Do you use any? Is it really safe to not bother with a firewall in the first place? I've been using Zone Alarm pro and lately I've been getting a lot of people trying to do that NetBios name thing. Is it better to leave my firewall going and take up some resources as opposed to leaving my files vulnerable? Any opnions and thoughts welcome.

EDIT:Oh and I use Windows XP

EDIT:I "deleted" the Win XP firewall because I don't really trust it.

[This message has been edited by just.landed (edited 11-01-2002).]

[This message has been edited by just.landed (edited 11-01-2002).]

Doesn't XP tell you who is connecting to your computer, and exactly what they're doing?

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Is it better to leave my firewall going and take up some resources as opposed to leaving my files vulnerable?

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I think it's a preference thing. Some just do it for entertainment, others are malicious and cruel [ie destroying files] There's no way to tell so your best bet is to keep it up.

its not really that usefull for home users but if you feel a firewall has value i would recomend a standalone firewall rather than a software firewall. most home routers have a basic firewall included in them.

now tell me why you wouldnt trust the native firewall that comes with your operating system. how the hell can any other firewall work better for windows if ms keeps virtually all of its source codes secret? bottom line, microsoft products work with microsoft windows, no matter how much you hate ms.

Zone alarm works, use it. winXP firewall works, i would recommend that over zonealarm.