XP Firewall question

Looking for some thoughts on running the XP firewall @ home office, connected to a Win 2000 server(VPN) on a static DSL. Thanks

I would definitely recommend looking at some other software firewalls first. If you have a spare PC, then put something like FreeBSD/Linux on it (only needs a 486 or better). Otherwise check out http://grc.com/lt/scoreboard.htm for some recommended firewalls. There are some low cost (free) software firewalls out there, but they generally have limited functionality. If you dont feel comfortable using these, then WinXP firewall is better than nothing at all :).

I'm currently using the free version out outpost on my XP box, and I have yet to have a problem with it after it was properly configured. Takes you about 20 mins to assign all your programs their respective permissions. From there, connect and go worry free. You should give it a try.

I found the best firewall is a router and zonealarm.

The XP firewall still has two open ports (i.e. SMB) even though you configure use the ICF. Its just the same thing as 2000's security settings. If you have a router/software firewall (i.e. linksys, outpost) then that would enhance the security on all of your systems.

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Originally posted here by Megallian
Looking for some thoughts on running the XP firewall @ home office, connected to a Win 2000 server(VPN) on a static DSL. Thanks

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Check out this article on securityfocus:

http://online.securityfocus.com/infocus/1620