How secure IS the Windows Firewall?

I mean I use Sygate, ZAPro on some machines, but is the built in one OK to use? Not very configurable though :(

It isn't THAT bad..... ;) ......for incoming traffic,for outgoing,it sux.
You can't block outgoing changed .dll's......stay with Sygate :)

With any software based firewall you have the holes in the underlying OS to worry about as well ;)

Nothing is truly secure :unsure:

/JD

Very true, oh well it will do for now, its not on my computer anyways, just used it to close a few ports.

The windows firewall blocked my download managers from downloading so I use norton now aldays.

hmm

have you tried this one?

http://www.agnitum.com

this looks like a nice one... i'll have to give it a try out..  :)

Windows FireWalls prevents sending/receiving files in my MSN/Windows Messenger.
And it lacks the ability of configuration. Microsoft hopefully will enhance it in the future versions of Windows.

Microsoft has a new Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP up on the update site which includes an upgraded (v6) firewall. Here's the overview link:http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=817778 Looks like it's more configurable and should work better with Messenger.

All the best,
E3

Here's the bit about the firewall :) :

To Enable IPv6 ICF
When you install the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP, IPv6 and IPv6 Internet Connection Firewall (IPv6 ICF) are installed but are not yet enabled. When IPv6 is enabled, IPv6 ICF is automatically enabled for all network connections. IPv6 ICF is separate from the IPv4 Internet Connection Firewall that is included with Windows XP, and as a result, you cannot view IPv6 ICF configuration information and statistics in the Network Connections folder. You can only view information about the IPv4 ICF in the Network Connections folder.

IPv6 ICF provides the following capabilities:
Stateful filtering for outbound traffic
Unsolicited inbound traffic is automatically and silently dropped
Port configuration

When you install the Advanced Networking Pack for Windows XP, IPv6 ICF blocks all inbound ports. When you enable the optional Windows Peer-to-Peer Networking Component, ports 3540 (UDP) and 3587 (TCP) are opened for inbound traffic. Additionally, you can manually configure ports to accept unsolicited traffic from the network. For example, if you host an IPv6-enabled Web server, you can configure IPv6 ICF to permit unsolicited IPv6 traffic on TCP port 80.
ICMP configuration

You can configure Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) options.
Logging information

You can configure the logging of dropped packets, successful connections, or both. You can use the logs to help you troubleshoot security and performance issues.
For more information about how to configure IPv6 ICF, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/its...start_page.asp

Thanks for that info, E3 :)

/JD