jwcolby
jwcolby at colbyconsulting.com
Sat Nov 24 11:10:51 CST 2007
http://www.eweek.com/article2/0,1895,2218894,00.asp?kc=EWKNLBOE112407STR1 John W. Colby Colby Consulting www.ColbyConsulting.com -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 12:05 PM To: 'Access Developers discussion and problem solving' Subject: Re: [AccessD] New Comodo Firewall Arthur, A hardware firewall is about controlling the access to the NETWORK (not any specific computer) almost exclusively INCOMING only. It is definitely the first and most powerful line of defense for what it does. What it does not do is control any specific computer attempting to phone home. If you ever catch a nasty, almost all of them attempt to pass information back out to criminals. These things are a major threat nowadays. In the beginning were the script kiddies and they were idiots. Now there are crime syndicates with more resources than IBM (literally), all of it focused on breaking in to our computers. They run out of mainland china, Russia and other essentially lawless or uncaring host countries where we can't get at them and prosecute them. And they are powerful. They have made so much money that they can and do afford the best programmers in the world, paying big bucks to little people who don't stand a chance of making that kind of money legitimately, and all focused on figuring out how to get past your router. If they get in , they plant totally silent applications that just look for passwords and stuff. So... the software firewall (and application monitors) are designed to watch for applications trying to do things they shouldn't and applications trying to send stuff OUT of your computer. You will never know if you need one until your bank account or credit card is empty. If you do not ever use your computer to buy stuff over the internet or do web banking, then you do not really have much to worry about. Your computer may end up a 'bot in someone's bot network but what do you care? OTOH if you ever use your credit card over the net then just keep a close eye on things and hope for the best. Oh yea, and then there is the identity theft issue. That's the short answer. John W. Colby Colby Consulting www.ColbyConsulting.com -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of Arthur Fuller Sent: Saturday, November 24, 2007 11:27 AM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: Re: [AccessD] New Comodo Firewall I'm about to reveal my colossal ignorance (just in case it was not already evident), but my question is this: given a router that already has a firewall in it (such as LinkSys or DLink), what is gained by adding a software firewall to the mix? Since I live alone, but have 2 desktops, one notebook and one server, I want traffic between everything my house to be open and free. I'm only concerned about externalities, as it were. I don't want anybody in the outside world to get in (without permission), but within my tiny world, everything is permitted. So what would a software firewall bring to the party that I don't already have? TIA, Arthur -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com