Re: How well does the Windows Vista Firewall work?

Alias wrote:
Nonny wrote:
On Sat, 26 Jul 2008 20:15:00 -0700, Flyerfan27
<Flyerfan27@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Hello,

I recently removed McAfee form my laptop with Vista Home Premium OP. I installed the free version of AVG Antivirus for virus protection in McAfee's place. I was going to look for a firewall program too, but saw that the Vista built in Windows Firewall took over that job. My question is do these 2 programs give me enough protection for my laptop? Can I trust these 2 programs to protect my desktop computer? My desktop is hard wired to my router

Your router has a firewall too,

Usually, it has to be enabled because it isn't enabled by default.


This is garbage Alias. A router is a border device that sits at the junction point between two networks,the network it is protecting from usually the Internet and the network it is protecting the LAN.

The router has one thing that makes it more of a FW than Vista host based personal firewall/personal packet filter, any host based 3rd party personal firewall/packet filter or any host based firewall/packet filter running on Linux too that a home user would be using, and the network packets must travel between these two interfaces with NAT allowing the inbound packets to pass between the two interfaces or NAT drops the inbound packets that were not solicted.

The router has the two network interfaces with one network interface facing the network it is protecting from with the WAN port and the network interface that is protecting the LAN, LAN ports.

A FW reduces the risk of damage that can be spread from one network to another network just like a firedoor that reduces the spread of fire from one room to another.

The earliest forms of firewalls were and are routers, because of their ability to separate networks to reduces the risk of damage spreading between networks, a barrier device, and they don't need any packet filtering software running on them such as something you're calling FW software, for it to act naturally as FW, barrier or border device to protect a network.
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