ObiWan
Fri Mar 21 06:36:09 CDT 2008
> I'm in the process of researching network security out there for an
essay,
> and I just want some feedback for which is the best firewall to use
for
> Windows XP (Just because Windows Vista might adapt differently to
> certain firewalls even though SP1 has been released).
Let me start by stating that I don't like "personal firewalls" too much
all in all, a "personal firewall" which controlls "which applications
connect to.." (or listen) in my opinion doesn't make much sense;
think at it for a minute; if an application is *already* running on the
system (and the AV didn't stop it), then nothing forbids it from
stopping the firewall or doing whatever it wants; remember it's
already running ! On the other hand one may find such a critter
useful to stop applications calling home or the like; but this won't
increase the security level of the system :)
That said, and to answer to your request,
I think you may have a look at this
http://www.matousec.com/projects/firewall-challenge/results.php
which may help you picking a "personal firewall"
HTH