I've always used Zone Alarm's firewall on my P4. But now I'm also using a PIII w/ <200Kb of RAM. Would SP2's firewall demand less CPU and memmory and is it as effective as ZA?
123789
No SP2 firewall is one way(inbound) only.  For a real light resource using firewall try Kerio 2,1,5.  It is no longer supported as Kerio sold the firewall business. But it is still availible to download from various places. Google it.
208714
I would agree with the previous answer with the exception of the firewall. I would also add a hardware router/firewall. They are very inexpensive now and hardware is usually better than software solutions... Does this mean I would not use zonealarm at all? No, it is great for anything that may have gotten by your hardware or came in through a backdoor. It is also useful in that it can stop outgoing traffic from your computer also.
376518
The absolute best firewall method is hardware not software.\n(built into most routers but available for very little as stand alone units)\n\nThe reason being that should a hacker or attacker manage to get through they discover that they still have yet another layer of security to breach.\nOne other huge advantage to hardware over software is that system rescources aren't being unecissarily used.\nAll too often people install software firewalls thinking they need some sort of magical power lockout system and end up accidentally locking themselves out of what they wish to do online.\nDon't believe the buzz, firewalls don't need to watch and monitor your every move or record every tiny piece of traffic. \nIn the end, if a hacker is good enough to get through having that record of information is more damaging than helpful.
44583
Definitely don't use two firewall programs.  They can conflict with each other and prevent networking/internet access altogether.  Windows fire wall is not good ao it is surely the one to turn off.  If you want to test your fire wall you can go to www.grc.com and run the Shields Up program to check your open ports or download the Leak Test program to see if your firewall catches it.
580010
AVG does not have its own firewall. (not that I know of)\nIf she is on a budget and has XP - xp has a built in firewall.
447959
Zone Alarm.\n\nThis is the best Firewall from my experience, nothing gets through.\n\nThe only problem is it blocks EVERYTHING, you have to allow certain processes to have access not only to the internet but also to the privileged zone.
378878
Either ZoneAlarm or Comodo Firewall, the 1st answerer has given the link to Zone Alarm, here is the one to Comodo:\nComodo Personal Firewall: http://www.personalfirewall.comodo.com/download/CPF_Setup_2.0.0.1.exe\n\nUse only one firewall.
234718
windows 2000 proff does not have a built-in firewall, so if you have any third party firewall such as zone alaram or norton internet security, u need to open tht particualr application and make the changes.
467375
Norten's is a very big cpu hog. If you want a really good anti-virus try avg free 7.5 it is great. I use comodo free firewall it also is a very good product.\n\nDump norten's it isn't as good as it used to be, trust me I know and made the switch.\n\nhttp://free.grisoft.com/freeweb.php/doc/2/\n\nhttp://www.comodo.com
661148
Zone alarm is a good firewall, they have a basic free version which blocks as much as the professional version but doesn't provide support.\n\nAVG Antivirus is a good free antivirus software.
60688
Im Not really going to do in to detail,but this is all the basic stuff you need\nAnti-Virus:\nhttp://free.grisoft.com/doc/2/lng/us/tpl/v5\nFirewall:\nhttp://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/catalog/products/sku_list_za.jsp?dc=12bms&ctry=US&lang=en&lid=nav_za\n\nNOTE: If you already have Windows XP With Service Pack 2. It should already have a windows firewall!\n\nAnti-Spyware:\nhttp://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx\n\nThats All the basic stuff you need
550415
Be grateful that it isn't. Norton's is a big cpu hog! I quit using Norton's  quite some time ago and switched to avg free and comodo firewall...also free both are great products and protect you far better than Norton's ever will.\n\nhttp://www.grisoft.com\n\nhttp://www.comodo.com
175961
Try reading this site and you can decide here, many of the lists are real good and uses little resources.. I do however reccomend, zone alarm.\n\nA good firewall is vital and this explains about them and offers a list\nhttp://www.bleepingcomputer.com/forums/Understanding_and_Using_Firewalls-tut60.html
104080
Windows XP Service Pack (SP) 2 is not only "better" it is a requirement if you are using windows XP.  SP2 is an "upgrade" if you will to the original shipment of Windows XP.  It offers fixes for a number of security holes and other bugs in the software.  In addition as part of some of the security fixes, it brings a standard firewall to windows which is on by default.  It also Enables automatic windows update by default.     And lets not forget the pop-up blocker added to Internet explorer.\n\nService pack2 does not however add anysort of anti-virus protection.  This is still software you will want to purchase from companies like trend micro, symantec, mcafee, etc..\n\nUltimately there were alot of updates done to windows XP with Service Pack 2.  If you have a machine running windows xp and put it on the internet you MUST install SP2.  \n\nhopefully this helps.
191857
SP2 will inclue the SP1 updates, so it is better to install that one. It also has many more security features.
254795
zonealarm firewall , antivirus  , ad-aware se, ccleaner, windows defender , active ports , IE7 , system mechanics , yahoo antispy ,i use yahoo mail only
159447
First of all what firewall are you refering to ( windows firewall, zone alarm or another one ) If its the windows firewall, make sure to make an exception for avg to go through to allow it onto the internet, even if you do have it disabled, if it is zonealarm then it is still running and you need to get or let zone alarm to allow avg through the firewall. If you have a different firewall then you need to basically add it to the exception list of applications that you want to allow to go out to the internet.\n\nIf you need any help email me or post back :)