Windows

What Vista’s Firewall Does Not Protect Against

Posted by on Oct 13, 2008 | 4 Comments

Firewalls have become a necessity for those who connect to public networks such as the Internet. Many new computers now come with firewall software installed. Vista also comes with firewall software for those who have not purchased a third party product. If you are new to computing, it is important that you know what a firewall does and does not do.

Here is a quick list of what firewalls DO NOT protect against:

  • Spyware and viruses
  • Attacks designed to exploit software bugs
  • Pop-ups
  • Phishing
  • Spam e-mails

With this in mind, you need to think of a firewall as just one piece of an overall security solution. Unless you have all the components in place, your computer is still at risk.

  • http://kcomputerzone.ca/ KtecK

    Well duh its a firewall… Those all in one suites are to be avoided.

    Over all you can survive on the internet without protection software easily… just dont open files from strange sites that claim to be things they can’t be.

  • R Scardera

    Diana, your list will just make those “new to computing” crazy. You tell them it’s important to “know what a firewall does and does not do” but you only give them half the answer. Where’s ths short list of what a firewall WILL do?

  • W

    Ya, R Scardera is right. The list make me crazy. From the list of what firewalls do not do, It seems to me that there is nothing a firewall could do.

  • philg

    This is a No brainer here. You should have clarified what a firewall does and why it does that, not what it does not do.
    A firewall is meant to regulate or monitor activities coming into or leaving your system (computer or network). It should be able to create and maintain a white or black list of applications or activities that are allowed/blocked. A basic firewall should alert you if unknown, unauthorized, or restricted activity is detected. Most firewalls (without additional configuration) do not detect or alert the users of unauthorized activities by an authorized applications. An example is using a web browser (authorized application) to view a web site that uses pop-ups or malicious scripts embedded in it to install spyware/adware on the users system. An example of a firewall working would be the user running a “free” application on their system (unauthorised) that attempts to silently contact a web site to silently download spyware/adware (unauthorised web access). A functioning firewall will see that the unauthorised application is attempting to silently do an unauthorised activity.

    KtecK
    “Well duh its a firewall…”
    -Stating the obvious for whom?
    “Those all in one suites are to be avoided.”
    -What “all in one suites”, nothing about this was mentioned in the article.
    “Over all you can survive on the internet without protection software easily… just dont open files from strange sites that claim to be things they can’t be.”
    -Are your an idiot? By accessing a web site you are downloading the content published within the page by the author. You can use third party tools to block some content in a web page (graphics, scripts, pop-ups, redirects), but you have to know in advance what specifically to block.