Broadband and firewalls

[inferno]

I am about to upgrade to broadband - any recommendations for a firewall?

[inferno]

And do I really need one - I have norton antivirus.

[Oneeyedvic]

Yes you definitely do want one - I use norton antivirus and norton internet security (firewall)- seems as good as any

[Kerplunk]

Windows xp sp2 upgrades sp1's firewall. Or you can download a free firewall. (e.g. zone alarm). Norton internet security you can buy for around �40.

[Kerplunk]

oops, simultaneous post. But just to agree. I use norton and have had no problems.

[wizard]

ZoneAlarm for me, its free and doesnt give me any problems. Very good program.

[desertrat]

Yes you definately need one. Both Norton and McAfee have good software firewalls. There are a lot of freeware ones about as well. Personally I have a broadband router / firewall and a software firewall.

[j2buttonsw]

Get a hardware router such as the Watchguard SoHo http://www.watchguardonline.co.uk/fireboxsoho/index.htm

[Lou1946]

I use McAfee, one lesson that I learnt was to remove all traces of any Virus protection before you install a new version. With Norton, to me, never again it caused horendous problems and they were not easy to deal with after thye acknowledged it was their soiftware that cause the problem. To sort it out i the end I wiped my hardrive and rebooted. That was my experience of Norton, but what ever you decide, you should have an independent Firewall and virus protection. Trusting anyone else to give you that protection, as some do, is like trusting them with your bank balance they may like it but you might not.

[Mattk]

iw ouldnt use the windows firewall as it is a standard product and is a matter of time before the hackers find a way through. use zone alarm or sygate - both free dl's and very good

[stevie21]

Just to reiterate - you should definitely use a firewall and I wouldn't really rely on Windows' own one, even from XP2. I never had any problem with Zonealarm but read that it wasn't brilliantly thought of on other (more technically minded) forums online. It is amazingly easy to use, I'd definitely say that (and it's free!). A hardware firewall/router is even more secure but for most people it is overkill, unless you also need this for other reasons (to get more than one PC on your internet connection).

[romko]

norton personal firewall is excellent. There is a trial version available, and when that expires There is also a patch enabling subscription till 2029 - look on the web....

[joeartis]

I use Zone Alarm very effective

[scatman]

Sygate is free and better than ZoneAlarm imho. Can't beat a good hardware firewall though =)

[walia_ns]

Broadband is an open door, any one can enter in your System. One must equiped with the best Security such as BlackICE PC Defender or Kaspersky Anti-Hacker + ProtectX Professional Edition. This is more than enough.

Another, you must have a good commercial Antivirus and Anti-Spyware for better protection.