Everyone loves to bash MS. I have to admit I was hesitant about using it, but its worked great for me and I everything I have read about it has been positive, unlike AVG.Dartagn wrote:AVG is only an anti-virus component. Try Comodo Pro (It is also free, and a firewall + AV as well.)
Microsoft Security Essentials would be a good product if it didn't have MS in the name...
Since WoW is down...
This is completely NOT TRUE. A NAT goes a LONG WAY in protecting your internal network. By default, routers forward ZERO ports to computers on your network, therefore stopping a huge percentage of problems. Software firewalls are .. um.. software. When is the last time you never had a problem with a piece of software? I'm an IT professional, I directly work with internet, routers, firewalls, etc.. and my home network has all the windows firewall settings disabled, and all I use is a router providing NAT services. Hell, I get a ton of traffic due to my websites that I host on my own network, and I have NEVER gotten hacked.Dartagn wrote:A router providing only NAT services is not secure in any way. A firewall will block incoming and outgoing traffic that you don't want. The thing about Comodo is that it is easy to configure correctly and will not block programs that you mark as trusted in any way (WoW in this case.)
Ask any IT professional outside of a chain store, they will tell you, get rid of your software firewall, get a cheap router and you will be much better off.
That said, yes, you still need an anti-virus program. I use both AVG free and Microsoft Security Essentials, I prefer Microsoft because it doesn't nag you, but both work just fine.
-Frittz
NAT prevents outside people from initiating communication with your private IP if the router (yes by default) is configured to only forward requests that have been reqested internally. Being told to get rid of software FW and only trust a Linksys router is exactly the type of thing I would expect to hear from a teen at Circuit City.Frittz wrote:This is completely NOT TRUE. A NAT goes a LONG WAY in protecting your internal network. By default, routers forward ZERO ports to computers on your network, therefore stopping a huge percentage of problems. Software firewalls are .. um.. software. When is the last time you never had a problem with a piece of software? I'm an IT professional, I directly work with internet, routers, firewalls, etc.. and my home network has all the windows firewall settings disabled, and all I use is a router providing NAT services. Hell, I get a ton of traffic due to my websites that I host on my own network, and I have NEVER gotten hacked.
Ask any IT professional outside of a chain store, they will tell you, get rid of your software firewall, get a cheap router and you will be much better off.
That said, yes, you still need an anti-virus program. I use both AVG free and Microsoft Security Essentials, I prefer Microsoft because it doesn't nag you, but both work just fine.
-Frittz
People do not HACK your average Cox user. In fact, almost no one is being targeted in that way. NAT will in no way save you from yourself, the viruses and malware that are transmitted along with data that you or your computer requests. NAT IN NO WAY PROTECTS FROM THAT.
The government networks I protect run a software firewall on each client, regardless of the multi-million dollar boundary they sit behind.
Software firewalls work in conjunction with your AV to protect you from unwanted network traffic. They can be used to identify programs and services that are making attempts to contact outside your computer (a common method for finding otherwise invisible rootkits and malware) and also prevent programs you might trust to use from making unauthorized transmissions. (e.g. keeping Adobe from updating every time I open it, Google Chrome as well.)
Software AV is a good thing, but you should rarely need to use it if you are careful when browsing anyway. However, it will be the thing that saves you if you get hit by something like the IE/Firefox embedded keyloggers that WoW players have been getting hit with. The ones that are busy installing before you can even hit close.
There is not really a "best" AV or software firewall, almost all of them do at least a very good job. It is personal preference that leads people one way or the other. From years of trying the different options I have settled on Comodo because of its technical configuration options and the fact that it is more lightweight than say, Zonealarm + AVG. If you do get a virus, you will most likely be using more than one solution to clean it anyway.
Call me Ron
They provide NAT and... what? For security? You can control via Access Control List, static routing and etc... but your simple Linksys or DLink is not capable of really controlling all the traffic that leaves your PC, that is what the software firewall is for.pezcore wrote:I am pretty sure with any somewhat modern Router you can do exactly what you described with your software based firewall and not have the burden of running the extra software. Most routers in the last few years will do way more than providing just NAT.
Getting back to really answering his question...
Your firewall needs to be configured properly. You probably just accidently told it to block WoW when it popped up, easy to do. You can either research how to fix that with your current product, or do as Tord or I suggested and replace it with a new product with fresh rules. A re-install of your current firewall would probably do the same thing (if the settings were wiped.)
Call me Ron