Tell me why I need a firewall.

.glib · March 21st, 2004

Tell me why I should bother. I've been on an "always-on" connection with a static IP for nearly 6 years now, using no firewall, and had no problems.

Those of you with firewalls (which seems to be everyone browsing this forum): what have they protected you from other than dozens of those oh-so-dangerous port scans

.

Educate me. I have had no problems, I don't see why I should bother configuring a firewall to protect me from stuff that doesn't happen to me.

I am open to having my mind changed. I used to feel this way about virii, but then I got hit by a couple, and now I'm diligently running AVG (after ditching stupid Norton the Hog), so I'm prepared to eat my words on this one too.

**j79zlr** · March 21st, 2004

Wait till you get hacked and then you'll get one. Have a mod give me your IP and I'll give you a reason to install one

Here's a good read:

http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/...er/scf4ch2.htm

**dreamliner77** · March 22nd, 2004

Short answer: Because you do.

Not so short answer: There's way too many script kiddies out there now and the RIAA/MPAA is watching.

**SPeedY_B** · March 22nd, 2004

You don't (opinion, not fact). I'd also like to hear why people say that you do.

.glib · March 22nd, 2004

Originally Posted by dreamliner77

the RIAA/MPAA is watching.

You have my attention. Care to elaborate a bit?

**Teddy** · March 22nd, 2004

Originally Posted by SPeedY_B

You don't (opinion, not fact). I'd also like to hear why people say that you do.

I'd agree with that. You don't need one. But it's best to have one. Perhaps you've just been lucky....

**SPeedY_B** · March 22nd, 2004

I use one, but only because my o/s offers it at the tick of a box, so I see no reason not to.

With regards to the RIAA/MPAA watching, the only thing they're on the look-out for is people downloading pirated music and movies. Don't do anything wrong, and they won't bother you.

**LeeJend** · March 22nd, 2004

You answered the question yourself.

"I used to feel this way about virii, but then I got hit by a couple, and now I'm diligently running AVG (after ditching stupid Norton the Hog), so I'm prepared to eat my words on this one too."

I've been through this before but I think it got lost in the "data integrity event":

Why do you lock your car? Because you had one stolen?
Why do you lock your house? Because you had all your stuff stolen?

No you lock up possessions to prevent unauthorized access with the potential for malicious activities.

The legal precedents have been set in other areas and are now being applied to computers also.

If a kid steals your car which has been "inadequately protected from theft" you will be liable for any damages the kid causes when he crashes it into a bus full of school children.

If someone walks into your unlocked house and uses your phone to run up big bucks in international phone calls you will be liable for payment of those bills.

Buy someone a gun that they then use in a crime and you get to go to jail as an accomplice.

If someone drops a bot onto your computer that runs a kazaa server with a hundred songs on it you are liable for $150K per song. (There has been some success fighting this one if you can show a bot was present on the system but you will still have to pay the lawyers at $300 an hour and a couple grand a day for court appearances to fight it. You can hit $20k real fast defending yourself legally.)

Why do people in this thread say you don't need a firewall? Because they haven't been hit yet.

Why does everyone say you need anti-virus? Because everyone has probably been hit by a virus by now or seen the antivirus popup that says it just caught a virus.

Firewall? Don't bother. Bad things only happen to other people. Right?

Gary Pandher · March 22nd, 2004

lol...you got me ..i'll use one lolz
nice one LeeJand

.glib · March 22nd, 2004

Well as a quick update, I've started using one, but only for the reason that I tried Sygate, and it doesn't suck an amazing amount of ass like ZoneAlarm did. If it's this easy, I can deal with it.

Adrenalize · March 22nd, 2004

keystroke loggers,script kiddies and any kind of online shopping could be very risky specially with a backdoor trojan on your box. Identity theft is on the rise. need any more reasons?

Also i would use a router and hardware firewall plus a software one.
once u start using them and get used to it it's fairly simple

**Bootsy** · March 22nd, 2004

you need one...preferably a hardware one at that

**rushm001** · March 22nd, 2004

1 good reason - Peace of mind.

penguin · March 22nd, 2004

Originally Posted by Bootsy

you need one...preferably a hardware one at that

This makes no difference. It is still software running the firewall in the "Hardware" router. The benefit for the hardware is that it does not use resources on the Host PC.

The benefit for the software firewall is that it may be updated more often and is easier to update. If you mess up the update on your hardware firewall it can turn the box into a paper weight. If you mess up on yoru software firewall then you just reinstall that app.

Lesbian · March 22nd, 2004

I think it will become standard with all isp's you have to have one. That's not why you should have one I suppose. Well one of the worst case scenario's is the little sheet's that run d.o.s. from thousands of machines infected with a trojan at major websites, your data can be easily manipulated, deleted, downloaded, removed, personal details, like credit card numbers, phone numbers, e-mail addies, passswords to accounts, passwords to websites you frequent, even worse you might get a nice person (sarcastic) uploading paedophile images and reminders to your HD.

You owe it to not just yourself, but us too, to have a strong well configured firewall.

**falconguard** · March 23rd, 2004

Those darn stamp collectors , they are tricky...

**X-Istence** · March 23rd, 2004

If you use Windows, anyone with a static IP needs a firewall, to stop people from exploiting the new exploit that is out.

If you use Linux/BSD and have most ports closed, and keep it up to date, no need to bother.

**Mainframeguy** · March 23rd, 2004

Originally Posted by .glib

Well as a quick update, I've started using one, but only for the reason that I tried Sygate, and it doesn't suck an amazing amount of ass like ZoneAlarm did. If it's this easy, I can deal with it.

I was surprised to read this thread and discover no one has mentioned a router - I used to have a firewall and used to get fed up with administering it for all the IPs I needed to allow, about twenty to set up. Then I got a router, and I am always on, I keep my IP unless I cycle the router power (think it's been up for about fifty days at the moment), and I do not need a firewall. Or is someone going to tell me different?

mbx · March 23rd, 2004

Don't forget a decent firewall will alert you to any malicious programs you've downloaded that masquerade as keygen/screensaver/comedy Xmas cartoons.
As soon as you see this program trying to get 'net access, you'll realise something is not quite what it seems.
it could then be downloading a backdoor trojan to get your credit card details,hog your bandwidth as a warez server, or "zombie" your machine for DDoS attacks on servers.

**Lee** · March 23rd, 2004

Originally Posted by mbx

Don't forget a decent firewall will alert you to any malicious programs you've downloaded that masquerade as keygen/screensaver/comedy Xmas cartoons.
As soon as you see this program trying to get 'net access, you'll realise something is not quite what it seems.
it could then be downloading a backdoor trojan to get your credit card details,hog your bandwidth as a warez server, or "zombie" your machine for DDoS attacks on servers.

You're making me nervous now. I don't want to have those zombie dreams no more.

March 21st, 2004	Top \| #1
.glib OSNN Junior Addict Joined: March 2004 Posts: 3 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Tell me why I need a firewall. Tell me why I should bother. I've been on an "always-on" connection with a static IP for nearly 6 years now, using no firewall, and had no problems. Those of you with firewalls (which seems to be everyone browsing this forum): what have they protected you from other than dozens of those oh-so-dangerous port scans . Educate me. I have had no problems, I don't see why I should bother configuring a firewall to protect me from stuff that doesn't happen to me. I am open to having my mind changed. I used to feel this way about virii, but then I got hit by a couple, and now I'm diligently running AVG (after ditching stupid Norton the Hog), so I'm prepared to eat my words on this one too.

March 21st, 2004	Top \| #2
j79zlr Glaanies script monkey Joined: February 2003 Location: Chicago Posts: 2,725 Reputation: 1520 Power: 152	Wait till you get hacked and then you'll get one. Have a mod give me your IP and I'll give you a reason to install one Here's a good read: http://www.cisco.com/univercd/cc/td/...er/scf4ch2.htm http://www.j79zlr.com

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #3
dreamliner77 The Analog Kid Joined: March 2002 Location: Red Sox Nation Posts: 4,638 Reputation: 1111 Power: 178	Short answer: Because you do. Not so short answer: There's way too many script kiddies out there now and the RIAA/MPAA is watching. "You can fight without ever winning, but never win without a fight." -Neil Peart of RUSH

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #4
SPeedY_B I may actually be insane. Joined: March 2002 Location: Midlands, England Posts: 15,800 Reputation: 2877 Power: 307	You don't (opinion, not fact). I'd also like to hear why people say that you do. 1. SPeedYB.co.uk 2. CamPortal.co.uk 3. MacIRC.co.uk

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #5
.glib OSNN Junior Addict Joined: March 2004 Posts: 3 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Originally Posted by dreamliner77 the RIAA/MPAA is watching. You have my attention. Care to elaborate a bit?

Latest News Posts

Latest Forum Posts

Latest Member Blogs

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #6
Teddy Boogie Nights...! Joined: July 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 1,551 Reputation: 70 Power: 133	Originally Posted by SPeedY_B You don't (opinion, not fact). I'd also like to hear why people say that you do. I'd agree with that. You don't need one. But it's best to have one. Perhaps you've just been lucky.... Love like you've never been hurt. Work like you don't need the money. Dance like no one is watching!

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #7
SPeedY_B I may actually be insane. Joined: March 2002 Location: Midlands, England Posts: 15,800 Reputation: 2877 Power: 307	I use one, but only because my o/s offers it at the tick of a box, so I see no reason not to. With regards to the RIAA/MPAA watching, the only thing they're on the look-out for is people downloading pirated music and movies. Don't do anything wrong, and they won't bother you. 1. SPeedYB.co.uk 2. CamPortal.co.uk 3. MacIRC.co.uk

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #8
LeeJend OSNN Veteran Addict Joined: January 2003 Location: Fort Worth, TX Posts: 5,255 Reputation: 3386 Power: 196	You answered the question yourself. "I used to feel this way about virii, but then I got hit by a couple, and now I'm diligently running AVG (after ditching stupid Norton the Hog), so I'm prepared to eat my words on this one too." I've been through this before but I think it got lost in the "data integrity event": Why do you lock your car? Because you had one stolen? Why do you lock your house? Because you had all your stuff stolen? No you lock up possessions to prevent unauthorized access with the potential for malicious activities. The legal precedents have been set in other areas and are now being applied to computers also. If a kid steals your car which has been "inadequately protected from theft" you will be liable for any damages the kid causes when he crashes it into a bus full of school children. If someone walks into your unlocked house and uses your phone to run up big bucks in international phone calls you will be liable for payment of those bills. Buy someone a gun that they then use in a crime and you get to go to jail as an accomplice. If someone drops a bot onto your computer that runs a kazaa server with a hundred songs on it you are liable for $150K per song. (There has been some success fighting this one if you can show a bot was present on the system but you will still have to pay the lawyers at $300 an hour and a couple grand a day for court appearances to fight it. You can hit $20k real fast defending yourself legally.) Why do people in this thread say you don't need a firewall? Because they haven't been hit yet. Why does everyone say you need anti-virus? Because everyone has probably been hit by a virus by now or seen the antivirus popup that says it just caught a virus. Firewall? Don't bother. Bad things only happen to other people. Right? Thought for the new millenium: In a world without walls and fences, who needs Windows and Gates? - Open Office - Firefox - Thunderbird - Gimp -Ubuntu - Red Hat -

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #9
Gary Pandher OSNN Senior Addict Joined: March 2004 Posts: 884 Reputation: 80 Power: 105	lol...you got me ..i'll use one lolz nice one LeeJand Laptop: 17" WSXGA+ - AMD64 3400+ - 1024MB Ram - ATI 9700 128MB - 4X DVD+-R/RW - 56K Modem - 10/100/1000 NIC - B/G Wirless - Bluetooth - 6.1 Speakers - Webcam Desktop: AMD AthlonXP 2400+ - 1024MB Ram - AIW 9800 Pro - LG 52/32/52 CDRW - LG 16X DVD <--- clickty clickty (click on the weighing scale if i helped )

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #10
.glib OSNN Junior Addict Joined: March 2004 Posts: 3 Reputation: 0 Power: 0	Well as a quick update, I've started using one, but only for the reason that I tried Sygate, and it doesn't suck an amazing amount of ass like ZoneAlarm did. If it's this easy, I can deal with it.

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #11
Adrenalize Tired Zombie Joined: February 2003 Location: NC USA Posts: 134 Reputation: 0 Power: 111	keystroke loggers,script kiddies and any kind of online shopping could be very risky specially with a backdoor trojan on your box. Identity theft is on the rise. need any more reasons? Also i would use a router and hardware firewall plus a software one. once u start using them and get used to it it's fairly simple

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #12
Bootsy Huh? Joined: February 2004 Location: Miami, Fl Posts: 1,124 Reputation: 50 Power: 109	you need one...preferably a hardware one at that

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #13
rushm001 In the beginning...... Joined: September 2002 Location: Norfolk, UK Posts: 3,480 Reputation: 1370 Power: 162	1 good reason - Peace of mind.

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #14
penguin g0t r00t? Joined: January 2004 Posts: 101 Reputation: 90 Power: 100	Originally Posted by Bootsy you need one...preferably a hardware one at that This makes no difference. It is still software running the firewall in the "Hardware" router. The benefit for the hardware is that it does not use resources on the Host PC. The benefit for the software firewall is that it may be updated more often and is easier to update. If you mess up the update on your hardware firewall it can turn the box into a paper weight. If you mess up on yoru software firewall then you just reinstall that app. b19

March 22nd, 2004	Top \| #15
Lesbian OSNN Junior Addict Joined: March 2004 Posts: 8 Reputation: 0 Power: 97	I think it will become standard with all isp's you have to have one. That's not why you should have one I suppose. Well one of the worst case scenario's is the little sheet's that run d.o.s. from thousands of machines infected with a trojan at major websites, your data can be easily manipulated, deleted, downloaded, removed, personal details, like credit card numbers, phone numbers, e-mail addies, passswords to accounts, passwords to websites you frequent, even worse you might get a nice person (sarcastic) uploading paedophile images and reminders to your HD. You owe it to not just yourself, but us too, to have a strong well configured firewall.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Do I need a Firewall?	DJC	Windows Desktop Systems	6	October 30th, 2003 3:07am
Best firewall??	PlagueWielder	Windows Desktop Systems	28	January 26th, 2003 5:33am
Firewall Help	aphexking58	Windows Desktop Systems	4	November 27th, 2002 4:26pm
Sygate Personal Firewall PRO vs Tiny Firewall 3	sickmailer	Windows Desktop Systems	1	June 5th, 2002 2:21pm
If I have a router with NAT firewall, do I need Zonealarm or any other firewall?	xk_2hot4u	Windows Desktop Systems	3	May 7th, 2002 3:18am

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #16
falconguard Carbon based lifeform Joined: February 2004 Location: SoCal Posts: 3,406 Reputation: 2305 Power: 155	Those darn stamp collectors , they are tricky...

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #17
X-Istence * Joined: December 2001 Location: USA Posts: 6,490 Reputation: 2808 Power: 217	If you use Windows, anyone with a static IP needs a firewall, to stop people from exploiting the new exploit that is out. If you use Linux/BSD and have most ports closed, and keep it up to date, no need to bother. My blog!

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #18
Mainframeguy Debiant by way of Ubuntu Joined: August 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,763 Blog Entries: 5 Reputation: 1390 Power: 166	or get a router? Originally Posted by .glib Well as a quick update, I've started using one, but only for the reason that I tried Sygate, and it doesn't suck an amazing amount of ass like ZoneAlarm did. If it's this easy, I can deal with it. I was surprised to read this thread and discover no one has mentioned a router - I used to have a firewall and used to get fed up with administering it for all the IPs I needed to allow, about twenty to set up. Then I got a router, and I am always on, I keep my IP unless I cycle the router power (think it's been up for about fifty days at the moment), and I do not need a firewall. Or is someone going to tell me different? hosted by Lord

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #19
mbx Marathon Project Joined: January 2004 Location: Isle of Man Posts: 55 Reputation: 90 Power: 99	Don't forget a decent firewall will alert you to any malicious programs you've downloaded that masquerade as keygen/screensaver/comedy Xmas cartoons. As soon as you see this program trying to get 'net access, you'll realise something is not quite what it seems. it could then be downloading a backdoor trojan to get your credit card details,hog your bandwidth as a warez server, or "zombie" your machine for DDoS attacks on servers.

March 23rd, 2004	Top \| #20
Lee OSNN Proxy Joined: January 2004 Location: Kings Hill, West Malling, Kent, England. Posts: 3,330 Reputation: 1020 Power: 141	Originally Posted by mbx Don't forget a decent firewall will alert you to any malicious programs you've downloaded that masquerade as keygen/screensaver/comedy Xmas cartoons. As soon as you see this program trying to get 'net access, you'll realise something is not quite what it seems. it could then be downloading a backdoor trojan to get your credit card details,hog your bandwidth as a warez server, or "zombie" your machine for DDoS attacks on servers. You're making me nervous now. I don't want to have those zombie dreams no more.