Check the Security Center under Control Panel to view your firewall status.
This presumes you are at XP SP2. If you are not at SP2 you should plan to get there ASAP. Geneerally speaking, for an add-on firewall to be and remain effective, you need (a) some technical knowledge of Internet communications and (b) a good idea of what is installed on your computer that must communicate with the Internet. So for casual or less-geeky computer users, I don't recommend an add-on firewall - just make sure the built-in XP firewall is enabled. In addition, you should be running both antivirus and anti-spyware programs that continuously monitor for problems. And just for full disclosure: What the XP firewall doesn't protect against, is you picking up scumware (bad software) from the Internet and then running it on your computer. This can happen in a variety of ways. An add-on firewall may alert you to the presence of such scumware and prevent it from spreading further. Nowadays, however, sophisticated scumware is getting ever more effective at overcoming obstacles - including add-on firewalls. So even an add-on firewall may not provide the protection you're expecting. Carl -----Original Message----- From: Windows Home/SOHO [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Helen Gordon Sent: Friday, June 09, 2006 1:58 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Firewall I am using Windows XP PRO. How and where can I find out if and what firewall is installed. Secondly, I notice that Firefox is offering a free firewall for installation. Should I install it regardless of what else is already installed? TIA -- ---------------------------------------- WIN-HOME Archives: http://PEACH.EASE.LSOFT.COM/archives/WIN-HOME.html Contact the List Owner about anything: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Official Win-Home List Members Profiles Page http://www.besteffort.com/winhome/Profiles.html
