Twisted DIRT Forums

I have the firewall that came with my windows xp. I want a better one. What is a VERY good firewall i can download and use for free that dosen't slow down my computer? 

I recommend not having a firewall on your computer.  I just use a router.  I have a netgear router and it does all that I wouid care about in a firewall.

If you need a really good firewall then you should buy a device that does it or setup a linux box as your firewall.  I personally would avoid doing either. 

What firewall functions do you need?

The router does most of what is necessary.  I am amazed at how many people put their PC's on the internet without protecting themselves with a router.

Bruce

I second what Bruce said.  Adding a router to your home network is the best way to protect your home computers.

Pete

What makes the router a better choice to protect your computer?

Computers behind the router are using a non routing IP address (192.168.x.x).  The default router setup uses something called an SPI firewall.  What this means is that people can't establish connections from the internet side of the firewall unless you do something to allow it.  Anyone attempting to hack your IP address will be just banging their head on your router.  All the computers on the non-internet side of the router will not be impacted.  To route over the internet you have to go through the router.  The router is smart enough to know who asked for the transaction and will send the return packets to the requesting computer. 

If you setup a firewall on your computer you are consuming resources needlessly on your computer,  adding another level of administration on your computer, and possibly impacting your interaction with other computers on your personal network.  In my case I have 3 servers, 5 workstations and 5 laptops at my house.  Non of them run firewalls. 

Bruce