In news:ulfu1xaEGHA.3004@TK2MSFTNGP15.phx.gbl,
Rock <rock@mail.nospam.net> had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

> Don Cohen wrote:
>
> <snip>
>
>> One follow-up question: a few months ago I installed a Wireless
>> Router (LinkSys WR54G), having previously used a hub/switch, and so
>> now have a hardware firewall in place. I'm inclined to not
>> reinstall ZoneAlarm Free, certainly not Ver.6.x which has quite a
>> few problems according to multiple posts at ZoneLab's forums. Am I
>> putting this system at risk without a software firewall? Or should
>> I just enable Windows Firewall?
>
> That router is not a hardware firewall. It is a NAT router with some
> firewall capabilities. It still doesn't block out bound traffic. It
> is a good idea to still run a software firewall that monitors outbound
> traffic. The XP SP2 firewall does not, it only monitors inbound as
> does the router.

In conjunction the two tend to do okay on a known clean system. Of course a
known clean system is largely a myth in real-world experiences. <g> Bit of a
Catch-22 there. So, some entertainment...

From the .doc (Changes to Functionality in MS Windows XP SP2) from the
downloads site...

"Action required
None. Windows Firewall will automatically allow all outbound connections,
regardless of the program and the user context."

I'm not so sure I meant to laugh as hard as I did when I read that. I'm
pretty sure that it wasn't meant as a joke. I'm still shaking my head (MVP
or not) at the idea behind that one, the wording makes it seem as if that's
a feature. Ah well...

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"We approached the case, you remember, with an absolutely blank mind,
which is always an advantage. We had formed no theories. We were simply
there to observe and to draw inferences from our observations." -
Sherlock Holmes