SP2's Firewall

A PAPER analysis of the ICF that will come with SP2 by someone whose opinions I'm familiar with and have much respect for:

http://www.unixwiz.net/techtips/xp-sp2.html

Regards - Charles

 

Good find and thanx for posting it. Excellent info and great news. Now they just gotta release the SP.

 

If the new ICF lives up to it's billing, I would look forward to ditching 3rd pary firewalls - we'll see. It always made more sense for this kind of app to be integrated into the OS.

In practice it will be interesting to see how much control one would have on the IP/Port level. None the less, those currently using firewalls such as ZA free - no rule making, will find they can do without 3rd party firewalls.

Regards - Charles

 

Arie I would like to know if you are running ZA also.

 

I'm not so sure that everybody will want to ditch their third-party firewalls right away: the evidence I've seen suggests that it doesn't do any egress filtering. Though the Microsoft Firewall will catch applications trying to be a server, they won't stop badware from "phoning home ".

ZoneAlarm and that cohort provide this outbound protection, which many non-newbies believe are the real benefits of software personal firewalls (especially those whose systems are protected by hardware firewalls.

Steve

 

Hello SJFriedl,

*Though the Microsoft Firewall will catch applications trying to be a server, they won't stop badware from "phoning home ".*

That's not the way I read it, but we'll see.

I do aggree that the new ICF will have to pass muster before I and, what was the phrase - non-newbies, will ditch 3rd party firewalls. In any event, the majority of users are "clueless" and any improvement is welcome.

Regards - Charles

 

Steve - welcome to the forum.

What flavor of MVP?

 

I just have found no references to outbound protection, though the fact that I cannot find any documentation on the Firewall API means I haven't looked positively everywhere for it.

I got my MVP for Windows Server Systems - Security.

Steve

 

My biggest concern with a built in 2 way MS firewall is that it will allow MS access by default, and if MS were to be compromised in some way....

I wish you guys running SP2 beta would start a thread with your observations, suggestions and concerns.

Johanna

 

If you believe that Microsoft's firewall will have some kind of hidden rule that allows them access, your tinfoil had is on a bit too tight. Not only would that be silly, it's also not necessary.

Microsoft already runs code on your computer, and - were they to be of a mind for it - could easily just "phone home" with whatever they wanted, because the firewall doesn't block outbound traffic. And of course this would be detected by somebody within about five seconds and this news would be all over the internet 15 seconds later.

And what makes you think that a third-party firewall could protect you from the underlying operating system anyway?

Steve

 

Steve,
I know that Word and Excell and XP (WE!) will phone home immediately and intermitently unless configured not to, if possible, or blocked with a third party firewall. I do not rely on the XP firewall, in fact, mine is shut off, because it causes conflicts with some of the programs I use.

I think the point is that the built in 2 way firewall that MS may give the user by default is a good thing, because millions of users are running with nothing at all, and even MS protection is better than nothing. If the AV protection and/or IS protection is already there and running, Mr. & Mrs. Average, who will never even notice, will at least have basic IS and the internet will be better off for it. If you doubt that ignorance is rampant, read this about my hometown. There are millions of drivers who don't want to know how to fix a car, but they want to drive, and the same goes for people with computers. I think XP default protection is a good idea. People who understand their computers enough to make other choices will continue to do so, and the computer idiots will at least have marginal protection.

BTW, Welcome to the BBS.

Johanna