firewall

[dab]

what are the advantages and disadvantages of the average joe blow on his home pc being behind a firewall?

David

[muchmark]

Hi,
A local dude got into big trouble with
the cable company because hackers use
his computer in a D.O.S. attack they
said he should have used a firewall to
to prevent this....they cut him off cable.

Regards

[Sixpac]

The advantages of having a firewall is that people can't use your computer to spam and can't connect to your computer to get your files.

Its like locking your doors on your house with you having the keys and all your stuff you posses is behind the locks.

Sixpac>>>

[dab]

for the past 6 months I`ve been flogged with junk mail from places I`ve never even been. I block them and 2 days later I get the same email from another sender. How are these people finding me. If a firewall will stop it, whats the best out there and where can I get it?
David

[seanc]

I don't know of any firewall software that filters out e-mail spam. There are some programs specifically designed to do that (can't think of any right now though...)

A firewall blocks people from getting in without permission and blocks trojan programs from getting out.

I'm sure there's people here that know of good anti-spam programs out there...

Sean

[Bsdboy]

For a firewall I recomend ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/) And it's free.

Bsdboy

[NDC]

I think firewalls are great to have for your protection. However, if you do file transfers over ICQ or play on line games, you need to adjust the setting which I found to be a hassle...

I use a linksys router which has a built in firewall and I have to enable DMZ and I also have to disable WAN BLOCK Request to play certain on-line games. When I'm done, I need to re-adjust the setting back to get the optimal firewall protection. Uhhhhh

[dab]

Is there any way to detect if anyone is trying to hack your pc?

[Bsdboy]

You can with ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/)

Bsdboy

[dab]

the way my luck has been running lately, I think I`ll download it.
thanks
David