Do I need a firewall

I use a wireless secure network, Linksys wrt54gx, I believe this has a built in firewall. Do I need other firewall software. Windows security says it doesnt detect a firewall?

 

That's because the firewall you have is in the form of hardware, I'd suggest a firewall software as well, get the pc tools firewall it's free and it works very well.

 

I believe hardware firewalls (in routers) only provide protection from malicious incoming traffic. In order to deal with malicious outgoing traffic you should get a software firewall.

 

A sofware firewall is just a extra layer of security/protection. Consider it a barrier with a filter. I use the built in one for XP but there is a short list of free ones in this thread(The best free anti virus/firewall/anti spyware programs)

 

Yes, it is highly recommended you have some other type of firewall and/or antivirus.

 

Thanks, I have read the sticky, I have already added Avira AV Free and I guess online armor is a good firewall.

 

I use Comodo.

 

The truth is you don't really need any kind of firewall/anti-virus.

No one is really going to try to "get into" your computer. And for the anti-virus, just watch the ****ing stuff you download, if your not a freaking retard, your okay. Now maybe every once in a while like 8months or something if you do get a virus, download a virus program, let it delete it, then uninstall the virus program, theres really no need to have a virus program 24/7 on your computer, that'll just slow it down.

 

Think of this, hardware firewalls do not get updated very often. If a vulnerability is found, it will most likely be exploited over and over again.

Whereas a software firewall, although not perfect, is updated to combat new threats.

Now, most problems people have today are from the files they download or email they open. If you do not know the origin, do not open it.

 

Atsushi,

You are right that someone may not "target" you personnaly, they will target you indirectly through the use of spam. Many hackers with political/economic goals use multiple "botnets" to take a site/network down.

You may not be the target, but your computer was used to take a target down.

 

Botnets do more than DOS and other ping sweeps. If you have access to the OS, you can actually perform operations as if you were a registered viewer. Just think what 20k computers could do to a gov't / private node. At the same time, the origin of the attack is hidden.

 

Well since I started this, I do a lot of financial work on my laptop. ie, stock trading, so everyday I need to log onto different websites that carry my financial information. Is this a mistake?

 

Knowing that information apes, then yes, you should have a good firewall/anti-virus, if you could, get an older/non uses pc that you well don't use anymore, set it up an a hardware firewall to your network, theres some guides online to tell you how to do this.

 

My original setup was my desktop was attached to the linksys router, I had AV software on the desktop. While I still use my desktop for financial tasks I have started to use a laptop, which gets it connection through the same desktop router only wirelessly. Could you give me more detail as to what I should do? As I mentioned I downloaded Avira Free already.

 

Let's avoid the name calling please, that is only going to make people mad and not accomplish anything. I had to delete several posts.

 

You should at least get an antivirus scanner. that way you can verify any dubious files you come along. I personally, don't run real - time antivirus on my gaming machines. I do most of my work on my laptop. But I recommend a good anti-virus and firewall, especially if you don't have backups. It's cheap peace of mind. Plus while it takes a few minutes to configure a firewall and antivirus, it beats taking a few hours to reinstall all your software because some malware did a bang up job on your machines.

 

You can always disable them while you game.

 

apes,

THe firewall on your ruter will help to stop many common types of attacks getting into your network. Many do not stop sensitive information leaving your computer.

For example, you click on an email, it installs a trojan. Someone can ow trigger a piece of software to gather info and download it off your network. Your router would not even look at this. A software firewall is better at stopping this kind of intrusion.

Is your router's SSID still broadcasting? Do you have mac filtering enabled?

 

I have a security code on my network, not sure if mac filtering is on. I will check.

 

Do yu know if your security code is WPS-PSK?

This will only protect your neighbors from getting into your network.

 

yes you need a fire wall it protects against back door invaders. that want to hack you system and see you files and screw with you operating system, but it doesn't prevent them from browsing your files which programs like limewire allow others to see all information in your computer, so you then need to download a program called spybot. there are free versions that ask for donations, don't be bashfull i supported that product well worth the protection, even if its 5 buck, good luck.

 

WPA network

 

Sweet.

In my opinion, Trend Micro is a good option. Most major firewall companies allows for a 30-day trial.

See which one you like.