On Thu, 6 May 2004 19:39:13 +1200, in alt.comp.periphs.mainboard.asus, "Tim"
wrote:
Hi,
Go with XP
[snip]
No, don't. See my other f'up in this thread for the "why".
XP SP2 will be out soon, so don't fork out any dosh for a firewall - make
do with one of the free ones which will probably be about as effective.
[snip]
NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!
This is utterly *horrid* advice.
First, which flavor of Windows one uses has *NO* bearing on the need for a
proper outboard (commonly called "hardware") firewall which remains an
absolute requirement in ALL cases.
Secondly, in *NO* case is the "pseudo-firewall" supplied with WinXP even
marginally close to adequate.
Third, *NO* "firewall" program running on the same WinBox it is attempting to
protect can *ever* be trusted. Here is just the tip of the iceberg:
http://www.pcmag.co.uk/News/1125025
http://www.pcmag.co.uk/News/1129165
http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/venc/data/w32.petch.html
http://www.pcpitstop.com/news/nl-200403.asp#A4
http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/z/zonekiller.asp
http://www.pestpatrol.com/PestInfo/f/firekiller_2000.asp
http://www.megasecurity.org/Firewalls/Firecracker.html
http://www.megasecurity.org/Firewalls/Killer3.0.html
Or, to put it more eloquently:
You can't block a port with software that runs on the same machine where
the attacks are aimed. That's like trying to stop bullets by shoving
Kevlar up your backside. By the time the bullet hits the Kevlar, the
damage has been done.
-- Morely 'Spam is theft' Dotes in NANAE, 13-AUG-2003
--
Jay T. Blocksom
--------------------------------
Appropriate Technology, Inc.
usenet01[at]appropriate-tech.net
"They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary
safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."
-- Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759.
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