So do I need SP2's Windows Firewall or not?

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I would like to add that a good dose of common sense will protect you too. Having credit card numbers, social security numbers, ect. laying around on your PC is not very smart. Spyware looks through your computer the same way people look through your garbage. Keeping it void of critical personal data is the 100% way of preventing theft.

I HAVE WINDOWS XP SERVICE PACK 2,I HAVE NORTON INTERNET SECURITY,WHEN I TURN MY NORTON INTERNET SECURITY ON I AM NOT ABLE TO GET ON THE INTERNET.IS IT OK TO JUST HAVE MY FIREWALL IN THE XP SERVICE PACK 2 ON OR SHOULD I HAVE BOTH OF THEM ON,IS THEIR A WAY I CAN HAVE BOTH OF THEM ON.PLEASE REPLY A.S.A.P.

You only need one or the other.

For most users, I recommend both a hardware (router) and software firewall, especially if you have kids. WinXP SP2 works great. If you don't have WinXP use Sygate, it also works very well. I also recommend not using Outlook or Outlook Express, because they execute code unwillingly. Use Eudora or another free email client and don't use Internet Explorer, but using something like Firefox. The more of these you change to, the least likely you are to get malicous spyware and viruses.

I agree with pretty much everything you've said, but one clarification: current versions of Outlook and Outlook express do not execute code "unwillingly" by default. The standard behaviour is actually pretty safe these days.

In my humble opinion if you are behind a router then a software firewall is more hassle than it is worth. Why? Because no software can distinguish between connections you want to make and connections you don’t. Sure you can configure it, but you can’t for every eventuality. And yeah it offers a dialog box asking you to allow or deny connection requests, but I would bet that most people simply select the same option every time, whichever they feel more comfortable with, without understanding what made the request and why it was made.

My tact is to install spy ware and virus removers. If you can trust all the software on your computer then there is no reason to ever ‘deny’ any outbound connections. Prevention is better than the cure, right?

is it true that the more firewalls you have the better of when you install one the other gets disabled.

One firewall active at a time is all I recommend. More than that, and things can often get confused.

hi i have windows xp from about a year ago and just had to reinstall. I was just wondering is sp2 necessary and if so how should i get it. I dont have the disc, and ive downloaded it off the internet but i think ive picked something up both times ive tried it.(my computer takes forever to shut off after downloading it twice now)I dont know if theres a safe place to get it. can i just do my automatic updates and get it that way.

Automatic updates should be fine.

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