Windows Firewall Sufficient?

Conrad11 · 18 May 2008 at 14:19

Hi there,

Can't remember what people said about Windows XP firewall (I know that the Vista one is decent enough), been a while since i have used xp

.

So is it sufficient enough or should I use a third party firewall? If so can you recommend a lite one? It is not for an advanced user, and the settings will probably never be changed. Its only for a machine which players movies/internet browsing/email/office that i need to protect.

Thanks.

swinnie · 18 May 2008 at 14:22

The XP Firewall has never given me any issues, however out of choice, I always use Comodo.

If you're after something to only control outgoing connections, then the XP Firewall will be fine.

Conrad11 · 18 May 2008 at 14:24

swinnie said:
The XP Firewall has never given me any issues, however out of choice, I always use Comodo.

If you're after something to only control outgoing connections, then the XP Firewall will be fine.

Comodo would be way too advanced - only need something to protect the computer from hackers/whatever firewalls are supposed to protect from.

Cob · 18 May 2008 at 14:51

If you're behind a router with NAT then the Windows firewall would do the job.

But if you're not then a 3rd-party firewall such as Comodo would be a wise choice.

MarcLister · 18 May 2008 at 15:26

Cob said:
If you're behind a router with NAT then the Windows firewall would do the job.

But if you're not then a 3rd-party firewall such as Comodo would be a wise choice.

This. I use Comodo at Uni as I'm not 100% sure about the layout/security of the network here so I'd rather not take a risk.

Conrad11 · 18 May 2008 at 15:29

See I have used Comodo before, and it was too complex for every me to get my head around most of it (I would say i was very computer-literate) and I want something i can just stick on a machine and not have to worry about it, ie no popups all the time etc....

It needs to be a pretty compact firewall too as it isn't the faster machine. Its a laptop (Celeron M 1.86Ghz + 512Mb RAM). I was actually thinking of putting Sygate Personal Firewall on there, as it has always seemed pretty basic too me.

I mean on my main machine i am happy with Vista Firewall, but if i was to install another firewall it would be comodo without a doubt, it just i think for the end user (my mum), she'd just get confused

MarcLister · 18 May 2008 at 15:31

I wouldn't say Comodo is complexed. I just install it and leave it really. I allow or block whatever apps I get prompted about.

I always prevent the install of the Defence+ feature though. Utter rubbish and never stopped nagging me.

Conrad11 · 18 May 2008 at 15:33

MarcLister said:
I wouldn't say Comodo is complexed. I just install it and leave it really. I allow or block whatever apps I get prompted about.

I always prevent the install of the Defence+ feature though. Utter rubbish and never stopped nagging me.

Yeah - i just dont want any popups at all, because it'll only confuse my mum. I remember it would popup asking if i should allow different ports to firefox etc....I hadn't a clue to be honest.

Craig321 · 18 May 2008 at 15:33

Conrad11 said:
Hi there,

Can't remember what people said about Windows XP firewall (I know that the Vista one is decent enough), been a while since i have used xp .

So is it sufficient enough or should I use a third party firewall? If so can you recommend a lite one? It is not for an advanced user, and the settings will probably never be changed. Its only for a machine which players movies/internet browsing/email/office that i need to protect.

Thanks.

If you don't particularly care which of your applications are let on the internet then the Windows Firewall, or even just the firewall on your router will be perfect. However, if you want specific control over what can access then internet then go with Comodo as suggested above.

MarcLister · 18 May 2008 at 15:35

Conrad11 said:
Yeah - i just dont want any popups at all, because it'll only confuse my mum. I remember it would popup asking if i should allow different ports to firefox etc....I hadn't a clue to be honest.

In that case why not install Comodo without Defence+ but then run all the programs your Mum is likely to use and then set the permissions for those programs yourself so your Mum doesn't have to?