Guest AliceZ Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, which is a bit confusing and daunting Quote
Guest John Barnett MVP Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 I am using Vista Ultimate and only use the Windows Vista Firewall however, my broadband connection does work through a modem/router (the router effectively being a hardware firewall rather than software). The 'ping' you refer to from ShieldUp simply means that the ShieldsUp program managed to get through the firewall and register your IP address. While I use Vista's firewall I have also always been an advocate of Zone Alarm (the free version). If you feel worried or threatened by what you read regarding firewalls and want to make the change, the by all means download Zone Alarm (free version) I would certainly recommend it. -- -- John Barnett MVP Associate Expert Windows Desktop Experience Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy, reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this mail/post.. "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:1A96E465-10D8-4A3B-80D0-05FA04A2A2A2@microsoft.com...<span style="color:blue"> >I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me > yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They > suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now > since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting </span> Quote
Guest Carey Frisch [MVP] Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 There is nothing wrong with Vista's built-in firewall. However, for maximum protection, consider installing a comprehensive anti-virus/security program, such as Windows OneCare. You can try it FREE for 90 days. http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience - Windows Vista Enthusiast --------------------------------------------------------------- "AliceZ" wrote: I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, which is a bit confusing and daunting Quote
Guest AliceZ Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) and that also showed the same "ping" thing. "AliceZ" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> Quote
Guest AliceZ Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Sorry - forgot to mention that I also use DSL. "AliceZ" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba > notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), > but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) > and that also showed the same "ping" thing. > > "AliceZ" wrote: > <span style="color:green"> > > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span></span> Quote
Guest Carey Frisch [MVP] Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Run the Symantec Security check: http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default...id=ie&venid=sym -- Carey Frisch Microsoft MVP Windows Desktop Experience - Windows Vista Enthusiast --------------------------------------------------------------- "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:4231904C-5913-4A96-B836-5EC2B0EE0743@microsoft.com... Sorry - forgot to mention that I also use DSL. "AliceZ" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba > notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), > but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) > and that also showed the same "ping" thing. > > "AliceZ" wrote: > <span style="color:green"> > > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span></span> Quote
Guest Alun Jones Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:1A96E465-10D8-4A3B-80D0-05FA04A2A2A2@microsoft.com...<span style="color:blue"> > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which > I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me > yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They > suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.</span> ShieldsUP is written by Steve Gibson, whom some revere as a security genius, and the rest of us think he's a plagiarising idiot who doesn't know what he's talking about. It has been a long time since 'ping' was anything remotely like a security threat. I personally like keeping it in place, as it is used as a measure of network connectivity. The firewall in Windows Vista is sufficient for most purposes, and is configurable. ZoneAlarm (what 'ZA' usually stands for) is something of a fashion, and if you want a program that keeps asking "is it okay to let this application communicate to the Internet?", and believe that you can competently answer that question, then perhaps it's for you. However, Windows Vista's firewall does a thoroughly competent job of preventing traffic that you didn't invite. <span style="color:blue"> > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now > since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> Perhaps now is not the time to be adding a new program that is going to assume you understand what you're doing? Make sure you keep patched, keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware updated (there are free anti-virus and anti-spyware programs, if you can't afford to keep current on the short-term subscription to whatever came with your system), and you should be ahead of most people. The big additional feature most people will suggest ZoneAlarm for is that of "outbound filtering". In an enterprise, this could be useful, in that it allows you to prevent policy-breaking programs from communicating outside the system - for a home user, it's "game over" already if you have an unauthorised program installed on your system. [And in an enterprise, there are better tools than ZoneAlarm available - an enterprise would not trust a potentially-malicious machine to police itself] Alun. ~~~~ -- Texas Imperial Software | Web: http://www.wftpd.com/ 23921 57th Ave SE | Blog: http://msmvps.com/alunj/ Woodinville WA 98072-8661 | WFTPD, WFTPD Pro are Windows FTP servers. Fax/Voice +1(425)807-1787 | Try our NEW client software, WFTPD Explorer. Quote
Guest vista_man Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 I have Vista Home Premium and use Sphinx Vista Firewall Control, freeware version. It works with Windows Firewall and you can control what goes _out_ from your pc. Done a ShieldsUp test and reports my pc is invisible ?? Running, the program uses 3500k of memory (not much) and installs on disk using 1.90mb In 12 months, it seems i have been well protected. Whether its Vista Firewall Control, Windows Firewall or the combination of the 2 ? cheers -- vista_man Quote
Guest Straight Talk Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:35:02 -0700, AliceZ <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> >I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I >was told had good security programs installed) </span> what security programs are those? <span style="color:blue"> >and someone told me yesterday that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is >not (very) effective. </span> That's just the usual nonsense from clueless "outbound control" junkies. <span style="color:blue"> >They suggested I should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). </span> For what purpose? - For screwing up your network and making your system possibly more vulnerable? Fine - go ahead. <span style="color:blue"> >They mentioned that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a >"ping" (don't know what that is!) got through.</span> Yes. Followers of Gibsons "stealthing" nonsense will often say something like that. They are mostly clueless security wannabees. As long as you're not exposing any open ports you should be fine. Responding to pings is not to be considered a security risk unless you believe in security theater. <span style="color:blue"> >Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's >Firewall? </span> It's good enough. <span style="color:blue"> >Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since >I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a >novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, >which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> As a novice you should pay more attention to what you do, what sites you visit and so on. Don't click on everything you see and don't run/install/allow all kinds of crap from dubious sources. And most important: Keep your system patched. Quote
Guest Straight Talk Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:26:01 -0700, AliceZ <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> >Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba >notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), >but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) >and that also showed the same "ping" thing.</span> This indicates that your DSL thing is also a router, and ShieldsUp is actually testing this device and not your machine. Nonetheless no real issue. Quote
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:35:02 -0700, AliceZ <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective.</span> I disagree. I think the built-in Vista firewall is fine, and there's no reason to avoid using it. It's what I use. However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at least two anti-spyware programs. Vista does not come with anti-virus software and you need to install a third-party product. I recommend either the freeware Avast, or ESET's NOD32, if you are willing to pay for one. Regarding anti-spyware, Vista comes with Windows Defender. It's OK, but note that just using one anti-spyware program is not good enough. Eric Howes, who has done extensive testing on Anti-Spyware products, states: "No single anti-spyware scanner removes everything. Even the best-performing anti-spyware scanner in these tests missed fully one quarter of the "critical" files and Registry entries" See http://spywarewarrior.com/asw-test-guide.htm I recommend that you use two or more of the following: Spybot Search and Destroy Adaware Spyware Blaster Windows Defender Super-Antispyware -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup Quote
Guest AliceZ Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 "Straight Talk" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 06:35:02 -0700, AliceZ > <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > <span style="color:green"> > >I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > >was told had good security programs installed) </span> > > what security programs are those?</span> I was referring to the Vista Home Premium Firewall, Defender, etc. Also, the AVG-AV; AVG-AS; SpyBlaster that I had installed by my son. Quote
Guest AliceZ Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 Thanks i just mentioned the NAV on the desktop (which also got the 1 ping thing) because not only the Vista Home Premium sps1 (firewall) and the NAV showed this ping thing. I always get weekly updates for the NAV and then do full scan. "Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > Run the Symantec Security check: > http://security.symantec.com/sscv6/default...id=ie&venid=sym > > -- > Carey Frisch > Microsoft MVP > Windows Desktop Experience - > Windows Vista Enthusiast > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:4231904C-5913-4A96-B836-5EC2B0EE0743@microsoft.com... > Sorry - forgot to mention that I also use DSL. > > "AliceZ" wrote: > <span style="color:green"> > > Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba > > notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), > > but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) > > and that also showed the same "ping" thing. > > > > "AliceZ" wrote: > > <span style="color:darkred"> > > > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > > > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > > > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > > > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > > > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > > > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > > > > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > > > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > > > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > > > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > > > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span></span> > </span> Quote
Guest windyvoice Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:1A96E465-10D8-4A3B-80D0-05FA04A2A2A2@microsoft.com...<span style="color:blue"> >I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me > yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They > suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now > since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> Vista firewall is, by default, set to work on incoming only. It can be set to protect on outgoing, also, but can be confusing to a new user. There is some debate as to whether outgoing protection is even needed since incoming should not allow any nasties to enter. But firewalls are not 100% effective, no security is, of course. I like outgoing because I can see what or who is asking to connect and what program is trying to phone home. The bad guys come out with programs and viruses so fast it is hard for any security company to keep ahead of them so we are never completely safe online. It is a risk we all take just by connecting. According to leak tests, only a few free firewalls pass, Online Armor (not yet Vista Compatible) and Comodo Firewall Pro if you use the defense + security in version 3 (see Scot's Newsletter) (compatible if you use the latest version 3). The paid Zone Alarm passes, the free doesn't. Vista built in firewall doesn't pass the leak test but is usually enough for a home user, especially if you have a router. Any firewall, in training mode, will ask if you want to let a program connect if it has outgoing protection. http://blog.scotsnewsletter.com/2008/03/24...8-online-armor/ http://www.scotsnewsletter.com/index.htm http://www.matousec.com/info/articles/intr...eak-testing.php Sphinx Vista Firewall Control can be used to adjust the Vista Firewall for both incoming and outgoing (outgoing lets you see if anything is trying to phone home but you need to know if the phoning is good or bad). I am using Comodo Firewall Pro free 3 (latest version) with AVG Antivirus (Avast and Anitvir free are better but don't play well with Comodo on my system). Comodo shows stealth on various test sites. I was using Kaspersky Internet Security 7 but it had problems with Vista that were just too annoying so it is working well on our WinXP computer. I do not like Norton anything. Symantec is very intrusive and uses lots of resources and memory. When I used it, our machine got infected several times. It never got an infection with Kaspersky but, as stated, had problems on this particular system. Do not run more than one AV at any time. If you want a second opinion Trend Micro's Online House Call can scan your system online and report any problems your installed AV may have missed. There are also other online scanners, but I can't remember the addresses. Maybe one of the MVPs can tell you. Trend Micro also has a free root-kit scanner called rootkitbuster. Spyware is a huge problem on the net and a good spyware program (such as Windows Defender) should help. There are other spyware programs you can use to scan as a second opinion. Hope this helps. Sorry for the long-windedness. Quote
Guest Straight Talk Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 10:31:44 -0500, vista_man <guest@unknown-email.com> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > >I have Vista Home Premium and use Sphinx Vista Firewall Control, >freeware version. > >It works with Windows Firewall and you can control what goes _out_ from >your pc. > >Done a ShieldsUp test and reports my pc is invisible ??</span> How do you manage to hit the right buttons when it's invisible? <span style="color:blue"> >Running, the program uses 3500k of memory (not much) and installs on >disk using 1.90mb > >In 12 months, it seems i have been well protected. Whether its Vista >Firewall Control, Windows Firewall or the combination of the 2 ?</span> It's just the windows firewall in combination with your brain that has kept you protected. No need for all kinds of anti-crap. Quote
Guest Straight Talk Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:59:11 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> >However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note >that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at >least two anti-spyware programs.</span> And soon your new turbo-machine is crippled with anti-crap. BTW, how would adding further potentially vulnerable code to an already vulnerable system actually increase it's security? <span style="color:blue"> >I recommend that you use two or more of the following: > >Spybot Search and Destroy >Adaware >Spyware Blaster >Windows Defender >Super-Antispyware </span> I recommend keeping the bad stuff out instead. This is done mainly by staying away from inherently broken software, keeping ones system patched and using ones brain. Quote
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:20:00 +0200, Straight Talk <b__nice@hotmail.com> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:59:11 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" > <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote: > <span style="color:green"> > >However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note > >that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at > >least two anti-spyware programs.</span> > > And soon your new turbo-machine is crippled with anti-crap. > > BTW, how would adding further potentially vulnerable code to an > already vulnerable system actually increase it's security? > <span style="color:green"> > >I recommend that you use two or more of the following: > > > >Spybot Search and Destroy > >Adaware > >Spyware Blaster > >Windows Defender > >Super-Antispyware </span> > > I recommend keeping the bad stuff out instead. This is done mainly by > staying away from inherently broken software, keeping ones system > patched and using ones brain.</span> All of those things are good to do. But relying on them alone is foolhardy. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Please Reply to the Newsgroup Quote
Guest Straight Talk Posted April 29, 2008 Posted April 29, 2008 On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:52:48 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote: <span style="color:blue"> >On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 21:20:00 +0200, Straight Talk ><b__nice@hotmail.com> wrote: ><span style="color:green"> >> On Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:59:11 -0700, "Ken Blake, MVP" >> <kblake@this.is.an.invalid.domain> wrote: >> <span style="color:darkred"> >> >However, regarding having "good security programs installed," note >> >that besides a firewall, you also need an anti-virus program, and at >> >least two anti-spyware programs.</span> >> >> And soon your new turbo-machine is crippled with anti-crap. >> >> BTW, how would adding further potentially vulnerable code to an >> already vulnerable system actually increase it's security? >> <span style="color:darkred"> >> >I recommend that you use two or more of the following: >> > >> >Spybot Search and Destroy >> >Adaware >> >Spyware Blaster >> >Windows Defender >> >Super-Antispyware </span> >> >> I recommend keeping the bad stuff out instead. This is done mainly by >> staying away from inherently broken software, keeping ones system >> patched and using ones brain.</span> > > >All of those things are good to do. But relying on them alone is >foolhardy.</span> If so, so is relying on anti-crap. Quote
Guest Steve Riley [MSFT] Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 "Alun Jones" <alun@texis.invalid> wrote in message news:uO5Rp8gqIHA.4904@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... <span style="color:blue"> > Windows Vista's firewall does a thoroughly competent job of preventing > traffic that you didn't invite.</span> Which is precisely the job of a firewall--that and nothing more. -- Steve Riley steve.riley@microsoft.com http://blogs.technet.com/steriley http://www.protectyourwindowsnetwork.com Quote
Guest Alun Jones Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 "Steve Riley [MSFT]" <steve.riley@microsoft.com> wrote in message news:ECA3C93C-B6A7-466B-978D-4B985CF6E959@microsoft.com...<span style="color:blue"> > "Alun Jones" <alun@texis.invalid> wrote in message > news:uO5Rp8gqIHA.4904@TK2MSFTNGP03.phx.gbl... ><span style="color:green"> >> Windows Vista's firewall does a thoroughly competent job of preventing >> traffic that you didn't invite.</span> > > Which is precisely the job of a firewall--that and nothing more.</span> Strange - I thought the job of a firewall was to keep pestering the user: "You've clicked on a link from a stranger who promised you naked Russian tennis players, but might possibly infect your computer instead, do you really expect to see naked Russian tennis players?" .... and then expecting the user to pause for a moment's reflection before clicking "no, not really, I must have been confused". Anyone who believes that they will answer those questions correctly (and then will investigate why an unexpected outbound connection was initiated) might want something like ZoneAlarm. Alun. ~~~~ -- Texas Imperial Software | Web: http://www.wftpd.com/ 23921 57th Ave SE | Blog: http://msmvps.com/alunj/ Woodinville WA 98072-8661 | WFTPD, WFTPD Pro are Windows FTP servers. Fax/Voice +1(425)807-1787 | Try our NEW client software, WFTPD Explorer. Quote
Guest Mick Murphy Posted April 30, 2008 Posted April 30, 2008 Windows One Care is a complete piece of garbage. You can now be considered a spammer for Microsift Products! -- Mick Murphy - Qld - Australia "Carey Frisch [MVP]" wrote: <span style="color:blue"> > There is nothing wrong with Vista's built-in firewall. > However, for maximum protection, consider installing > a comprehensive anti-virus/security program, such as > Windows OneCare. You can try it FREE for 90 days. > http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm > > -- > Carey Frisch > Microsoft MVP > Windows Desktop Experience - > Windows Vista Enthusiast > > --------------------------------------------------------------- > > "AliceZ" wrote: > > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting > </span> Quote
Guest Bruce Chambers Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 AliceZ wrote:<span style="color:blue"> > I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> Vista's built-in firewall is perfectly adequate for most people. While it's not quite up to the ease-of-use standards of Kerio or ZoneAlarm, it has been noticeably improved over WinXP's version. There are two interfaces for Vistas built-in firewall: 1) A simplified one accessed through the Control Panel that is the only one most people see. To further supplement this view, Sphinx's Vista Firewall Control http://sphinx-soft.com/Vista/) is a piece of freeware that makes the Vista Firewall much more easily manageable to the average user. 2) And the more advanced "Windows Firewall with Advanced Security (WF.msc), accessed via the Start Menu's Administrative Tools folder, for the experienced user who wants more granular control. -- Bruce Chambers Help us help you: http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/555375 They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. ~Benjamin Franklin Many people would rather die than think; in fact, most do. ~Bertrand Russell The philosopher has never killed any priests, whereas the priest has killed a great many philosophers. ~ Denis Diderot Quote
Guest bb Posted May 1, 2008 Posted May 1, 2008 In article <34EC0591-85B0-4688-90D6-A2A93B1B295E@microsoft.com>, AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com says...<span style="color:blue"> > Just wanted to mention that I tried the Shields Up not only on the Toshiba > notebook with Vista Home Premium Sp1 (with also AVG-AV; AVG-AS, SpyBlaster), > but also on our WinXPsp2 desktop which has NAV (AVG-AS; AdAware, SpyBlaster) > and that also showed the same "ping" thing.</span> The ping is most likely from your router, not your computer. For example, FiOS routers come with ping response enabled to make it easier for technicians. It can be turned off. -bb Quote
Guest Paul Smith Posted May 2, 2008 Posted May 2, 2008 "AliceZ" <AliceZ@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:1A96E465-10D8-4A3B-80D0-05FA04A2A2A2@microsoft.com...<span style="color:blue"> >I just bought a Toshbia A305 S6825 notebook with Vista Premium sp1 (which I > was told had good security programs installed) and someone told me > yesterday > that the Firewall on Virsta Premium is not (very) effective. They > suggested I > should use the (new) ZA (which is about 45MB, so they say). They mentioned > that they used "ShieldsUP" to test Vista Premium's Firewall and found a > "ping" (don't know what that is!) got through. > > Does anyone have any thoughts/suggestions about the Vista Home Premium's > Firewall? Or is this just too "hi tech" for me to get worried about now > since > I just bought the new Toshiba with Vista Home Premium sp1 and since I am a > novice at all of this? I am trying to learn so much, as soon as possible, > which is a bit confusing and daunting</span> The built in Firewall is fine, I'd strongly recommend using that over nag-ware like Zone Alarm, which probably isn't any more effective and just is something else to think about, the build in Firewall just works. Shields Up is from Steve Gibson (security researcher read: journalist), well known for not having all screws fully tightened when it comes to this sort of thing. -- Paul Smith, Yeovil, UK. Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User. http://www.dasmirnov.net/blog/ http://www.windowsresource.net/ Remove nospam. to reply by e-mail Quote
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