3 replies to this topic

[J-Ral]

Hi, Just wondering what peoples thoughts are in regards to how well Nortons Internet Security 2004 Firewall will cope after introducing a router/modem/firewall (all built into one unit)...???? Im not sure what make or model the router/modem/firewall is but Id just like to know if anyone has had any issues using Nortons softtware firewall in conjunction with a hardware firewall and if anyone thinks it may be a slight case of overkill??? Thanks! J-Ral

[shelf life]

hello J-Ral, No experience with norton firewall but: i use a SMC router with SPI and the free version of zone alarm as a software firewall --with no problems. overkill? no.. hardware router for in bound traffic, zone alarm for outbound. shelf life

[J-Ral]

Hardware - inbound , Software - outbound Is that the way you have configured it ?? OR Is that just the way your hardware is??? I would have thought that the firewall on the router would monitor both inbound and outbound traffic?? It seems counter-intuitive to have a piece of hardware claiming to act as a firewall if its only monitoring one of the two possible flows of traffic...! Or am i wrong...?

[shelf life]

hello J-Ral,

i have a home network. and a simple NAT router thats used to share one internet connection on a cable modem, it also has stateful packet inspection (SPI) it will inspect and discard suspicious packets.
its not complex , some things may be user changed but i use the default settings. this is for >> inbound traffic<<
it pays no attention to traffic that originates from the user side, it also cant associate outbound traffic with a application, a software firewall can, allowing you to allow or deny a connection thats>> leaving<< your computer.

this keeps everything simple. i know there are routers/firewalls and software firewalls where a user could set up complex rules based on protocols,ports, etc but they have a long learning curve.

http://www.dslreports.com/faq/security

shelf life