TonyJollans
Programmer
I thought that a firewall was something which provided a barrier between my computer and others so that nothing got through without my consent. Seems a simple concept.
I recently installed Kerio Personal Firewall in order to see if it was suitable for a friend of mine. As soon as it was up and running I got bombarded with messages which were definitely not suitable for a non-computer literate person. I could live with that, and probably learn to configure it, but what I can't get to grips with is everything else it does.
It has caught me out a couple of times by having a pop-up blocker (active by default) which stops me, for example, awarding stars here at TT. It also intercepts all automatic program initiation, for example, invoking Help from Excel. I can deal with this myself on a case by case basis but I don't know how to explain to someone else how to interpret the messages.
Anyway, it got me thinking. Are these functions, worthy or not, any business of a firewall? Hence the question posed in the thread title - just what is a firewall supposed to do?
Enjoy,
Tony
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