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Thread ID: 50557 2004-10-24 19:21:00 Do I REALLY need a firewall, because... Aporosa (5671) Press F1
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284215 2004-10-24 19:21:00 I'm running XP on a new laptop (Celeron 2.67GHz, 256MB Ram). I have virus protection loaded (AVG), and my server also filters for viruses. I also have anti spywear loaded (Spybot 1.3). Further, I have Spygate Firewall loaded, but the firewall has slowed my internet speed and it is frustrating me to the max. I have gone through the Spygate suggestions to increase speed. This has worked to some extent. My wifes laptop (12 months older than mine, with a slightly slower processor) also had all the above loaded, and she to was experiencing slowness, so we took the Firewall off, and now she has amazing speed. So, with the AVG, server antivirus and Spybot, is it really necessary to have a firewall. If yes, can you suggest any way to get my speed up to my wifes. Is there a better firewall (free like Spygate) that does not slow speed. Please help before I loose my rag! Aporosa (5671)
284216 2004-10-24 19:27:00 gidday,

you could activate xp's firewall, it doesn't watch outgoing it only protects against incoming, but you have quite a bit in place already, so hopefully that will prove enough.

it wont slow your system at all.


good luck,

robby
Robby (3123)
284217 2004-10-24 19:34:00 Have a look at the tiny personal firewall once you have have it set up it looks after its self and does'nt hog your resources.
tpf (www.downseek.com)
hth
johnboy (217)
284218 2004-10-24 19:36:00 Firstly I assume that you mean Sygate firewall rather than Spygate firewall. This is a recommended firewall which should not be causing your computer to slow down. If you have Windows XP with SP2 installed you will need to turn off the Windows firewall if it has not already been done.
It is recommended that a third-party firewall be used to detect and protect your computer from trojans/worms that can pass information from your computer and give control of it to hackers.
Unless someone else has other suggestions I would suggest trying another firewall to see if the same problems occur. Kerio (the older version kerio-pf-2.1.5-en-win.exe) and Outpost are other recommended firewalls.
tommy (2826)
284219 2004-10-24 20:14:00 Its impossible to advise how to get your internet speed up, as you have not mentioned how you connect. This also has an effect on the need for a firewall.

If you use ADSL, and have an external router with NAT enabled, its an effective inwards only firewall. You only need a software firewall to guard against unwanted items going outward.

I activate a firewall periodically to check all is OK, but usually rely on the router for all inward protection. Never had a problem doing so.
godfather (25)
284220 2004-10-24 21:15:00 yes you need a firewall .

if you have problems with sygate try another (uninstall the old one first) such as zonealarm, kerio, tiny or outpost .

another thing, check for updated modem drivers and lan drivers .
tweak'e (174)
284221 2004-10-24 21:52:00 go for zonealarm, im using it now and there is no speed difference, its free too.:D Prescott (11)
284222 2004-10-25 03:10:00 Zonealarm is awesome. Whatever you use check it out here (grc.com) to see if you can be seen. cadifan (286)
284223 2004-10-25 05:33:00 Anyone know any good open source firewalls that run on Windows? alphazulusixeightniner (185)
284224 2004-10-25 06:45:00 Google for:
source firewall win32


Chill.
Chilling_Silence (9)
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