Comments:

2. 

   • YoKenny on Tue 14 Apr 2009
   • 05:00:06 PM UTC

   System Properties

   Go to System in Control Panel then Advanced system settings then Startup and Recovery then Settings then un-select Automatically restart then the Blue screen will stay up and manually write down all information.

   It is most likely a device driver incomparability so the name of the offending application is needed but Path c:\program files\virgin broadband\pcguard\fws.exe looks suspicious

   This is one of the reasons I don't like ISP installed software as it usually installs too much bloated software and any Suite will also do the same.

   I prefer to install the minimum ISP software to get the system working on the Internet then choose what anti virus and firewall that I want.

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3. 

   • cotojo on Tue 14 Apr 2009
   • 05:28:13 PM UTC

   Comodo free

   Comodo free Firewall:
   http://personalfirewall.comodo.com/download_firewa...
   During the setup process you will have the choice to nnstall the Firewall as a standalone - without the antivirus that is now bundled with it.

   Online Armor Free Firewall from Tall Emu:
   http://download.cnet.com/Online-Armor-Personal-Fir...

   Install guide;
   http://freepcsecurity.co.uk/2008/06/16

   Colin
   http://freepcsecurity.co.uk

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• 

  • paul g on Tue 14 Apr 2009
  • 06:27:33 PM UTC

  Thanks guys

  I read on a early a post,about not using pc guard.so im uninstalling it
  ill look into your the sites,i found spyware doctor free firewall, seems
  to be ok.
  thank for your time ..............cheers..................p

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• 

  • g7w on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 03:20:08 AM UTC

  FW opinion

  My personal opinion here...
  Firewalls come in two flavors software and hardware.
  I prefer hardware; aka. router
  even if all you have is 1 PC a router is a smart investment and they're fairly cheap.
  -------
  Against Intuition - gives us safety through Web of Trust.
  WOT Community - gives us security through unity.
  Thank you all
  G7W {G.O.M}
  http://g7w.net/

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• 

  • BobJam (not verified) on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 04:54:21 AM UTC

  Blocking

  Routers will block only incoming communications. Software firewalls OTOH will block outgoing communications in addition to inbound. The virtues of blocking outgoing communications are debatable . . . the most common argument being that "why bother to block "unauthorized" outgoing communications because this means you're already infected." The counter argument is that this "will at least prevent the malware from phoning home."

  Interestingly, MS went from an XP firewall that only blocked inbound to the VISTA firewall that blocks both inbound and outbound. But that may have been from the clamor of users that wanted a Windows firewall that blocked both ways . . . it isn't necessarily the "final word" in a debate that will probably wage forever.

  While your router, if configured properly, will "pass" the GRC ShieldsUP! test, it will fail the GRC Leak Test. But if you have both a router and a software firewall (configured properly, that is), then your system will pass both the ShieldsUP! AND the Leak Test. Try it.

  Gibson has often been criticized for crying "the-sky-is-falling", and that debate, like the virtues of outbound blocking, will likely go on forever.

  Bottom line, a router (hardware firewall) generally performs better than software firewalls at blocking inbound communications. The only disadvantage is that a router will not block outbound communications.

  So, it's a matter of personal preference whether or not you have both a router and a software firewall. YoKenny often says that having a router and a software firewall is like wearing suspenders with a belt, but even he has the VISTA firewall enabled in addition to his router configured properly for certain inbound blocking.

  Words to live by when configuring security:
  "Between the extremes of caution and blissful ignorance, there is some comfort point, which will be different for everyone. I choose to run some risks, if they entail compensatory advantages, while avoiding others."

  (The "risk" of running some third party software firewalls . . . Windows's is built in and therefore not third party . . . is that they are often burdensome to system resources and can cause your system to either freeze up or crash.)

  Your call . . .

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• 

  • g7w on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 06:41:24 AM UTC

  my ship

  On my ship, I'm the Captain :)
  inbound/outbound via software FW...
  Used to use ZA back when they were a good firewall and before they became a "suite" which really made them sour. Yeah, it worked good for both in and out connections, but it did require resources, and it did require constant "learning" (white-listing) of *everywhere* I browsed. NoScript is getting as bad now, if not worse - which is why I dropped it too. I get tired of having to click "allow" for every page and every piece of content on that page...

  A NAT / router (technically not a true firewall by definition, but generally termed as such) protects my computers nicely.

  So, it's really a choice of:
  click allow - click allow - click allow - click allow
  resources lowered - resource lowered
  or
  browse

  I prefer to browse :-)
  Besides if you really wanted to protect outbound traffic you can customize the Virtual Server settings - all I'd have to do to pass the Leak Test is forward port 113.
  But then for time I'd need it... I'd have to "unstealth" it. Then it would be like having a software firewall again and that's the reason I dropped ZA years ago.
  -------
  Against Intuition - gives us safety through Web of Trust.
  WOT Community - gives us security through unity.
  Thank you all
  G7W {G.O.M}
  http://g7w.net/

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• 

  • YoKenny on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 09:26:51 AM UTC

  I'm not an advocate of software firewalls.

  I'm not an advocate of software firewalls.

  Review Bruce Harrison's video who is a developer at Malwarebytes - the company who created Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware:
  http://www.besttechie.net/2008/08/20/malwarebytes-... <== the software firewall discussion starts about 8 minutes into the video.

  The whole video is well worth watching.

  However there is a small Free firewall for Vista that I use on my Vista system from SphinxSoftware that once trained only takes a little over 2MB to run:
  http://www.sphinx-soft.com/Vista/order.html

  So use a Layered Defense approach:
  1: Keep the operating system up to date
  2. Keep the anti virus definitions up to date and I use avast! on Vista and Avira AntiVir on XP Pro
  3. I use Windows Defender updated daily through its portal and WinPatrol to monitor application installations
  4. Use hpHosts and MVPS HOSTS files
  5. Don't download codecs no matter what you want to watch if they say that you need a special codec to watch the video
  6. Engage brain in head not the small one down below to surf the Internet

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• 

  • paul g on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 10:13:17 AM UTC

  I'm not an advocate of software firewalls

  Hi,YoKenny.thanks for the tip.Ill have a look at that,

  cheers........p.............

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• 

  • paul g on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 05:07:53 AM UTC

  Thanks

  Hi,colin thanks for your suggestion ive gone for PC Tools firewall,

  cheers.....p.....

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4. 

   • cotojo on Tue 14 Apr 2009
   • 06:52:25 PM UTC

   Firewall

   PCTools firewall is pretty good. PCGuard is a pain in the butt and I refuse to use it, I did download it and try it some time ago but the protection was not that good.

   Colin
   http://freepcsecurity.co.uk

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5. 

   • Athlonite on Tue 14 Apr 2009
   • 06:54:05 PM UTC

   Online Armor ?

   Hey Paul !!
   Don't install Online Armor. Although it is one of the best Firewall out there, it is NOT compatible with Vista. PCTools Firewall Plus Free IS. This is the one protecting my Vista installation. Just make Sure that the Windows Firewall is NOT activated.
   Go in the "Security Center" to make sure that you only have ONE of each activated .
   Start > Control Panel > Security Center.
   ONE Antivirus : Real Time Shields
   ONE AntiSpyware : Real Time Shields
   ONE Firewall : Active.

   If you get another BSoD and are not sure what is causing this, I would suggest that you download and install this little application.

   WhoCrashed : http://www.resplendence.com/whocrashed . This will read the MiniDumps created by Windows and has useful info. on what possible application is crashing your PC .

   Download from here : http://www.resplendence.com/downloads .

   Comprehensible crash dump analysis tool
   for Windows Vista/XP/2008/2003/2000 (x86 and x64)

   Scroll down to the WhoCrashed Application and Choose the FREE version.
   DO NOT give your E-Mail address , it is NOT necessary to download this App.

   Just install , run and when it comes up with the results , post them in here.
   (Copy and Paste).

   Athlonite.

   Your help is always needed.

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6. 

   • paul g on Wed 15 Apr 2009
   • 05:05:49 AM UTC

   System crashing at start up .

   Hi,thank you all for your time and advice on this,PC Tools firewall seems to working ok.
   Athlonite ..Im not that good with PCs but ill download the program you gave me incase
   something happens again,I have only one,antivirus,antispy,firewall running.
   Just one thing before i go Athlonite pc tools smart update didnt work, it just said try
   again later is this a problem i should fix or just try later?I had to remove PC GUARD
   in safe mode in add/remove progs my pc crashed but all seems fine now..

   Thanks for your time everyone...........cheers...........p...............

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• 

  • Athlonite on Wed 15 Apr 2009
  • 10:18:34 AM UTC

  Hey Paul !!

  It's ok to try again latter. Although , the program should update itself IF there are any updates to be made. IF on the other hand, You still cannot or are not able to update Manually then , post back and we will see what can be done. You will be an expert in no time . LOL !

  Athlonite.

  Your help is always needed.

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7. 

   • BobJam (not verified) on Wed 15 Apr 2009
   • 09:02:53 AM UTC

   Brevity

   g7w: "On my ship, I'm the Captain"

   Another way to say "Between the extremes of caution and blissful ignorance, there is some comfort point, which will be different for everyone. I choose to run some risks, if they entail compensatory advantages, while avoiding others."

   Albeit a lot shorter.

   And speaking of brevity, my post about routers and software firewalls was WAYYYYY too longwinded and detailed. So, if you want more detail and elaboration, paul g, just PM me and I'll be glad to help you.

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8. 

   • paul g on Wed 15 Apr 2009
   • 10:17:26 AM UTC

   Brevity

   Hi, BobJam,thanks for the offer of your help if i have anymore problems
   i will let you know.So far all seems well again.

   Thanks for your time......cheers........p...........

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