Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also have
zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?

Hi,

The rule is that you shouldn't have two software firewalls running on the
same installation, and that is to avoid conflicts. Using a router's firewall
in concert with your system's firewall is perfectly acceptable. Consider
this: If another machine behind the same router becomes infected, would you
want your machine exposed to it? The router firewall only protects the
machines behind it from outside influences, not from each other.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone
Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

"mck684" <mck684@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E9A9603A-04ED-40FD-85F6-0F3114AADC2E@microsoft.com...
> Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
> I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also have
> zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?

Do not use more than one (1) software-based firewall
as conflicts and error messages may occur.

If you already have a non-Microsoft firewall on your computer, you should
continue to use it. If you do not have a firewall, then you have a choice.

If you want a simple firewall that is very easy to configure, then you should
use the Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall. If you want more advanced
control over the traffic that passes through your computer and you also want to
block outgoing traffic (that is the traffic from your computer out to the Internet)
then choose a personal firewall from another company.

Internet firewalls: Frequently asked questions
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/secu.../firewall.mspx

Use the Internet Connection Firewall
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/u...nmore/icf.mspx

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"mck684" wrote:

| Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
| I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also have
| zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?

mck684 wrote:
> Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
> I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also have
> zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?


If you use a router with NAT, it's still a very good idea to use a
3rd party software firewall. Like WinXP's built-in firewall,
NAT-capable routers do nothing to protect the user from him/herself
(or any "curious," over-confident teenagers in the home). Again --
and I cannot emphasize this enough -- almost all spyware and many
Trojans and worms are downloaded and installed deliberately (albeit
unknowingly) by the user. So a software firewall, such as Sygate or
ZoneAlarm, that can detect and warn the user of unauthorized out-going
traffic is an important element of protecting one's privacy and
security. (Remember: Most antivirus applications do not even scan for
or protect you from adware/spyware, because, after all, you've
installed them yourself, so you must want them there, right?)

I use both a router with NAT and Sygate Personal Firewall, even
though I generally know better than to install scumware. When it
comes to computer security and protecting my privacy, I prefer the old
"belt and suspenders" approach. In the professional IT community,
this is also known as a "layered defense." Basically, it comes down
to never, ever "putting all of your eggs in one basket."


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:
http://dts-l.org/goodpost.htm
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH

mck684 wrote:

> Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.


You shouldn't have two *software* firewalls running at the same time. What
you have is fine.


> I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also
> have zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?


"Need" is perhaps too strong a word, but I recommend that you keep it. Your
router protects you against inbound threats. ZA adds protection against
rogue programs trying to call home.

--
Ken Blake
Please reply to the newsgroup

mck684 wrote:
> Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
> I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also
> have zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?

Here is an interesting article about the native xp firewall.
http://www.spywareinfo.com/newslette...2005/oct27.php

--
Mike Pawlak

A router is hardware independent of the PC for operation. ZA runs on the PC
which is where the two or more firewall restriction is applicable.

Use of a NAT router will take some of the incoming load off of ZA, thus your
PC. Continue to use both.
--
Lil' Dave
Beware the rule quoters, the corp mindset, the Borg
Else you will be absorbed
"mck684" <mck684@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E9A9603A-04ED-40FD-85F6-0F3114AADC2E@microsoft.com...
> Heard you shouldnt have two firewalls running at the same time.
> I have a draytek wireless router with a built in firewall, but i also have
> zone alarm free onmy laptop. do I need this second firewall?