Windows firewall or not ?

Question

is the free firewall that comes with vista any good or should i download another FREE one(suggestions please)

and also, could someone explain a little to me about what exactly a firewall is and how it protects my pc-thanks in advance

Answer 1

Vista's firewall is far better then XP's and for a novice it is best to stick with that. You can buy routers with built in firewalls but if your not familier with networking configuring firewalls can be a pretty big pain. Firewall closes ports to you computer so that hackers can't gain access to you PC and so that spyware programs can't send out personal information. now they aren't fool proof they are just added security to help guard your PC but without one you are a sitting duck.

Answer 2

Actually, the one Windows Vista has not as good as the one you download from internet because the Windows Firewall provide limited protection.

Answer 3

it suppose to block unsolicited downloads... you might want to try Comodo.com offer of a free security suite it includes a free firewall or for real high tec try a external firewall it connects to the machine by a usb or firewire  there not to expensive and worth the money just type external firewall into your yahoo search engine  

Answer 4

The Vista firewall is pretty good...

What it does is block any incoming or outgoing data that it considers potentially harmful and asks u if you would like to allow this data to pass. Also if a new program is trying to access the internet it will stop it and ask u if u want to allow that specific program to access the internet.

Your router probably also has a firewall (most routers use a firewall by default) so between the 2, you should be fairly safe.

Answer 5

The only thing the windows firewall does to my knowledge is close unused ports.

In other words, it doesn't really go above and beyond to protecting your computer.

Answer 6

ZoneAlarm is the best. It has a free version. It blocks everything you don't want.

Answer 7

The Vista one is not bad... but if you want something a little better download Zonealarm

http://www.download.com/ZoneAlarm-Firewa...

A firewall is a system that secures a network, shielding it from access by unauthorized users. Firewalls can be implemented in software, hardware or a combination of both. In addition to preventing unrestricted access into a network, a firewall can also restrict data from flowing out of a network.

Answer 8

I think that Vista is good.The firewall doesn'tt let unwanted thing in your computer