I've often thought about running multiple software firewalls, but with one concern...system performance... If one has an older system, the more programs running in the background, the worse. Hardware firewalls are best(and almost necessary) for a broadband connection, but for a box with a phone cord stuck in its a$$(the 56K, if you're lucky, kind), it becomes inefficient, as dial-ups have an inherent dynamic IP, along with a limited(relatively) connection time. I would think that just picking one software firewall that indeed 'stealths' your connection and functions well should be enough, for a dial-up(that is, of course, unless one has reason to worry someone is targeting them specifically).<--Paranoia factor is always a variable
Sorry...rambling again...
(ed. and not paying attention to the fact that there was a second page to this thread...sorry all )

Ouroboros