An effective firewall works both ways...blocking inbound and outbound traffic. Inbound, in my opinion, is where the risk and source of problems is. Outbound is only a problem is you allow something to be installed on your system that then communicates back to the "mother ship." I don't really consider this a risk, at least not on my personal system.
Inbound control is best achieved, in my opinion, by a simple Firewall/Router/NAT box....I use the Cisco RV042 for $153 from Newegg. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833124160 By using "non-routable" IP addresses on your computers "in the building", the Cisco box will block any unwanted inbound requests. Software firewalls, in my experience, have a high-maintenance pain level that is more than I want to mess with. Instead, I just don't connect my computer "direct" to the Internet. Hope this helps. Mike Copeland -------- Original Message -------- Subject: Re: [NF] Recommend software to close ports From: <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Date: 6/9/2012 1:48 PM I have always disabled the windows firewall and used my router to block ports. I have a vps service that has 'vCloud' which does that and it works well. Now I have a new vps server (much less expensive) that has no way to block ports. They recommend that I use Windows Firewall. Since I have not had good experience with Microsoft software, anyone have a suggestion for a good program? what about ZoneAlarm? _______________________________________________ Post Messages to: [email protected] Subscription Maintenance: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profox OT-free version of this list: http://leafe.com/mailman/listinfo/profoxtech Searchable Archive: http://leafe.com/archives/search/profox This message: http://leafe.com/archives/byMID/profox/[email protected] ** All postings, unless explicitly stated otherwise, are the opinions of the author, and do not constitute legal or medical advice. This statement is added to the messages for those lawyers who are too stupid to see the obvious.
