >> Pro firewall. > >> I don't use the Win XP firewall because I heard that it's not a good idea > >> to > >> have several firewall on at the same time. > > > > > > That's correct. You should run only a single software firewall. > > > > > >> We get internet through a Belkin pre-N wireless router that is supposed > >> to > >> have some sort of firewall built in and that one is turned on. > > > > > > Good. > > > > > >> My computer connects to the router with an ethernet cable and my son's > >> computer uses a Belkin N usb wireless adapter. They both have the same > >> current setup I describe regarding firewalls. > >> Can anyone please advise on whether the Zone Alarm Pro firewall is any > >> better than the Norton firewall in my situation? > > > > > > My view, as I said above, is that almost any other product is better > > than Norton anything. > > > > > >> Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or uninstall it when it > >> expires and turn on the Norton firewall? > > > > > > Those are only two of your many choices. I would use ZA in preference > > to Norton, but I would also use ZA free rather than ZA Pro. I don't > > think Pro is worth the money. > > > > You could also use the built-in Windows firewall instead of either. > > > > Finally, note that with your router, any software firewall adds very > > little to your protection. > > > > -- > > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User > > Please Reply to the Newsgroup > -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
From: HEMI-Powered on 24 Nov 2007 12:24 Luis Ortega added these comments in the current discussion du jour ... > Thanks. My understanding of router firewalls is that they only > block incoming traffic and if there is some malware on the > system then outgoing stuff is not blocked. Is that correct? > Again, can't speak definitely if a NAT router can or cannot monitor/block outgoing but it can do a modicum job on incoming. There ARE some caveats, though, such as you MUST make sure that it has been properly set-up in the first place to monitor incoming traffic on ports you're interested in and you MUST make sure from time-to-time that your set-up hasn't been lost. I lost mine inadvertantly during one of many short power hits where I live. But, even if a "good" NAT router is properly set-up and monitored to ensure continuing protection, it's overall protection from an even moderately knowledgeable bad guy is pretty minimal. If you have ANY fears, founded or unfounded, about your Internet activities and/or identity theft, then you really should greatly harden your malware protection past the normal AV SW and you should add some sort of SW firewall and train it as to what you will allow and what you want blocked. Be aware, though, that ANY decent firewall will be annoying some amount of the time, and that is what you WANT, since you want the thing to err on the side of caution and at least give you a warning which you can ignore once, ignore forever, allow through once, or give it permission to allow that particular incoming traffic access every time. > "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake(a)this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in > message news:duegk35uco6l75o5klqmor4hmq3tu3drk0(a)4ax.com... >> On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:31:59 GMT, "Luis Ortega" >> <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: >> >>> My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few >>> days and I recently bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 >>> package >> >> >> A bad mistake, in my view. Norton is the *worst* security >> product on the market. >> >> >>> that contains a firewall. >>> I currently have the Norton firewall turned off and just use >>> the Zone Alarm >>> Pro firewall. >>> I don't use the Win XP firewall because I heard that it's >>> not a good idea to have several firewall on at the same >>> time. >> >> >> That's correct. You should run only a single software >> firewall. >> >> >>> We get internet through a Belkin pre-N wireless router that >>> is supposed to have some sort of firewall built in and that >>> one is turned on. >> >> >> Good. >> >> >>> My computer connects to the router with an ethernet cable >>> and my son's computer uses a Belkin N usb wireless adapter. >>> They both have the same current setup I describe regarding >>> firewalls. Can anyone please advise on whether the Zone >>> Alarm Pro firewall is any better than the Norton firewall in >>> my situation? >> >> >> My view, as I said above, is that almost any other product is >> better than Norton anything. >> >> >>> Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or uninstall >>> it when it expires and turn on the Norton firewall? >> >> >> Those are only two of your many choices. I would use ZA in >> preference to Norton, but I would also use ZA free rather >> than ZA Pro. I don't think Pro is worth the money. >> >> You could also use the built-in Windows firewall instead of >> either. >> >> Finally, note that with your router, any software firewall >> adds very little to your protection. >> >> -- >> Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User >> Please Reply to the Newsgroup > > > -- HP, aka Jerry "Never complain, never explain" - Henry Ford II
From: HEMI-Powered on 24 Nov 2007 12:26
Ken Blake, MVP added these comments in the current discussion du jour ... >> Thanks. My understanding of router firewalls is that they >> only block incoming traffic and if there is some malware on >> the system then outgoing stuff is not blocked. Is that >> correct? > > Yes, it's correct. The same is true of the built-in Windows > firewall; it too is inbound only. > > However many knowledgeable people feel that monitoring > outbound traffic adds little or nothing to the effectiveness > of the firewall. > > I'm personally not convinced that either point of view is > absolutely right, but as a precaution, I use the free ZA in > addition to what my router does. My guess is that any extra > protection I'm adding is slight, but on the other hand, the > hit on performance by having it running appears to be slight > too. I tried the free ZA and didn't think it did enough. As to a performance hit, I can't detect one except when it stops some other process and waits until I tell it to let the traffic in or out or to block it. That can be annoying but FAR less annoying then getting blasted by some nasty infection or suffering a major outtage or identity theft issue. > >> "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake(a)this.is.am.invalid.domain> wrote in >> message news:duegk35uco6l75o5klqmor4hmq3tu3drk0(a)4ax.com... >> > On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:31:59 GMT, "Luis Ortega" >> > <lortega(a)ntlworld.com> wrote: >> > >> >> My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few >> >> days and I recently bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 >> >> package >> > >> > >> > A bad mistake, in my view. Norton is the *worst* security >> > product on the market. >> > >> > >> >> that contains a firewall. >> >> I currently have the Norton firewall turned off and just >> >> use the Zone Alarm >> >> Pro firewall. >> >> I don't use the Win XP firewall because I heard that it's >> >> not a good idea to have several firewall on at the same >> >> time. >> > >> > >> > That's correct. You should run only a single software >> > firewall. >> > >> > >> >> We get internet through a Belkin pre-N wireless router >> >> that is supposed to have some sort of firewall built in >> >> and that one is turned on. >> > >> > >> > Good. >> > >> > >> >> My computer connects to the router with an ethernet cable >> >> and my son's computer uses a Belkin N usb wireless >> >> adapter. They both have the same current setup I describe >> >> regarding firewalls. Can anyone please advise on whether >> >> the Zone Alarm Pro firewall is any better than the Norton >> >> firewall in my situation? >> > >> > >> > My view, as I said above, is that almost any other product >> > is better than Norton anything. >> > >> > >> >> Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or >> >> uninstall it when it expires and turn on the Norton >> >> firewall? >> > >> > >> > Those are only two of your many choices. I would use ZA in >> > preference to Norton, but I would also use ZA free rather >> > than ZA Pro. I don't think Pro is worth the money. >> > >> > You could also use the built-in Windows firewall instead of >> > either. >> > >> > Finally, note that with your router, any software firewall >> > adds very little to your protection. >> > >> > -- >> > Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User >> > Please Reply to the Newsgroup >> > -- HP, aka Jerry "Never complain, never explain" - Henry Ford II |