Quote:
Originally Posted by Sparrow
 Having been a contented customer of my anti-virus software provider for the past few years, I went to renew my subscription only to find the product is now incompatible with my firewall.
They want me to uninstall my firewall and use the one that comes with their AV software. |
Let me guess: you are running Norton A/V.
I've stayed away from it for years: too many "Does not play well with others" stories. Oddly, what I
do run is Symantec Corporate (courtesy of an employer site license) which has never caused me a problem. Same vendor...
For firewall, I'm multi-layered. I have a hardware firewall enabled in my wireless router. Win XP includes a firewall, so I left it enabled, as it doesn't conflict with anything. Beyond that, I still run the last freeware version of Sygate Personal Firewall, which has the best interface I've seen, and I've looked at just about all of them.
SPF gets knocked for failing "leak tests". "Leak tests" assume your PC has been compromised by something that will attempt to disable or bypass your firewall and phone home, and tests how well the firewall can defend against it. I find it easier to just not
get compromised, and don't worry about leak test results.
The problem is that outfits selling consumer solutions are pushing all-in-one suites that bundle A/V, anti-malware, and firewall in one package. If you prefer best-of-breed, it gets challenging.
The best place I know of to do research is the Gibson Research site. Steve Gibson, author of the well regarded SpinRite hard drive utility, is deeply concerned with security issues. He hosts the popular "Shields Up" firewall test, and has an assortment of tech and security forums on his site. Ask questions there and the denizens will give you chapter and verse.
http://<span style="text-decoration:...ons.htm</span>
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DEnnis