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Thread: Help! What is wrong with my computer?

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  1. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
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    As long as you ARE using a firewall, that is the key. Some will argue against the built in Windows firewall because it does only offer "one way" protection whereas third-party firewalls (such as Zonealarm and Sygate) block both incoming and outgoing stuff. This means that were you to inadvertently allow a trojan to be installed, WF would not prevent it from calling home with whatever information it had managed to harvest from your computer (passwords, monitored keystrokes, etc, etc). So, in theory, a third-party utility will offer a greater level of security than WF... ... simply adopting safe surfing practices (not downloading applications from warez sites or via file-sharing utilities, not installing no-cost applications from little-known developers, etc, etc, etc) and running a good antivirus utility should be sufficient to prevent any trojans or other unwanted items from finding their way onto your computer and so a bi-directional firewall is, IMO, of less importance than many people seem to think.

    There is, however, no "one size fits all" answer here. Should you use your computer for online banking/shopping and should it be shared with file-sharing children, then it might not be a bad idea to install a third-party firewall. OTOH, if you trust the other users to surf sensibly, then WF is probably perfectly sufficient for your needs. I use the Windows Firewall and have forever and have had no problems whatsoever. I am very careful about where I "go" and what I do online. It is really your choice.

    After checking with others I am prepared to tell you that honestly, I do not know, nor have I heard of a NAT session. Can you explain it to us? Searches give pages of comments but, frankly I have no clue what they are talking about. Just what IS a NAT session?
    Last edited by jholland1964; 10-02-2006 at 10:58 PM. Reason: Question

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