Firewall (which is better, XP or Router)

[liverguts99]

Hi there

just out of curiosity, which is better, the XP firewall, or the firewall that is in the router, will either protect you from hackers and such, and does it cause conflict when you have both of them on at the same time,.

Before i got a router, i used Zonealarm and was pretty happy with that, and had XP firewall disabled, but now that i got the router i uninstalled zonealarm and XP firewall automatically came on, so i guessing the question here is, do i really need to keep XP firewall enabled as long as router firewall is up??

thanks

[z1p]

First there shouldn't be any conflict between the XP FW and the one on your router. THe only thing to remember is that if need to open a port up for any reason you'll most likely need to do it in both places.

As far as which one is better, I'd say if you are only going to run one, then the one in the router (a stand-alone firewall) is the better choice.

First, they are running on your PC, so that makes them more vulnerable. Second, they take up PC resources.

As far as running both firewalls. They can be advantages to running both a router resident firewall and a software firewall. Many sw firewalls will manage and control out bound connections on a per application, though there is some limitations there. So, if you want to monitor what is initiating outbound connections from your PC, then a firewall like ZA is a good suppliment to your router's firewall. However, I do not see a big advantage to running the XP firewall as it does not control outbound connections and pretty much only duplicates the features found in most router based firewalls.

Personally, I run a router based FW locked down pretty tight (NO INBOUND CONNECTIONS, NO OUTBOUND UDP (except port 53 DNS), no traffic on ports 135-139,445 (windows sharing)). I get away with this as I don't do online games or IRC. Every so often, I will install and run a sw firewall, (ZA,sygate,...). While the information they provide can be interesting, I've have found them all too intrusive or unreliable to warrent keeping them on my system. So, all I end using them for is periodic health checks of my system, just like running spybot S&D and adaware.

[sho-dan]

:wave: how u doin liverguts99

i have xp firewall disabled(never used it) and use ZA along with linksys router had no problems,no conflicts w/this setup. i fell safe .some say router firewall is all you need,but better safe then sorry go w/xp firewall if you have any problems disabled it and try ZA

[degsy]

Many sw firewalls will manage and control out bound connections on a per application, though there is some limitations there. So, if you want to monitor what is initiating outbound connections from your PC, then a firewall like ZA is a good suppliment to your router's firewall

have xp firewall disabled(never used it) and use ZA along with linksys router had no problems,no conflicts w/this setup

Same here.
ZA is there to give you control over what programs have access to the net. The Router Firewall is more of a silent protection.

[The Dude]

I'd say the FIREWALL in your router is much better and a better choice.

Why trust your security to MS???? I wouldnt trust them with a 10ft pole :D (Yes,i dislike MS with a pa$$ion)

Good Luck my friend :)

[liverguts99]

thanks for the help guys,

guess i gonna shut down XP firewall and just stick with whats on the router
thanks again

cheers

[degsy]

I would recommend that you have a Software firewall for the reasons mentioned.

[z1p]

Some might say that sw firewalls can give a false sense of security. See http://www.whirlywiryweb.com/article.asp?id=%2Ftrojanimplant

That is why I said they are limited as they can be fooled.