Firewalls...

[Guest Gasman1]

Hi.Was looking for some advice. My EZ firewall has expired, and although it has been a good firewall, its Zone Alarm architecture does have some impact on FPS, especially when I fly online. Does anyone have any recommendaitons for a free, and a payware firewall that has minimal/no impact on FS9?All suggestions and help greatly appreciated.Mike

[aerdt 0]

If you're behind a NAT router then there's no real need for a software firewall anyway (or the XP firewall is sufficient) - unless you're really paranoid. The only disadvantage of the router firewalls is that they are inbound only, but unless you're on a larger network, I wouldn't be concerned.Jetico is a good freeware firewall (http://www.jetico.com)Hope this helps,Pat

[Guest MarkkuS]

Hi!what's a "NAT router"?regards,Markku

[W2DR 1,859]

I like Outpost ( http://www.agnitum.com/products/outpost/ ). Absolutely no impact on anything. It just sits there and quietly does it's job. They offer a 30-day trial of the full version. I've tried all the major firewalls and am convinced this has the least impact of any. And, of course, it works very well both inbound and outbound.DougPS: And a big bonus is the built-in ad-blocker. It's hard to believe how well it works.

[Guest iholrf]

>Hi!>what's a "NAT router"?>>regards,>Markku>Network Address Translation - NATBasically the firwall will forward ports to another box.There is also IP MASQ, where IPs on the private subnet all appear to come from the same host, irrespective of their name or internal ip.In the US there is an effort to ban MASQ type routers. (MASQ type are Big Brother blockers).If you have a DSL/Cable router/home gateway then you likely have a hardware firewall already.With or without a router/home gateway, use Windows built in firewall. Any vulnerability that would have been prevented by a firewall will be stopped with the builtin firewall if used correctly. You are not really being any more protected using a third party FW on a normal gaming machine or desktop.The only place you need advanced protection is if you are running servers of any sort. Anything that lets the world interact with your machine will need not just AV and FW but also an IDS (Intrusion detection and reporting system).CheersShadEDIT: I should mention that when I say the Windows built in firewall, I mean the one that comes with SP2, not any other.

[Guest navav2002]

I'd personally recommend a NAT Router/Hardware Firewall to Anyone on a broad band internet connection!! That is your best first line of defense IMHO...http://www.howstuffworks.com/nat.htmhttp://www.grc.com/lt/hardware.htmLayering may be advisable if your paranoid..he he(as someone posted above)..ie: combination of hardware and software firewalls...Here is a decent link:http://www.firewallguide.com/faq.htmI have a few computers...My *FS Only* Rigs are behind a Linksys Wireless Router and that is it...No software firewall is active...I do have some of the Higer Risk WindowsXP Services Disabled on those machines...They are only online for Weather or other FS oriented reasons...I have done some online flying..Hope to get going with Vatsim sometime soon...My Knock Around Internet Computer does have Zone Alarm in addition to being behind the Router...I only have the Wireless Feature as my internet/surfing computer is in a different location..I didn't feel like running a Cat5 cable...So I just installed a wireless network card in that one...I have my wireless network encrypted(WPA/PSK)...I may have a look at that OutPost for a layered machine...I just use Zone Alarm because it's Free!! It does the job (for me anyhow) on my Surfing Box...But I would probably look at a less resource hog if I were using this for FS also...Here are a few links that may help test how effective your Firewall Set-Up is... http://stealthtests.lockdowncorp.com/http://www.pcflank.com/about.htmhttp://www.hackerwatch.org/probe/https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2I also use Mozilla Firefox as my web browser...Just My Opinions!!Have Fun!!

[Guest lalo lolo1]

Sygate Personal Firewall. Just google it and get the freeware. It simple to use, easy to install, free and effective + uses very low resources. I have used it for years now and have blocked a lot of intrusions with it.A shame Symantec bought this company and all new stuff is as crapy as any other stuff Symantec creates.Nonetheless, the personal version is still the old one and doesn't have the touch of Symantec's dark hand.Leo