How good is the default firewall in Windows Vista and XP?

[froggyboy604]

A lot of people say the default firewall in Vista is good enough for the average user, but some people recommend other software fire walls like Comodo, PCTools firewall, etc and disable the default Windows firewall.

I notice the Default Windows Firewall is easier to use then 3rd party firewalls there is no need to constantly add new programs to the "allow program outbound list." like so many 3rd party firewalls.

There are also some people who say software firewalls are not needed if your Routor has a built in hardware firewall, and it is safe to disable all software firewalls.

Would the default XP & Vista firewall be good enough for most people who just use their internet for daily tasks like online banking, e-mail, browsing, etc?

 

[Nathan]

I personally don't use it as i don't like it. I just use my virus's one.

 

[Azza12342]

You are going to get mixed responses with this question, but the truth is that it is good enough for doing what your described. If you want to do further things like downloading files etc you should then think about using a third party one.

But anyways mate if you buy a good virus protection chances are most of them will come with their own firewall in which case you would want to turn off windows firewall.

Don't under estimate Windows products, there's over 40billion lines of code just for the Windows itself.

 

[Rich Edmonds]

You are going to get mixed responses with this question, but the truth is that it is good enough for doing what your described. If you want to do further things like downloading files etc you should then think about using a third party one.

But anyways mate if you buy a good virus protection chances are most of them will come with their own firewall in which case you would want to turn off windows firewall.

Don't under estimate Windows products, there's over 40billion lines of code just for the Windows itself.

Well said, The default Firewall is actually really good, no matter what people say about it as it's part of the system or something. If it's enabled then you are protected to the extent you don't go on weird sites and get a load of crap placed on your machine. As Azza stated, for downloading (torrents etc.) you will need a third party Firewall as the Windows firewall doesn't do outbound connections, it only filters incoming. Although I'm not so sure on the Windows 7 front as I still have the default enabled, have been downloading etc. and haven't had a problem so far :shrug:

 

[Azza12342]

You are going to get mixed responses with this question, but the truth is that it is good enough for doing what your described. If you want to do further things like downloading files etc you should then think about using a third party one.

But anyways mate if you buy a good virus protection chances are most of them will come with their own firewall in which case you would want to turn off windows firewall.

Don't under estimate Windows products, there's over 40billion lines of code just for the Windows itself.

Well said, The default Firewall is actually really good, no matter what people say about it as it's part of the system or something. If it's enabled then you are protected to the extent you don't go on weird sites and get a load of crap placed on your machine. As Azza stated, for downloading (torrents etc.) you will need a third party Firewall as the Windows firewall doesn't do outbound connections, it only filters incoming. Although I'm not so sure on the Windows 7 front as I still have the default enabled, have been downloading etc. and haven't had a problem so far :shrug:

Thats still Windows 7 RC which I assume Microsoft would have thought to themselves to make it better, but we can only tell for sure once 7 comes out, can't wait lol.

 

[Raymond]

Yeah, I believe the Vista default firewall is pretty decent myself, Blocks a ton of things which is good 🙂.

 

[froggyboy604]

Thanks for the reply. I think I just stick with the Default Windows Firewall for a laptop since it seems to use less resources then some 3rd-party ones.

 

[Azza12342]

Thanks for the reply. I think I just stick with the Default Windows Firewall for a laptop since it seems to use less resources then some 3rd-party ones.

But if you get/have a paid anti virus software that comes with a firewall I advise you to disable Window's one and use the anti viruses one 🙂.

 

[Damien]

I would never ever use a windows or vista firewall, because hackers know they are very common firewalls and have wrote viruses that are not detected by them, I would rather use a good firewall that's not as well known.

 

[Azza12342]

I would never ever use a windows or vista firewall, because hackers know they are very common firewalls and have wrote viruses that are not detected by them, I would rather use a good firewall that's not as well known.

Not as well know = no feedback for it so you don't know if it's good or not.

As long as you stay away from warez, porn and other various sites like that Windows Firewall should be good enough.

 

[varundbest]

vista's firewall is nice but it causes headache with a hell lot of warnings installing a s/w.

 

[AnonFM]

I use the firewall in my router, and disable any firewall on my computer or those on my network. I always try to control everything in my router.

 

[Relmitos]

As you might know windows has alot of security flaws.
The default firewall might be good enough for browsing normal sites. but if a hacker gets his eye on you it wont be sufficient.

Online banking with the default firewall?? who? :evil:

 

[Quacker Jack]

Vista Defender can defiantly do the job alright, and meets the basic requirments to keep your PC safe.

 

[AnonFM]

As you might know windows has alot of security flaws.
The default firewall might be good enough for browsing normal sites. but if a hacker gets his eye on you it wont be sufficient.

Online banking with the default firewall?? who? :evil:

Online banking without a firewall is probably safe enough, as the connection from your bank to you is encrypted. Or it should be. You should watch out for keyloggers on your PC and Man-in-the-Middle attacks. You should never log into your bank account from any computer other then your own just to be safe.

Also, most hackers won't care about a Windows user floating around the internet. They are much more interested in (large) servers, as they can do a lot more with that. Most hackers just scan large amount of IP's and attack computers that have ports open.

Just make sure you don't have any ports open to the public, and make sure your computer doesn't respond to ping requests and you should be fine.

 

[PcGuy]

From my experience, i have gotten less viruses and problems with my computer while not using anything other than the windows firewall so i kind of dont use any other software now because i feel that it actually damages my computer. The funny thing about it too which i know you all are planning on saying, i do download stuff off the internet so you think i would have a problem but i dont 🙂 so in my opinion the built in firewall is more than enough 🙂

 

[devashishseo]

Re: How good is the default firewall in Windows Vista and XP

I do not use os firewall.