Norton Internet Security

[JackAndCoke]

i've heard evryone talk about zone alarm,sygate,and black ice but nothing about norton's firewall. is it any good to use? whats the deal....

[oksenior]

hello

The old saw ,"your mileage may vary"

I've tried NIS twice and uninstalled it both times.I'm a Norton user and have been for some time so I'm not biased against them.

NIS does a lot but more than I need or want such as logging everywhere I went. I don't have any kids at home and don't need the parental module. It was trialware at one time,try before you buy.

I run ZA pro, set and forget it.

Oksr

[This message has been edited by oksenior (edited 01-02-2001).]

[Caaf2935]

I was wondering the same question. I use ZA, and it works great, however I use my video phone every night, and ZA wont allow me to get a picture for some reason, itll send the sound through,but wont let the picture. Anyone have any ideas on any fixes?

[Mark]

JAC,

I asked that same question a month ago and didn't get much response either. So I did a little research.

I currently own and use version 1.0 along with Zone Alarm 2.0 Freeware.

NIS has garnered some awards from the big magazines but also received some criticism from experts. See http://grc.com/lt/scoreboard.htm if you haven't been there before. My solution is to not let it update it's URL's from Norton and editing the data list to only allow Outlook and IE to access the internet without my approval. Also, check out http://grc.com/default.htm for more detailed information about securing your computer while surfing.

Although it's starting to show weakness ZA can't be beat for freeware. However, there isn't much ability to tweak it. I like NIS because it can block ads allowing pages to load faster. It also does a fair or great job (depending on your opinion) of blocking personal info if someone does manage to get through. In testing it with Yahoo email it prevented all info I had previously designated as private from being released in either the heading, body or .txt attachments. I received the same results using Outlook 2000. It did a fair job with Office 2000. It blocked the info from Word and Excel files but passed it in a Powerpoint file.

My results are just based on some informal testing I did and the more knowledgible here might shoot holes through them. But, I like the fact that it gives me at least some configurable protection.

My two cents. Hope it helps.

Experts, please correct any mistakes.

Mark

[Warthog]

I use Zone Alarm.

I first read Sysopt's review of firewalls. I then decided what one I wanted to use. If I remember correctly, ZA wasn't the best (second out of 4 I think) but it was the best in ease of use.

Just tested my system defense here:
https://grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

Was "completely secure" in both scans....lol "secure computer" - what an oxymoron http://sysopt.earthweb.com/forum/smile.gif

Someone posted a link to a Norton test that was more detailed.

Warthog

[Biff]

Like warthog my system checked out secure at grc.com. I've been using zone alarm for a year or so and found it easy to configure and use.
After my AV app let me down I re installed NIS on the weekend, mainly for the anti virus. I've started to experiment with the firewall, it seems more complicated than zone alarm, but that is due to the variables you can adjust. I dont have a verdict as yet,on what its like to use, but it is secure. I get several alarms per day on a blocked trojan virus.
I think the BIGGEST barrier I've got is a negative experience with various other Norton products I'll never have sys works on my machine again.
Time will tell