will XP Pro firewall be enough?

[lerxst]

I plan to install Broadband (adsl) at home, from British Telecom. I have two queries, if someone can help:

Will the Win XP Pro firewall be enough to ensure against hacking etc. I run Kaspersky Labs anti-virus and it is always kept up to date. I run a small business from home, therefore cannot take any chances, or at least I need to minimise malware occurances.

Also, If I go broadbane can I still keep the dial up for the business PC and use my laptop for a 'browser' pc, thereby isolating the business machine. Sounds a cumbersome solution I know, but never the less a safe one.

Many Thanks in advance for advice.

 

[wantstolearncfm]

The XP Firewall although revamped should not be relied upon, the best possible way to secure your self would be.
Telephone Socket > Surge Protector > Router (not the cheapier one from BT) with NAT enable and a built in hardware firewall > Connect to lAN or USB > Have a 'proper' firewall installed i.e. Norton, Zone Alarm(free) and have an upto date antivirus
Deactivate the SP2 firewall, although it is MUCH better than the origional i wont trust it (after mistrusting IE in the past).
Also for browsing i would advise you perhaps move to firefox (mozilla).
But the short answer to your question , the firewall can not be relied upon as far as i am concerned i havent updated mine for latest script attacks etc... cant see anywhere to do so, so get a purpose scripted standalone Firewall.
For a home user XP firewall may just be adaquate but for a business machine the risk of malware etc.. is far greater hence needing better protection.
I would advise you get
Spybot Search and Destroy 1.3
Adaware SE
Spyware Blaster
Im sure more people will contribute here but it is definately worth using a diferent firewall for a business

 

[longhair]

lerxst,

hardware firewall! get a good router that you can lock down (at the port level). it will also give you the ability to add pc's as the home business grows (if need be).

 

[TerryEA]

At the end of the day you can't beat a hardware firewall but, after a whole host of attacks on my XP Pro, I got Sygate Personal Firewall and Spysweeper, both free from

http://www.downloads.com.

I've had no trouble for months now with my broadband access. I would thoroughly recommend both of these if you don't want to spend. You still need a good antivirus.

I used Spybot for a while and it was OK, but it didn't get rid of all the traces of persistent hijackers in the registry.

Tel

 

[micker377]

One of the big problems with XP firewall is that there is no "out" protection. If a virus "variant" should sneak in, you could send it to any clients you may in contact with(e-mail, messaging, etc.). Since you are going broadband, most units have a hardware firewall anyway. Make sure anything you get does have one. If it is supplied by your service, they may go the "cheap" route.

 

[tomaso11]

I use BT broadband on my XP pro machines both use Norton Internet firewall and antivirus very successfully to date.
You should remember that once connected to broadband some of the problems are relieved. e.g dodgy dialers can install
but cant dial out coz BT broadband only dials two digits
and logs you on. Spend a few pounds now on software and save the laptop for meetings.

 

[wantstolearncfm]

The BT Router (freebie) Voyager 100 doesnot come with the hardware firewall, as you can see it is highly reccomended to have a hardware firewall (as i pointed out in reply 1 and repeated several times)
Locking problems down at port level is essential to these new attacks

You should remember that once connected to broadband some of the problems are relieved. e.g dodgy dialers can install
but cant dial out coz BT broadband only dials two digits

Good point i had thought about that happening before but if he has a modem still connected it would still manage it im sure, these things are getting clever!
I didnt spend much on my router when i got Broadband i have an origo ASR 8400 the new firmware comes with SPI firewall which lets you lock down port or port ranges, it also allows you to connect 4 LAN stations and 1 USB station to it, and for the price i feel it was unbeatable £35 whats that for security

http://www.ebuyer.com/customer/prod...2hvd19wcm9kdWN0X292ZXJ2aWV3&product_uid=48449

 

[tomaso11]

Wantstolearn,
would agree that its great value and the extra
connectivity can be useful.
Sometimes tho simpler is better.
You can't get much simpler than one PC connected on one phone line with a packaged security setup from a large company like Symantec, of course we must always have our Adaware & Spybot progs nestled on the desktop.Oh all right we can use your router as well !
So lets see ..right thats belt..hmm, braces and clean underwear O.K next, bit of commonsense dodgy attachment's
etc..etc Oh yeah! biggie,huge in fact.Back up your data before you lose a drive.