Firewalls

[Sarge]

Any input on free or low cost firewalls for home use? Would be on a single PC running Windows XP Home. May at some times have a laptop networked onto it. I've got 5 teenagers here and 2 adults and one of my teenagers recently downloaded a xxx dialer that is being a bear to remove.

What the ???? This was put in non-tech originally.

Sarge

 

[FitchVA]

does xp service pack 2 for the home version install a firewall? it's better than nothing.

if not, try zone alarm

 

[casm]

Any input on free or low cost firewalls for home use? Would be on a single PC running Windows XP Home. May at some times have a laptop networked onto it. I've got 5 teenagers here and 2 adults and one of my teenagers recently downloaded a xxx dialer that is being a bear to remove.

Are you on dialup or broadband? If you're on broadband, I'd say go with the Linksys WRT54G. They're good units, easy to configure, and just plain work. I've had mine for over two years and have zero complaints. Plus, since you've got the laptop, you'll be able to network it wirelessly with the other machines.

As for the dialer, no hardware firewall is going to stop someone from clicking on 'download and install this now'. The best you can do is run anti-spyware software (AdAware and Spybot are probably the two best ones out there; use both as one sometimes catches things the other won't) and a good, regularly-updated antivirus package.

Also, and I cannot stress these two points enough: routinely run Windows Update to keep the machine patched and up-to-date, and do NOT log on as administrator except to perform maintenance or install software. Give everyone their own account on the machine that is NOT part of the administrators group (just make them regular users) so that malware can't install itself as easily. Guides on how to do this can be found here and here

Of course, there's always OSX

 

[RichP]

If you are on dialup then you want the SMC 7004 or 7008 [4 port, 8 port], it allows you to plug in an external modem and does all the communicating, the PC just plug into its front interfaces, if you upgrade to cable or dsl you just plug the cable or dsl modem into the back wan port. It is a real piece of good hardware, I've run it off of OC3's coming off a cisco 3600 at over 10meg and they have worked well. It also has a parallel printer port on the back that allows you to use it as a print server so that multiple PC's can print to a single printer. I run a Brother HL-1850 full duplex laser connected on mine. Comes with a lifetime warranty and support.
I used a 7004 for about 3 years with a USR modem dialup.

The other good alternative is load Mandrake 10, star office or open office and firefox and be done with the issues completely.

 

[Sarge]

Thanks for the advice but while I was researching the OL bought ZoneAlarm. So gotta figure it out and hope it helps some.

Sarge

 

[IH8RDS]

If there is any one else out there with this problem, you might want to consider Clark Connect. I had an older son that it stopped him in his tracks! Its on OS and a great router/ firewall/ ftp server/ web server and too much more to list. Best of all it uses old computers and it is FREE for home use with free DNS updates. It is built off of Red Hat Linux. You configure it from any computer much like you would a router. ou dont need to "know" Linix to use thes OS. Check it out at Clark Connect

 

[GI-John]

Windows XP Service Pack 2 has a firewall/security package.
Zonealarm is a great free program.
You might also want to check out a few spyware programs too.

ZD Net downloads


Not trying to insult your intelligence, but are you up to date on all of the XP updates?


HTH

John

 

[Sarge]

Yeppers, Winders updats are up-to-date. The firewall in XP is a magnet actually (not just my opinion). Seems that the hackers have found a few holes in it and it was letting them in left and right. The ZoneAlarm she bought registered 25-30 attempted intrusions the first two hours. No more slowing down after being online for a short while.

I am on dialup with the hope of going to cable sometime within the next decade or so.

Sarge

 

[RichP]

Yeppers, Winders updats are up-to-date. The firewall in XP is a magnet actually (not just my opinion). Seems that the hackers have found a few holes in it and it was letting them in left and right. The ZoneAlarm she bought registered 25-30 attempted intrusions the first two hours. No more slowing down after being online for a short while.

I am on dialup with the hope of going to cable sometime within the next decade or so.

Sarge

The SMC will drop those packets without a doubt, right now ZA is doing all the processing of the probers. The SMC also has the ability to do both dialup and broadband. They are around $50 online plus an external modem which I prefer over an internal for technical reasons, internals when hit with line spikes and lightning are more apt to take the whole PC with them when they let go. With the storms we've had here the past month I've done 4 motherboards that cooked from lightning hits with internal modems even with a good UPS on the system. Good luck with whatever you do but an external firewall is the preferred method. ZA has too many 'warnings' that are bogus and are there only to convince the people who bought it that its doing something and they want to constantly let you know which I find very annoying.

 

[junkxj]

XP SP 2 firewall is not too bad. By no means is it the best thing out there, but for most home users it will do the job.