Symantec firewall bugs

[Wudang]

The Register (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/05/13/symantec_firewall_flaws/) has an article on serious flaws in the Symantec firewall. Anyone using this firewall should have a read.

[davidhorman]

Those of you who know a little bit more about TCP/IP should have a look at the CHX (http://www.idrci.net/idrci_products.htm) products.

Add a single filter and now no-one, anywhere, can connect to any service that might or might not be running on your computer.

They also make a NAT package that is far better than Microsoft's ICS (and it doesn't need reconnecting any time you change anything).

David

[DangerousBeliefs]

You should always run LiveUpdate manually about once a month... otherwise *yawn* you have no worries...

Symantec has released patches through its LiveUpdate service and technical support channels. Users can obtain the patches in running LiveUpdate in much the same way they would do to obtain new anti-virus definitions

That's why I love their products. They're so easy to update once a problem has been found.

[davidhorman]

You should always run LiveUpdate manually about once a month... otherwise *yawn* you have no worries...

That assumes Symantec always identify problems and get the patches out before the hackers identify them and exploit 'em. And that you haven't been infected by something in the 30 days between manual LiveUpdates.

I'm not sure how much better than not letting any traffic in you can do.

David

[DangerousBeliefs]

Originally posted by davidhorman


That assumes Symantec always identify problems and get the patches out before the hackers identify them and exploit 'em. And that you haven't been infected by something in the 30 days between manual LiveUpdates.

I'm not sure how much better than not letting any traffic in you can do.

David

No software is 100% exploit/bug free. If you think it is, then you're living in fanasty land.

The advantage/disadvantage of going with a well-known program is that everyone is looking for exploits. Unlike Microsoft, Symantec seemed on the ball and fixed the problem ultra fast.

[Uh_Clem]

One of my main problems with software firewalls is they can crash and there's generally no indication that you're unprotected. With the cost of a cheap firewall down to ~$70 it's really the way to go if you're on broadband.

[a_unique_person]

Even my ADSL router does the job. The router does not respond like a PC, so they go onto the next target.