Is Windows Firewall any good?

[retrochoir]

I am using XP Home SP2. I currently have Norton Protection Centre installed which was provided by my ISP.

I have a free 6 month trial for Kaspersky Anti-Virus and want to install this. I'm therefore planning to uninstall Norton protection centre. Is Windows Firewall a good enough replacement for Norton Firewall?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sympology]

You could always look at Zone alarm free edition as many find this better than the XP one.

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[BadBigBen]

I suggest Commodo Firewall:

http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/

Windows is not bad, when you are sitting behind a hardware firewall, such as the ones build into DSL Routers (if they are turned on)...

about the Norton, in order for you to uninstall it, I suggest you use the NORTON Removaltool provided by Symantec:

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPORT/tsgeninfo.nsf/docid/2005033108162039

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[linney]

What ever Firewall you end up with, check out the programs performance and security via this site. Remember, if you are behind any firewalled router that is what will be being checked, rather than a second line software firewall program.

http://www.grc.com

(ShieldsUP!)

The SP2 Firewall is adequate for most users (even more so if you have a firewalled router), and is a lot less troublesome than some mentioned above, and a lot less of a resource hog too.

 

[retrochoir]

Thats interesting. I've just used ShieldsUP! and my PC passed all tests with and without Norton Firewall switched on. Does this mean my wireless router does have a hardware firewall? If so, do I need to have a software firewall installed?

Thanks.

 

[Sympology]

I prefer to run both, as the (basic) hardware ones, won't show what programs are accessing the outside world.....

Only the truly stupid believe they know everything.
Stu.. 2004

 

[retrochoir]

Thanks to everyone for your help.

I will be using a software firewall, even if only for peace of mind.

 

[jshurst]

Good choice. I always use a software firewall and a hardware firewall. Also, XP's default firewall only blocks inbound connections, so anything already on your computer can access the outside world...

J

 

[dseaver]

I have been using Comodo for 6+ months (I previously didn't have any firewall on my desktop or laptop) and I have no complaints. They made a major update not to long ago, and I have to say I like it even more now

 

[roland63]

Comodo is a very good option as so is Sygate's Firewall, Windows built in firewall I don't really trust myself.

 

[retrochoir]

One thing I've noticed since uninstalling Norton security is the improvement in system performance.

Microsoft Office documents now open immediately compared to about 10 seconds when Norton security was installed.

 

[bracadar]

Rtvscan.exe is a huge resource hog. I had to uninstall NAV on some older machines because it just killed them.