On my computer I have 3 firewalls I think. one is from my linksys router,one mcafee and the windows xp one. do I really need this many? I turned off the mcaffee one and my comp seems to rumn quicker.

Can I just run one? if yes,which one isthe most effective?Or do they all work togther as a team??

That all depends on your goal.  

If you are just worried about kiddie hackers that will access your machine to store their Warez then the linksys should have you covered.  Personally I would prefer a bit more hardware type security then that week Windose/McAfee/Symantec software will/can provide.  But then again I am the security administrator for my company and have learned a lot as to what people really try to do to your systems on a daily basis.  

I decent hardware solution will run between $200 and $300 for a home solution and to be honest most everyday users will not know how to use it.

The router that you have already hides your system from the internet so the only real worry you should have is internal attacks, for exaple going to an infected web page or clicking on something in an email that you should not.  This is the type of stuff that a hardware firewall will protect you from, because it will see comunications on other than normal ports and stop it.  If this is a wireless router you also need to add a good password to it so that noone can change your settings, turn off the SSID broadcast and use MAC filtering.  

IMO for the average home user, I would suggest a hardware router to NAT or "hide" your computer from the internet and a GOOD antivirus program that is automatically updated.  This plus auto update your Operating system (Windows expecially) with all of the latest security updates. Plus leave the OS Firewall on to prevent yourself from making a mistake and giving access to a program that you didn't know was there. (dialers)

This should be enough for most users.  The add on "software" firewalls are good but if you don't configure them tight enough there are as good as not installed.  

Allan

Proper training in computer security is enough.

Quoted: Proper training in computer security is enough.

Not on your life!  

I have log files on my network of attempted attacks every single day.  

Good practices are a must, granted but that is NOT enough.

Quoted: Proper training in computer security is enough.

agreed


i work on computers everyday,   that are
1.  behind a 'firewall' (router)
2.   have uptodate virus protection
3.  have software firewall installed.


they are still full of trojan virus's, and spyware


a little safe surfing and common sense will get you along way

Quoted: Quoted: Proper training in computer security is enough. Not on your life!   I have log files on my network of attempted attacks every single day.   Good practices are a must, granted but that is NOT enough.

Hardware is not a substitute for good training, period.  Nor are X number of firewalls going to keep you "safe."

Proper understanding of how and why computer networks work is what people need to have a secure network.

Quoted: On my computer I have 3 firewalls I think. one is from my linksys router,one mcafee and the windows xp one. do I really need this many? I turned off the mcaffee one and my comp seems to rumn quicker. Can I just run one? if yes,which one isthe most effective?Or do they all work togther as a team??

You can do without mcaffee IF you keep your anti-virus and anti-spyware software up to date. Turn on automatic window updates if it is not on.

Go to GRC.com and do “ShieldsUP” to make sure your router has all ports hidden “stealth”. If they are “stealth” you will be fine unless you make your own trouble.

GRC.com is a great site to check your security and help you understand what you need to do.

www.grc.com/default.htm

Quoted: On my computer I have 3 firewalls I think. one is from my linksys router,one mcafee and the windows xp one. do I really need this many? I turned off the mcaffee one and my comp seems to rumn quicker. Can I just run one? if yes,which one isthe most effective?Or do they all work togther as a team??

For your home environment, I would recommend turning off the Windows firewall.  It and another software firewall running simultaneously can end up causing system conflicts.  In addition, the OS firewall does nothing to prevent anything leaving your pc.    

I'll throw out:

"keep everything patched and up to date" - imo one of the first reasons why people, corporations, etc. get compromised.

The PAT from your linksys will keep most of the script kiddies out unless you've opened up inbound ports for some reason. I wouldn't sweat this. If some high-speed, low-drag cracker wants in, there's not much you can do short of staying completely off the net 100% of the time.

I think you're biggest concern as a home user is not opening up infected emails or downloading unsafe or unverified software/shareware etc.

Just because you *think* Jessica Simpson just sent you a zipped set of naked pics doesn't mean its true

87

Quoted: 87

thats about right