CyTRAP Labs - Wincurity - smarter protection

Windows Vista has a firewall included but it will not stop E.T from reporting home to Redmond. The question you must ask is “Would you let a fox guard your hen house?”
This post explains how to disable the Windows Vista firewall and which free options to choose to protect your PC effectively.

Last week we brought you:

CyTRAP Labs quicktip - checking your Windows Vista firewall settings

That post gave you some tips regarding your Windows Vista firewall. Today I explain a few things you may want to consider BEFORE replacing your Windows Vista firewall - the ropes to skip.

PROBLEM

While Windows Vista has a firewall, it does not stop your programs from reporting back to Redmond. In fact, it allows your PC to report back all kinds of information about your machine and what and how your are using your programs to get your jobs done. For Windows Vista I usually recommend turning off the default firewall, since it can also cause errors with a few of the popular programs you might also have installed on your PC.

Disabling the Disable the Windows Vista firewall is a first step (see last week’s post on how to do it properly). However, before you disable this firewall you have to be sure to have put another solution in place. Otherwise you are exposing your PC to unnecessary risks. I explain some of the questions you have to address beforehand below.

First Defence

The first line of defence is your router. The good thing is that it does not use system resources. Just ensure that the router you are looking for includes NAT firewalling. This basically means that the router ignores anything it did not request from the internet.
The bad thing is that if your PC gets infected by any spyware or malware, any traffic it attempts to send out will most likely be approved. Why? Because such traffic will look like legitimate traffic from your machine, so your router firewall won’t stop it.

SOLUTION

Basd on the above, you need a firewall that advices you about attempts made by outgoing traffic. For instance, you initiated a print job on Word. In return, your firewall asks if it is okay to let your computer contact the networked printer. If you approve, the command will go to the printer and you can pick up your print job in a minute or so at the printer.

Some people do not wish to be asked by the firewall about such outgoing traffic. Naturally, you can have your firewall establish a rule that means such outoing traffic is always approved. However, if you want to know what is happening on your machine and to be safe, don’t let your firewall establish too many rules. Rather click on yes a few times during the day than having to deal with the risk of malware using the same port as your networked printer to reach the internet…

what not to choose

Would you leave a fox to guard your prize chickens? Most certainly not, hence you should refrain from using a service like this one from Microsoft:

Install a good, comprehensive, security program,
such as Windows OneCare, and you’ll not have to
worry about those issues. You can try it FREE
for ninety (90) days. This is a brand new version
and includes a very robust firewall.
http://onecare.live.com/standard/en-us/default.htm–
Carey Frisch, Microsoft MVP, Windows Desktop Experience -Windows Vista Enthusiast

Having all your eggs in one basket is not what I call smart risk management regardless how good the Microsoft products might be.

As well, there are numorous software-based firewall programs available. Unfortunately, only a few are truly free.For instance, some like the Comodo Firewall that is touted as being free.

Unfortunately, if you try to download this not so free program, you are served a browser window looking like this on to the left.

Comodo Firewall

Bottom line

Last week’s post showed you how to de-activate the Windows Vista firewall. This post focused on the ropes to skip or why it is smart not letting the scout troop provide security at Fort Knox for a weekend.

In one of the upcoming posts I provide you with a FREE firewall option that we have tested and that runs smoothly with Windows Vista - the link is given below - will work when story is being released on the blog, of course:

CyTRAP Labs choice - free tool - replacing Window Vista firewall

So you wanted to check your Firewall settings in Windows Vista

Click on Start > Control Panel > click on the logo as shown to the left.

If you click on this than you will get the large screenshot as listed below.

Therafter you are given the option to either de-activate or activate your Windows Vista firewall. Please remember, your Windows Vista firewall is activated by default.

If you click on off (circeled red) or Change Setting (highlighted with yellow) than you get the smaller screenshot.

Here, click the option called - off - that has the red button and x mark attached. This will to turn off the firewall.

Why would one turn off the Windows Vista firewall?

What is provided by Microsoft is a basic, simple, old fashion, traditional packet blocking, port-based firewall. Similar to other firewalls, users can create rules for applications, ports, interfaces and IP Address rules as well. Hence, the user can create a rule that restrics access by IP address and port to a particular service.

Unfortunately, the firewall does not inspect the packets sent and received by your computer. However, it does recognize various protocols, such as, IGMP, GRE, and ESP.

You can go to start and type in the word firewall (search space - type the word firewall)

Doing this will show you the more hidden advanced version of the Windows Vista firewall as shown below.

When clicking on Outbound Rules you can see a whole set of rules and so forth. If you take the time, you can set them to fit your needs.

It is obvious that if you play with the “hidden” second firewall choice smartly, you might just be able to avoid having to use third-party software for your firewall. Unfortunately, this will require some technical skills and time - something most people may not have.

Hence, we will show you which free firewall you may want to install on your Windows Vista powered PC to:

- simplify things for you while, most importantly,

- protecting your data better and

- stopping Microsoft programs from calling home to Redmond if you do not wish this to happen - remember ET calling home….

We tell you how to get a handle on this nice and easy next week here:

CyTRAP Labs choice - free tool - replacing Window Vista firewall

PS. don’t shut off your Windows Vista firewall until you have installed a third-party firewall AND rebooted your PC to activate and make the new firewall run. So wait until next week when we tell you what works best for us and likely you as well.