Please help reg a question on Firewall. Thank you.

Question

hi all...I'm kinda confused by one certain thing. Does firewall protect a computer from virus, spyware, adware and other unauthorised access? if it doesn't, do we have something in market that does all these? Thank you.

Answer 1

At its heart, I firewall really serves a single purpose; it's a traffic cop. I checks both inbound and outbound Internet data and decides to deny it or let it pass. (Some firewalls only check inbound traffic - assuming the traffic you generate [and heading outbound] is by default acceptable.)

Using standard Ethernet 802 protocols (the IEEE standard that the Internet we know and love follows), every message has a source and target IP address and a port number (and several other things not relevant to this discussion). These messages are called "packets."

The IP address is the numeric address that is unique to a machine or device on the Internet. A port is a number (from 0 to 65535) where a service on that machine can attach itself to wait for or produce messages. For example, to read this web page, my browser sends a request packet to the IP address 209.73.187.220 using port 80, which is the standard port for HTTP (WWW) service. A web server like Apache will be running on that machine, will monitor port 80 and will accept requests for web pages that is sees. Other services like email servers will use other ports (possibly on the same machine).

A firewall sits between the network adapter driver (the driver in the operating system to the physical wired or wireless connection to the Internet) and all programs that wish to use it. It looks at every message and decides if a message destined in to or out of to that particular IP address and that particular port is to be allowed or denied based upon a set of rules. These rules can usually be set by the user (or the administrator) of the computer and firewalls will come with a set of typical rules to start. Most firewalls will DENY a packet unless there is a specific rule that allows it. The rules allow "wildcards" for IP and port number so that you don't need a rule for every web site you may with to visit. For example, Windows XP and Vista include a firewall by default. Also by default, that firewall will allow HTTP requests from a browser on your computer to any IP address on port 80 and 443 (HTTPS).

Firewalls as such are not virus programs. Viruses you obtain from files or emails with attachments (that aren't checked in some manner) will still pass through the firewall. Likewise, spyware and adware that you download or get installed from visiting certain web sites will not be stopped by firewalls in general. However, if you know that certain sites are used to generate email spam, have malicious web pages, or corrupted files in their download area, those sites can be added to the deny list of the firewall.

Some firewalls have add-ons to scan certain forms of Internet packets for viruses. Since emails going out generally use port 25 (or 587 for email sent with SSL encryption) and those coming in use other well-known ports, the firewall's virus checkers can test those packet for viruses (although add-ons to the email server itself can do the same). Similarly, file transfers by HTTP or FTP are done over specific ports, add-ons to the basic firewall can scan those for viruses, spyware, malware, etc in a manner similar to scanning email packets.

Unauthorized access is the one thing in your list that firewalls do. Certain services that are enabled by default have security flaws (called "exploits")  that let hackers have some control or access to a remote system over the Internet.  These are often found in Microsoft Windows machines, but MacOS and Linux/Unix are are also susceptible. Often, a hacker wants to get that sort of access in order to install a Trojan horse (a program that runs on their behalf to perform some function such as recording your passwords as you type them in) or a virus. Since a firewall will by default deny packets to those services from outside sources, it will protect against that sort of access.

If you have high-speed Internet access such as DSL or Cable, the router supplied by your ISP will almost always have some form of firewall built-in. In this case, you have probably been using at least one firewall (in the router) and probably a second (in Windows XP or Vista) already.

Bottom line is firewalls can curtail some viruses and Trojan horses, but a separate virus program is still almost a necessity. Firewalls can stop hackers from gaining access to your system in order to control it, read files from or install files (such as a virus) on your computer. Both anti-virus and firewall programs should be used together for better security.

Answer 2

Hi Kinda,  

Kinda firewall does protect your PC from opening unwanted web sites but it does not protect your PC from Spyware and adware.

It basically stop all unwanted incoming connection

You can download any of the Free Spy ware and adware  remover software,,  you can download it from :-

http://www.download.com/Spybot-Search-De...

Also

Adware/Spyware: Any clandestine software that does various activities without your consent. Definitions vary, but we’ll describe adware as any program that is surreptitiously installed on your computer, and displays ads to your computer (often via annoying pop-ups), or collects marketing information about you. This information is often sold to advertisers. Spyware programs collect more sensitive personal information–perhaps a list of the Web sites you visit, or even credit card and Social Security numbers–and send it via the Internet to an unknown party. Some adware/spyware programs change your browser’s home page. Adware and spyware are often bundled with freeware and shareware programs.  

Answer 3

a firewall helps protect your PC from hackers and personal information from being sent out of your PC from malware. To protect against virus you need an anti-virus i suggest NOD32 it the best out. Eset also offers a product for malware/spyware. You can also check out free or free to try products at www.cnet.com

Answer 4

Avira owns nod32, I switched.

http://www.avira.com/en/pages/index.php

Answer 5

No Avira DOES NOT own NOD32, so stfu.

Nope, firewalls dont protect from viruses and spyware, it only protects unauthorised access from the internet.

Just use AVG, google it, it's a free AntiVirus, which protects against Viruses and some spyware.

A dedicated anti spyware wouldn't go a miss, something like Malware Bytes Anti Malware, Spyware Terminator, Ad-aware 2008, Spybot SD.