Author Topic: Should I get a Firewall?  (Read 20593 times)

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Offline Lisandro

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Offline bob3160

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #31 on: September 17, 2008, 02:45:29 AM »
Quote
Oh well I do hope that there is a firewall out there that won't crash Vista.
I've been using PCTools Firewall Pro on my Dell Vista Ultimate for about 1 year without any problems.  :)
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Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #32 on: September 17, 2008, 03:52:20 AM »
Hi bob,

Thank you or the reply. Can you please tell me your computer specs?
I have Pentium IV with HT (3.2 Ghz) and 2GB of RAM (however My video card takes about 220MB out of it).
Also, i feel I must mention that Vista Ultimate exceeds as well as outperforms Vista Home Basic in functionality and stability .

Thaks
Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

YoKenny

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #33 on: September 17, 2008, 05:53:32 AM »
Hi Tech,

What do you understand by TCPView tool.?
TCPView shows the connections coming and going from your system.



ashMaiSv.exe:3336   TCP   IBMKS1:12119   localhost:1533   ESTABLISHED <== shows avast is connected with TCP Protocol from my system to the Internet
ashMaiSv.exe:3336   TCP   ibmks1.no-domain-set.bellcanada:1534   news.grc.com:nntp   ESTABLISHED <== shows that I am using Outlook Express to read the GRC newsgroups and avast! is protecting the connection

Its interesting to have it in a window watching the connections coming and going.
« Last Edit: September 17, 2008, 05:57:31 AM by YoKenny »

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #34 on: September 18, 2008, 02:29:45 AM »
Hi Tech,

I apologize for not replying to your post. I just have a few quick question.
Is TCPView tool shareware or is it something from Microsoft?
Do you run it on Windows XP or Vista?

Again sorry for not replying sooner.

yoKenny, you say: "shows that I am using Outlook Express to read the GRC newsgroups and avast! is protecting the connection"
How can you tell that avast is protecting the link?

Thank you all.
Cheers
Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

Offline Lisandro

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #35 on: September 18, 2008, 03:07:54 AM »
Is TCPView tool shareware or is it something from Microsoft?
A freeware from Microsoft.

Do you run it on Windows XP or Vista?
Both.
The best things in life are free.

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #36 on: September 18, 2008, 03:25:56 AM »
Ah... Ok,
Thanks tech... if it's from Microsoft and you say you run it on Vista as well then I'll download it now and see what it says.

Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #37 on: September 18, 2008, 03:36:53 AM »
Hmh.. I thought this will be like a small install. All I did was download and un-ziped then ran the .exe hit accept on the license and then got a huge list of things. What struck me as odd was that a bunch of them were highlighted in red and then disappeared. Did I do something wrong or is that alright?
and just to get this, did it actually install or does it just execute?

Thanks
Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

gdiloren

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #38 on: September 18, 2008, 05:44:39 AM »
I've always used Comodo 3 FW on my Vista desktop but choose to uninstall it for suspected conflicts with microsoft updates. Natural second choice is PCTools FW PLUS. It did not last long on my PC. It was more than a virus, impeaching programs to start up and making life impossible with this pc. I had to remove it. Be sure to exit the program before removing it. Reinstalled Comodo3 FW and lSky are back blu and sunny again. ;)

YoKenny

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #39 on: September 18, 2008, 12:28:31 PM »

yoKenny, you say: "shows that I am using Outlook Express to read the GRC newsgroups and avast! is protecting the connection"
How can you tell that avast is protecting the link?

Thank you all.
Cheers
Look for the avast Mail scanner icon in the active area of the Taskbar on the lower right of the screen

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #40 on: September 18, 2008, 11:46:54 PM »
 
Hello everybody,

Thank you for the replies. YoKenny, you say:
"Look for the avast Mail scanner icon in the active area of the Taskbar on the lower right of the screen"
The only Avast icons I have in my taskbar are "i" and "a". The former is the recovery generator while the later is the active scanner. This comprises the resident scanner, the web scanner, the mail scanner, etc.
But there is no Mail scanner icon anywhere. Can you tell me if you did something to change the icons? And are you using the professional version or the free version?

gdiloren, not that I don't believe your post but with in the same thread I'm getting conflicting reviews.

Quote
I've been using PCTools Firewall Pro on my Dell Vista Ultimate for about 1 year without any problems.
posted by Bob3160

Quote
Natural second choice is PCTools FW PLUS. It did not last long on my PC. It was more than a virus, impeaching programs to start up and making life impossible with this pc. I had to remove it.
posted by gdiloren

I'm not sure how to choose. So far I'm pretty certain I'll stick with Vista Firewall. Because my Avast is always on high scan setting I'm not worried about anything getting in. However I'm curious about those 5-10Kb that my computer keeps sending over the network every 30 seconds or so... even when I'm not using Firefox or any other application which requires access to the internet. plus I don't have any other computers on the network.
Can any one help with this. What do I do once I get the TCPView tool.

Quote
I thought this will be like a small install. All I did was download and un-ziped then ran the .exe hit accept on the license and then got a huge list of things. What struck me as odd was that a bunch of them were highlighted in red and then disappeared. Did I do something wrong or is that alright?
and just to get this, did it actually install or does it just execute?

Thanks again for the help.
Cheers
 

Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

Offline DavidR

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #41 on: September 19, 2008, 12:56:00 AM »
The avast email icon is only in the tray whilst it is scanning so it isn't there for long.
Windows 10 Home 64bit/ Acer Aspire F15/ Intel Core i5 7200U 2.5GHz, 8GB DDR4 memory, 256GB SSD, 1TB HDD/ avast! free 24.2.6105 (build 24.2.8918.824) UI 1.0.799/ Firefox, uBlock Origin, uMatrix/ MailWasher Pro/ Avast! Mobile Security

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #42 on: September 19, 2008, 02:37:04 AM »
Hi DavidR,

I appreciate the reply but I just realized that I never used Outlook. So there really wasn't a way for me to see the icon in question since Avast never had to scan E-mails.

Mean while can someone give any suggestions concerning my previous post

Thanks for the reply Tech.

So if I get this right, Vista Firewall blocks most or rather all (given that the Network scanner count is always 0, even after considerable web browsing) transfers over that network, which are not authorized (are not part of an exemption rule).
But this leaves the question of why do I see a systematic upload of 5-10 Kb? Is this Vista sending signals to the modem/router?

Thanks again

Thanks
Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.

gdiloren

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #43 on: September 19, 2008, 04:33:11 AM »

Hello everybody,

Thank you for the replies. YoKenny, you say:
"Look for the avast Mail scanner icon in the active area of the Taskbar on the lower right of the screen"
The only Avast icons I have in my taskbar are "i" and "a". The former is the recovery generator while the later is the active scanner. This comprises the resident scanner, the web scanner, the mail scanner, etc.
But there is no Mail scanner icon anywhere. Can you tell me if you did something to change the icons? And are you using the professional version or the free version?

gdiloren, not that I don't believe your post but with in the same thread I'm getting conflicting reviews.

Quote
I've been using PCTools Firewall Pro on my Dell Vista Ultimate for about 1 year without any problems.
posted by Bob3160

Quote
Natural second choice is PCTools FW PLUS. It did not last long on my PC. It was more than a virus, impeaching programs to start up and making life impossible with this pc. I had to remove it.
posted by gdiloren

I'm not sure how to choose. So far I'm pretty certain I'll stick with Vista Firewall. Because my Avast is always on high scan setting I'm not worried about anything getting in. However I'm curious about those 5-10Kb that my computer keeps sending over the network every 30 seconds or so... even when I'm not using Firefox or any other application which requires access to the internet. plus I don't have any other computers on the network.
Can any one help with this. What do I do once I get the TCPView tool.

Quote
I thought this will be like a small install. All I did was download and un-ziped then ran the .exe hit accept on the license and then got a huge list of things. What struck me as odd was that a bunch of them were highlighted in red and then disappeared. Did I do something wrong or is that alright?
and just to get this, did it actually install or does it just execute?

Thanks again for the help.
Cheers
 


I'd say you just have to try them. Every computer and system reacts in a different way. I'm also surprised I just can't bear PCTools FW+ on my PC but that's a fact. Comodo3 FW is smoother for me (I suspect Comodo has made its bed in my pc, that's why) ::)

Offline Confused Computer User

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Re: Should I get a Firewall?
« Reply #44 on: September 27, 2008, 08:44:58 PM »
Hi guys,
It’s been a while since I logged on or check this thread. I apologize for that. Ok, I think I’m going to close this thread. As usual I will do a summary and then give anyone who disagrees with me or would like to add something 24-48 hours to do this before I close it.

Problem:
Switched from Dial-Up to DSL and wanted to know if I require a Firewall.

Hardware:
E-machines H5088 with Pentium IV HT, 2GB RAM (2 x 1GB RAM memory Stick), 2Wire 2701 Modem/router

O.S. :
Windows Vista Home Basic

Software:
Avast Antivirus 4.8.1229 Home Edition, Vista Firewall, Firefox 3, etc.

Solution:
I found that the 2Wire 2701 Modem/router has a built in firewall. I initially did not know that. This was taken from the Installation manual (in pdf format) for the 2wire hardware.
Quote
Remove or Disable Conflicting Applications
Internet sharing software and PC based firewall applications typically interfere with the 2Wire gateway, and should be removed or disabled before you install the gateway. The 2Wire gateway provides the same features as the products listed below.

Some of the applications are Norton Internet Security, Black Ice, and Zone Alarm. The installation manual can be found at: www.2wire.com/pages/pdfs/2701_installation_guide.pdf

The firewalls that were recommended in this thread were Zone Alarm FW , PCTools FW, and Comodo 3 FW. These Firewalls are free and from this thread I saw no reported conflicts with Avast. Most of the issues with the Firewalls had to do with the usage of System resources and intuitiveness of the program. I am not sure which one to recommend and in the end it depends mostly on your personnel system, and your preferences. Hope this helped any one with similar issues.

Thank you all again for the continued support. 
Computer Systems:

Intel Pentium 4 641 / 2GB RAM / Vista Home Basic SP2 / avast! 5.0 Home / SAS Free / MBAM Free / Windows Defender / Windows Firewall / Spyware Blaster/ Secunia PSI / Firefox 3.6 / Opera 10.5

Core2Duo T8300 / 4GB RAM / Vista Home Premium SP2 (32 bit version) / Same Software.