Emie:

You know, you can always have your customer test the theory for
him(her)self. Suggest that the system be run for two weeks w/ ZA only, after
that two weeks, disable ZA and run WXP FW. Have the customer decide in his
own dynamic test which FW works better, and at the same time, see if the
internet problems clear up. I know this sounds kind of childish, but have
them report back to you the results. (Makes them feel important that they
have been a part of their own troubleshooting efforts)

I guess just exactly which firewall is better.... ?? who is to say? While
they both will block any existing open ports, ZA has more bells and whistles
than XPFW, which is a no frills firewall, that essentially does the same
thing. There is something about the about the mental security generated by
seeing an active desktop or sys tray icon for a firewall, than to see
nothing and guess whether or not your system is protected from intrusions.

For 6 months, I ran a very effective firewall called HackTracker. Not only
did this firewall let you know if and when an intrusion occurs, but allows
you to track back where it came from with the IP address, and in many cases,
an E Mail address. Although impressive, it quickly becomes annoying, and for
the money, I installed a broadband router and networked all the PC's in the
house and removed or disabled the software firewalls.... problem solved!

My two cents!

Thanks for letting me ramble...

Dean Kiley


----- Original Message -----
From: "Emie" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [PCSOFT] Firewall: XP vs ZA


Is installing ZA to XP (Home or Pro) an overkill?
> I'm trying to convince a customer that the root of his problems is, he has
> both firewalls running.  I would appreciate inputs to this subject.  TIA.
>
> Emie DelRosario

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