I am brand new at this and a guru just set me up with Avast in place of the Norton firewall that I used to use. My question is that since I am us a cable connectin am i at risk using only Avast. In other words could a hacker get past Avast and access my hard drive? thanks and sorry if this is a silly question.
Larry
Avast is anti-virus software, not a firewall. I suggest you use a router with hardware firewall.
If you can’t afford that (+/- 35 euro/usd), at least get and use a software firewall.
There are a number of useful links for firewalls and other software in this thread Links Thread
If you are using WinXP SP2 you could/should switch on the Windows Firewall as a temporary measure (since it only providers inbound protection).
LK,
IN the freeware category, I might recommend in the order of stability and function for XP:
Sygate
Kerio
Agnitum Outpost
Zone Alarm
Of all, ZA is the easiest to install and run out of the box.
Sygate works fine with XP and very stable.
Kerio and Outpost are about the same but learning curve is a bit higher than the others.
Note: Remember that the Windows firewall in SP1 is only incoming protection. In Sp2, you have more control over the firewall but again, it is not as good as a outside vendor.
Good luck
Hello DavidR
“(since it only providers inbound protection)”
This is not true, the firewall also warns you if a program is trying to stablish a socket in output mode. Besides, is the only firewall that has not any vulnerability
Besides, is the only firewall that has not any vulnerabilityDo you also believe Elvis is still alive?
I don’t know where you are getting this from, even MS doesn’t claim it is a full firewall, providing full outbound protection, e.g. leak detection, etc. If a virus gets into your system and replaces a system file that has outbound access, it will gain access.
Do that with a good firewall and you will be notified that the program has changed and do you want to allow access.
Try visiting secunia and you will find a number of vulnerabilities in XP SP2 firewall, including an easy method of bypassing it.
Like mentioned above,…Avast is not a Firewall system.
Unless you have FBI information I wouldn’t think you woulde be hacked every time you are on the Internet. The only thing that you might find is someone using a portscanner.
My advices:
(MacOS X does rule!)AV: Avast Antivirus Home Edition
Spam: Spamihilator
Firewall: NAT Firewall router + Sygate Firewall + SP2 Firewall
Spyware: Spywareblaster and Spybot SD-Resident
Automatic updates: ON
Operating System: MS Windows XP Pro (licenced)
All off them (except the NAT firewall and BNC) are free and the best I could find!
Can you please advise me on how to obtain Firewall protection, ie. the name of a su8pplier…I am Windows XP. and at the moment have Norton , but am having such trouble with them. have decided to change my AV…I am a senior user, so am not very PC literate. Would appreciate ant help.
Take a look at my website. I have the links for the 4 most well-known free software firewalls. You will find all the info you need at their sites. All of them have a paid version with more features, in case you need them (although I doubt it - I have been using the free Sygate for years).
Hi LarryKing,
go to the following page
http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/company/products/znalm/freeDownload.jsp?lid=staticcomp_za
Click on Download FREE ZoneAlarm. Execute the file and your all set. I used along time ago but I think it is pretty straight forward.
It will always ask you wheather to grant the service that is trying to access the internet or deny it. The rest is all in you hand.
Take care,
Al
valel,
the best protection is a router with build in hardware firewall.