Norton vs Zone Alarm firewalls
in [Firewalls]
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From: Gerry on 24 Nov 2007 13:24 Ken Are you using System Restore? Have you ever noticed any outbound traffic being stopped by Zone Alarm? Does Zone alarm stop malware phoning home? -- Regards. Gerry ~~~~ FCA Stourport, England Enquire, plan and execute ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Ken Blake, MVP wrote: > 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
From: Ken Blake, MVP on 24 Nov 2007 13:44 On Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:24:44 -0000, "Gerry" <gerry(a)nospam.com> wrote: > Ken > > Are you using System Restore? It's on. I've restored from it a couple of times, on my XP machines, where ZA is running.. I've never had a problem or conflict between it and ZA. > Have you ever noticed any outbound traffic > being stopped by Zone Alarm? Not that I remember. > Does Zone alarm stop malware phoning home? That's the theory. Some dispute it. I can't say from my own experience, since I've never had any malware installed here. > Ken Blake, MVP wrote: > > 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: John on 24 Nov 2007 17:46 Luis Ortega wrote: > My Zone Alarm Pro firewall subscription expires in a few days and I recently > bought a Norton Internet Security 2008 package 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. > 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. > 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? > Should I renew the Zone Alarm Pro subscription or uninstall it when it > expires and turn on the Norton firewall? > Thanks for any advice. Alt.comp.anti-virus or alt.comp.virus are better places to ask your question. Many of the people in those two groups are unusually knowledgeable about this subject. I will forewarn you however that (the last time I was there at least) Norton home use products were not at the top of their recommended lists. John
From: Gerald Vogt on 24 Nov 2007 17:57 On Nov 24, 8:31 pm, "Luis Ortega" <lort...(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 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. It is actually also a bad idea to install more then one software firewall on a computer. The software firewall to do its "job" deeply integrates/messes with the Windows system. In general, the only way to get properly rid of an installed (single) software firewall on a Windows system is to reinstall the system. Otherwise you may see all kinds of issues after the uninstallation plus usually not everything is gone after the standard deinstallation from the software wizard. That's why you have to download additional tools from Symantec or others only to get rid of the rest. Now make the math: you have already installed two firewalls on your computer. (The Windows XP firewall is part of the OS that's why it does not cause issues here). Twice you have messed up the system with an installation of a software firewall. Both try to hook into the system to do their job and to make them fixed into the system so that other malware does not accidentally removes the firewall software. It is even now impossible to say whether any of those two firewalls operates correctly if turned on. Norton may well have removed some of the hooks which ZoneAlarm installed which ZoneAlarm did not notice. Or well, maybe ZoneAlarm noticed some of those changes and reverted them back removing Norton hooks... Honestly, I would recommend to reinstall Windows from scratch and learn a little about computer security and how to keep your computer secure by what you DO instead of what you INSTALL. It is not so complicated and still human beings are more intelligent than some piece of software. It is possible to run a computer without any firewall running and without getting infected with malware. But obviously, this last statement does not sell good that's why you find a lot of opposite (well sponsored) statements. At the current stage I doubt you will be able to get any of those firewalls removed from your system without damage to the system... Gerald
From: Gerald Vogt on 24 Nov 2007 18:02
On Nov 25, 12:49 am, "Luis Ortega" <lort...(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? Correct. But software firewalls only detect outgoing traffic if the malware is so nice/dumb to be detected. And even if it is detected and something is blocked it does not mean it does not send anything out because there are various ways to send something out even with a firewall installed (through your browser, through DNS, etc. all things you use and need to browse the internet for instance.) It would be more effective for your overall security if you have learned how to prevent malware on your computer in the first place. And this mostly depends on what you do and not with some security software you install. Gerald |