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Originally Posted by Merrin
No offence, but zone alarm is horrid, ditch it  |
Agreed
Quote:
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Originally Posted by Merrin
Besides most routers properly configured are very effective hardware firewalls anyway. I don't run any software firewalls on my home network at all.
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Sorry, off topic but.....
The hardware firewall on your router
only protects you from unwanted traffic entering your network from an outside source - if anything nasty finds its way onto your system, and you don't have a software firewall installed that filters outbound traffic, it will be able to establish an outbound connection and transmit whatever payload it is designed to transmit.
Having no software firewall is very risky, it leaves you open to the possibility of your machine being used as a zombie to transmit DOS attacks, or (potentially more damaging) there is the possibility that a keylogger could be installed which would then be free to transmit any sensitive data back to the originator without your knowledge.
I would always suggest the "belt and braces" approach, a hardware firewall on a router does not guarantee peace of mind - a software firewall in addition to your router is a
must.