<tony@well.com> wrote in message
news:lvrlhv4bbei1s5t40ift7h1sk58l7dc8ah@4ax.com...
> I've done a bit of reading on the net and I've read this newsgroup for
> a couple of months, but I'm still unclear on the difference between
> firewalls (typically ZoneAlarm) and spyware (typically SpyBot). I know
> that each in each category different programs have their merits and
> shortcomings, but I'm primarily curious about their generic features
> and the extent to which their services differ and/or overlap.
>
> How about popups? How about cookies? How about hidden intrusions into
> my OS and applications?
>
> For the record, I use Windows98 and IE6.
>
> Anyone willing to shed some light on this mess ?
>
> T.
> ========================
> Tony Roder, speaking his mind....

Simply put a firewall controls communication into and out of your machine
while a spyware removal tool such as SpyBot (which is NOT spyware itself)
removes spyware that makes it on to your machine. Within those two
categories there are a wide range of programs that vary greatly both as to
ease of use and capabilities.

ZoneAlarm was a pioneer of the idea of firewall protection for home computer
users and is still recommended by most authorities as the best product for
the average user. Some who read this forum of course will sneer - but not
everyone is a techno-geek willing to spend hours writing rules and mucking
around in their registries. If you aren't **very** comfortable with the
Windows operating system, this would be the product that I recommend, having
tried more than a few myself.

It has been very well tested over a number of years on millions of machines
so you should experience no problems with this one. The free version is
just a basic firewall. Pro version adds capabilities like ad blocking (not
just pop-ups - all ads) and allows you to block scripts, cookies & mobile
code on a site by site basis as well as across the board. Worth every dime
since much of the newest spyware seems to be magically appearing along with
those ads even at otherwise very respectable sites.

SpyBot Search and Destroy hunts down & removes many of the nasties that
invade your machine and it is an award winner. It will search your machine
for hundreds of spyware programs and remove them for you and also contains
an "immunize" feature that will prevent well over 200 (the beta version is
over 400) known spyware programs from downloading & installing in the first
place. This is a free program. There are commercial programs - AdAware
Plus and PestPatrol (in the $45 plus annual subscription range) -
available, but I haven't heard anything that would lead me to believe that
the paid version of AdAware does any better a job of ad blocking than
ZoneAlarm (and it is not a firewall) or that either program does any better
a job at removing spyware than SpyBot.

Hope that answers your questions - if not just ask.