Is it worth to install Firewall in home pc?

[JohnHACK]

Is it worth to install Firewall in home pc (only 1 pc)? Since we know that intruders mostly like to attack companies network rather than home pc. Because from my point of view, AV is already enough to protect from viruses, worms or trojan horses, if there is firewall installed, it will consume some amount of memory and proccesor, then the system will become slower as the resource taken by firewall software.

And I noticed that, Firewall doesnt effective if we just a normal surfer (pc not 24hrs online).

[DjM]

Is it worth it? It is almost a default requirement these days, especially for users that don't have any great technical knowledge.

Cheers:

[SwordFish_13]

intruders mostly like to attack companies network rather than home pc

Hi

Yes Most Attackers will go for Companies Networks/Computers . But they might use your Computer to attack them Launch a DDoS attack or use your Computer to send out Spam or Viruses.

So i would suggest; a personal firewall has become necessaty there are many free firewall available and they are easy to configure so why nt go for rather than leave it for a chance.

it will consume some amount of memory and proccesor, then the system will become slower as the resource taken by firewall software.

Yes but it will be less than the Zombie installed on you system by a cracker. I didn't find a significant change in my PC performance after i installed Kero and mine isn't a state of the art high End PC (It's a P3 450 with 128 MB RAM). But i felt a lot safer

[D0pp139an93r]

I think that with the price of a computer the half an hour required to download and install a firewall is well worth it.

If you are that concerned about system resources though, talk to Pooh Sun Tzu. He has one of the tightest boxes around, with no firewall or AV.

[whizkid2300]

Yes, it is very worth it to install a Firewall on a home Computer. Think about it like this. Would you walk down the street of a bad neighborhood without a bat? A better yet would you stand in the middle of the street during rush hour traffic. Yeah you probably won't be hit. But do you really want to risk it?

Do it, do it now.

http://www.zonelabs.com/ <--- Go now

[catch]

If you are on a home network/system with no services, no firewall is required or even recommended.

Firewalls have two uses:

1. Filtering ports, either by packet type or data content.
2. Segregating network traffic.

As you have no need for #1 if you are not running any services and your network topography doesn't call for #2, running a firewall is not only unneeded, but to do so would be a poor choice. By adding a firewall in this environment you actually decrease the security of your system by increasing its complexity (reduced assurances, and just another application that needs to be trusted and kept current) and surface area. For example a number of personal firewalls had/have issues of being broken my particularly agressive nmap scans.

It is important to only add counter measures in response to threats that justify them, in this instance, I don't see that being the case.

catch

[pooh sun tzu]

I recommending ignoring catch's remarks. We must keep in mind that Windows itself runs a good 10 - 20 UDP ports at all times for it's internal use and DLL calls (in some distros, DCOM), making an unpacket filtered computer a prime target for UDP exploitation and DDoSes.

Even if you are a lone computer on a dialup, the risk of having a trojan planted via email (or by other means) can prove to be that one port that would compromise your security. Take the wisdom of others here and know that just because you can't see it, doesn't mean the vunerability is not there. Don't believe me? Turn on your windows machine and turn off your firewall. Now ask a friend to run a complete TCP and UDP port scan on you. Notice the stack of UDP go further and further down the list. How could this happen, even though you are not running the services?

Because windows REQUIRES THEM, but only needs them internally. Since they are still kept open to the public, they still cause you a threat.

[Spyder32]

Of course it's important to install a firewall. If you want to protect the $500+ investment you spent on it and any personal files you may have that you don't want other's to see or have, or applications/documents/project's/etc, than a firewall is a good idea. I prefer ZoneLab's ZoneAlarm or Network ICE's BlackIce. Both work pretty well for Window's machine's.

[catch]

Originally posted here by pooh sun tzu
I recommending ignoring catch's remarks.

Yes, ignore my remarks... ignore basic security principals.

God, I wish this site at least had some users at the CISSP level as a bare minimum, at least then you'd find some knowledge of fundementals. What would that be like?

catch

[gore]

Heh, never thought I'd see Pooh and Catch in the same thread. Both of them know how to secure Windows VERY well. Anway, my input on this:

RPC is a service Windows needs to run a lot. Now RPC may not be exploited everyday, but it is still code running on your computer, and any code you run on it, can be exploited, because people make mistakes, and some are in a hurry to get coding done, and may miss something that another finds and exploits.

I can agree with Catch about 99.9% of the time, and the same with Pooh... Well now anyway, heh

I would recommend a firewall for any box though. Unless of course you don't connect it to the internet

One thing though;

Try out different firewalls before you pick one. Grab a copy of Nmap, and learn how to use that, and scan yourself using one firewall. I don't recommend you use two, as this could cause a collision of the firewalls...Well, some people call it another term, but basically they could collide and risk system instability.

Try out a firewall, and scan yourself, and if it seems to let you scan it, and doesn't show up in the logs, then you should think about another firewall. Also, make sure you have logs. Some firewalls I have used didn't have logs by default, so make sure you are logging things.

Well, I have to run guys. Getting ready to go to my Linux + class. I'll be back later and see how this thread is going. Maybe we can actually get a good discussion going? =D