Cable Routers w/ Firewall

Im running a Linksys 4port cable router and everything seems fine and all but some co-workers were telling me that I can still get probed (not sure how exactly) and they recommended that I use a firewall solution as well.  So Ive got Zone Alarm Pro and I decided to throw it on my PC and nuthin worked.  I even set IE to allow internet and still nothing.  The only way I could get out to the internet was to disable the vector monitor service, take Zone Alarm out of startup and log off, then log on again.  Is it really worth it to have Zone Alarm?  I did like the alerts and features but its a headache so far.

Try Neowatch, easy to use.

Is it free?

I'm not sure if you're aware of this little update on the Linksys routers.  Are you running the latest version of the firmware?  I am currently running version 1.40.2.  If you look in the "Security" tab, you'll see that it now has an option to "Enforce ZoneAlarm Pro" security and other nice goodies as well in that section.

with Cable Routers w/ Firewall there still not a good as the real thing i.e (cisco router) where the firewall is build into the device.  Try checking some of the setting on the router? Zone Alarm isn't really the best either.

Best thing to do is to go to a site like grc.com and go to the shields up and scan your system. Your Linksys should have Firewall capability built in. I feel a dedicated appliance is always better than a software package you load on a computer because any software, such as zone alarm, is still using the same TCP/IP stack which can leave you open to hacks such as buffer overflow. Cisco routers are better but much more expensive and much harder to configure. A Cisco PIX firewall is the best but even more expensive then a router. By the way a Cisco router does not have firewall built in, it is available through a IOS feature set upgrade.

I had the same problem with Zone Alarm until I went back to the verison WITHOUT he security tab for Zone Alarm and PC.....something.
Your router can not be hit from the outside unless a Trojan Horse slips thru and opens a port and thats the only reason for a software firewall backup to stop outbound traffic.
Just be careful about where you download stuff and run a spyware program such as "Ad Aware" to clean your machine.

Hey there, I'm BBAAACCCCKKKKKKK!!!!!

Good see ya on the techware board! Got new lappy

Anyway, I have LinkSys 4 port BEFW11S4 wireless router box and ZoneAlarm Pro work prefectly, GRC.com tested showed 1 port closed, then I edited the LinkSys Admin box (browser point to private IP addy) in FORWARD tab, I added a port and all ticked in.

I went back to GRC.com all port are totally STEALTH mode.

Originally Posted by Ciscosell

Best thing to do is to go to a site like grc.com and go to the shields up and scan your system. Your Linksys should have Firewall capability built in. I feel a dedicated appliance is always better than a software package you load on a computer because any software, such as zone alarm, is still using the same TCP/IP stack which can leave you open to hacks such as buffer overflow. Cisco routers are better but much more expensive and much harder to configure. A Cisco PIX firewall is the best but even more expensive then a router. By the way a Cisco router does not have firewall built in, it is available through a IOS feature set upgrade.

*grumble* i hate grc, but i guess shields up isn't too bad. another really good thing about having a software firewall is that it helps you identify malicious programs on your computer. Everytime a new program tries to access the net, the firewall should tell you what it's trying to do and ask you if you want to let it do that. if the program is not something you want running, you can take further steps to figure things out and fix them.