Norton unnecessary & Personal Firewalls pointless...

...and here's why.

AVG antivirus is free and effective: [link|http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1|http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1]

Personal firewalls are no substitute for the one on your router, and the built-in Windows XP firewall is far less obtrusive than things like Norton Easy Internet Personal Security Web Center, or whatever it's called. Far better to simply unbind MS networking from the internet-facing network connection.

All that happens with personal firewalls is that inexperienced users get asked "Do you want to allow FOOBAR.EXE to access the internet", and they'll click "Yes" on everything, because they rapidly become conditioned to the idea that doing anything else will cause things to break.

So, my recommendation is to leave the Windows firewall on at its default settings, get AVG, and then proceed with your excellent Ad-Aware/Spybot advice.

A general recommendation is for anyone with a broadband connection to get a proper router. [link|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=191078|I've got] a Buffalo wireless router with all the usual security doin's. I leave my computers (2x Mac, 1x Windows, 1x Linux) unfirewalled and do all the legwork at the router. This means my internal network is easier to work with.

Post #221,284 by pwhysall 8/28/05 2:44:36 AM Reply	Norton unnecessary & Personal Firewalls pointless... ...and here's why. AVG antivirus is free and effective: [link\|http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1\|http://free.grisoft.com/doc/1] Personal firewalls are no substitute for the one on your router, and the built-in Windows XP firewall is far less obtrusive than things like Norton Easy Internet Personal Security Web Center, or whatever it's called. Far better to simply unbind MS networking from the internet-facing network connection. All that happens with personal firewalls is that inexperienced users get asked "Do you want to allow FOOBAR.EXE to access the internet", and they'll click "Yes" on everything, because they rapidly become conditioned to the idea that doing anything else will cause things to break. So, my recommendation is to leave the Windows firewall on at its default settings, get AVG, and then proceed with your excellent Ad-Aware/Spybot advice. A general recommendation is for anyone with a broadband connection to get a proper router. [link\|http://z.iwethey.org/forums/render/content/show?contentid=191078\|I've got] a Buffalo wireless router with all the usual security doin's. I leave my computers (2x Mac, 1x Windows, 1x Linux) unfirewalled and do all the legwork at the router. This means my internal network is easier to work with. Peter [link\|http://www.ubuntulinux.org\|Ubuntu Linux] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #221,289 by jbrabeck 8/28/05 7:27:01 AM Reply	Concur with Peter Firewall at the router AVG Spybot Adaware so far, no problems. /knocks on wood :) A good friend will come and bail you out of jail ... but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!"
Post #221,291 by imqwerky 8/28/05 8:58:13 AM Reply	Comcast is now offering free McAfee security. Crap! and I just paid for the friggin' Personal Firewall. Guess I can cancel, but, a little heads-up woulda been nice. I was only using a 15 day free trial of Norton, so yay!, I can use AVG as recommended. Thanks for the info :-) Peace, Amy " I tend to believe the great voices of peace throughout history {were} right, and this voice from this little hamlet here in Texas is absolutely wrong. The world is watching what you do here. It is important that you be calm, that you be peaceful, but you be firm. My grandmother {used to} say, \ufffdFight them \ufffdtil hell freezes over, and when hell freezes over, fight them on the ice.\ufffd Dallas Reverend Peter Johnson, former staff member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Post #224,212 by Another Scott 9/10/05 11:48:44 PM Reply	Thanks for the AVG Antivirus pointer.
Post #224,293 by mmoffitt 9/11/05 1:22:12 PM Reply	Ibid. bcnu, Mikem It would seem, therefore, that the three human impulses embodied in religion are fear, conceit, and hatred. The purpose of religion, one might say, is to give an air of respectibility to these passions. -- Bertrand Russell

Welcome to IWETHEY!