[NCSA-discuss] firewall for WinXP

[Liyun Yu]

Joe,
There are several small firewall programs (free or cost around $30) 
available
such as Zone-Alarm, Outpost, etc., in addition to Windows XP SP2 firewall.
However, many windows based app will open ports when "necessary" therefore
to keep a spam sweeper on the same box is necessary.
You might also want to use foundstone tools to close the ports from time 
to time.
That being said, I have tested Zone Alarm Pro and Outpost Pro in the 
past for
Windows XP. Both did worked and you may lock the box to its minimum if you
wish. 

Liyun Yu


Joseph Mack NA3T wrote:

> I have a laptop running WinXP and was wondering how effective the 
> built-in firewall is. Using nmap I find there are two modes of interest
>
> o the netbios ports (137,139,445) are showing,
>
> I assume this is for small home office duty, where you have a separate 
> firewall to the internet and you need to swap files, print etc with 
> other local computers.
>
> o no ports showing at all
>
> I assume this is for putting the machine directly on the internet. 
> This is the way I run my linux machines and has worked for many years. 
> However I have no idea whether you can extend the principle to windows.
>
> Anyone have any ideas?
>
> Thanks Joe
>
>