How secure,Networked.

I have Win. XP, Earthlink DSL (not a static IP), A Linksys Router using PPPoE, and a ZyXel Modem.
I do not have the Firewall enabled in XP.
How secure is my connection?
Should I enable the Firewall (have no other)?
I understand the limitations re. sharing on the Network, not important , don't share.
I'm really a newbie so barely understand the above!

 

Your router has a firewall and it is probably active.

I'll likely get some argument here but I feel that as long as your AV is kept very up to date, you don't really need a fancy firewall since the one you have will do well against most outside attacks and inside attacks can only happen if you get a trojan infection.

A lot will depend on what sort of information you have on your PC and how essential it is for you. If sensitive information or if the PC is very essential, buy a good stateful firewall.

But the one with the Linksys router is as good as the one that is included with XP. Better in fact since it cannot be disabled by a virus and a software firewall could and it can respond slightly faster to certain types of attack that might overwhelm a software firewall - like DoS (denial of service) attacks where a nasty person floods your PC with inbound trash to try and make it freeze up.

But by all means check your router firewall to make sure it is active. You certainly do need some firewall protection.

 

Yhanks and.....

What is AV?
Another question please:
I had some speed, download problems, but w/ the help of ans. on Forum and Earthlink Installer Tech, I seem to have resolved.
I downloaded Dr TCP , made changes, also used Analyser and changed MTU on my computer to 1454, Tpc rec Win now 37576.
Reviewing the Linksys Router settings I see MTU is 1382.
Should I change one of these settings to possibly increase Bandwidth Speed?

 

Yes and no

Software firewalls do not provide much in the way of additional security to a properly configured machine (irrespective of whether or not that machine is "NAT-boxed ") and none are worthy of a cash outlay. That said, they do provide a further (albeit thin) layer of protection, so why not use one of the free ones and protect yourself against the type of malware which can zap your AV?

"What have I got to lose by having a software firewall?" is maybe a better question to ask than "Do I need one?" (which I know is not what you asked!). The answer to the first question is: nothing except a few minutes of your time (to configure it) and a small portion of system resources. The answer to the second question is: no, but there's a slight chance that you'll regret not having one come the day that you accidentally install a trojan which terminates your AV and allows for your machine to be remotely accessed.

It's impossible to know what new threats lie around the corner - for example, web pages are now able to terminate software firewall processes and you have to wonder whether it would be possible to apply a similar exploit to AV's - and what is a secure setup today might not be quite so secure tomorrow. It, therefore, seems sensible to protect yourself in as many ways as possible.

There's certainly no point in enabling XP's in-built firewall as both filter only inbound traffic. You might, however, wish to take a look at Kerio

 

wally888 - AV = Anti Virus so "your AV" just refers to whatever antivirus program you are using.

 

Duh! Thanks!