Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 How good is the firewall in Windows 8.1 alone? Newegg has a sale on Eset AV not their smart security. malwarebytes will be running with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starbuck84 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Depends on what you want to do, is it for home use? Then the Windows Firewall is more than enough imho. Dane 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 AV / Malwarebytes is not the same as a firewall. The Windows firewall is fairly decent, not the best out there but perfectly good for home users. DConnell 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Depends on what you want to do, is it for home use? Then the Windows Firewall is more than enough imho. Home use only. However I'm not sure what some people here will go visit online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted April 22, 2014 Veteran Share Posted April 22, 2014 Honestly I think the Windows Firewall is fine, I've got Eset installed but the firewall component disabled because the default config is overly strict IMO (Blocks everything, including apps you're running, you need to change the mode after installing it to let it allow traffic) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Honestly I think the Windows Firewall is fine, I've got Eset installed but the firewall component disabled because the default config is overly strict IMO (Blocks everything, including apps you're running, you need to change the mode after installing it to let it allow traffic) Thanks! Is there any reason why the windows one would miss stuff ESET smart security (firewall) would catch? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cork1958 Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks! Is there any reason why the windows one would miss stuff ESET smart security (firewall) would catch? The Windows firewall ISN'T missing it, it's just not as OVERLY cautious as ESET and all it's false positives, thus the reason for having to change the mode of ESET. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jesseinsf Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 False positives are extremely annoying. Windows firewall and a good modern router work well together. Remember the router has 2 different types of firewalls in it. A NAT firewall and a SPI firewall. Plus other security features. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrikedOut Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 The Windows firewall is pretty good but unless you are interested in what applications are accessing the net then I cant see a use for software FW's. It isn't as good as the firewall on my router and I am the only admin mine and my sons PC's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 The Windows firewall is pretty good but unless you are interested in what applications are accessing the net then I cant see a use for software FW's. It isn't as good as the firewall on my router and I am the only admin mine and my sons PC's. Yeah I don't care what are accessing the internet. I would have it set up for daily scans, along with the malwarebytes scanning after it. It's only $17 for it, so I figure try it out and if I want the high security I can get ESS later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ESC@PE Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Thanks! Is there any reason why the windows one would miss stuff ESET smart security (firewall) would catch? Nope, its doubtful. Chances are the 2 would be detecting different things as well. I wouldn't sweat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Nope, its doubtful. Chances are the 2 would be detecting different things as well. I wouldn't sweat it. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Open Windows Firewall and from the left side choose Advanced Settings. Play with the rules and options in there, then decide if you need something more. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a third-party solution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 22, 2014 Author Share Posted April 22, 2014 Open Windows Firewall and from the left side choose Advanced Settings. Play with the rules and options in there, then decide if you need something more. Personally, I wouldn't bother with a third-party solution. Thanks. i shall do that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPreston Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Its a firewall. Its not a HIPS It dosnt filter web traffic All it does is block traffic based on the port/connection its using, For servers that's fine but for clients id recommend getting smart or endpoint security to filter net traffic and other types of attack not based on port usage ie man in the middle, arp cache etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obry Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 The Windows Firewall is pretty good for most uses. Even on our web servers we don't install anything else. Of course you need a router with a good built-in firewall to protect your network as a whole and then simply rely on your Windows Firewall to further protect you. Most of the time you don't need anything else to be well protected on that front. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The_Decryptor Veteran Posted April 22, 2014 Veteran Share Posted April 22, 2014 False positives are extremely annoying. Windows firewall and a good modern router work well together. Remember the router has 2 different types of firewalls in it. A NAT firewall and a SPI firewall. Plus other security features. NAT isn't a firewall (At all), applications these days are so used to the NAT breaking stuff that they just try to work around it, there's a whole bunch of techniques for poking holes in a NAT that just shouldn't work if it was an actual firewall (e.g. I'm running IPv6 on my network, so there's no NAT but there is a firewall, it's even more restrictive than my IPv4 setup because there's no NAT) Thanks! Is there any reason why the windows one would miss stuff ESET smart security (firewall) would catch? No, I've found that the Windows firewall is a bit smarter in some areas (Like it recognises IPv6 clients on the same prefix as being part of the LAN and not the WAN, etc.). That was one of my issues with the ESET firewall, in the default config it lets all LAN traffic through, and blocks as much WAN traffic as possible (Unless you change the config to allow outbound applications), while the Windows firewall lets you chose that on a per app basis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dane Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 NAT isn't a firewall (At all), applications these days are so used to the NAT breaking stuff that they just try to work around it, there's a whole bunch of techniques for poking holes in a NAT that just shouldn't work if it was an actual firewall (e.g. I'm running IPv6 on my network, so there's no NAT but there is a firewall, it's even more restrictive than my IPv4 setup because there's no NAT) No, I've found that the Windows firewall is a bit smarter in some areas (Like it recognises IPv6 clients on the same prefix as being part of the LAN and not the WAN, etc.). That was one of my issues with the ESET firewall, in the default config it lets all LAN traffic through, and blocks as much WAN traffic as possible (Unless you change the config to allow outbound applications), while the Windows firewall lets you chose that on a per app basis. Awesome thanks! I picked up the AV alone so I think I'll be good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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